Links that improve your search rankings are important, but links can also drive qualified traffic to your site. Backlinks are a key component of the long-term success of search engine optimization, but in the short-term, links can also drive strong and continuous traffic. Here is how you can begin generating links that drive traffic.
- First, find your link partners. You’ll want good sources for traffic-driving links. This can be achieved by finding publications that are helping your competitors with traffic. Find this information through sites like SimilarWeb. You’ll find top referral sources who are linking to your competitors and how much traffic they’re gaining from it. Use this information to find a potential linking partner. Don’t just pursue those sites though. Also consider top-ranking websites, and try to build relationships with them and have them share your links.
- Once you’ve done that, you can approach bigger niche industries that you can give content to. Tools like BuzzSumo will connect you with social influencers that have huge followings with whom they can share your content as a guest poster. These posts will need to be made relevant to the respective website’s audience. Just be sure to follow their editorial guidelines and rules for content submission.
- With smaller industry publications, you’ll also find guest posting opportunities through bigger sites on their guest posting forms. A byline link or author page will serve as a fantastic source of traffic and referrals. However, make sure to only submit your best work, realize you’re being included in a competitive market, and editors can be picky.
- Other outlets are community forums, subreddits, or marketing sites like inbound.org. Be a good community member and don’t spam users. Follow the rules of the forum and participate. Don’t just send them random links to sell your site. Gain their trust, and they will trust your business.
- Finally, you can find industry influencers and work out a sponsorship or partnership with them. This typically comes with a cost that varies based on audience size and the scope of the campaign which may be broad or narrow depending on the niche. In this case, you both have a common goal of gaining traffic.
As soon as all of this has been done, make sure to monitor your Google Analytics for referral traffic. The worst mistake you can make is going through all the motions and hassle to find sponsors to share your links and then not monitor the success of it. Always follow through!