Measures of Link Building That Should Be Included In Campaign Reports

One of the first lessons you learn in a marketing classroom is the need to measure link building performance. That is the only way to gauge whether your campaigns are working or not. So, one of the terms you will come across pretty early is metrics.

Think about it much like key performance indicators (KPIs), but there is a difference. KPIs are targets based on your goals to achieve the best result for your strategic decisions. Take the example of getting new organic traffic to your website using link building every month. The metrics support KPIs by measuring performance or progress. So an example would be how many backlinks you managed to get within a set time frame. 

Our article focuses on quality link building and the measures or metrics you need to include in campaign reports. But first, let us explore what link building is.  

Link building is the active process of getting hyperlinks or links, as we will refer to them, from other websites to your own. It sounds like a mouthful, so allow us to break it down. Let’s say you write fantastic articles and occasionally get invitations to guest posts on other sites. That is all good because you most likely have a byline in the article. 

But it gets better if you can place a hyperlink or link. So every time the readers click on the link, it will redirect them back to your site.  

Sounds simple right? Well, the surprising answer is organic link building can be very difficult. Consider it an investment in your brand to get link building services so that the experts take on the job for you. 

Some challenges you can experience without link building knowledge include:-

  • Breaking the Google Webmaster Guidelines on link building. You can incur serious penalties for what the search engine considers link building schemes. These include buying links, linking to low-authority sites, link exchanges, etc. 
  • Indulging in grey or black hat link building practices
  • Linking to low-quality sites
  • Poor internal linking practices
  • Poor content that is not link-worthy etc. 

Do take time to find out more about quality link building. We reiterate this point. Please work with a link building agency or consultant if you don’t know how to go about link building. It saves you the hassle and frustration of doing it wrong. But you also get the benefits of an effective digital marketing tool. 

Increase in Organic Traffic to Your Site

What we did not mention as a challenge is determining the link building metrics. It would be easy to think that getting as many links as possible is the way to go. And we are not disputing that you should aim for that. All while sticking to whitehat link building practices, of course. But there is more you need to measure with quality link building.  

The traffic coming to your website can either be organic or paid. Anyone who understands marketing knows converting organic traffic is easier for one reason. The visitors come to your site because of genuine interest in what you offer. And that is why many brands fight for top rankings on search engines. More visibility makes the chances of searchers clicking on your site higher. 

That is why one of the most important link building measures is organic traffic to your site. That means keeping track of the campaign launch and watching the progress within the specific time frame.

Number of Referring Domains

Remember that the organic traffic may also be due to other campaigns you may be running. So, make sure you indicate when you started the link building campaigns. Identifying whether it contributes to the increase in organic traffic will be easy.  

As we already stated, quality link building is tough. You might think getting a hyperlink to your site is so easy. But it is harder than you think—the quality of your content matters. Also, the site owners may not be receptive to your offer. Thus the earlier suggestion was to outsource link building to the experts. You have to establish relationships, show value to the linking site with your content, etc. 

In the beginning, you might be lucky to get one or two links back to your site. But, effective implementation of organic link building tactics can start to yield positive results. Thus, it is important to have referring domains as a link building metric.  

Time It Takes to Get Links

Now, this point may seem strange. Why should it matter how long it takes to get links as long as you get them right? Well, look at it this way. If you run one kilometer in 10 minutes, two weeks later, you are still running that one kilometer simultaneously. Is there any progress? 

Let’s say it takes you two days to negotiate one link. One month later, the same applies. It clearly indicates that you need to change or improve your link building tactics. You may, for instance, need to change how you pitch to other sites. Or incorporate other methods like maximizing on unmentioned brands or broken link building.  

Strength of the Linking Domain

Does the strength of the linking website matter? The answer would be the same: does it matter the type of people you associate with? You see, you could get ten backlinks every day. But, the linking sites lack value, authority, or quality. Domain authority looks at the likelihood of a website achieving a 1-100 rank on search engines. Some factors to note are:-

  • Number of backlinks
  • Relevance of backlinks
  • Content quality on the site
  • Social signals
  • Root domains
  • SEO performance and more

As you can imagine, sites like Wikipedia, Forbes, Reddit, LinkedIn, and Google My Business rank highly. There are online tools you can use to check domain authority. Linking to low-authority sites will impact your site domain strength. 

Page Strength on the Linking Site

Page strength is pretty similar to domain strength. But the main point here is that it points to specific linking pages on the site. The most popular metric is PageRank, a Google ranking factor. It looks at the quality of the web page and has a big impact on rankings. You should always aim for the highest scale, which is 10.

Many websites’ highest scale or strongest page strength is on the homepage. There will be a significant decline in the following pages. Your aim is to get links from pages with the highest strength. Like in the case of the domain authority, there are tools you can use to check page strength. When looking at metrics, page strength is very important.  

Positive Changes in Google Rankings

Before you launch your organic link building campaigns, check how your posts rank on the search engines. Many brands compete for the top positions with good reason. A majority of online users will not go beyond the first results pages.

Indeed, the best place to be is within the top 3 results. Take advantage of tools like Google Search Console or SEMRush to know your position on the SERPs. If over time, you see an improvement in the ranking, it means your link building campaigns are working. 

When talking about link quality, what do we mean? Think about it this way. Your niche is baby products. But, the linking website is an automotive website. Well, it could be easy to argue that car owners are also parents. But place yourself in the reader’s shoes for a minute. A link about baby diapers will not make sense when searching for automobile parts. The likelihood of clicking on the link is next to zero.

Now, are we saying such a link has zero value? The answer is not at all, especially if it is on a high authority site. But, it is important to link to sites relevant to your niche. You will, for example, get better traction on a website for first-time parents. The target audience would be interested in getting quality diapers.

Link Quality

When talking about link quality, what do we mean? Think about it this way. Your niche is baby products. But, the linking website is an automotive website. Well, it could be easy to argue that car owners are also parents. But place yourself in the reader’s shoes for a minute. A link about baby diapers will not make sense when searching for automobile parts. The likelihood of clicking on the link is next to zero.

Now, are we saying such a link has zero value? The answer is not at all, especially if it is on a high authority site. But, it is important to link to sites relevant to your niche. You will, for example, get better traction on a website for first-time parents. The target audience would be interested in getting quality diapers.

You will have achieved organic link building by targeting relevant sites. So, do include link quality as a measure in your organic link building campaign reports. Over time, you should improve on the type of linking sites you target. 

Link Position

You will have achieved organic link-building by targeting relevant sites. So, do include link quality as a measure in your organic link-building campaign reports. Over time, you should improve on the type of linking sites you target. 

Think about your normal browsing behavior for a minute. How much time do you give every article you read? Many people will only read 20 to 28% of the content on a web page. They also tend to scan for keywords specific to what they want. 

So why should link position be a metric? Well, not many people will pay too much attention to information further down the article. You always want to appear at the top or center. Not only does it work well in terms of trust signals for Google. But, it is also an endorsement that the linking site trusts your link. Over time, you should aim for top link placement within the articles. 

Final Thoughts

Quality link-building can boost your company’s brand-building initiatives. Not only is it effective for getting brand visibility due to positive ranking on search engines. But you also showcase your industry authority and can generate organic traffic to your website. 

Remember, quality link building is not a simple task. That is why we reiterate our only point of outsourcing link building to the experts. 

How to Improve Business Results by Local SEO

Looking to optimize your business website for local search, but not sure where to start? When it comes to marketing your local business online, a search is a great place to start. Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of working with a number of small to mid-size local businesses. I have tried to improve business results by local SEO. It has helped them grow their reach and revenue.

One of the biggest hurdles we face when working with local clients is that they’ve been burned in the past by so-called “experts.”

They’ve invested their hard-earned money only to see little, if any, return. This has led many local businesses to believe SEO is too hard and/or doesn’t work.

My goal is to share some local SEO tips that actually work — and how you can start using them today to grow your business’s online reach.

Why local SEO?

Before we get into the tips, let me lay the groundwork for why you need to use local SEO. People use search engines to find local businesses they want to buy from. This is not just my own opinion; Google’s own research proves it. Here are a few stats the make the point.

  • Four in five consumers use search engines to find local information.
  • Fifty percent of consumers who conducted a local search on their smartphone visited a store within a day, and 34 percent who searched on a computer or tablet did the same.
  • Local searches lead to more purchases than non-local searches. Eighteen percent of local searches on smartphones lead to a purchase within a day vs. 7 percent of non-local searches.

What does this mean for your business? Not only are people searching locally, but they’re also taking action when they do! Building a strategy that promotes your business locally will do more than drive website traffic — it will drive sales.

So let’s get into some tried-and-true tips to help you rank better and convert more local searchers.

Local link building

Link building is perhaps the most important factor when it comes to SEO. But not all links are equal. The directory links we talked about above are great, but they don’t carry the same weight as organic backlinks.

Link building.

Just like any other backlink strategy, local backlinking begins with good research. City-run sites are a great place for local businesses to start. Many of these local sites have “local directories” on them. Most of the time, all you need to do is email the website admin and request to be added.

Another great place to find local backlinks is with local clubs and outreach organizations. Joining a local Rotary Club or business group will often land you a nice quality backlink.

These links are important because they show how connected you are to the community. I’ve seen this work over and over again for clients.

The key is to only link to or get links from, sites you want to be associated with. Make sure that the link makes sense contextually, and never pay to play.

Link building is really, at its core, about building relationships. When it comes to local SEO and business, relationships are huge.

Locally focused content

When we talk about local SEO, often much of the focus is on citations, local directories, and maps. All of these components are important, of course; but to really give yourself an edge, you need to create quality localized content.

What do I mean by localized content? Here, I’m referring to content that is based on or around your local area and educates readers on the specific issues/problems/wants they have. Local businesses can benefit a ton by sharing the purpose and passion behind what they do.

Here’s what I recommend: Start a blog (if you don’t already have one), and create content specific to your niche and town.

Share why your community is special and how your products or services align with the community’s values. You started your business for a reason; tell your audience and let them connect.

Be sure to use location modifiers in your content, too. For instance, if you are a bakery in Palm Bay, Florida, share how your bakery serves that town.

A great place to get inspiration for local content is your customers. Interview them, share stories about interactions you’ve had, the possibilities are endless.

Localized content creates a personal connection and serves your end user. It also gives other local sites a reason to connect and link to you!

Maps, directories & citations

For local businesses, it’s important to ensure that your business is present (and optimized) on Google Maps. After all, if people can’t get directions to you, then you’re out of luck!

Maps are essential.

It still amazes me that so many businesses have yet to claim their map listings through Google My Business. This is a simple and easy step that gives you more exposure and allows you to manage how your business appears on Google Maps. 

Here are Google’s instructions on how to add or claim your listing.

Google My Business is just one of the hundreds of listing sites for local companies. 

The goal is to claim and update your business listing in as many relevant, legitimate business directories and maps services as you can, and optimize those listings with correct business information. (It’s especially important to ensure that your name, address and phone number are consistent across the web.)

The big directory and map sites you definitely need to get on are Google, Yelp, Yahoo Business, Bing, MapQuest, Super Pages, Yellow Pages, and Facebook. To see some of the other main directories, check this out.

Now, one thing to note. When you start claiming these, expect to get calls from bots or emails from the sites themselves telling you they can grow your business for a small fee. Ignore them. They will go away.

Claiming your listing, ensuring your address and phone number are correct, then adding the correct categories, social profiles, website URL and a good description should be enough to get you going.

If you want to really be on top of things, I recommend looking into Moz Local or Yext. They’ll help you streamline the process and alert you if something needs to be fixed. 

They won’t catch everything, but they can provide a good starting point, and they can help you monitor and maintain any listings you have claimed.

The bottom line

These simple ideas will help you rank better and drive more quality and localized leads to your business.

Whether you’re a new local business looking to grow or you’ve been burned in the past, you can start to gain some traction by creating quality local content, claiming your listings, and building relationships that lead to good links.

So what are you waiting for? Go for the gold and grow your business!


Choosing the right SEO Agency

Due to restrictions on travel, increasingly people are opting to use the internet to get information about the products and services which they require. Since there are millions of websites, most internet users rely on search engines to find the information they require. They are told that they should hire the services of the right SEO agency to improve their website ranking in the search results. One could be the best SEO company in India.

Right SEO agency.

Many businesses find that though they have spent a large amount on developing their website, it is not listed on the first page of search engines for relevant search terms like the products which they sell. Since there are a large number of SEO agencies in Singapore, the business would like to know how to find out which is the best SEO agency.

One of the factors which should be considered while choosing the right SEO agency is whether it is offering any kind of guarantee that the ranking of the business website will improve. Unlike other digital marketing methods, where the results are almost immediately visible, the SEO results will usually take a few weeks or months before the rankings improve.

Though the agency may use different methods to improve the ranking, some SEO agencies may not get the desired results. So it is better to use a well-established SEO agency like firstpagedigital.sg which offers a money-back guarantee to all its customers if they do not rank on the first page of search engine results pages (SERPS) within ninety days of using their services.

One of the reasons why Firstpagedigital.sg is the top-rated SEO agency in Singapore is that their SEO experts have many years of experience in improving the ranking of the websites of their clients. They understand the algorithms which the search engines are using for ranking websites thoroughly. Hence they can optimize the websites of their clients correctly and also do offsite SEO so that the ranking of the website will improve.

Desired results,

They have already ensured that the ranking of hundreds of websites has improved in the last few years, so they are extremely confident that they will improve the ranking of every new client.

Firstpagedigital.sg works closely with the client to understand their products or services and the keywords relevant for the business. The ranking of the competitor websites is checked along with their design, offsite and onsite SEO. Then the specialists in the digital agency will use their extensive experience to make the necessary changes in the website content, design to improve the ranking.

They will also do offsite SEO, mainly link building. Search engine crawlers take some time to visit the websites, so it will take a few weeks at least for improvement in the SERPs results for the business.

Even after the business website is ranked on the first page, the agency will continue to optimize the website so that it retains or improves its rankings in SERPS. Search engines are an excellent source of high quality targeted visitors and leads at no additional cost for a business, so it is important to choose the SEO agency which guarantees the best results possible like First Page Digital.