As an eCommerce website owner, you understand the importance of driving traffic and increasing sales. Links not only improve your website’s credibility but also boost your search engine rankings, making it more visible to potential customers. If you are serious about growing your online presence, you’ll need to understand how to build backlinks for ecommerce ASAP.
In this post, you’ll learn actionable strategies that will help you outrank competitors and drive more sales.
The Importance of Backlinks for eCommerce Websites
We touched on some basics of why links matter for ecommerce. But let’s dig in some more.
Off-page is one of the three pillars of search engine optimization (SEO).
You simply cannot rank a website and drive increasing volumes of organic visits without good off-page SEO. Bottom line.
Backlinks Grow Your Domain’s Authority
Backlinks serve as a vote of confidence from other websites, especially when those websites are held in high regard by the search engines.
When you get a number of link from quality domains, search engines conclude that your content is valuable and relevant.
This, in turn, increases your website’s credibility and authority, making it more likely to appear in search engine results pages (SERPs).
How to Identify Quality Backlink Opportunities
Even with a solid understanding of what makes a good link target, many website owners struggle to find good placements.
In this section, we’ll explore some strategies for identifying potential backlink sources to help your eCommerce website rank better.
Research Relevant Industry Websites and Blogs
Websites and blogs within your industry can be a treasure trove of backlink opportunities.
Look for domains that are relevant to your niche and have a high domain authority.
You can use tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz to find the top-ranking websites and blogs in your industry.
Analyze Competitor Backlink Profiles
Your main competitors can provide valuable insights into potential backlink opportunities.
Analyze their links profiles to identify patterns, such as common linking domains or content types that attract links.
Once you understand your competitors’ backlink strategies, you will be able to identify gaps in your own approach and uncover new opportunities.
Look for common themes, such as product reviews or guest blogging. Then, use this information to inform your own link-building efforts.
Dig Into Social Media Platforms and Online Communities
On social media platforms and online communities, you can engage with potential linking partners and build relationships that lead to backlinks.
Participate in relevant conversations, share valuable content, and provide helpful advice to establish yourself as an authority in your industry.
Look for influencers or bloggers who have already mentioned your brand or products.
Reach out to them and ask if they’d be willing to write a review or feature your brand in a future post.
Backlinks for eCommerce Websites: Create Linkable Assets
Despite the importance of backlinks, many eCommerce websites struggle to attract high-quality links.
One effective way to overcome this challenge is by creating linkable assets that other websites will want to link to.
Develop High-Quality, Relevant, and Informative Content
If you’re looking to attract links, you will want to create content that resonates with your target audience.
Focus on producing well-researched, informative, and engaging material that addresses the needs and pain points of your customers.
You can create a range of content types, such as guides, tutorials, industry reports, or thought leadership pieces that showcase your expertise.
Design Infographics and Visual Content
A lot of folks think of “content” as written, text-based only. Don’t overlook the power of visual media for attracting links.
You can create infographics, charts, or graphs that present complex information in easy-to-digest formats.
Website owners love to link to visually appealing content that adds value to their own readers.
By creating informative and well-designed infographics, you will increase the chances of other websites sharing your content and linking back to your site.
Produce Engaging Videos and Podcasts
Consider putting together videos and podcasts that educate, entertain, or inspire your audience.
These formats can help you connect with your customers on a deeper level. They’re also effective at attracting links, often naturally (i.e. without proactive outreach).
And even better, you can easily repurpose videos and podcasts into other formats. You will only be limited by your own imagination.
For example, you can convert a video into a blog post, post summaries or excerpts on social media, or even convert it to an infographic.
With high-quality multimedia content, you will position your domain to attract links from other websites, boosting your online visibility.
Backlinks for eCommerce Websites: Outreach and Guest Blogging Strategies
Of course, we are all in this together, as they say. Use the power of your network to put link-building plans into action.
Through relationships with influencers, bloggers, and other industry professionals, you can secure high-quality backlinks that drive real results.
Crafting Compelling Pitch Emails and Messages
Start by crafting pitch emails and messages that grab the attention of influencers and bloggers.
Make sure your pitch is personalized, concise, and clearly communicates the value you can bring to their audience.
Avoid using generic templates. Instead, focus on building a connection with the person you’re reaching out to.
Building Relationships with Influencers and Bloggers
Don’t just pitch website owners and then disappear. Aim to build true relationships.
The goal is to establish yourself as a trusted authority and build a rapport with these individuals.
With that in place, they’ll be much more likely to accept your guest post pitches and share your content.
Emails, comments, and social media messages are all great ways to start building relationships with influencers and bloggers.
Engage with their own content, offer valuable insights, and show genuine interest in their work.
By doing so, you’ll be top of mind when you pitch a guest post or collaboration opportunity.
Writing Guest Posts that Attract Backlinks
Any guest post you write should be designed to attract backlinks of its own. That way, it can also drive traffic to your eCommerce website.
Create high-quality, engaging content that resonates with their audience and encourages them to share it with others.
You’ll need to have a deep understanding of the target audience and the topics they care about.
Focus on creating informative, well-researched content that provides real value to the reader.
Use relevant keywords, optimize your meta tags, and include a clear call-to-action to drive traffic to your website.
Backlinks for eCommerce Websites: Product Reviews and Mentions
Not all links need to (nor should) come from traditional content marketing efforts.
You can also build links with product reviews and mentions of your brand online.
Encourage Customers to Leave Reviews and Ratings
Rankings and ratings from satisfied customers can go a long way in building trust and credibility.
Encourage customers to leave reviews and ratings. That way, you can increase the chances of getting mentioned on review websites, forums, and social media platforms
All of these, if they come through for you, can ultimately lead to backlinks.
Monitor Brand Mentions and Respond Promptly
Respond quickly to brand mentions online. This is how you build relationships with influencers, bloggers, and customers who are talking about you.
Quick action can lead to opportunities for collaborations, reviews, and even backlinks.
Customers are talking about your brand online, whether you’re aware of it or not.
By monitoring brand mentions, you can stay on top of the conversation and respond promptly to any feedback, concerns, or praise.
This shows that you value your customers’ opinions and care about their experience with your brand.
Turn Mentions into Backlinks
In order to convert brand mentions into backlinks, you’ll have to put forth some effort with creativity and outreach.
By identifying opportunities where your brand has been mentioned without a link, you can reach out to the webmaster or author and request that they add a link to your website.
For instance, if a blogger has mentioned your product in a review, but hasn’t included a link to your website, reach out to them and ask if they’d be willing to add a link.
You can also offer incentives, such as a free product or discount code, in exchange for the link.
By being proactive and building relationships with influencers and bloggers, you can turn brand mentions into valuable backlinks.
How to Optimize your Website Structure for Backlinks
Now that you have a solid understanding of the importance of backlinks for your eCommerce website, it’s time to focus on optimizing your website structure to attract high-quality links.
A good website will be well architected and organized, and it will serve both users and search engines.
Be sure to deploy a clear hierarchy of categories and subcategories.
Visitors need to be able to find what they are seeking quickly and easily.
Search engines also need a clear hierarchy to properly crawl and index your pages and content.
If your website architecture is logical, intuitive, and easy to navigate, you’ll do well with both.
Enhance Mobile Responsiveness and Page Speed
You can significantly improve user experience and search engine rankings by ensuring that your website is mobile-friendly and loads quickly.
A responsive design adapts seamlessly to different screen sizes and devices.
Meanwhile fast page speeds will reduce bounce rates and increase engagement.
Once you complete these optimizations, you should enjoy better conversion rates.
Why? Because visitors are more likely to stick around through the entire purchase process when it’s easy and fast.
Make sure to test your website’s mobile responsiveness and page speed regularly, and optimize accordingly.
Optimize Product Pages for Search Engines
Once that you’ve optimized your website’s overall structure, it will be time to focus on individual product pages.
Ensure that each product page is optimized for relevant keywords, has unique / original and descriptive content, and includes high-quality product images.
Google loves product pages that provide valuable information to users.
By including detailed product descriptions, customer reviews, and product specifications, you can increase the chances of attracting high-quality links as well.
Conclusion: Backlinks for eCommerce Websites 101
So there we have it – all of the steps you should implement to build a robust link profile for your ecommerce website.
Remember to focus on quality over quantity. Always prioritize relevance and authority when seeking out backlink opportunities.
With persistence and patience, you’ll see your eCommerce website thrive in the competitive online marketplace.
Tommy Landry
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