Linking 301 – Advanced Back Link & Citation Strategies for 2023
Updated January 2023 – Websites need authority to rank in Google … end of story. Authority is built up by numerous methods, but one of the most important methods is other websites “voting” for your website, by … yes you guessed it – linking to your website.
There are literally hundreds of thousands of posts out there that talk about the importance of links, how “backlinks are dead”, don’t buy links EARN THEM (forget PR link farms). Today, I’ll chat a bit more in depth on how linking has evolved into business development and real marketing, which just so happens to be done digitally and the 5 most common types of of links (such as citations, pure backlinks, directories etc.) and how each play an important role in search engine optimization.
I’ve broken down each area into 9 different categories which include:
1. Value | How much will this help with local and organic rankings? |
2. Additional Traffic | How much (if any) qualified traffic can you expect to get from getting listed. |
3. Benefits | What are the main benefits of acquiring this link/citation? |
4. Acquisition Success Rate | The average success rate based on follow-ups divided by successful acquisition. |
5. Verification Difficulty | How difficult this link/citation is considered to obtain. |
6. Followups Required to complete | The amount of phone-calls / e-mails it will take to go live. |
7. Examples | An example of a website to determine what this link/citation looks like. |
8. Includes Link to Website | Will this link/citation list your website address. |
9. Key Identifier | Common trends that help identify the type of link/citation. |
Here’s the breakdown:
#1 Citations:
- Value – Low / Moderate
- Additional Traffic – Low
- Benefits – Assists with Local SEO (and organic if you get a URL link)
- Acquisition Success Rate – 60 – 80%
- Verification Difficulty – Moderate
- Followups Required to complete – 1 – 5
- Examples – Yellow Pages, Shop in Edmonton
- Includes Link to Website – Sometimes
- Key Identifier – Always includes N.A.P (name, address, phone number)
#2 Paid Links:
- Value – Moderate
- Additional Traffic – Moderate
- Benefits – Assists with Organic SEO
- Acquisition Success Rate – 99%
- Verification Difficulty – Low
- Followups Required to complete – 1 – 2
- Examples – Canada One / Alberta Directory
- Includes Link to Website – Always
- Key Identifier – Usually includes do-follow backlink
#3 Outreach Links:
- Value – High
- Additional Traffic – Moderate
- Benefits – Assists with Organic SEO
- Acquisition Success Rate – 50%
- Verification Difficulty – High
- Followups Required to complete – 1 – 10
- Examples – Government, Affiliations, Colleagues (link exchanges), News Sites
- Includes Link to Website – Always
- Key Identifier – Typically includes URL & Co-Mention
#4 Member Directory:
- Value – High
- Additional Traffic – Moderate
- Benefits – Assists with Organic SEO
- Acquisition Success Rate – 80 – 100 % (depends if you qualify)
- Verification Difficulty – Easy (if your qualifications apply)
- Followups Required to complete – 1 – 3
- Examples – BBB, SEBA, Chamber of Commerce
- Includes Link to Website – Always
- Key Identifier – Typically includes URL & Co-Mention
#5 Earned Links:
- Value – Very High
- Additional Traffic – High – Very High
- Benefits – Assists with everything
- Acquisition Success Rate – N / A
- Verification Difficulty – You have to earn this baby – no verification required 🙂
- Followups Required to complete – Again, this is earned. Be AWESOME and it’ll happen.
- Examples – Industry leaders, local news, forums
- Includes Link to Website – Always
- Key Identifier – Typically includes URL & Co-Mention
PRIMARY Benefits:
- Authority
- Additional leads
- Good user experience
- Additional qualified traffic
- Consistency & cleanup (also known as digital marketing book-keeping which also happens to be the worst part of a digital marketers job)
SECONDARY Benefits:
- Improved local & organic rankings