What are backlinks and why do they matter for freelancers?
Are backlinks part of your marketing mix? In fact, do you even know what backlinks are? If your answers are, ‘Uhm…’ read on.
What are backlinks?
Backlinks are links from another website to your own. Which means someone thinks that the content you have on your site is so useful that they’ve linked to it from their own site. Yay!
Just to confuse things a little, you may also hear the term ‘referring domain’. This is slightly different from a backlink, as the referring domain is the overall website that the link is on, as opposed to the specific website page where the link is displayed. The reason this distinction matters is because it’s usually more valuable to have, say, 10 backlinks that each come from a different website (referring domain) rather than 10 backlinks from different pages on the same site. It’s kind of like 10 different people recommending you rather than one person saying that you’re brilliant 10 times – although both are lovely!
Why do backlinks matter for freelancers?
The simple fact that someone has bothered to link to your site is a great ego-boost, particularly if you’re a newbie (or longstanding) freelancer trying to get potential clients to notice your services. However, backlinks are not simply about building your confidence. They’re brilliant for your wider marketing too.
The first, most obvious, reason why backlinks can help your marketing is that they send potential clients your way. Imagine, for example, that you’re researching a trip to the Isle of Mull in Scotland. You might start off on a big, general website, which covers all the Scottish islands - let’s call it EveryIsland.com. EveryIsland.com tells you that you can find out really useful stuff specifically about Mull on another site - FabMull.com - and includes a link (backlink) to the site. FabMull.com is a teensy niche site that you’d never have stumbled across by yourself. However, it sounds like it’s got the information you need. You click on the link and arrive at FabMull.com, eager to see what it has to offer – exactly the type of visitor the site needs.
The second reason that backlinks matter, and the one that many marketers focus on, is that search engines such as Google like them. While Google’s algorithms are top secret, it’s safe to say that the higher the number of good quality links you have going through to your website, the more that Google reckons your site must have useful information. And if Google thinks that the content of your site is relevant and useful, it will rank your site higher in searches. And if your site ranks higher in searches, it means more people looking for the type of services you offer should find you. Which means more potential clients looking at your site.
In other words, good quality backlinks matter because they increase the number of relevant visitors to your site, both directly via the link itself and as a result of improved search engine rankings. Pretty useful stuff for a freelancer!
Are all backlinks equally useful?
Okay, so now I’ve convinced you that backlinks are important, one word of warning. Did you notice I said ‘good quality’ backlinks? That’s because not all links are equal. For a link to be of benefit to your marketing, it needs to come from a relevant, trustworthy website.
Thinking back to our example of mullisfab.com, what do you think would be more useful: 10 links from error-strewn articles with titles such as, ‘Digging for oil in India,’ or one link from a page on the Scottish government’s website about the best websites to look at for information on the Inner Hebridean islands?
In case you didn’t guess, the one link from the Scottish government is hugely more valuable. It’s directly relevant, meaning visitors who click on the link are likely to be interested in the topic (tick) and it comes from a recognised, trustworthy source (huge double tick). In contrast a link from a page about digging for oil in India is highly unlikely to lead to relevant visitors. Far worse however, is that, if FabMull.com ends up with too many irrelevant backlinks going to it, the search engines might decide the website is trying to game the system with fake links and could actually penalise it.
[This doesn’t mean you need to panic that your site could accidentally be blacklisted. As long as you focus your efforts on attracting genuine, relevant backlinks you should be fine. I’m just mentioning it, so you’re never, ever tempted by the too-good-to-be-true offers from backlink farms to generate thousands of links for you. They’re more likely to do you harm than good. You do have to put in the work to gain backlinks – sorry!]
What types of backlinks should freelancers aim for?
Any relevant backlink from a genuine website is useful. However, it takes time and energy to get backlinks so it’s important to think about targeting the links that are most likely to give you a good return on your effort.
For example, a link from an international mega-company or global influencer to your site would generate tons of interest in what you do. However, being honest, they’re unlikely to be within your reach as a freelancer and you’ll simply be wasting your already over-stretched time trying to attract their attention. At the other end of the scale, it might be relatively easy to convince a website with 10 viewers a month to add in a link to your site. However, the miniscule level of added value this will generate is probably not worth the amount of time it takes to sort out the link.
The most fruitful place to look is in the middle – that is, mid-ranking websites in your particular niche. These are the sites that are small enough to notice a relevant, personalised approach from you but have got a big enough audience for the link to help get you attention. Focus on these and you’ve got the best chance of getting good results.
Top tips for generating backlinks
Ahh, the tricky part – how do you persuade respected, relevant websites that they want to link to your website? Given the ginormous levels of content created every day, it’s unlikely that even the mid-ranking sites you’re targeting will stumble across your website and decide to add a link all by themselves. This means that, to generate backlinks, you need to reach out and demonstrate why it’s in their interests to add a link to your site. Here are my top tips to help you on your way:
Create brilliant content
It hopefully goes without saying but do make sure you’ve got some brilliant content that’s worthy of a link.
This doesn’t have to be masses of pages of in-depth analysis from world experts. Anything from top tips for your niche subject to a useful infographic providing a great overview of a topic to a video about how to do a specific task to a piece of new research can work.
Target your search
Identify websites where your content will add value to what they currently offer. Resource pages on websites in your niche are a great place to start. As the specific purpose of these pages is to list good quality relevant materials, they’re often on the lookout for new content to keep their own pages fresh. Another possible quick win is to write endorsements for the websites of your suppliers. Your supplier gains a fab quote that they can use to attract potential new clients and you get to display your logo on their site, complete a link through to your own. Wins all round!
Personalise your message
Once you’ve identified your target websites, you need to get their attention. To avoid your message going straight into the recycle bin, it’s essential that your approach is as personalised and tailored as possible. Put a relevant topic in the heading, refer to their website by name and, ideally, include a comment that shows you’ve actually looked at their site, such as mentioning something you particularly liked. And make sure you spell everything correctly!
Focus on the benefits
Being brutally honest, most companies don’t care if adding a link to their website will help you. They’ve got their own goals and challenges to focus on. To grab their attention, be explicit about the benefits that adding a link will give them, such as providing extra relevant content for their audience or a discounted service for their client. Be clear and concise – remember you’ve got a few seconds to make your case at the most.
Make it easy to add a link
Even if a website owner thinks it’s a good idea in principle to add a link, it’s going to lurk on their to-do list unless you make it super easy for them to do. So, make it super easy!
Include a short piece of linking copy that fits with their existing format and set out the precise URL that you want the link to lead to. If all someone needs to do is copy and paste, that magical backlink may actually make its way onto their site.
Follow up
You might be lucky and get a response straight away. However, chances are you’ll put in all that effort and then get a big resounding silence. Don’t assume you’re being ignored. The person you sent your well-crafted message to may well simply be busy. Leave it for a week or two and then politely follow up. Ask if they’ve got the email or whether there is someone more appropriate you should send it to. This gentle nudge is often all it takes for them to take action. Don’t bombard them though – follow up a maximum of one or two times. If you still don’t get a response, move on.
Repeat, repeat, repeat
You’ve got your first backlink. Congratulations! It’s definitely worth celebrating. But for backlinks to make a real difference to the number of visitors to your site, you need to set aside regular time in your diary, even if it’s only one hour a week to keep knocking on doors. Backlinks are not a quick or easy win in marketing but they can make a real difference if you put in the effort.
Good luck! Oh – and if you found this article useful, I’d love you to link to it!
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