It is often said that no one makes it in this world alone, and that’s true. Consider for a moment, what does adopting a baby, gaining entrance into Harvard, and winning America’s Got Talent all have in common? The candidates must have a letter of recommendation. Of course, in the case of the latter example, that “letter” is nothing more than a text message from the audience, but the point remains. When it comes to institutions deciding whether or not to accept you, they must take into consideration not just who knows you, but how they know you.
Search Engine Certified
When it comes to digital marketing, the greatest institution one can be accepted into is the front page of the search engine results page (SERP). Think of page one as the Dean’s List of a university and the top results as those students who achieved summa cum laude. Naturally, you’re going to want to hire those students first before exploring the bottom of the application list for your next job.
But how does a business achieve such rarified status on the SERP? Who or what certifies them as worthy of perhaps the most important thing you have to give on the internet: your click? That’s where the letters of recommendation come in, or in the case of search engine optimization (SEO), the backlinks.
What are Backlinks?
Backlinks are the internet’s way of sending letters of recommendation to one another. Take for instance this hypothetical interaction with a favorite cooking blog:
- While reading an article about someone’s famous frosting recipe, you come across a link sending you to a store that sells spatulas.
- These spatulas are supposed to help you achieve a better application of frosting when going for that “naked cake” look.
- You trust the blog; you’ll likely trust the spatula.
- You spend money at the store.
That link didn’t just create a sale, it was a message to the reader from the author saying “hey, I am giving prime real estate within my article to a product that I recommend.” Naturally, if this spatula gets similar recommendations from bloggers and chefs all over the internet, that business is going to make a killing on cooking appliances.
With Highest Distinction
One can imagine that in terms of digital marketing, it’s a jungle out there, and Utah marketing firms like Gravitate One have built their business on helping their clients achieve that highest of honors of being the top search result. Of course, there are multiple ways to accomplish this.
Buying Credibility
Like a student who’s accepted to the Ivy League because their parents made a large donation to the school, many companies get to the top of the list by paying the search engine to put them there. In the world of business, where all everyone is trying to do is gain recognition from potential customers, this is a sound strategy and is not morally wrong in any way. In fact, the companies that are willing to do the hard work and spend some money to get their name out there are bound to do well.
Getting Strong Backlinks
The other, harder work in getting to the top of the SERP involves creating content that is comprised of a few critical characteristics:
- Authoritative
- Relevant
- Helpful
- Unique
By consistently putting out high-quality content, you will have an easier time convincing others to backlink to your business. The more backlinks you achieve, the more likely the search engine will see your business as a reputable place to send people with a question.
In addition, writing articles and creating infographics that house links to your live content can be posted on external blogs in order to achieve the same result. This process of creating content specifically to exist externally for the purposes of link building is an important part of any SEO strategy. The process of contacting blog and site owners in order to post your content on their forum is a vital part of this effort, and is known as “outreach.”
Trusting Gravitate One
Of the many Utah marketing firms that help with backlinking, Gravitate is one of the most in-demand. Utilizing expert content and SEO teams, we work the digital marketing so that the marketing works for the client. Come by for a free consultation to discuss our strategies for increasing your business’s traction on the SERP. Internet ubiquity is only a meeting away.
