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If you are working on getting more traffic to your website, there are many things you need to take into consideration. One of the best ways to increase your traffic is to get quality backlinks integrated throughout your pages. This can be a bit tricky, which is why we have a few tips below to help you.

1. Build Links From Websites With Outdated Sources

With this step, you need to find some websites in your niche that have:

• Stopped giving a service
• Shut down
• Stopped updating resources
• Moved to new URLs
• Changed names

Then, look for backlinks that still exist to those websites. From there, reach out to the websites containing those outdated backlinks and suggest your page as an alternative.

For instance, when SEOMoz changed to MOZ, there was an opportunity to reach out to many sites still linking to the outdated SEOMoz.org addresses.

Why does this work? You are adding value to the websites you reach out to. For starters, you inform them that their link is outdated, which hurts their rankings and visitor experience. On top of that, you give them a valuable alternative resource that requires minimal effort to link to instead.

2. Use Your Top Referral Sources

Referral sources are the websites that are already sending traffic to your website. So, they already link to your content, giving you a backlink. If you already have a backlink from these sources, then you know the content they linked to is useful and high-quality.

Use that content as a guide for what type of content that website (and your audience) likes. You can then create more content like that. Doing so should increase your chances of getting a backlink.

3. Publish Complete Guides

The best way to move up Google rankings is to have plenty of high-quality backlinks. One of the best ways to do this is to publish complete or ultimate guides.

These guides work well because they are a large chunk of information gathered in one place. Many complete guides are between 4,000 and 5,000 words and tend to cover the scope of a specific topic. Longer content performs better with the Google algorithms than shorter articles.

The first step to proceeding is to choose a good topic. Select something that is popular but isn’t overdone. You don’t want to be the umpteenth ultimate guide to something, so do your research. Make sure your topic is very specific and offers unique value.

Once you have a topic, get it outlined. List out all the subtopics. For instance, if you are creating an ultimate guide to bathing a dog, you might have subtopics that look like this:

• Pre-bath work
• Shampoo selection
• Lathering the coat
• Rinsing the coat
• Conditioner application
• Towel drying

From your outline, get everything detailed and planned out. Remember that you need to cover all the important details thoroughly, making it comprehensive and informative.

4. Create the Right Type of Content

Complete guides are just one type of content more likely to get backlinks. You should also consider posts about “why” or “what.” You may also want to consider videos and infographics.

Just remember that choosing the right type of content isn’t enough. You also have to make amazing content.

5. Use Your Brand Mentions

One resource that many people seem to forget is to use their brand mentions. That means there are many websites out there that may mention you without linking to you. These mentions can be easy to get backlinks with because the author already talked about you.

Simply shoot them a friendly email, reaching out and asking that they link back to your article or website. Instead of asking directly, send out a feeler email. This will be written like, “I saw your recent post on such and such where you mentioned this brand. I have written this article talking about X, would you like to see it?”

These get double the response that a direct request for a link gets.

6. Become a Source for Bloggers and Reporters

Some of the best backlinks you can get are from reporters and journalists, as these will be white hat links. Various services can connect you with reporters and bloggers, such as HARO (Help a Reporter Out). This will take some effort, but it can be worth it.

When using websites like this, remember to keep your pitches brief and only respond to requests that you can actually help with.

7. Use “Skyscraper” Content

To utilize skyscraper content, you must first understand what it is. Skyscraper content builds on the top-ranked website for a piece of content in which your industry has previously performed well. Your goal is to create content that is five to 10 times better than the existing content. This is a “skyscraper” because it puts you ahead of the other content.

For example, you may have noticed that all the popular lists of tips on a certain topic in your industry only have about 10 to 15 tips. If you create a list with 100+ or even 50+, it will stand out and be several times better than the existing content.

8. Write Testimonials

If there is a tool, product, or service that you regularly use, reach out to them, and offer to write a testimonial in exchange for a backlink. They will get social proof and marketing via the testimonial. You will get a backlink in the author portion of the testimonial, as you’ll write something like “[Name] from [Business]” and link to your website.

9. Get Inspiration From Competitors

Like any other part of your digital marketing plan, you can also get inspiration from your competitors. This is as simple as seeing what websites backlink to your competition. You will likely find plenty of great backlink opportunities.

For example, if your competitor has a backlink within a forum, consider joining the forum to get your own backlink. Or if they wrote a guest post on a particular website, send that website a pitch for a guest post of your own.

Conclusion

Backlinks help you boost your SEO rankings and bring more traffic to your website. The above strategies will help you build backlinks with white hat methods, boosting your company’s reputation and online presence.

Sources:

https://backlinko.com/high-quality-backlinks

https://www.monsterinsights.com/how-to-get-backlinks/

If you are working on getting more traffic to your website, there are many things you need to take into consideration. One of the best ways to increase your traffic is to get quality backlinks integrated throughout your pages. This can be a bit tricky, which is why we have a few tips below to help you.

1. Build Links From Websites With Outdated Sources

With this step, you need to find some websites in your niche that have:

• Stopped giving a service
• Shut down
• Stopped updating resources
• Moved to new URLs
• Changed names

Then, look for backlinks that still exist to those websites. From there, reach out to the websites containing those outdated backlinks and suggest your page as an alternative.

For instance, when SEOMoz changed to MOZ, there was an opportunity to reach out to many sites still linking to the outdated SEOMoz.org addresses.

Why does this work? You are adding value to the websites you reach out to. For starters, you inform them that their link is outdated, which hurts their rankings and visitor experience. On top of that, you give them a valuable alternative resource that requires minimal effort to link to instead.

2. Use Your Top Referral Sources

Referral sources are the websites that are already sending traffic to your website. So, they already link to your content, giving you a backlink. If you already have a backlink from these sources, then you know the content they linked to is useful and high-quality.

Use that content as a guide for what type of content that website (and your audience) likes. You can then create more content like that. Doing so should increase your chances of getting a backlink.

3. Publish Complete Guides

The best way to move up Google rankings is to have plenty of high-quality backlinks. One of the best ways to do this is to publish complete or ultimate guides.

These guides work well because they are a large chunk of information gathered in one place. Many complete guides are between 4,000 and 5,000 words and tend to cover the scope of a specific topic. Longer content performs better with the Google algorithms than shorter articles.

The first step to proceeding is to choose a good topic. Select something that is popular but isn’t overdone. You don’t want to be the umpteenth ultimate guide to something, so do your research. Make sure your topic is very specific and offers unique value.

Once you have a topic, get it outlined. List out all the subtopics. For instance, if you are creating an ultimate guide to bathing a dog, you might have subtopics that look like this:

• Pre-bath work
• Shampoo selection
• Lathering the coat
• Rinsing the coat
• Conditioner application
• Towel drying

From your outline, get everything detailed and planned out. Remember that you need to cover all the important details thoroughly, making it comprehensive and informative.

4. Create the Right Type of Content

Complete guides are just one type of content more likely to get backlinks. You should also consider posts about “why” or “what.” You may also want to consider videos and infographics.

Just remember that choosing the right type of content isn’t enough. You also have to make amazing content.

5. Use Your Brand Mentions

One resource that many people seem to forget is to use their brand mentions. That means there are many websites out there that may mention you without linking to you. These mentions can be easy to get backlinks with because the author already talked about you.

Simply shoot them a friendly email, reaching out and asking that they link back to your article or website. Instead of asking directly, send out a feeler email. This will be written like, “I saw your recent post on such and such where you mentioned this brand. I have written this article talking about X, would you like to see it?”

These get double the response that a direct request for a link gets.

6. Become a Source for Bloggers and Reporters

Some of the best backlinks you can get are from reporters and journalists, as these will be white hat links. Various services can connect you with reporters and bloggers, such as HARO (Help a Reporter Out). This will take some effort, but it can be worth it.

When using websites like this, remember to keep your pitches brief and only respond to requests that you can actually help with.

7. Use “Skyscraper” Content

To utilize skyscraper content, you must first understand what it is. Skyscraper content builds on the top-ranked website for a piece of content in which your industry has previously performed well. Your goal is to create content that is five to 10 times better than the existing content. This is a “skyscraper” because it puts you ahead of the other content.

For example, you may have noticed that all the popular lists of tips on a certain topic in your industry only have about 10 to 15 tips. If you create a list with 100+ or even 50+, it will stand out and be several times better than the existing content.

8. Write Testimonials

If there is a tool, product, or service that you regularly use, reach out to them, and offer to write a testimonial in exchange for a backlink. They will get social proof and marketing via the testimonial. You will get a backlink in the author portion of the testimonial, as you’ll write something like “[Name] from [Business]” and link to your website.

9. Get Inspiration From Competitors

Like any other part of your digital marketing plan, you can also get inspiration from your competitors. This is as simple as seeing what websites backlink to your competition. You will likely find plenty of great backlink opportunities.

For example, if your competitor has a backlink within a forum, consider joining the forum to get your own backlink. Or if they wrote a guest post on a particular website, send that website a pitch for a guest post of your own.

Conclusion

Backlinks help you boost your SEO rankings and bring more traffic to your website. The above strategies will help you build backlinks with white hat methods, boosting your company’s reputation and online presence.

Sources:

https://backlinko.com/high-quality-backlinks

https://www.monsterinsights.com/how-to-get-backlinks/

Getting an idea of who your audience is and other facts about them is best done before you start marketing. This will not only save you time but money as well. Both are some of the biggest assets you will have while in business. Keep reading for ideas on getting to know your audience and more.

Basic Demographics

Start with knowing the most basic demographics of your audience, including age groups, locations, gender, income, hobbies, and more. If your audience demographics fall into multiple categories, consider segmenting them and using a slightly different advertising campaign for each.

Why They Have Purchase Intent

One of the most important things to know about your audience is why they are looking for the product you offer. This involves understanding their pain points and the challenges they are facing.

Once you have that knowledge, you can directly address those pain points in your marketing. It will show potential customers that you understand them and convince them to buy your product or service.

Other Preferences

To maximize the effectiveness of your marketing, you will also need to know a few other important things about your audience. Learn about what social media platforms they prefer, how they buy, when they buy, and when they prefer to engage with your brand.

Things to Know to Help You Segment Your Audience

You must learn several facets about your target audience to help you segment them. Remember that segmenting your audience lets you deliver more targeted advertisements, emails, or other marketing efforts.

Special Interests

Pay attention to the various special interests of your audience. This will tell you what influences their buying preferences. If you run a fitness store, you could divide your audience into those interested in cardio and those in strength training. You can also categorize them according to those looking for gear to compete in athletics versus those doing sports for fun or exercising for fitness.

Subgroups and Cultures

You also want to look for subgroups within your audience to help with segmentation. This can be based on common experiences, such as watching particular shows. This will let you understand their motivation and create advertising that appeals more to them.

Turn the Information Into Buyer Personas

Once you have gathered the relevant information on your audience, turn it into buyer personas. Make as many as you need to in order to address your entire audience. As a bonus, buyer personas will give you further insight into preferences.

You will use these personas to better target your marketing efforts and create long-lasting relationships with clients.

How to Gather Details About Your Audience

Now that you know what information you need to gather about your audience, how do you go about doing so? There are several different ways to start gathering data on your audience.

Surveys

Surveys work well for providing specific information, such as the location most of your clients come from, what they are using your business for, and what their preferences are. With this, you can begin to look for patterns in how your services are utilized and how purchases are made.

You can ask for as much detail as you want with surveys. Just remember that response rates will be higher for shorter, simpler surveys, while more detailed surveys can provide you with more useful information. It’s a trade-off.

Competitors

Another way to get a feel for your potential clientele is to keep an eye on your competition. See what they are offering and the kinds of clients that frequent their venues. In fact, competitors are often one of the best tools to utilize in furthering your marketing strategies. Changes to their products, services, and campaigns can help you target their audience and, by offering improvements, win them over.

Complementary Businesses

In addition to competitors, you can look at complementary businesses. These are small businesses that aren’t your direct competition but have a similar audience. For example, a gym and fitness store would have complementary audiences. Or maybe a jewelry store and a luxury clothing boutique could work together. You can share audience research with this complementary company.

Engagement

In addition to this, you should also monitor comments, feedback, and other engagements with your audience. The more content you put out there in various forms and on a variety of platforms, the more information you will have about your clients. You will see what they interact with and what they aren’t interested in. Pay attention to what gets shared and what gets engagement so you can offer more of that. Use this information to create the best marketing strategies for your products and services.

Social Media for Data and Engagement

Before a paid marketing program, the various social media platforms are an ideal way to learn more about your audience. You can post frequently across a variety of social media accounts and see which posts get the most engagement. Each bit of content gives you the opportunity to evaluate what works best for your business.

Review the Data and Use It

Getting all the data is just one step of the process. You must use the data and analyze it to your advantage. Offer your audience what they want, and they will come to your business. Provide excellent value, and they will become loyal advocates.

Test New Ideas

You can also get important information about your audience by testing new ideas or marketing efforts with them. One example is when you are considering marketing on an additional channel. You can try a small-scale effort and gather data on how it works. Look at analytics, surveys, and feedback that come directly from your audience.

Conclusion

Getting to know your audience is not a simple process, but it is an important one. By knowing who your audience is, you keep your content on point with your clientele. It will also help you provide services and products that your audience needs.

Identifying your audience converts them into paying customers who stick around long-term and become loyal ambassadors of your brand. This is just one facet of why getting to know your customers well will help your marketing strategies.

Video marketing is an important part of marketing for any business, regardless of size. But it can seem overwhelming to decide which platforms to include. After all, nearly every platform supports videos.

We’ve gathered the most useful video marketing platforms, along with tips for using each. This way, you can easily decide where to share your videos.

Use the Platforms Your Audience Is On

When it comes to video marketing or any other type of marketing, the key is to use the platforms your audience is on. Don’t waste your marketing efforts on a platform with a small audience, at least not initially. That said, some platforms, like YouTube and TikTok, will be useful for most audiences. Others, however, like LinkedIn, will depend entirely on your audience.

Consider the Preferences of the Platform’s Users

You also want to consider the type of videos you will produce and the preferences of the platform’s users. Combine this with the limitations of the platform, such as whether you can include sound and how long your videos can be. You’ll want to consider factors like budget, communities, sound and size limitations, and average view time.

With that in mind, take a closer look at the various video marketing platforms you should at least consider.

YouTube

Nearly every single small business that uses video marketing will want to post videos on YouTube. This is still the largest platform for hosting videos, with more than five billion videos viewed every day on the platform.

Some highlights of YouTube include:

• YouTube is free to use. You can also optimize your videos to appear in YouTube’s search results for free.
• YouTube lets you encourage subscribers. Your subscribers will be notified when you post new videos, increasing your views.
• You can create playlists to organize your videos and encourage viewers to watch more than one at a time.
• You can target a specific audience, especially if you use paid advertising.
• There are numerous opportunities for engagement, including likes and comments.

A bonus of using YouTube is that it is owned by Google. As such, YouTube videos are likely to show up in Google search results, especially if you optimize them. This further expands your reach.

Vimeo

You may consider using Vimeo for your videos. It is a common alternative to YouTube and the second-largest platform for hosting videos. Despite being smaller, it has the following highlights that make it worth considering for your video marketing:

• It has fewer ads than YouTube, improving the user experience.
• Vimeo is known for higher-quality videos, giving your business a more professional reputation.
• You can choose from various premium accounts.

Facebook

Facebook remains an incredibly useful social media platform for video marketing. Research has confirmed that Facebook improves your brand reach in the newsfeed. In one ad test, videos received 480% more clicks than still images. This emphasizes the reach you get with Facebook.

If you plan on using Facebook for videos, make sure to upload your video to Facebook instead of just linking a YouTube or TikTok video. This will help you stand out in Facebook’s algorithm. Don’t forget to consider Facebook for live videos as well.

Instagram

Instagram is an excellent platform for video marketing for any company whose audience is on the platform. Part of it comes from the fact that you can choose from various video formats:

• Instagram Video: A new version of IGTV,Instagram Videos can be up to 60 minutes long.
• Live Video: Live videos on Instagram are a great way to connect and interact with your audience. Just be sure to announce your videos ahead of time to boost engagement.
• Reels: These are 15 to 30 seconds and include filters, timed text, sound (from an audio library), and timer and speed controls.
• Stories: These are 60-second videos that disappear in 24 hours. You can also include direct links for Instagram shopping.

In addition, you can also make a video post on your Instagram timeline just like you would post a picture.

LinkedIn

Not all small businesses will want to use LinkedIn for video marketing, but B2B companies will strongly consider it. This professional platform is ideal for sharing videos with useful information or industry news. Think of LinkedIn as a spot for sharing information than directly advertising or providing entertainment with your video marketing.

For example, LinkedIn can be great for videos about events or industry conferences. It is also a great place to post product tutorials or show off new technologies.

Pinterest

Pinterest is more suited for larger businesses, but depending on your niche or industry, you may want to consider it. That said, 2020 saw a 20-times increase in product searches.

The platform launched live streaming in 2022, giving you another option for videos. When creating videos for Pinterest, focus on those that encourage an action, such as buying something, reading a post, watching a video, or saving a pin.

TikTok

Nearly every small business will want to consider video marketing on TikTok. As of 2022, it has a billion monthly active users. TikTok’s audience started with Gen Z, but it has expanded, and the audience now includes nearly all ages and demographics.

When posting on TikTok, you want to do so frequently, using authenticity and humor. For the best results, participate in trends and hashtags.

Twitter

When using Twitter videos, keep them short and sweet. The ideal video length on Twitter is just six to 15 seconds. So, you will want to make the most of that short duration. For example, you can include your logo in the corner of the video throughout to help potential customers recall your brand.

Conclusion

Most small businesses will want to host their videos on YouTube and TikTok, at the very least. Depending on your audience, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are also excellent options. Based on your niche and audience, you may also consider Vimeo, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. The key is to use the platforms that your audience spends time on.

Sources:

https://crisp.co/the-video-marketing-trifecta-3-powerful-platforms-you-need-to-succeed/

https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/video-marketing#video-hosting-platforms

https://biteable.com/blog/video-vs-image/

Video marketing is an important part of marketing for any business, regardless of size. But it can seem overwhelming to decide which platforms to include. After all, nearly every platform supports videos.

We’ve gathered the most useful video marketing platforms, along with tips for using each. This way, you can easily decide where to share your videos.

Use the Platforms Your Audience Is On

When it comes to video marketing or any other type of marketing, the key is to use the platforms your audience is on. Don’t waste your marketing efforts on a platform with a small audience, at least not initially. That said, some platforms, like YouTube and TikTok, will be useful for most audiences. Others, however, like LinkedIn, will depend entirely on your audience.

Consider the Preferences of the Platform’s Users

You also want to consider the type of videos you will produce and the preferences of the platform’s users. Combine this with the limitations of the platform, such as whether you can include sound and how long your videos can be. You’ll want to consider factors like budget, communities, sound and size limitations, and average view time.

With that in mind, take a closer look at the various video marketing platforms you should at least consider.

YouTube

Nearly every single small business that uses video marketing will want to post videos on YouTube. This is still the largest platform for hosting videos, with more than five billion videos viewed every day on the platform.

Some highlights of YouTube include:

• YouTube is free to use. You can also optimize your videos to appear in YouTube’s search results for free.
• YouTube lets you encourage subscribers. Your subscribers will be notified when you post new videos, increasing your views.
• You can create playlists to organize your videos and encourage viewers to watch more than one at a time.
• You can target a specific audience, especially if you use paid advertising.
• There are numerous opportunities for engagement, including likes and comments.

A bonus of using YouTube is that it is owned by Google. As such, YouTube videos are likely to show up in Google search results, especially if you optimize them. This further expands your reach.

Vimeo

You may consider using Vimeo for your videos. It is a common alternative to YouTube and the second-largest platform for hosting videos. Despite being smaller, it has the following highlights that make it worth considering for your video marketing:

• It has fewer ads than YouTube, improving the user experience.
• Vimeo is known for higher-quality videos, giving your business a more professional reputation.
• You can choose from various premium accounts.

Facebook

Facebook remains an incredibly useful social media platform for video marketing. Research has confirmed that Facebook improves your brand reach in the newsfeed. In one ad test, videos received 480% more clicks than still images. This emphasizes the reach you get with Facebook.

If you plan on using Facebook for videos, make sure to upload your video to Facebook instead of just linking a YouTube or TikTok video. This will help you stand out in Facebook’s algorithm. Don’t forget to consider Facebook for live videos as well.

Instagram

Instagram is an excellent platform for video marketing for any company whose audience is on the platform. Part of it comes from the fact that you can choose from various video formats:

• Instagram Video: A new version of IGTV,Instagram Videos can be up to 60 minutes long.
• Live Video: Live videos on Instagram are a great way to connect and interact with your audience. Just be sure to announce your videos ahead of time to boost engagement.
• Reels: These are 15 to 30 seconds and include filters, timed text, sound (from an audio library), and timer and speed controls.
• Stories: These are 60-second videos that disappear in 24 hours. You can also include direct links for Instagram shopping.

In addition, you can also make a video post on your Instagram timeline just like you would post a picture.

LinkedIn

Not all small businesses will want to use LinkedIn for video marketing, but B2B companies will strongly consider it. This professional platform is ideal for sharing videos with useful information or industry news. Think of LinkedIn as a spot for sharing information than directly advertising or providing entertainment with your video marketing.

For example, LinkedIn can be great for videos about events or industry conferences. It is also a great place to post product tutorials or show off new technologies.

Pinterest

Pinterest is more suited for larger businesses, but depending on your niche or industry, you may want to consider it. That said, 2020 saw a 20-times increase in product searches.

The platform launched live streaming in 2022, giving you another option for videos. When creating videos for Pinterest, focus on those that encourage an action, such as buying something, reading a post, watching a video, or saving a pin.

TikTok

Nearly every small business will want to consider video marketing on TikTok. As of 2022, it has a billion monthly active users. TikTok’s audience started with Gen Z, but it has expanded, and the audience now includes nearly all ages and demographics.

When posting on TikTok, you want to do so frequently, using authenticity and humor. For the best results, participate in trends and hashtags.

Twitter

When using Twitter videos, keep them short and sweet. The ideal video length on Twitter is just six to 15 seconds. So, you will want to make the most of that short duration. For example, you can include your logo in the corner of the video throughout to help potential customers recall your brand.

Conclusion

Most small businesses will want to host their videos on YouTube and TikTok, at the very least. Depending on your audience, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are also excellent options. Based on your niche and audience, you may also consider Vimeo, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. The key is to use the platforms that your audience spends time on.

Sources:

https://crisp.co/the-video-marketing-trifecta-3-powerful-platforms-you-need-to-succeed/

https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/video-marketing#video-hosting-platforms

https://biteable.com/blog/video-vs-image/