Struggling with the principle of backlinks, all i can see for the competition is directories?
-
Hey everyone,
I have been using the open site explorer to check the linking domains/inbound links of competition for window suppliers. I've read that directories generate pretty much no link juice, yet all i can find for pretty much all of the well ranking competition (other than few very major companies) is directory listings. This leaves me wondering whether just submiitting to 5-10 good relevant directories would help tip me above some of the competition...
I've read quite a lot about generating quality backlinks but i still haven't got my head around how to actually do anything myself that would be potentially useful. All i've done so far is post to relevant high authority directories and a couple relevant forums.
I have pretty much £0 budget but a decent amount of time and strong graphic design and animation skills so feel like i can put that to use but again would have no idea what to do even if i created something share worthy. I can't imagine succesfully contacting anyone and getting them to link back to me or share my content..
Thanks for any advice...
-
Katarina shared some good advice.
Remember that the Open Site Explorer, good as it is, can't crawl the entire web, so might not discover every single link for a competitor.
And to displace an established competitor with consistent rankings doesn't mean matching their inbound links - it means exceeding them, as they'll also have the benefit of the domain history, existing traffic etc.
I've done some outreach in the past for a major window supplier in the UK, and if you use your graphics and animation skills in the right way, you should definitely be able to improve your situation. It's just about finding the right angle for the right audiences....
-
Hi there,
First of all, if your competitors have only links from directories, that's perfect for you! You can see they have no proper backlink strategy in place and your options are really open.
When it comes to directories, you are right, they are mostly ignored. I would still recommend you submit your business there as you might be found through their searches. So don't hesitate and list yourself everywhere relevant and make sure you use your details exactly as on your website and there is no discrepancy.
I don't know enough about your business and website, however I would recommend you make sure you have content. Since it's all that counts - amazing content and backlinks. If you neglect one, you might struggle. Keep adding relevant content, maybe blog articles such as case studies, industry facts etc. and share. Infographics can be a very interesting way of how to earn backlinks - you just need to select some interesting data and share - via your own social or getting in touch with third parties. I would prefer publishing infographics on your website and have a code to share. I always prefer activities that give me a bit of PR - so if your content (whether infographics or a guest post) can receive backlinks, get shared and bring relevant traffic, you won!
I don't like backlinks for the sake of having them as many as possible. Make sure you focus on relevancy. I would recommend to create a spreadsheet and search where your relevant traffic might be. Maybe you can team up with an online magazine and offer a competition (details on your site), maybe your customers/suppliers/institutions you are a member of are happy to give you a backlink. Very often they will want something in return, so it's up to you how creative you can be.
Have a look at Google mentions and find out where your business is mentioned. Just get in touch and ask if they could give you a backlink. Can you provide a placement for students, sponsor an event or provide an interesting article to benefit .edu organisations? .edu links are very powerful. Also, don't forget review sites - submit your company for your customers to review to receive a backlink and traffic.
If I were you, I would start here - with a brand new spreadsheet and I would just start generating ideas within your niche. If you get stuck at any point, just let me know! Also, any more questions, I'm happy to answer.
Hope this helps. Good luck!
Katarina
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Can not start a SEO MOZ campaign?
I keep getting this message, I have a 301 from my domain to my domain with the www prefix. What's the deal? We have detected that the domain www.photosbykristopher.com and the domain photosbykristopher.com both respond to web requests and do not redirect. Having two "twin" domains that both resolve forces them to battle for SERP positions, making your SEO efforts less effective. We suggest redirecting one, then entering the other here.
Moz Pro | | KrisPhoto0 -
How can I find out why my Domain authority has gone down?
I need to find out why the domain authority has dropped 6 points in the last 6 months - any ideas where to start looking?
Moz Pro | | RedC0 -
OSE Backlink results - reported link not actually there?
Not a complaint, but a question to understand how the research tool operates: When I run backlink checks on websites, often the reported link is not only not on the page, but it's not found anywhere on the site. I use several tools to search for the link url as well as for the keyword. Why does the tool report a link is there, but I cannot find the links in some cases? Is there a lag in the information the tool is using, making it not quite up to date, or is it something else? Thanks much!
Moz Pro | | AdamThompson0 -
Can social results be downloaded in graph format?
Hi, I love the functionality of SEOmoz, although I wondered if I am able to download the social results in another form other than an excel spreadsheet? Thanks, Adam
Moz Pro | | adamgthorndike0 -
Do you have a plan that can comprises up to 70 campaingns?
I have a client that has between 60 and 70 websites. I has recommended to him the setup of at least one campaign per website. However, the bigger plan SEOmoz not covers up to 70 campaigns in a single account. What you recommend to do in this case?
Moz Pro | | Abril1 -
How come there are no links to my website according to SEOmoz Competive domain analysis, while in google webmaster i do see links.?
I dont see any links to at all when i do a Competitive Domain Analysis in SEOmoz. However i do see links in google webmaster tools. this strikes me as odd. Also when i use open site exployer my website dont seem te be found. In google im on page 9 on my focus keyword so i do think there are links to my site. I would like to know what i can do so i can analyse my links in seomoz Competitive domain analysis. Many thanks. url: http://www.sadpanda.nl
Moz Pro | | Aquive0 -
How fast can Domain Authority be established?
I am wondering how much time it takes to grow a new site's domain authority. More so, based on a consistent stream of links, syndication, and content, how fast can a website grow from 0-20, 21-40, 41-60, etc. in terms of domain authority?
Moz Pro | | NickEubanks0 -
Recent backlinks in Open Site Explorer as not showing
I saw the note today that the link index did it's monthly update, yet our site www.oznappies.com still only shows 1 linking root domain and I know there are many more links now. What do I need to do to get open Site Explorer to use the latest data? I enter our site, create the report and only see old information from 6 may 2011's link index. I have the same issue with competive link finder, links I know we have on the sites listed for our competitors are not showing for our site.
Moz Pro | | oznappies0