Maslow’s Hierarchy of SEO Needs
In our previous blog post SEO Pyramid Strategy for Small Business – Part 1 & Part 2, we discussed getting the SEO basics right, and the importance of good keyword research. In this article, we’ll discuss the third part of Maslow’s Hierarchy of SEO needs.
You’ve put in the hard yards. Your site architecture is solid, all your title tags and meta descriptions are done correctly. Tags like H1, H2 and H3 are used correctly. You have an XML sitemap. Your keyword research is on point and created solid, engaging content that is relevant to your users.
You are doing all of the seo things – you fantastic creature, you!
Or are you?
Almost.
In this post we’re going to show you how to bring it all together – and how to make it work for you. We’ll focus on link building and how to get more links from other websites.
What is Link Building?
Link building is an incredibly important component in seo pyramid strategy. Also referred to as “off-page seo“, it means acquiring a hyperlink from different websites to your own. These links help users navigate the internet.
Acquiring backlinks that you didn’t ask for means you’re doing really well. It means that people are sitting up and taking notice.
They see you.
And because they like what you are producing so much, that they want to share it with their users.
It’s worth noting, that along with organic search, link building doesn’t happen overnight.
It is a process and it takes time and work.
Why is Link Building Important in Maslow’s Hierarchy of SEO Needs?
The primary reason link building is important in seo strategy is it helps search engines decide which pages should rank higher. This is in terms of SERPs or Search Engine Results Pages.
Link Building Basics
In terms of seo best practices, buying links is sleazy and can lead to your site being penalized by Google. just Don’t do it. Also, sites who engage in selling links are seen as being low quality. You want quality links from sites with a good Domain Rating
What is Website Authority?
Website authority is an seo metric relating to the strength of the sites authority.
Ahrefs website authority checker, is a free tool that scores a site between 0 and 100.
The higher the score, the more authoritative the site is.The only way to improve your website’s Domain Rating is by getting more backlinks to your site.
Not All Links Have The Same Value
You want relevant links from sites with a good domain rating. What we mean by this is, a link from Forbes or Stanford carries a lot more authority than a link from the local plumbers website that hasn’t been updated since 2003.
It needs to be relevant. If your site content deals with spare parts for Mustangs, a link from an Ice Cream parlor just isn’t going to cut it.
Follow vs Nofollow Links
When you ask for backlinks, ask for a link with the ‘follow’ attribute, as this passes value to your site. ‘Links with a ‘nofollow’ attribute have no value, according to Google.
Link Authority Metrics
- More links are better
- Relevant site links are preferable to links from irrelevant sites
- Higher authority site links are better than links from sites with a low authority
- Links that appear in a site’s body text are preferable to site-wide links. These are links that appear in the page footer.
- One link from many different sites is way better than many links from 1 other website.
How Do You Get More Links from Other Websites?
There are several ways in which to build backlinks. These include:
- Guest blogging
- Social media promotion
- Competitor Back-links
- Manual outreach
Manual outreach involves time and effort and can easily be outsourced to a virtual secretary service.
These are links that can be added to a press release or on a guest post. You can also create high-quality pieces of content or infographics to attract links from websites in a similar niche.
Link Building Makes Sense for Small Businesses
Link building is an important part of Maslow’s Hierarchy Of SEO Needs and is worth paying attention to, especially if you’re a small business.
You may not have the budget for a huge paid advertising campaign, where bids on high competition keywords can make your eyes water. But having the basics in place and link building diligently, you can increase your website traffic and improve your ranking in search engines. It’s a great way to improve your website’s visibility and organic search results. By following these tips, you can steadily improve your Domain Authority and rank for the keywords you’ve identified.
Is Link Building really Worth Your Time?
Yes.
According to Hubspot’s marketing statistics, organic seo is 5 times more efficient than paid advertising. Which is a relief if you don’t have a massive budget. And, websites with an active blog generate 67% more leads – which leads 55% of marketers making blog content creation their top priority. Because, over time, if you’re producing quality content that is relevant and engaging, it will attract backlinks from other sites.
Busy Doesn’t Mean Productive
We know you’re busy. And possibly feeling overwhelmed with all the different areas in your business that need attention. The thing is, while there are many different areas that require attention, not all of them require YOUR attention.
The trick is to identify the core areas of your business that requires your focus, that only you can do – and to outsource the rest.
Outsourcing Frees Up Your Time
Many entrepreneurs struggle with this. You get so used to having to do everything yourself that it sometimes feels difficult to let go and entrust parts of your business to someone else. But the fact is, you didn’t start your business for it to stay where it is. You started your business so that it can flourish and grow.
Outsourcing can be a time-saving strategy for small businesses. By outsourcing certain tasks to a skilled virtual assistant, you can free up your time to focus on more important aspects of your business. This can help you increase productivity and grow your business faster.
If you’re ready to take your business to the next level, Book a Discovery Call today. Let’s chat around your vision and your needs and help you make it happen.
