In a nutshell, link building is the process of acquiring hyperlinks from other websites that redirect users to your site. These links basically signal to search engines that your website is both trustworthy and relevant.
This can lead to higher rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs). For ecommerce sites, which rely heavily on visibility and organic traffic to generate revenue, building a strong link profile is especially important.
In this article, we’ll discuss the importance of link building for ecommerce sites. We’ll also talk about what makes a quality backlink, and discuss some of the best link-building strategies (including white hat and grey/black hat tactics for link building).
We’ll also explain how to maintain a natural and diverse link profile to avoid penalties from search engines. Let’s get started.
Key Takeaways:
- Backlinks are essential for ecommerce SEO, helping improve rankings and driving traffic to your site.
- Quality over quantity matters—focus on authoritative, relevant links from trusted sources.
- Maintaining a diverse and natural link profile is crucial to avoid penalties and boost long-term SEO results.
- White hat tactics like guest blogging and high-quality content are safer and effective, while grey/black hat tactics like PBNs carry higher risks.
Why Links Matter for Ecommerce Sites
Running an ecommerce site means you’re in the business of generating revenue through online sales. To do that effectively, you need to attract lots of visitors to your site. One of the best ways to achieve this is by improving your visibility in search engines like Google — and that’s where backlinks come in handy.
Backlinks are important because they essentially serve as endorsements from other websites. When a reputable site links to your ecommerce store, it tells search engines that your site is trustworthy and authoritative. This can help improve your rankings, which makes it a lot easier for potential customers to find you.
In fact, most users click on links on the first page of search results, so having high-quality backlinks is incredibly important and necessary when it comes to driving traffic to your website and increasing sales. Of course, you’ll want to make sure that you acquire the right types of links.
Quality matters more than quantity when it comes to backlinks. High-quality links can increase your site’s credibility and improve your chances of ranking well in search results. Let’s talk about what makes a quality backlink below.
What Makes a Quality Backlink?
The quality of a backlink is determined by three main factors: authority, power, and relevance. Let’s break it down below:
Authority
Authority refers to the strength of the backlink profile of the domain linking to your site. A backlink from an authoritative website (such as a well-known news outlet or industry leader) is much more valuable than a link from a lesser-known site.
Authority is often measured by metrics like Domain Authority (DA) or Domain Rating (DR). A high authority link can pass on a lot of trust and credibility to your site. Of course, it’s not always easy to earn backlinks from high-authority websites. You’ll need to be patient and consistent with your outreach, SEO, and ecommerce efforts.
Power
Power is similar to authority but it focuses on the specific page that contains your backlink. A powerful backlink comes from a page that itself has many quality backlinks. This page-level strength is typically measured by metrics like Page Authority (PA) or URL Rating (UR). A link from a powerful page can help boost your rankings more than you might think.
Relevance
Relevance is very important because it tells search engines what your site is about. A relevant backlink comes from a website or page that covers similar topics to your own website. If you can acquire a backlink that’s both authoritative and relevant, then that’s a major plus.
To give you an example, if you run an online store that sells outdoor gear, a valuable backlink from a popular blog that reviews camping equipment would be highly relevant. Relevant links not only help with SEO but can also drive more targeted traffic to your site.
How to Maintain a Natural Link Profile
Your link profile is the collection of all the backlinks that point to your ecommerce site. Search engines analyze this profile to determine whether your links were acquired naturally or through manipulative tactics.
A natural link profile is one that appears to be organic. Links will usually come from a variety of sources, use diverse anchor text, and will be fairly spread out over time. Let’s talk about how to maintain a natural link profile below:
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Link diversity
Diversity is super important when it comes to maintaining a natural link profile. You should make sure that you have links from different types of websites (blogs, news sites, forums, etc.), and use a mixture of different anchor texts (exact match, branded, generic, etc.).
You’ll also want to obtain links from different geographic locations. A diverse link profile shows search engines that your backlinks were earned naturally and not through manipulation. This means you’ll be able to avoid those dreaded penalties from search engines.
Anchor text diversity
As you may or may not know, anchor text is the clickable text in a hyperlink. Using a variety of anchor texts is important because it prevents your link profile from looking spammy or overly optimized. Make sure to mix exact match keywords with branded terms, generic phrases, and even URLs to create a more natural-looking profile.
Avoiding penalties
Search engines like Google are constantly updating their algorithms to detect and penalize unnatural link-building practices. If your website is found to have an unnatural link profile, it could be hit with a penalty.
This could, unfortunately, cause your search rankings to plummet. By focusing on quality and diversity, you can minimize the risk of penalties and make sure that your site remains in good standing with search engines.
Link Building Strategies for Ecommerce Sites
Now that you have an understanding of the importance of quality backlinks and how to maintain a natural link profile, let’s explore some effective link-building tactics for ecommerce sites (starting with the most popular white hat tactics):
Create high-quality content
One of the most effective ways to earn backlinks is by creating valuable content with relevant keywords that others want to link to (i.e. informative blog posts, in-depth guides, videos, or infographics). When you produce content that is engaging, relevant, and useful, other websites are more likely to link to it. For ecommerce sites, this could include product reviews or how-to guides, to give you a couple of examples.
Guest blogging
Guest blogging involves writing articles for relevant websites in your industry. In exchange, you typically get a backlink to your site. This is a great way to reach new audiences, establish your authority, and build high-quality backlinks. Just make sure the sites you’re writing guest posts on are reputable (and relevant to your niche, for that matter).
Outreach to influencers
Influencer marketing is another great strategy for building links. By collaborating with influencers in your industry, you can get your products or content featured on their websites or social media platforms.
Leverage customer reviews
You should also encourage your satisfied customers to leave reviews on popular review sites or blogs. These reviews often include backlinks to your online business. You can also reach out to bloggers or review sites and ask them to review your products.
Participate in industry forums
Join online forums and communities that are related to your industry. By actively participating in discussions, you can include links to your site where relevant. However, you should avoid spamming forums with links. You should instead focus on providing genuine value and building relationships.
Create shareable resources
Develop resources with internal links (like FAQs, how-to guides, or glossaries) that your target audience will find useful. These types of content are often linked to by other websites as references.
While white hat tactics are usually the safest route, some ecommerce sites may decide to explore grey/black hat tactics if they want to achieve faster results. These methods are a bit riskier, since they may violate search engine guidelines. That said, they can also be highly effective when done correctly.
PBN links (private blog networks)
PBNs are networks of websites created specifically to build backlinks to a "money site" (your ecommerce site). These sites are controlled by you and are used to create powerful, relevant backlinks. However, PBNs are against Google’s guidelines, and if detected, they can lead to penalties. This strategy should only be used by SEO experts who understand the risks involved.
Niche edits
Niche edits involve inserting your link into existing content on other websites. This is usually done by reaching out to site owners and offering to update their content with relevant links. Since the content is already indexed and may have existing backlinks, niche edits can be a fantastic way to improve your rankings.
Buying backlinks
Some ecommerce sites purchase backlinks from vendors who sell links from high-authority websites. While this can be an effective way to build links quickly, you’ll need to be cautious if you decide to go this route.
Buying links is against Google’s guidelines, and if you get caught, your site could be penalized. If you choose to buy links, make sure they come from reputable sources and blend naturally into your link profile.
Pillow links
Pillow links are low-impact links that help to diversify your link profile. Pillow links can include links from directories, social media profiles, and blog comments. While pillow links don’t provide much ranking power, they add credibility — which is always a plus.
Conclusion
Link building isn’t always easy, but it’s an essential part of SEO for ecommerce sites. For this reason, knowing how to use the right link-building strategies is necessary if you’re going to find success with your ecommerce website.
By acquiring high-quality backlinks from authoritative and relevant sources, you’ll be able to improve your website’s visibility, attract more visitors, and increase sales. Whether you choose to focus on white hat strategies, explore grey/black hat tactics, or a combination of both, just make sure to maintain a natural, diverse link profile.
Keep in mind, also, that building a successful link profile takes a lot of time and effort. If you’re looking to make your ecommerce site stand out and/or need help with link building, consider reaching out to a link building service like Reporter Outreach.
At Reporter Outreach, we connect businesses with journalists to secure valuable media coverage and build authoritative backlinks. We specialize in healthcare PR, SaaS, Tech, and Ecommerce link building. Book a Call with us today to learn more about how we can help your ecommerce website succeed!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
1. What is link building for ecommerce websites?
Link building is the process of acquiring backlinks from other websites that lead to your ecommerce site, improving visibility and rankings in search engines.
2. Why are backlinks important for ecommerce sites?
Backlinks help improve your site's credibility and authority in the eyes of search engines, boosting rankings and driving organic traffic.
3. What makes a quality backlink?
A quality backlink comes from an authoritative, powerful, and relevant website that provides value to your audience and is likely to pass on credibility to your site.
4. How do you maintain a natural link profile?
A natural link profile features diverse backlinks, varying anchor texts, and links from a range of sources and geographic locations, all acquired organically.
5. What is the difference between authority and power in backlinks?
Authority refers to the overall strength of the website linking to you, while power is the strength of the specific page containing your backlink.
6. What are the risks of unnatural link-building practices?
Unnatural link-building practices, like buying links or using PBNs, can result in search engine penalties, which may harm your rankings.
7. How can guest blogging help with link building?
Guest blogging allows you to write content for relevant websites in your industry, earning backlinks in exchange while reaching new audiences and boosting authority.
8. What is the role of anchor text in link building?
Anchor text is the clickable text in a hyperlink. Using diverse anchor texts helps maintain a natural-looking link profile and prevents penalties.
9. What are grey/black hat link-building tactics?
Grey/black hat tactics, like using PBNs or buying backlinks, aim to quickly build backlinks but can result in penalties if discovered by search engines.
10. How can I improve my ecommerce website’s link profile?
Focus on creating high-quality content, leveraging influencer marketing, participating in industry forums, and using white hat link-building tactics like outreach and guest blogging to earn quality backlinks.
