How to build links for online stores is a question that comes to mind for many digital store owners, as links or backlinks play a key role in the online store's appearance in search engine results and, consequently, reaching the largest number of customers.
If you're looking for tried and true methods for gaining external links for your online store, this article will introduce you to effective methods used by many successful online store owners.
1. Create a blog for your store
Most global online stores use this method, with a dedicated section for publishing articles related to the types of products the online store offers.
This is considered one of the most effective strategies for building backlinks, and over time, you'll find it to be a powerful source of links for your online store if implemented correctly.
Your store's blog should include strong, unique content that describes the products the store offers and provides useful information for visitors. This content could include articles, reviews, or comprehensive guides.
Success Factors for Your Store Blog
a) Writing Strong Content
By strong content, we mean articles that are unique, informative, and written in a distinctive style. This will encourage bloggers who write in related fields to link to your articles as references and sources of information.
You can write the content yourself if you have sufficient knowledge and are proficient in it. Otherwise, you will have to hire a freelance content writer to do the job for you.
b) Writing SEO-Friendly Content
Strong content is useless if it doesn't comply with search engine rules and standards. Therefore, you must write content that meets SEO standards to ensure your articles appear in the first results of search engines.
These rules include targeting the keywords your audience is searching for and using them strategically in your content, as well as paying attention to internal linking, optimizing links, images, and other practices.
As before, you can take on the task of optimizing your articles for search engines if you have sufficient experience or hire an SEO expert to do the job.
C) Writing on Trending Topics
Writing on topics that are popular and trending is an important factor for a blog's success in attracting links to your online store. Therefore, always search for trending keywords related to your field and write high-quality content about them.
2. Collaborating with Websites and Blogs
By this, we mean that other websites place backlinks pointing to your online store, whether they point to a product or an article on your site, in exchange for a certain benefit.
For the backlinks placed by these websites to your store to be beneficial and help it rank higher in search results, they must meet the following criteria:
A) Relevance
It is essential that the backlink pointing to your online store comes from a site relevant to the field or niche your store is targeting. Search engines, especially Google, prioritize relevance.
For example, if your online store sells smartphone accessories (headphones and charging cables), the backlink should come from a site relevant to that field.
b) Authority
The backlink to your online store must come from a site with significant authority in its field and must not be a new site or a site that Google doesn't value.
The higher the domain authority of the site referring to you, the more it will help your online store's authority in search engines, thus appearing in the first results.
The most difficult stage remains communicating with the owners of these sites and convincing them to link to your site. Most of them will only do so for a fee, but this doesn't preclude some possibilities:
Some bloggers and website owners may place a backlink to your online store without your intervention, simply because they admire your store or one of your products.
Some bloggers who target the same niche as you may place a link to an article from your website (as a source) thanks to the quality of the content.
Some website owners may agree to place a link to you in exchange for you writing one or more articles on their site, which is called guest blogging. You may be able to convince a website owner who shares your online store's niche to try one of their products, write a review, and include a link to the product.
3. Collaborate with Friendly Websites
By "friendly" websites, I mean online stores that sell products that complement your online store's offerings, but don't necessarily compete with them.
For example, if you sell battery-powered devices on your store, you should look for an online store that offers the best and most popular types of batteries. Contact the store owner and ask them about the possibility of placing links to your products on their website in exchange for placing links to their products on yours.
This strategy is highly successful, and many online store owners use it to gain backlinks, especially since it is based on mutual benefit, meaning the store owner is likely to accept your offer without any compensation.
This will not only lead to backlinks from sites related to your niche, but it will also increase your sales and reach a new segment of customers.
It would be best if you found an online store that is the same size as yours or close to it, with the ability to collaborate with several friendly sites at the same time.
4. Add your store to Resource Pages.
Resource Pages are websites that collect and categorize websites and e-commerce sites based on their specializations. Mentioning these lists to your online store is considered a backlink.
Everyone uses this method to get backlinks for their websites or online stores. It's an effective way to build links and increase your site's authority on various search engines.
Start searching for sites that collect these lists and tell them about your online store and the products it offers. This will help you attract new customers to your store, in addition to the first benefit.
5. Use Manufacturers and Suppliers
If you sell physical products online, you're likely dealing with multiple manufacturers or suppliers to source your online store's products. This is a point you can leverage to build a backlink to your store.
Manufacturers or suppliers often list their most prominent retailers by listing their online stores on the manufacturer's website.
If the source of your products is interested in listing retailers or customers on their online platforms, it's best to contact them and inquire about the possibility of adding a link to your online store.
6. Strengthen Your Social Media Presence
It's crucial to strengthen your presence on various social media platforms. Ensuring you have accounts that represent your brand, interact with your customers, and discuss current events in your field opens the door to reaching a large segment of interested people. This will increase your likelihood of obtaining backlinks, even if only by a small percentage.
In addition, simple things like audience engagement with your posts and sharing your links on social media are things that Google values and prioritizes when it comes to ranking at the top of search results.
7. Collaborate with Influencers
Find popular influencers in your niche and negotiate with them to mention one of your online store's products, whether on their blogs, YouTube channels, or social media accounts.
If you're lucky and someone likes your product, they won't charge anything for mentioning or recommending it.
In addition to the large number of customers you'll reach through influencers, this may help you reach another group of bloggers interested in your products.
8. Appear in Interviews and Podcasts Related to Your Industry
The last method on our list today doesn't involve adding any links. Instead, it involves appearing in interviews and podcasts related to your niche and talking about the benefits of your products and the problems they address without explicitly marketing your online store.
This method enhances your visibility to a large segment of people interested in your field, which means new customers. Additionally, you'll receive backlinks to your online store from podcast sites.
It also plays a significant role in increasing search engine searches for your brand and enhancing your website's authority.
Finally, building links for online stores isn't limited to the methods mentioned above. Keep searching and brainstorming, and you may find many more.
Remember that building links for online stores requires continuous work and intensive effort to achieve good and sustainable results. That's why we notice that many websites and online stores employ a dedicated team for this task.