Every successful project begins with an understanding of what is being measured and how. When you begin, figure out first where you are going and how you will get there. Take a look at your own site’s inbound links and referrers to find out where you stand. You can use tools like Majestic SEO, Google Webmaster and Google Analytics to get the information you need. You are looking for the number of inbound links or “backlinks” and the quality of the websites that link to your site. The term “referrers” applies to websites that link to your site. What you may see is a conspicuous absence. What inbound links are missing?
Tip: If there are inbound links to any non-existent pages (404) of your site, make sure they are permanently redirected (301). With an established baseline, you are ready to move forward with a link building plan to include quality content, social media engagement, article marketing, guest blogging and a lot more.
Getting quality and relevant links is both a journey and a destination in itself. Whether you are entering new territory or taking a familiar path, opportunities may arise suddenly. In order to respond and build links quickly, have a plan worked out in advance.
- First decide who will blog, tweet, comment or email and record results
- Next, what software or other tools will be used
- If issues arise, who sorts them out
- What is the approval process for posting
- What is to be measured and how.
You’ll likely be counting a lot more than inbound links. For a full picture, you may also want traffic, rank, mentions, feed subscriptions and sales. Metrics are there to help you, but there may be multiple factors beyond your control that define success or failure. Analyzing results is more reliable than depending on luck!