Link Building is not a new concept. It has been a staple of most SEO strategies in the past, but is it still relevant? The short answer? Yes.
High-quality link building has never been more critical than it is today. It is a significant factor in how Google ranks your website. Links are a signal to Google that your site is worthy of citation due to it being a quality resource. Websites that have more backlinks tend to rank higher on Google than those without links.
According to Google, “In general, webmasters can improve the rank of their sites by increasing the number of high-quality sites that link to their pages.”
Properly linking to your website will not only boost your domain authority, but it will also increase your ranking with Google.
Is There A Correct Way To Link?
Several factors contribute to your dealership’s page ranking higher with Google. One of those is correctly linking. What does this mean? First, you must have relevant, unique, high-quality content on your page. It must be SEO optimized. Choose links from reliable sources and watch your rankings soar. That’s because Google looks at the popularity of the links you choose to determine your ranking.
Internal links are another great way to leverage your link-building while increasing your website’s domain authority. Be sure you are linking to appropriate content that pertains to the topic of your blog post. For example, if your blog is about general maintenance, you can link to another internal blog post about how to change the oil in your vehicle.
It is essential to be intentional when applying links to the content that lives on your pages. What we mean by that is that you need to think about the word in which you apply the link. Is it relevant to the content that it is linked to? Does it include similar words? We call these words anchor text. Anchor text is a crucial part of any linking strategy. These words tell search engines that this content has authority – and therefore improves its ranking. Striving to find an “exact match” is ideal. For example, if we are building a page for a Honda Odyssey and discussing the vehicle’s safety rating, then we would want to include an exact match anchor text to the safety rating information from the OEM on the words “safety rating.”
We never recommend buying links as this can get your website banned from search results. This tactic is known as Black-hat SEO and is manipulative.
What Kind Of Content Should You Post?
When customers visit your blog, what do they want to see? They want to see helpful and informative content. For instance, someone that is shopping for a vehicle may want to know more about a specific model. Customers that have already purchased their vehicle may want to know how to change their oil or how to program their radio. Creating engaging, informative content for your readers will keep them returning to your blog. A popular blog will also cause other websites to link to your website, which will also increase your ranking.
In fact, editorial links are the most valuable and desired links because they’re voluntarily provided by sites that aren’t looking for anything in return. The essence of editorial links is this: your content has to be compelling before people are willing to link to it.
What Else Increases Rankings?
Google no longer cares about how many links you have on your page, but the quality of the links on your page. Linking to a small no-name blog will not increase your rankings as much as if you link to an OEM or big-name website.
We also recommend guest bloggers. When you invite a guest blogger from a popular website to your site, you get syndication from top-ranking blogs, which can boost your traffic.
Mix up the type of content you post. For instance, it’s great to have “how-to” or “product” pages but know your audience. Add entertaining pages, news-worthy pages, videos, and quizzes to keep them engaged with your blog. Infographics are a great way to inform your audience and bonus; you can link to your image!
Social Media Is Your Friend
It’s great to have a solid SEO strategy, but it is vital to couple it with a Social Media strategy. Using Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to boost your blogs can greatly increase your traffic and rankings. Most consumers have some form of social media and log on daily. It is a great way to reach your target audience.
Track Your Results
Linking to any resource won’t do you a bit of good if you don’t track its progress. We recommend using something like Webmaster Tools to keep track of your links and see how they are performing. It will also allow you to see if a link becomes broken so you can fix it.
Let’s Talk Strategy
At the end of the day, your dealership’s goal is to sell cars. You need web traffic to your site. Creating content on your website that is shareable, interesting, and informative will drive traffic to your website. We also recommend that you become an authority or influencer in your market. Linking is a vital component of any SEO strategy.
Dealer Authority is here to help when you don’t want to take on your dealership’s SEO or Social Media alone. Let us be the partner you need to take your strategy to the next level. Let’s talk about your dealership’s approach today.