You’ve built a website and you’re damned proud of it. You’ve got a great product to sell or you have great content you’re just dying to share with the world, but there’s just one problem: you’re getting no traffic.

The simple truth of it is, no matter how good a product or a website or content is if people don’t know it’s there then they won’t be able to see it. The solution? Well, the solution is just as simple as the problem: you have to get people to see it.

First of all, I’m no expert in this field. My knowledge of the subject has picked up mainly building this website and trying to drive traffic towards it myself. There is something of a learning curve to this practice and I’m picking up new and exciting methods each and every day. I can only speak from experience when I say the main method I consider to be the backbone of the solution and has brought me the most results are backlinks.

What are Backlinks?

Backlinks are basically links from external website’s which link back to your website (or a particular blog post or webpage for that matter). The idea is to target the more popular websites which have a high yield of traffic and then divert that traffic to your website.

Don’t worry, It’s not as sinister or as devious as it sounds.

Why are Backlinks so Important?

Backlinks are important because they are a contributing factor for search engines such as Google, Bing and Ask to pick up and document websites. Simply put, backlinks are the fuel for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).

Backlinks are one of number of methods search engines use to determine the page rank i.e. order within the list of websites in a given search. The higher the page rank, the more traffic you will yield.

Think of this: when you’re searching for something using a search engine, how many times do you click the top link first? 70% of the time? 80%? More? The aim of the game is to get your link to the top of the list.

In that regard, the relevance of the backlink is also important. The more relevant the backlink to the topic of your own website, the better the search engine will most likely rank you and when searched the more likely somebody will click your link.

Also, when done right the simple act of leaving a relevant and useful link back to your website can generate a lot of traffic in its own right. The truth is, getting ranked in search engines takes time: it’s not an overnight occurrence despite what some may tell you. Backlinks can form the foundation of your traffic whilst your website is still in the process of being ranked.

Looking Forward…

In my next few posts I’ll go through the varied and best forms of backlinking and how best to approach the practice. In the mean time, if you have any further questions for me don’t hesitate to contact me on our contact page or indeed in the comments section below.

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