Links and backlinks continue to be important for brands and their websites.
In terms of Search and SEO, links have long been part of the algorithm. A link is a great indication that someone finds the content being linked to as valuable. Typically educational or entertaining.
A link is usually an endorsement, referral and everything that goes along those lines.
Several years ago it was possible to kind of game the system in terms of search. People would build links just about anyway they could and for a short time it would boost their rankings on search engines. But over time the engines have figured out better ways to identify what content is best to serve their users and searchers.
And while there are a lot of indicators that your content and brand are worthy (mentions, authority, expertise, experience, etc.), links remain an important ingredient.
But what if you’re a new brand or a brand with a new blog? Can you still use that blog to build backlinks?
Here are a few ways you can do it…
Step 1. Patience
Somewhere around early 1995, Ty Herndon signed a record deal in Nashville. He went to meet with a producer the record company set him up with. They recorded a song called, What Mattered Most. The song was mixed and the label put it out into distribution to radio stations.
The radio stations loved the song and a record number of stations around the United States added it to their regular playlists. The song shot up the chart and reached number one within a couple months.
Ty Herndon seemed to be the definition fo an overnight success.
As somebody from the outside it’s easy to believe that to be the case. But when you dig a little deeper you realize that Ty had spent the entire decade of the 1980s in Nashville doing all kinds of stuff working on his craft and trying to get a record deal.
Then he went back home to Texas to work closer to home while still honing his career. He even won Texas Entertainer of the Year, which seemed to be the final straw for getting that record deal back in Nashville.
So Ty had at least 15 years of working full-time on his craft before that big hit. You could also include the work of his label, Epic, and their decades of building the operation that allowed for such a big hit to occur.
Blogging is very similar to the story of Ty Herndon. Just about everything worth doing in life is this kind of story. It’s easy to see the results of another blog and think that an overnight success is possible. But when you dig a little deeper you discover the years that go into building a success story.
Patience is key with a new blog. If you’re not willing to accept that fact then you’re not likely to see the results that make it all worth while. It’s better to keep doing what you’re doing and set the blog aside until you’re ready.
Step 2. Consistent Publishing Schedule
The first step to building backlinks with a new blog is to commit to a consistent publishing schedule. One post per week is a good start. Two per week is even better. Three or more per week is probably the goal you’re looking to hit.
Consistency builds habits. It also puts you and your team in a place to learn. Although when you’re first starting out in blogging I recommend putting less time into looking at engagement, traffic and feedback and focus that first year on just sticking with your schedule.
It’s similar to a workout routine. You’re better off just trying to perform the routine for a few months. You have to trust that the results will come. If you look for results early you’re likely to be frustrated and quit.
As you continue publishing blog content you’ll improve in your creation and that leads to great dividends down the road in terms of backlinks.
Step 3. Experiment, Go All In, Experiment
When you’re first starting out it’s good to look at blogs in your industry. See what they’re doing. See what content is getting the most engagement. Replicate that content. Try it all. Experiment with a variety of different posts.
Do that for a year. Then look and see what has been doing well. Then “go all in” on a couple of those types. Work with the formula of a couple types of posts for 80% of your content.
But leave about 10-20% of the content you publish from that point forward for continued experimentation.
You never know what type of content will “hit” in the future. So experiment with a variety of different ideas. When something hits, go all in again and repeat that pattern.
“Hits” would be posts that get a surge in traffic. That usually means a surge in backlinks also.
Step 4. Snippets & Repurposing
Social media is a great tool for reaching people. There is a lot of competition for attention, but the opportunity is there. It’s not easy, but it’s not bad.
The key with social media is creating content that the users on each platform want to consume. That means creating content meant to keep users on that platform and created in a way similar to the other content on the platform.
From your blog post, take about 3 sentences and add them on top of a photo. Publish that on Instagram. Take those same snippets and publish them on LinkedIn. Record a video of yourself reading the snippets and publish that on YouTube. Read your entire post and publish that as a blog post.
And so on.
This is creating snippets and repurposing your blog post into content that people can consume all across social media. This mostly builds awareness, but can also lead to all kinds of backlinks to your website homepage and to individual blog posts.
Step 5. Cold Calling
Not always cold calling in the traditional sense. Although it could work to call influencers in your industry to build relationships.
Let’s get back to that Ty Herndon case study. For decades, Epic records had a team of people making connections with radio stations. Probably the programmers that decided on the songs to play for listeners. That team likely made cold calls all the time and would pitch songs to those programmers. Maybe the first time they did this they were turned down. They might have gotten the person to listen on the 100th song.
By the time What Mattered Most came along they probably were able to send the song in the mail with a letter and the programmer, trusting Epic and its team, likely listened. They loved it. They added it. History was made.
It can be worthwhile to send your blog posts to influencers for them to read. The goal is for them to share your posts with their audience. It might not work the first 100 times. But do it consistently for years while providing better and better content and you can get to a place where influencers are sharing most of your posts.
Conclusion
Backlinks can come from direct work. But they usually come indirectly. They usually come when you least expect it. Especially for a new blog. The biggest thing here is patience. Even new blogs that seemingly get backlinks right away likely have someone behind them that has a decade of experience in the industry, likely with another blog.
The opportunity is there. It’s not easy. It doesn’t happen overnight. But that’s also an opportunity. Most will quit. The few that stick with it will see results.