8 Strategies To Build Ecommerce Backlinks

When building your online store, one of the biggest mistakes you can make is disregarding the importance of eCommerce backlinks.

What you need is a reliable backlink strategy for eCommerce platforms. Whether you customize a Magento search for easy accessibility or build SEO skyscrapers, there are many possible techniques.

Fortunately, we have eight critical pillars of backlinking stratagems ready for you to explore.

How Do Backlinks Work?

You get a backlink when a site outside of yours links to your site. Every time a website with a high DA (domain authority) backlinks to you, it boosts your website’s ranking. You can get backlinks from multiple sources, but remember that not all sites are equal. 

In fact, the latest link building stats reveal that 56.3% of people consider link quality and quantity to be influential factors in website position. When building a backlink strategy for eCommerce, remember that getting too many backlinks from sites with a low DA can undermine your site’s overall SEO and standing on SERPs. Preferably, you want as many backlinks, or incoming links, as possible from high-ranking websites. 

This process is understandably complex as 41% of corporate marketers claim that it’s the most difficult SEO tactic to implement.

Strategies in a Nutshell

There are a few main strategies to keep in mind when link-building for eCommerce sites. Here’s the cliff notes version:

1. Ensure that your site stays well-maintained and regularly check for broken links. Doing so will prevent you from losing backlinks due to problems with specific pages.
2. Build a variety of reference posts and resources that will be useful to your clientele and people who run other websites.
3. Use the skyscraper link building method for eCommerce sites to build on the success of your previous most-linked-to pages.
4. Run a regular link gap analysis to find out where the missing “bricks” are on your website. Filling important spaces offers valuable backlinking opportunities.
5. Employ article types that allow plenty of fodder for other sites to link to. Listicles, how-to guides, and articles about trending topics in your niche are particularly useful.
6. List your eCommerce site with business groups and associations. They’ll often link to your site, providing valuable backlinks.
7. Cross-link with your suppliers and business partners. It provides a solid backlinking base that you can build on.
8. Run a backlink checker regularly to help find websites that repeatedly link to your website.
   It will also point out other sites with the potential for expanding your eCommerce backlinks.
9. When backlinking, some of the easiest links for eCommerce are bought, not earned. However, buying backlinks can negatively affect your overall ranking on search engine listings.

Strategy 1: Repairing Broken Links

Many business owners focus on the various aspects of eCommerce link building and neglect the importance of general maintenance. One of the most important aspects of keeping backlinks and generating new ones is to guarantee that all the content on your website stays live.

Writers on other websites may link to your essential resources and foundation content. If the page they’ve chosen to link to is faulty, you can lose a backlink just as quickly as you can gain one.

According to UserP, 58.1% of people involved with SEO say that backlinks significantly affect their search engine ratings. Accordingly, every lost backlink has a significant impact on any website.

It’s essential to check that all the pages are in working order so that writers can easily link to existing content and recommend your products. Another aspect is that you must ensure your posts and pages function correctly. Check that search engines can find your pages so that you can get maximum exposure.

Strategy 2: Building an Arsenal of Resource Links

One of the best ways to build links for eCommerce is to create beneficial resources. When you provide the answers to people’s common questions, it puts you in the running for increased traffic. 

Increased traffic often leads to getting noticed by other business owners who have to answer similar questions for their clients. In some cases, the owner of an eCommerce business in your niche will prefer linking to your resource page over going through the effort of producing a similar asset.

For best results, make sure that your resource articles are:

• To the point
• Easy to read 
• Completely relevant

Backlinko states that only around 2.2% of content generates backlinks from multiple websites. That makes it vital to create content that people want to link to. 

You can use many tools to help you determine which resources are in demand. Some of these platforms include Keyword Surfer and Answer the Public. Both will help you find out which questions people are asking about your niche or a particular topic.

You can also use Google SERP (Search Engine Results Page) to your advantage. Searching for a particular topic on Google will give you a list of similar search terms to choose from. The search terms it offers are the most searched-for topics related to the phrase you entered. 

After searching, you can also check the bottom of the page for a list of related topics people look for.

Strategy 3 – Build a Skyscraper

The skyscraper technique is a highly successful strategy for building eCommerce backlinks and a well-structured website.

This technique was initially developed by Brian Dean, the founder of Backlinko. It focuses on taking content that’s already performing well and improving upon it by filling in gaps or adding relevant information.

Here’s the basic process:

1. Using the aforementioned Search Engine Results Pages, find out which of your content is performing best on search engines. 
2. Use a backlink checker or other tool to find the publishers and pages that have linked to your existing content.
3. Make a list or take a screenshot of the publishers and websites.
4. Find any flaws, missing information, or potential building blocks.
5. Revamp the content, fill in the missing pieces, and improve anything you can.
6. Create additional content that builds upon the content that is performing well.
7. Reach out to the publishers and websites linked to your original piece, telling them about the improved content and new, related posts.

The advantage of this strategy is that you’re building eCommerce backlinks with sources that already have an interest in the content you’re producing. 

According to Impact, 91% of internet pages never receive organic traffic from Google, mostly due to a shortage of backlinks. Building on pages that already rank well helps to improve both the number of backlinks and the organic traffic.

Strategy 4 – Run a Link Gap Analysis

Link gap analysis is a vital backlink strategy for eCommerce. This analysis tells you which sites link to your adversaries’ websites but not yours.

Since your competitors occupy the same niche as you, many of the sites that link to them will also be relevant to you.

You can use the analysis to do several things:

1. Compare your content to related posts from competing sites to see if your articles lack something that makes them less desirable. Using this approach leads to improved articles with fewer missing pieces.
2. Reach out to the websites linking to other sites in the same niche, and make them aware of your content. Also, find out if there was a particular reason that they chose to link to the competitor’s content.
3. Compare the domain authorities (DAs) of your site and the competitors in question. Other websites are more likely to connect to a page with a higher DA.

Strategy 5 – Employ Listicles and Similar Article Structures

The type of article you write can significantly affect the amount of interlinking that takes place.

Listicles, or list-form articles like this, tend to have the most significant opportunities for interlinking. Employing these article types improves the chances of getting more eCommerce backlinks.

Other articles that websites regularly link to include pieces that cover what something is or why you should use it. Infographics also offer plenty of linking opportunities. According to Backlinko, these article types receive around 25.8% more links than how-to posts or videos.

Strategy 6 – List Your Business With Associations and Networks

One of the most straightforward strategies in eCommerce link building is to list your companies with business associations and other networks. These sites are the modern version of the old-fashioned Rolodex. They make it easy for potential clients to find you.

Since most of these associations are web-based, they’ll also link to your website and create backlinks. Be careful to only list associations and groups that have good ratings. Listing with a network that has a low domain authority can negatively affect your site’s rating.

Link Doctor states that 79.1% of SEO pros believe that link building works best in conjunction with another form of marketing. This strategy combines both approaches.

Strategy 7 – Cross-link with Sister Companies and Suppliers

One of the most straightforward strategies for acquiring eCommerce backlinks is to link to the businesses you work with. 

You can often arrange with your suppliers to get listed as a distributor on their websites. Typically, you need to list them as a supplier on yours in return. This relationship benefits both companies and can significantly improve the number of backlinks, especially if you have many suppliers.

If you often work with other companies, you can also produce backlinks with them by using phrases like “Produced in collaboration with “company name.” Again, both of your websites get additional backlinks and improved traffic.

Strategy 8 – Run a Backlink Checker

Backlink checkers let you see which sites are backlinking to your competitors. They also allow you to check your sites for backlinking opportunities and existing backlinks that may not function correctly.

Using the checker as part of your backlink strategy helps you to discover possible problems and link potential. While it isn’t a strategy, it’s a valuable tool you can build a system around.

Neil Schaffer says that 30%of pages have three backlinks or less. Actively working on a backlink strategy, using tools like these, can improve your site’s general linking. 

Why are Backlinks Important?

Backlinks are vital because they’re one of the many ways that crawlers for search engines decide how high to rank your website. A site can have excellent content, but it’s unlikely to rank well if it has little traffic and no backlinks. 

Websites with plenty of backlinks from sites with low DA also won’t rank well. However, a website with a few incoming links from other high-ranking sites will have better overall SEO scores.

According to HubSpot, 51% of marketers report positive results within three months of implementing a link-building strategy.

Where to Buy Backlinks

It’s possible to buy eCommerce backlinks, and in some cases, it’s a viable strategy. Most importantly, it’s worth noting that buying backlinks is frowned upon by search engines. If you’re going to buy them nonetheless, you have to be smart about how you do it.

Instead of going to a website that specializes in producing backlinks, go directly to the source. Various blogs host “sponsored content” which is basically just a paid backlink. Going directly to the source gives you a valuable resource without making the top hats at a SERP feel like you’re cheating the system.

The best overall technique is to choose a website that links into your niche somehow and could link to you for a legitimate reason. It looks less suspicious to the algorithm than having backlinks from a site in an entirely unrelated niche.

Another way to buy backlinks is to pay for advertising on a platform like Google AdSense. Since the SERP host benefits from this arrangement, it won’t affect your ratings negatively. 

This article only covers some of the many ways you can acquire backlinks. Your eCommerce link-building strategy can be diverse and far-reaching if you’re creative about the way you produce content.

It comes down to one thing: creating content that’s useful and easy to digest, and other people will link to it. That’s the best strategy you’ll ever find.

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