How To Tell If A Link Is Valuable & Will Move The Needle For Your Ecommerce Business

When it comes to SEO for your e-commerce business, linking might not be the first thing that comes to mind. However, it’s not something that should be ignored. It’s also important to realize that not all links are created equal. There are many different types, and navigating what should be prioritized and what shouldn’t, can be tricky. So, let’s talk more about how you can tell if a link is actually valuable and will help with your e-commerce business’s rankings.

What Kind of Links Will Move The Needle?

First of all, it’s important to understand backlinks and the role they play in your rankings. A backlink (also called an inbound link) is when another website links to one of the web pages on your site. The number of backlinks you have and the quality of those links can really boost your rankings. There are many different types of backlinks and some are better than others. We’ll talk more about the significance and role of backlinks throughout this post.

So, now that we understand what a backlink actually is, it’s important to understand the role that anchor text plays in elevating your link building as well as what kind of links need to be implemented to drive the traffic and success you’re looking for. Let’s dive in.

Foundational Links: Standard Business Directories

While there isn’t an exact definition for what a foundational link is, we can gather information from the title of this link- a foundational link is one that a business would naturally have, such as a home page or LinkedIn page. One of these foundational links includes directory backlinks. Getting yourself listed on directories, such as Yellow Pages or Yelp, is a major ranking factor with search engines. Build and diversify your link profile with links to prominent, high-ranking sources and your site will begin to naturally rank higher. Other business directories that pack a significant punch include Made In The USA directories, Women In Business directories, Green Company directories, and other specialized directories and websites.

Industry Links: Links From Sites in Your Same Space

Acquiring links from websites that exist in the same niche as you are a fantastic way to expand on your link-building and accrue more credibility. As we mentioned earlier, these links provide a direct path for visitors on another site to access yours and are a great way to reach a wider audience. There are plenty of resources available for you to incorporate these industry links, including:

  • Blog Links/Guest Posts
  • Sponsored Posts
  • Forums
  • Facebook Groups
  • Pinterest Boards
  • Sub Reddits
  • Affiliates
  • Coupon Sites
  • Product Review Sites
  • Sponsorships

Competitive Links: Links Your Competitors Have, But You Don’t

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “keep your friends close and keep your enemies closer.” Keeping an eye on your top competitors can be extremely helpful in helping you to find fresh opportunities for backlinks that they have but you don’t. Conducting some competitive analysis and discovering missing links is a great way to see where your competitors stand and help you to create a better SEO strategy to help you get to the top. One thing I love about competitive links is that when you’re able to acquire them, you are now “in good company”. The search engines will start to associate your brand with the brands of top competitors and it adds a layer of credibility that you didn’t have before.

How Can You Determine If a Link is Valuable?

There are various factors that contribute to the value and validity of a link. So how do you know where your links fall? Let’s look at a few things that make a link more valuable.

Is the Website Indexed?

Essentially, indexing a website is the process of adding web pages from your site into Google search. In order for someone to see your website, Google has to find it, and indexing your website is a great way to expedite the process. If the website you are trying to get a link from is fully indexed, chances are, it’s a decent link. In order to see if a website is indexed, you can open Google and enter site:[website URL]. You will see a number of pages indexed and you can scroll through to make sure their pages are indexed. Here’s an example of what it looks like for Stryde. If you’d like more information about Google indexing, you can do so here.

What Is Their Domain Rank?

Domain rank, or domain authority, is what helps define a website’s relevance for a particular topic or industry. This reflects heavily on how your site is ranked by Google and other search engines. There are multiple factors that are considered when ranking a domain, such as the number of links pointing at the website and the quality of those links. You can use a tool like Ahrefs to get a good feel of what a website’s domain rank is. Obviously the higher the better.

Does The Website Get Traffic?

Lastly, if the website is ranking well for its target keywords and is generating traffic, it’s probably a great site to get a link from. You can check to see how many keywords a website is ranking for and traffic estimates using a tool like SEMRush.

– – – – – – – – – –

There are quite a few ways to use links as well as many different strategies and tools to help you. Hopefully, this post has put you on the right path. However, if this still seems complicated, and you’re looking for more help, set up a time to speak with our team. We’d love to help you more!

If you’d prefer to read more about this topic, check out these posts for other link-building tips:

Search

DOWNLOAD OUR GUIDES

RECENT POSTS

CONTENT TOPICS

SOLUTIONS

Join an E-commerce Newsletter Worth Reading

Subscribe to our twice-monthly, no-fluff newsletter packed with actionable insights to help grow your D2C brand!