“Links play an increasingly important role in internet marketing,” emphasises Sanjay Sauldie. In this part of his series of articles, the expert for strategic internet marketing in B2B explains what companies should consider when planning their link strategy and which links really have high search engine relevance.
One question I am asked very often is: How do I find good link partners in B2B? Well, ideally, you should find partners on the Internet who are themselves well linked. But that is not enough. Ideal are links from portals that have a good PageRank and also inherit it.
This is not trivial – because many portals do not inherit their good standing on the internet – and your effort to register there and make an effort to do so will go to waste. Unfortunately, third-party agencies like to charge you for this as an effort, then also show the entries in the portals – unfortunately, many of these portals do not benefit your own optimisation!
Only when a portal passes on its PageRank do you benefit from it – it is only one of many criteria – nevertheless, you should pay attention to where you let yourself be linked. Thus, when planning your link strategy through an entry in a portal, you should pay attention to which PageRank (PR) this directory has and whether it is inherited.
Link partner must fit thematically
The higher the PR of the page from which you get a link, the more valuable the link is for you. However, links with low or no PR at all are also important, as the search engines value a balanced ratio of portals positively. When looking for a suitable link partner, always pay attention to the thematic relevance of the desired portal – so don’t just pick any portals, but portals that really suit you.
- Which portals award a good link?
There are many portals on the Internet. However, many of them are not updated at all and thus lose importance with Google and Co. Therefore, the search for a suitable link partner turns into a tedious and time-consuming task. In addition, a portal often requires the manual setting of a link, and this creates an effort that should not be underestimated.
Make absolutely sure that the portal is maintained up to date and that the content suits you. This is really very important, otherwise you will not profit from it! You can find out which portals you are already linked to in our free online tool by clicking here.
- Backlink or not?
Some portals expect you to link to the portal so that the portal itself can grow. Unfortunately, since a change by Google in May 2010, this no longer makes sense, because a website A linking to a website B and a website B linking to a website A are considered circular links and are not even considered by Google, or very little.
The best form of linking is when a website A links to a website B, the website B links to a website C, and then the website C links to the website A. Be sure to keep this in mind when you link your own partner sites or branches to each other. Just 2 weeks ago I helped a B2B company get a handle on links and suddenly search engine visibility was guaranteed!
- Linking but with whom?
A comprehensive compilation of portals and directories can be found here and here. Just find the right link partner and get started! Of course, you can also employ external agencies – but you should definitely check them. I would also be happy to recommend someone from my partner network www.ileadership.de who specialises in linking in the B2B sector. Good luck!
Last updated on 7. February 2023
