Have you ever wondered how search engines rank websites and why domain authority and back-linking are so important?
Greetings. My name is Barrie Jarrett, the CEO of Planet Sport, a sports content company with a global reach of 20 million monthly unique users. We didn’t fluke our way to those numbers, nor were they achieved by the swish of a magic wand. It takes time and effort.
Below, I share some valuable lessons, tips, tricks, and insights I picked up on my Planet Sport journey.
From experience, I can vouch for these tips. However, while they do work, it is important to stress that they are not silver bullets for poor performing sites. The advice proffered here is best used to augment your other tried and tested strategies.
Why Domain Authority is important
I’m sure you have heard of global credit rating agencies Moody’s, Standard and Poor’s (S&P) and Fitch Ratings. Now, think of Domain Authority (DA) as the equivalent for metrics ranking websites’ search engine performances.
DA is a good predictor of a website’s performance in search engine results pages (SERPs). Established by Moz, Domain Authority is measured on a scale from 1 to 100. The higher the score the greater the prospects for ranking.
Just as governments employ strategies to improve their economies’ credit rating scores, so should website owners look for ways to boost their websites’ DA ratings. For this reason, in my book, a keen grasp of the importance of Domain Authority should be considered one of the co-competencies for running websites.
Piggybacking on major sites
A website’s DA is determined by a range of factors; the age of the site, the quality of the content, the number of backlinks to the site, etc.
So, how can you raise your site’s DA score to boost its position in SERPs?
One way is to create a profile on a popular website that has considerable clout in its field. This is great for local SEO. Riding on the coattails of an authoritative website increases your site’s credibility in Google’s eyes and makes it easier for visitors to find your website.
“How do I find popular and authoritative websites to link to my site?” you ask.
Here are a few tips before I share some top-ranking domains: Firstly, use a backlink analysis tool like Ahrefs, Moz, or SEMrush to find out which sites are referring to your competitors’ pages. Getting a link from one of these sites can boost your credibility and visitor numbers because they likely cater to a similar demographic. However, not all backlinks are created equal. Linking to low-quality sites or spam sources can actually lower your DA score. So let Moz do the vetting for you by checking the domain authority before creating any links.
Simply visit Moz and in the main header menu select ‘Free SEO Tools’. Then Select ‘Domain Analysis’.
The site and the content you are linking must be relevant. With generic sites like Social and Directories it’s a good opportunity to link back your contact page, services and ‘About Us’.
Secondly, research online directories and websites that cater to your niche and list companies and resources contained therein. A backlink from one of these sites can increase your site’s credibility and relevance. However, be careful of directories that charge fees to submit your site, as this may violate Google’s policies.
Thirdly, reach out to leading publications in your field and offer to contribute content. Having content from your site featured on these sites can increase traffic and link authority. The content you submit must be relevant to the publication’s target audience.
Fourthly, network with prominent figures in your field of expertise. They may be willing to promote your site by sharing your articles or linking to them. When exploring potential synergies, it’s important to highlight the value you bring to the relationship, rather than simply appear to be begging for backlinks.
It’s worth noting that disavowing poor-quality URLs within Google Console is becoming obsolete as Google can work things out on its own these days. However, it’s still advisable to use tools like Screaming Frog SEO and/or SEMrush to track and manage low-quality links to your website.
Beware linking overkill
Another important issue to consider is “domain tumours” – heavily linking to one page. While it may seem like a good strategy to focus on building links to a single page to improve its ranking, it can actually harm your website’s overall DA score.
This is because search engines evaluate the overall link profile of a site, and an excessive concentration of links to one page can be seen as an attempt to manipulate search results.
To avoid this, it’s essential to diversify your link-building strategy and ensure that links are distributed evenly across your website.
When all is said and done, improving your website’s DA score takes time and effort. By focusing on building high-quality links from authoritative websites, creating valuable content, and networking with influential figures in your industry, you can improve your website’s ranking skills and increase its visibility in SERPs.
Best resources for gaining backlinks
Youcan’t go wrong with these; Google My Business, YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Reddit, Vimeo, Tumblr, Instagram, Disqus, SlideShare, Yelp, Trust Pilot, Dailymotion, Soundcloud, Behance, and Diigo.
The establishment of a Google My Business profile is critical for local SEO consultancy since it gives a link from Google.
Having a YouTube channel is also a winning idea because it allows you to include up to five hyperlinks on the channel page.
LinkedIn is a common platform for businesspeople to connect and promote their online presence through inbound links. Both Twitter and Facebook have solid user bases and provide simple methods for businesses to build profiles and generate inbound links.
If you want to increase traffic to your primary site while also promoting your other sites, then Pinterest is where you need to be.
- 1. Google My Business
(DA 100) If you are doing local client SEO consulting, every business should be setting up their Google My Business page. What better way to get a link than from Google themselves. Make sure you fill out all of the information perfectly.
- 2. YouTube
(DA 100) Being owned by Google, creating a YouTube channel not only allows you to put 1 back link on there, but up to 5 on the channel page. This is great to link to your website as well as other social media sites, such as the ones listed in this post.
- 3. LinkedIn
(DA 100) The most popular website for networking and meeting other business minded individuals; it’s no surprise that this one is a domain authority 100 website. Millions of people use this seed site to not only meet others, but to link out to their own websites.
- 4. Twitter
(DA 100) Another massively popular website and one of the most trusted platforms you will come across. Creating a profile is super easy, and so is putting a link on here too.
- 5. Facebook
(DA 100) A behemoth of a site, one of the most trusted and most used in the world. So it’s imperative that your main site gets a link from Facebook. Whenever a business starts out, they always build a Facebook page and so should you.
- 6. Pinterest
(DA 100) Another powerhouse and continues to grow in stature among social media sites. When you create your profile, you can put your link back to your main site, as well as getting it verified too. Make sure to pin your other sites as well.
- 7. Reddit
(DA 99) One the most popular social bookmarking sites, Reddit gives you the ability to create a free profile account. The thing here is to create a bookmark of your main site; getting you a back link from a high DA website is worth the effort.
- 8. Vimeo
(DA 98) One of the most popular video sharing websites in the world just behind YouTube, Vimeo is great because they allow you to add a ton of back links to your profile. Not only do you want to link to your main site, make sure to add all of your other profiles too.
- 9. Tumblr
(DA 98) Some might call this a Web 2.0, but there is no question that Tumblr is a powerhouse. Create a profile, and start adding links out to your other profiles. This gives you a huge social stack from a major website (Being owned by Yahoo is just an added bonus).
- 10. Instagram
(DA 97) Now owned by Facebook, Instagram is the main app you have on your smart phone that helps you add filters to your photos and make them look amazing. At a DA of 97, create a profile on your phone, and make sure to add your back link on the website.
- 11. TikTok
(DA 94) – TikTok is a social media app that allows users to create and share short videos with their followers. The app features a wide range of filters, effects, and music tracks to help users create engaging and entertaining content. TikTok’s algorithm is known for its ability to quickly surface popular and trending videos, making it a powerful platform for viral content. With its focus on short-form video, TikTok has become hugely popular among younger generations and has even spawned its own subculture of creators and influencers.
Other domains to link to Disqus (DA 97); SlideShare (DA 95); Yelp (DA 94, Dailymotion (DA 94); Soundcloud (DA 93); Behance (DA 92);Diigo (DA 92); Scribd (DA 92; DeviantArt (DA 92); About.me (DA 90); Moz (DA 88); Iconosquare (DA 86); Crunchbase (DA 86); Scoop.it (DA 86); Instapaper (DA 85); Wattpad (DA 79); Envato (DA 78); Rebelmouse (DA 75); Aboutus.org (DA 72); Authorstream; (DA 72); Pearltrees (DA 71).
NB: While you’re back linking with these sites, you shouldn’t send every link back to your own site’s homepage.
Links such as “about us,” “contact us,” “often asked questions,” “services,” etc. should go to internal pages.
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