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If youâve ever heard someone say âyou need backlinks to rankâ and quietly nodded while panicking inside, youâre in good company. Because same.
In this, Blogging Without the BS series, I provide no fluff explanation of common terms, strategies and concepts I explain to my clients as a marketer and blogger.
Let’s get started!
Disclaimer: This is my take as a marketer, someone who runs an agency and has freelanced for over 7 years. Iâve worked with 500+ clients and businesses and watched the direction of SEO shift, especially for small and solo-preneurs. I’ve also run this website for over 8 years. This isnât advice for a multi-million-dollar brand with an SEO team. Itâs for bloggers, creators, and small business owners like us.
What Is a Backlink?
A backlink is just a link from someone elseâs website to yours. Thatâs it. No mystery.
If another site links to one of your blog posts, Google sees that as a little vote of confidence. The more legit those votes, the more Google thinks your content is worth showing to others.
Why Do People Care So Much?
Because backlinks are a big part of how Google decides who gets seen. (or it used to be)
They tell Google:
- This page seems useful
- Other people are talking about it
- Maybe it should rank higher
But not all backlinks are created equal. A link from a major news site is a big deal. A link from your friendâs cat blog is still cute, but not quite the same.
Should I Go Get a Ton of Backlinks?
Nope! Please donât buy 100 for $5 off a sketchy site. Thatâs how you get penalized or buried in spam.
Instead, aim for:
- Helpful content people naturally want to reference
- Guest posts or collaborations with sites in your niche
- Being listed in roundups, interviews, or directories
The Best Backlink Strategy for Bloggers and Small Businesses
Good old-fashioned networking and pitching. As a human. Not an AI. Not a bot. Just a real person with something worth sharing.
If you hated spam emails before, you probably despise them now, especially with all the AI-generated junk flooding inboxes.
Traditionally this is done through offering a product in exchange for a mention.
Real Example: Product-Based Business
Letâs say you run a small business selling eco-friendly travel gear. Instead of cold-spamming people for backlinks, you would:
- Find travel bloggers who write gear reviews, especially smaller sites with real audiences
- Read their content and see whatâs missingâmaybe they donât mention sustainable options
- Send a short, personal pitch: âHey [Name], I loved your post on travel backpacks. I run a small eco-travel shop and thought you might want to check out our ultralight, plastic-free carry-on. Happy to send one if youâre ever updating your post.â
If they like it, they might mention you, link to your product, or feature you in a future post. Thatâs a natural backlink.
Real Example: Service-Based Business
If youâre a blogger, coach, freelancer, or run any kind of service-based or content-driven business though, your backlink strategy is different. Youâre not pitching products. Youâre building authority.
That means focusing on:
- Interviews
- Expert roundups
- Podcast guest spots
- Quote requests from journalists
- Sharing original insights on social media that others may reference or share
These arenât always backlink goldmines, but they can work when done right.
The Catch
It doesnât always go your way.
For example, I was recently featured in an interview for a Kiwi newspaper for my âtravel on a container shipâ articles âa nice little win. Except they didnât link to my website. Or even mention my articles.
Thatâs not helpful for SEO. Itâs also something thatâs usually out of your controlâoften a journalist or editorâs decision, and not something theyâll update just because you ask.
đ Here is the newspaper article if you want to read it by the way.Â
ESSENTIAL INFORMATION IF YOU FOUND THIS USEFUL
