Ready to find out more about backlinks for audiology services?
Google lists backlinks as one of the top three ranking factors, making them a crucial element in your SEO strategy. Links matter, but not all backlinks will have an equal effect on your SEO performance. While high-quality links can work magic on your SERPs, low-quality links can put your website in jeopardy of a Google penalization thanks to the recent Penguin update.
High-quality backlinks for audiology are the result of a well-thought-out link building strategy and can benefit your website in ways like:
- ensure high SERPs
- drive valuable traffic
- build brand awareness and trust
When devising a link building strategy for your audiology website, focus on two digital marketing directions: off-page search engine optimization and crowd-marketing. This five step plan will help you achieve both.
#1 Contextual Links from Health Blogs
The omnipresent “content is king” mantra is an integral part of this first step. Focusing on the quality of your content gives end users a good reason to post your articles, tips, how-tos and other pieces of content that include a contextual link to your audiology website on their health blogs.
Your content has to be meaningful and and provide a solution for people’s problems. When your content is published on an authoritative industry influencer’s blog, this signals to Google that your website is relevant and trustworthy. Building links through other influencer blogs is a great way to improve your website’s search engine results.
#2 Links from Local and Thematic Forums
Some SEO experts might say that building links through forum comments is dead, but there is no indication this theory is true. Using forum comments to link to your website not only helps your SEO strategy but also increases your audiology practice’s credibility and reputation. The only challenge is to make your comments look natural instead of promotional.
To avoid making your comments look like spam, choose five or six local and thematic forums with active audiences. Create new threads, like asking for advice to help you choose hearing aids or to describe your hearing problem symptoms. Then comment on this topic from different accounts until your discussion naturally becomes a “hot topic”. This will trigger other users to leave their comments on your thread and you can naturally add a couple of positive reviews featuring links to your audiology website.
#3 Links from Q&A Websites
Backlinks from websites such as Quora should also be considered as part of your link building strategy. The Q&A link building scenario will look similar to the approach you should use for forums. Start a discussion, support it, add links and create buzz around your brand. Again, avoid looking too promotional when leaving comments on Q&A sites.
#4 Links from Comments on Blogs and Social Networks
Not every audiology-focused blog is appropriate technique, but blogs with a community of active commenters that attract good web traffic are ideal candidates to target. Choose the most recent posts and try to be the first one to comment. Remember, your comments have to be meaningful, valuable and relevant to the article content, otherwise they have a very slim chance of seeing the light of day.
#5 Links from Review Sites and Directories
This step is probably the most important one. Websites like Yelp and Angie’s List are powerful sources for backlinks and reviews, which are always great for marketing purposes. Users care about reviews and these websites usually give them enough reason to trust a certain service provider or manufacturer. With the help of a review site, you are not only strengthening your audiology website backlink profile but also gaining the trust of current and future customers.
Dedicate some time to building your online profile. Make sure it looks visually appealing, professional and impressive. All the information you fill in has to be consistent and up-to-date so your potential clients see who you are, what you do and how to contact you. The way you treat your profile viewers tells them how much you care about your audiology clinic clients in real life.
Conclusion
Links matter. They help your audiology website rank higher and to gain a competitive edge, but gone are the days when links alone were enough to strengthen your search engine rankings. The new age of digital marketing encompasses a wide range of user activity, and websites need to consider moving parts like online review pages and user-generated forums. Your off-page optimization must be paired with a well-planned and link-focused marketing strategy to really make difference.