Link building strategies: Business

Posted by Ken McGaffin on 12 August 2011

Business sites offer a wide range of linking opportunities. From simple directory listings, business advice, case studies, exhibitions, summits, conferences and other business events – all are good places to pick up links.

The thing I like most about getting links from business sites is that they come from normal business activities that you should be doing every day. With just a little extra effort these activities can be turned into quality inbound links.

We automatically create a set of ‘business strategy links’ in the Link Builder tool and I’ll take you through some of the opportunities this presents.

Look for local directory opportunities

CakeYourFancy for example got this listing in the Thames Valley Business Directory:



Events and Exhibitions

Business events will often list and link to attendees in order to promote their event, and they often lead to editorial opportunities from people who have attended the event.

Here’s an example from the San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival listing the websites of the companies who are exhibiting:

And here’s something many people don’t realize: “Running events can be an absolute nightmare for the organizers.”

If you can offer any help to make their lives easier they’ll be very grateful and will remember you - that of course is good for business but also leads to links.

So here’s what to do:

Be helpful to the organizers whenever you can.

• Always meet deadlines for submitting your details or company description for any publications. Organizers have to spend a lot of time chasing up essential information. Even better, respond as soon as you get a request – if you reply early, you’ll be remembered by the organizer.
• Most events encourage participants to submit press releases and company brochures for distribution – make sure you do so. Consider creating your own news story to release at the event.
• Look for good value sponsorship opportunities – even better if you can offer a ‘gift-in-kind’.
• Be prepared to talk to experts or journalists who are looking for people to interview and good stories to tell.
• Consider reporting on the event in your own blog and tweet about what is happening. At Wordtracker, we put a lot of effort into covering the exhibitions we attend and articles such as SMX London: 221 takeaways and top tips bring us lots of traffic and links.
• After the event, give honest testimonials. Let organizers know right away the benefits you gained from attending.

Join business associations

Business associations often link to their member’s websites as you can see from Napa Valley Vintners linking to their member websites as with the Ackerman Family Vineyards:

http://www.napavintners.com/wineries/all_wineries.asp

Strategic business partnerships

Such partnerships are probably essential business opportunities that you need to pursue – and you can get links while building your business. Here’s another page from Napa Valley Vintners that lists their strategic partners:

An essential message is that business association websites provide links not just to association members, but to other businesses that are relevant.

Business magazines need to have real case studies

So have you pitched your story or volunteered your experiences for an interview? Here’s an article about Godiva’s marketing effort to attract younger customers that gives them a nice editorial link.

Think how your products could be used as corporate gifts

Small Business Marketing Guru, John Jantsch writes this article on rewarding customer referrals with a simple gift of chocolates.

Could your products be used as corporate gifts? Well make sure you write content on your site telling people so.

Try Link Builder free for 7 days

So there really is a tool for link builders that will help you research and find social media prospects, plan your campaigns, and monitor targets.

It’s Wordtracker Link Builder. You can register now for a free 7 day trial