Boost SEO: Get Backlinks by Giving People What They Want

“It’s not about you” “It’s me”…. Well not in this case. When we talk about backlinks, outreach, or digital marketing in general it’s actually quite little about you…

It’s about your audience. But it’s about giving your audience what they want, not what you believe they want.

One of the most common things you probably hear is that you should create content that is valuable. But what does that actually mean? It’s very hard to do anything in digital marketing if you don’t know who your target audience is. 

So that is step 1. When you have established that, where do these people hang out online? Reddit is a gold mine when it comes to finding content ideas.  

Reddit is where you can find ideas for content and, most importantly, feelings

There is no doubt that AI will continue to affect SEO and, in many ways, AI can help you as a business owner massively.  

But one thing AI is not yet that good at is feelings. Finding people who have a lot of that on Reddit is easy. There are so many subredits, one I find interesting is the “Unpopularopinion” one.

You can also use AnswerThePublic or other niche-specific forums or social media groups to understand the most frequently asked questions. 

 But what about the part that actually connects? Well, it’s no longer enough to just write purely informational on your blog/knowledge base.

You’ve got to sprinkle some of “me” (I know what I said in the beginning…) but it is a little bit about you. 

If you want some inspiration: compile a list of 10 competitors that sell similar products or services. Then Google them and read their reviews.  

 People who write detailed reviews care. They will write about what matters to them. 

What they like and what they don’t like. This is all valuable information, and when you have looked into a bunch, you will probably see some patterns – what really engages people.

I am all about building bridges (and yes, I prefer bridges with plants on). One way you can do this is to reach out to influencers in your niche (or in crossover niches) that would genuinely benefit from your piece.

This is much easier if your content has a video or personal experience in it, i.e. something more than written content. 

In short: talk to people, network on Linkedin (another goldmine!). That will make your content reach more people and get you more credibility. And that will lead to more backlinks from authoritative sites.  

Of course, it’s very important that the people you want to reach out to are somewhat likely to enjoy your content. So it’s about them and giving them what they want in this aspect as well.

What do you want to achieve with your content? What intent do you want to meet? This step is about creating content that really satisfies a specific search need. What is your audience looking for and how can you meet their needs?

People search for different reasons; some want to learn new stuff, some want to find a specific website, others want to buy, and some are comparing products or services.

The intention behind each and every one of these searches is very different, and by knowing why they search, you can create content to match their needs.

In sales lingo: where are they in their sales journey? If you want to target people who are at the stage of comparing your service with a competitor, they will not find a “How to” guide helpful. 

They would want to see why they should choose YOUR company. They want to see case studies, get to know you on social media, read reviews from previous customers etc.

SEO has changed. You can no longer depend only on your website, you have to be smarter and more creative. People search everywhere. So it’s about understanding where your target audience likes to hang out. Is it Instagram? TikTok? Youtube? X?

You want to increase your content’s visibility by using social media platforms and guide them back to your website – with the goal of them contacting your company. 

Another option is to contact industry specific sites or manufacturers you have or companies you do business with (already established business relationships) and ask if you can contribute with some “expert insights” on their website or social media channels. 

This will not only boost engagement and shares, but it will also position you and your company as a trustworthy expert (and…. You will get some solid backlinks 🙂 )

Although I am all about feelings, when we’re talking about SEO, backlinks or digital marketing in general – we need data. That’s why you have to keep monitoring your backlinks and brand mentions and use tools like Ahrefs, Google Search Console and Semrush.

Tracking what content  gets the most backlinks and the most attention is live feedback! It allows you to make informed decisions so you can actually give people what they want – where they want it.

And fingers crossed there are some plants on the way 🙂