Ecommerce Link Building: How to Build Links for Websites that Work

When it comes to ecommerce link building, the process can be more challenging compared to traditional link building strategies used for other websites. The biggest hurdle for an ecommerce brand is that it’s difficult to get website owners to link to product pages, as these pages are often seen as overly commercial. Many ecommerce site owners struggle to attract relevant links because their pages are focused on selling rather than providing informative content.

However, effective ecommerce link building strategies exist, and with the right approach, ecommerce websites can improve their search engine rankings, generate quality backlinks, and drive more traffic. By implementing link building tactics that focus on high quality links, natural backlinks, and relevant backlinks, ecommerce brands can secure valuable backlinks that boost their ecommerce site’s visibility in search engines like Google Search and other search engines.

Introduction to E-commerce Link Building

In the competitive world of e-commerce, building a strong online presence is crucial for success. One of the most effective ways to achieve this is through e-commerce link building. This process involves acquiring high-quality backlinks from other websites to your e-commerce site, which can significantly boost your search engine rankings and drive more traffic to your store. In this article, we will explore various e-commerce link building strategies that can help you improve your search engine performance and grow your business.

What is E-commerce Link Building?

E-commerce link building is the process of acquiring high-quality backlinks from other websites to your e-commerce site. The primary goal of e-commerce link building is to increase your store’s ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs) and drive more traffic to your website. Each backlink is like a vote of confidence, suggesting to search engines like Google that another site vouches for you. A collection of backlinks makes up your “backlink profile,” and the stronger your backlink profile, the better your search performance.

E-commerce Link Building Challenges

E-commerce link building comes with several challenges. The competition in the market is huge, which can be attributed to low entry barriers. It’s much easier to set up an online shop than a regular brick-and-mortar one. The sector is particularly challenging for newcomers as they need to compete against retail giants like Amazon or Wayfair. E-commerce sites, especially those with extensive product catalogs, face unique challenges due to the sheer number of pages they have to manage and optimize. A short product lifecycle can be a limiter too, as product ranges can change frequently and products can become obsolete.

Conventional Link Building Strategies for E-commerce

Even though ecommerce link building has its unique challenges, several traditional link building strategies can still work effectively for ecommerce stores. These methods focus on securing links from relevant websites, enhancing organic traffic, and improving SEO rankings.

Blogging and Content Creation

A strong content strategy is essential for ecommerce link building, and it is crucial to create content that attracts links from relevant sites. Creating content that is engaging and valuable can significantly enhance the likelihood of earning backlinks. Many ecommerce sites focus solely on selling, but those that write blog posts and publish high-quality content are more likely to attract links from relevant sites.

Creating how-to guides, product tutorials, and industry-specific blog posts makes it easier to secure links from other websites that see your content as valuable.

By developing link-worthy content, such as in-depth product comparisons, seasonal buying guides, or expert reviews, an ecommerce store can increase the chances of earning inbound links from relevant resource pages. This approach also improves search engine rankings by demonstrating expertise, authority, and trustworthiness.

Guest Posting on Relevant Websites

Guest posting is another effective method for ecommerce link building. By contributing high quality content to industry-specific directories, relevant websites, and business blogs, ecommerce businesses can build links back to their own website. When writing guest posts, it’s crucial to avoid links from spammy sites and instead focus on relevant links from authoritative sources.

Guest posting can also be combined with unlinked brand mentions, where ecommerce brands reach out to sites that have mentioned them but haven’t included a link. Requesting a natural backlink in these cases is a great way to secure links without having to create new content.

Internal Linking Strategy

Many ecommerce sites focus only on external link building efforts, but internal links are just as important. An effective internal linking strategy can distribute link equity throughout the site and improve the rankings of important category pages and product pages. By adding internal links from existing blog posts to product pages, an ecommerce website can ensure that search engines understand the relevance of those pages.

Creative Strategies for E-commerce Link Building

Beyond conventional link building tactics, ecommerce store owners can adopt creative approaches to build links and increase their ecommerce site’s visibility.

Product Reviews and Influencer Outreach

Reaching out to bloggers, YouTubers, and social media influencers for product reviews is a powerful link building strategy. By offering free samples, ecommerce businesses can encourage influencers to create high quality content that includes inbound links to the online store.

When selecting influencers, domain authority and audience relevance should be considered. Links from relevant sites with high domain authority contribute more to SEO rankings than links from low-quality or spammy sites.

Online Business Directories and Affiliate Programs

Submitting to online business directories and industry-specific directories is another great way to earn relevant backlinks. Many ecommerce brands overlook this method, but being listed in the right directories improves both SEO rankings and visibility in local search results.

Additionally, launching an affiliate program can incentivize bloggers and content creators to promote ecommerce products and generate quality backlinks. Affiliates naturally link to the ecommerce website as part of their promotions, creating an ongoing source of more inbound links.

Broken Link Building

A highly effective yet underutilized link building strategy for ecommerce link building is broken link building, which involves identifying broken links on other websites and suggesting replacements to the website owner. By using Google Search, Ahrefs, or Moz, ecommerce businesses can locate broken links related to their products and offer their own pages as a relevant resource page.

This strategy not only helps secure links but also positions the ecommerce store as a helpful resource in its industry.

Leveraging Social Media Links

While social media links don’t directly impact search engine rankings, they play an important role in ecommerce link building efforts. Sharing high quality content on social media platforms increases engagement and encourages relevant websites to link back. This indirect approach helps build links by driving organic traffic and increasing brand awareness.

Leveraging Digital PR and Outreach

Digital PR and outreach are essential components of e-commerce link building. By leveraging digital PR, you can create newsworthy PR campaigns that attract backlinks and drive more traffic. You can reach out to journalists, bloggers, and other prospects in your industry to get featured in their content. This can help increase brand awareness and drive more sales. Additionally, you can use blogger outreach to create collection pages for bloggers, providing value and attracting backlinks.

Identifying and Optimizing Link Building Opportunities

Identifying and optimizing link building opportunities is crucial to the success of your e-commerce link building strategy. By finding the right opportunities, you can ensure that your link building efforts are effective and drive more traffic to your website.

Identifying Link Building Opportunities

Identifying link building opportunities is crucial to the success of your e-commerce link building strategy. You can use tools like Semrush’s Backlink Analytics tool to find broken, lost, and working competitor links. You can also use Google to find relevant resource pages and search terms like “resource pages” or “roundup pages.” Additionally, you can search for your brand name to find unlinked brand mentions and reach out to webmasters to earn more links. By identifying these opportunities, you can optimize your link building efforts and drive more traffic to your website.

Enhancing E-commerce SEO with Link Building

To maximize the benefits of ecommerce link building, businesses should integrate their link building campaign with broader SEO strategies to improve search engine ranking. Optimizing category pages, using relevant keywords, and improving page speed all contribute to higher SEO rankings and make ecommerce sites more attractive for link acquisition.

By consistently applying link building tactics, an ecommerce business can establish itself as an industry leader, attract relevant links, and improve its visibility in search engine results pages.

Final Thoughts: Sustainable Link Building for E-commerce

Ecommerce link building requires patience and persistence, but the long-term rewards make it worth the effort. Whether through guest posting, broken link building, or content creation, ecommerce sites can gradually accumulate quality links that boost their authority.

By adopting a mix of traditional and creative link building tactics, ecommerce businesses can secure links from relevant resource pages, enhance organic traffic, and improve their overall SEO rankings. In the competitive world of eCommerce, mastering ecommerce link building strategies is essential for success.