Link Building for eCommerce Websites: Build Authority Today
eCommerce link building is an important part of a website, as well as improving online visibility.Just like images and text, backlinks tell Google how popular you are and how high you deserve to rank.
Therefore, you need to learn how to do link building properly, and how to keep it going over the long term.
In this blog, we'll breakdown the importance of eCommerce link building and provide you with practical strategies to help you build quality backlinks. We'll cover:
- What eCommerce link building is and why it matters
- Why link building is crucial for SEO and online visibility
- 10 actionable link building strategies for eCommerce websites
What is eCommerce Link Building?
Link building is when you look for ways to get people to link to you from their site. There are many ways you can do that.- Blog Posts – informative, high-quality blog posts will commonly get links, especially if they include never-seen-before stats or something similar.
- Link Bait – link bait sometimes gets a bad rap for being thin content designed solely to get clicks. But link bait is actually anything that’s so good that people can’t resist linking to it. This could be cool web tools, infographics, amusing content, quizzes, and more.
- Sponsoring Events – this one obviously requires some budget to pay for it. But done right, you could give your local SEO a big boost. Find events in your area that you can sponsor and plaster your website link all over it. Offer a sponsorship to get a valuable .edu backlink.
- Brand Partnerships – find similar brands in your niche and reach out to ask about collaborating. You would then get a link back from your new partner.
- Launch press releases – if you have a major event, send a press release to publications. However, journalists get a lot of press releases every day, so your topic has to be very noteworthy.
If done correctly, though, link-building outreach can radically improve your SEO optimisation strategy.
Why is Link Building for eCommerce Websites Important?
Backlinks are an important cornerstone of your site because good links will increase your ‘domain authority’. Good links act as a vote of confidence in you, and Google notices that.
Not all backlinks are good, though. Links by low-quality spam websites can drag your site ranking down with them. These are called ‘toxic links’ and should be disavowed.
The golden rule of obtaining backlinks, though, is to never buy links. They will be low-quality ones that Google will penalise you for. It simply isn’t worth it.
10 eCommerce Link Building Strategies
Here is your ten-step guide to link-building strategies for eCommerce.
1. Write Informational Blog Posts
This is a great way to kickstart your link-building strategy.Just make sure to use proper SEO for an eCommerce Blog. Stuff like schema markup for eCommerce and proper off-page, technical, and on-page SEO, like keywords, is good.
Whenever you write about a subject that everybody wants to know about, make sure the proper keywords are inserted.
These keywords will then rank your article, readers will find it, and provided it’s good enough, some of those readers will link to it and maybe quote from it.
If you’re scratching your head wondering what to write about, start by looking at customer support emails. Is there a persistent question that keeps coming up time and time again? If so, make a post out of it.
Another eCommerce SEO strategy is to use Google Auto-Suggest to find trending search terms. Start typing in keywords and see what comes up.
You can also use Google Keyword Planner, which also provides what people are searching for in Google.
If you have some extra cash every month, and you’re really serious about your eCommerce SEO, consider a paid SEO tool like Ahrefs.
2. Become a Media Source
Journalists are often given stories with short deadlines. So, if they’re looking for a quote from an expert, they’ll likely be very receptive to hearing from you.
In the past, you could just sign up for Help a Reporter Out (HARO). But unfortunately, HARO was discontinued in 2024.
Instead, the new digital PR method is to find the names and email addresses of relevant reporters in your field by looking at the publication’s website.
Once you’ve compiled a list of media contacts, send an initial email to introduce yourself and ask to be kept in mind as a possible source. Any quotes you give will likely be rewarded with a backlink.
Just be sure that you actually know what you’re talking about, though. Journalists won’t like people who just wing it and pretend to know things.
3. Find Your Unlinked Brand Mentions
The next step to search engine ranking for eCommerce is to find mentions of your brand online which are not linked.
You can, of course, do this with a simple Google search. But a more effective solution would be to use Google Alerts.
Reference: Google Alerts for Studiohawk
This will send you an email when a new mention of your specified keyword appears in search results.
Once you have found an unlinked mention of your brand, get in touch with the site owner and ask if they could link to you. They’ll most likely agree.
4. Study Links From Your Competitors
If your competitors are ranking higher than you, then you need to find out why. One of the likeliest explanations is that they have better backlinks than you.
Therefore, a trick is to find those links and try to get your link added instead. This isn’t unethical – it’s just good SEO optimisation. You can use a free backlink checker, such as Free Backlink Checker, or a paid tool like SEMRush.
Reference: Checking Backlinks using Free Backlink Checker
Email the sites with those links and politely suggest that they use your domain instead to link to. Don’t trash-talk your rivals, though. Just say your content is better and explain why.
5. Get Mentioned In Brand Directories
This is quite often an overlooked SEO optimisation for online stores tactic. If you’re selling retail goods or you’re a reseller, look on the supplier’s website to see if you can be linked to as one of their sellers.
Reference: Example of Brand Directory
To find some online directories to get into, just Google “your product niche” + “online directories.” Or words to that effect.
Anyone looking for a local seller of that product will find you and get in touch. Plus, you get that valuable backlink. Just make sure it’s a ‘dofollow’ link and not a ‘nofollow’ one.
6. Interview Experts
Everybody loves an expert’s opinion, and experts love being asked to show off their knowledge. It’s good publicity for them and a potential SEO boost for you.
This ties in neatly with writing useful blog posts. Interviewing an expert has a high chance of being linked to, including journalists. Bonus points if the interview includes industry statistics.
Reference: Example of using interviews in a blog
Not sure what to ask about? Interview someone on making sustainable environmentally friendly products. Get a hot take on Chinese imports. Get manufacturers talking about their weird new products.
Start by recording an audio interview. Publish the written interview first, then make short 30-second audio clips which people will love to share.
7. Create Website Tools
If you’ve visited a website selling glasses, you’ll have noticed that many of them now have what’s called *augmented reality’.
This is when you upload a photo of yourself, and their product is digitally added. You can then see what you look like with that product on.
Reference: Glasses company using augmented reality
It’s useful, and it’s also fun to “try on” all the different pairs of glasses. People get a laugh out of it.
Building tools like this makes people want to link to it. What kind of tool can you build for your site that people will enjoy?
8. Make Infographics
Image credit: PiktoChart
Infographics are images which show interesting information about a subject. They usually also contain stats and other useful data.
This makes infographics very popular, and very shareable. Backlinks are common.
Think of a subject in your industry and start researching facts and figures on it. Then, use a free program such as Canva to make it. Put it into a blog post.
Don’t forget to add your brand name, logo, and website link to each infographic.
9. Start An Affiliate Program
This is rather more advanced SEO for eCommerce, as it’s a lot of work to set up an affiliate program. But if you can do it, the advantages are immense.
Not only do you have your own army of salespeople selling your products. But you also have them linking to your product pages to sell the item.
If they have a high domain authority site themselves, then it is a win-win.
There are lots of options to set up an affiliate program. However, you’ll most likely need help from a developer. There are a lot of things to configure.
10. Give Free Product Samples To Website Influencers
The last idea to build backlinks for eCommerce is to give free product samples to website influencers.
Note we didn’t say social media influencers. Although they may bring in sales, social media links don’t rank. Instead, focus on influencers with a website.
But ironically, the best way to find them is through social media. Search Instagram to find people talking about your product. Look on their profile to see if they have a website link.
It would likely be more cost-effective to look for micro-influencers (those with a smaller audience). Check out directories like this one.
Just bear in mind that influencers are not obliged to publicise your product and link to it, so you’re taking a chance.
Final Word
eCommerce link building is not an overnight thing. It takes time, patience, and hard work to get those links. During this time, you could even lose some of them again.
But if you keep at it, you could build an enviable domain authority that will knock your rivals off the number one Google spot and put yourself there instead. Want a hand getting there faster? Let us help you with our ecommerce seo services.
