How Social Media Can Build Backlinks

Expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness—otherwise known as E-A-T, these factors play a large role in the ranking of websites according to Google. From creating useful content to building positive reviews, there are a multitude of different methods that you can use to develop your E-A-T. A technique that is often overlooked is building your backlink profile—which can be as simple as adding your company’s URL to your company social media profiles.

What Are Backlinks?

Building backlinks is a key step in any SEO process. These are embedded links that direct you from one website to another; often, they are used to attribute a source on a particular fact or statistic.

Why Do Backlinks Matter?

If your website has an abundance of backlinks from high domain authority sites, it proves to Google that your information is trustworthy and important for the subject you are addressing. Clearly, you know what you’re talking about—or else all of these other websites wouldn’t link to you!

While you will gain backlinks organically if you are creating valuable content, you can also actively work towards building backlinks as well. Social media is a relatively new, but reliable, method to building your backlink portfolio.

5 Quick Ways to Build Your Backlink Profile with Social Media

1. Add Your Website to Your Social Media Profiles

This one is very simple and easy to do—just add your URL to your bio on social media! This can be done on almost all social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Twitter, and more.

2. Interact with Customers on Social Media

A study by Sprout Social discovered that consumers believe that social media is the #1 channel for brands to connect with them. Social media is key in developing trust and a brand identity for many businesses, but it also can help you immensely in building backlinks! If customers know that you are likely to respond or interact with them on social media, they are more likely to interact back. These interactions can range from liking or commenting on your social media to re-posting your content, which can count as backlinks.

3. Always Include Links on Posts

While some social media platforms, such as Instagram and TikTok, don’t allow links on posts, it is important to take advantage of the ones that do. Adding links back to your website on relevant posts is extremely valuable on platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Not only does it help you build backlinks, but it also can help drive more traffic to your website! Consider using UTM codes as well on these posts to help track your visitors.

4. Create Valuable Content

This recommendation isn’t directly involved with social media, but is vital to your SEO strategy. Create valuable content that users are looking for. The more valuable and interesting your content is, the more likely someone is to share a link to it on social media—plus, it gives you content to make posts about!

5. Create Infographics

Infographics are extremely valuable on social media. Rather than write a lengthy caption, you can easily share complex information in a method that is visually pleasing and engaging. However, the benefits to infographics don’t end there—they are also very appealing to other businesses. Some businesses that may turn away guest post requests could instead repost your infographic; other businesses (or consumers) may re-share your infographic as well. After creating a useful infographic, post it and wait a few months before using reverse Google image search. This tool will let you find social media and blog posts with your infographic on them. Then, email the website or social media account and request a credential link!

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Social Media Influencers Help Me Build Backlinks?

Yes! While not applicable for every industry, social media influencers can be a paid option to help you build backlinks due to their large audience.

What Social Media Platforms Should I Post On?

Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter are foundational social media platforms that all businesses should be posting on. Depending on your industry, you may consider other platforms as well, such as Pinterest, LinkedIn, and TikTok.

Does Social Media Help with SEO in Other Ways?

Not directly; however, social media can help you build trustworthiness with your customers and gain more traffic onto your website. More traffic and loyal visitors can prove your E-A-T to Google. It is vital to never rely on one source of marketing, so don’t count on social media or SEO alone.

What Are Other Ways to Gain Backlinks?

Aside from the methods outlined above, other ways you can build your backlink profile is joining relevant directory websites, checking what your competitors are doing by using valuable tools such as SEMRush Backlink Analytics (use the backlink gap analysis to find areas you need backlinks in) , and writing guest posts for other websites.

Invest in SEO

Building your backlink portfolio is only the beginning. Turn your website into a sales-generating machine today with SEO and reach out to Avalanche Creative.