Let’s make one thing very clear right out of the gate. Links are a ranking signal, and no eCommerce SEO services are complete (or effective) without a link-building strategy. Both internal links and backlinks can positively impact SEO and therefore sight rankings, but let’s touch on a very specific entity that has come under scrutiny recently: buying backlinks. Is it a good idea if an eCommerce SEO agency offers backlink services?
Earning vs. Buying Backlinks: What’s the Deal
Backlinks indicate to Google that your website is an authority in its field. Therefore, backlinks have the potential to boost your SEO and your domain authority. Backlinks can also potentially send you referral traffic from the original website.
However, cultivating backlinks is a laborious and time-consuming process that can also be expensive in terms of human capital investment. The old way of “earning” backlinks was to simply encourage happy users to link back to your website. The more legitimate backlinks earned, the better the website would rank.
Some savvy entrepreneurs also actively solicited backlinks from others in the industry, in a process known as backlink trading. This could help both websites succeed and boost their SEO.
However, once again both of these strategies are time-consuming and expensive. This leads some eCommerce businesses to engage in a practice known as buying backlinks in order to improve their search engine rankings.
Don’t get us wrong, in some instances, it may have worked. It may even still work in some areas. Here’s the thing, though. It is officially against Google’s Webmaster Guidelines. If Google connects the dots and finds out that your business is buying links, it can result in a penalty and do serious harm to your eCommerce store’s organic rankings.
So if that’s the case, why then do so many eCommerce sites continue to buy backlinks? Well, in a nutshell, it’s often easier (and more affordable) than cultivating them organically.
But if buying backlinks is not a good idea, why then do so many eCommerce SEO companies continue to offer services that include the distribution of backlinks?
What eCommerce SEO Services Offer
Online stores buy backlinks for the same reason that they invest in eCommerce SEO services: it’s more affordable and more scalable. That’s not even to mention that many eCommerce SEO agencies are adept at developing specific and effective marketing strategies for their clients.
Oftentimes these eCommerce SEO services include the distribution of backlinks. This is not always the same as “buying” backlinks, even though services are paid for in much the same manner.
The agencies that offer these eCommerce SEO services invest great time and effort in maintaining relationships with websites that have high domain authority, often in part for the purpose of improving their client’s SEO by offering them backlinks. In a sense, it’s a win-win game.
An agency that offers eCommerce SEO services should not only generate backlinks, though. Full services agencies offer packages that optimize eCommerce websites front to back. Agencies often perform keyword research, deliver content marketing strategies tailored around target keywords, engage in on-page optimization, and make suggestions to improve web design and rectify technical issues like security, site speed, and structured data.
These eCommerce SEO services are developed to increase organic traffic and boost conversion rates for long-term success. You just need to be able to make an informed decision about which agency to partner with.
Where Can You Find a Reputable eCommerce SEO Agency?
Since 2012, 1DigitalⓇ Agency has been planning and implementing eCommerce SEO campaigns for clients in a wide range of industries, on different platforms, and with equally diverse needs and goals. A high-quality backlink strategy is a part of their eCommerce SEO services; they also develop and deliver a content strategy, perform a series of ongoing on-page optimizations, investigate the website for technical issues, and much more.
Read their overwhelmingly positive Google reviews or visit their website, 1DigitalAgency.com to learn more about their eCommerce SEO services.
