it or  it, social media is here to stay and if it is used correctly it can really benefit your business.

There are obvious benefits to getting your brand out there and mingling on popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn: exposure, relevancy, and relationship building are things that first come to mind.

However, there is one major benefit you are missing out on if your brand is a social media recluse — backlinks.

What are Backlinks?

A backlink is an incoming hyperlink from one web page to another web page.
The more backlinks you have pointing back to your website the more popular search engines such as Google assume your website is.

If your website is seen as popular then it must also be relevant and trustworthy, therefore Google will rank it higher in order for more people to enjoy your content.

Although backlinks are no longer the be-all-end-all of SEO, they still play a major role in the website ranking system.

Bad Backlinks

Once upon a time backlinks were the bees knees when it came to ranking a website. The more you had, the higher your site would rank. Businesses soon cottoned on to this and the birth of “backlink harvesting” began.

The goal was simple, gain as many backlinks as possible.

This worked for a time but in 2011 Google rolled out their Penguin algorithm and began to mark websites as spam if it was clear that these backlinks were not genuine.

How Do You Acquire Quality Backlinks?

Acquiring backlinks may sound like an impossible task at first, do you just message people and politely ask them to hyperlink your website on their page? Thankfully, there is a much easier (and free) way of gaining quality backlinks.

You guessed it — social media!

Social Media Backlinks

Besides being a free and a great way to promote your business to a whole new audience, mingling via social media is a fantastic way of acquiring backlinks.
If a user finds your content funny, informative or useful in some way the more likely they will share, Retweet, or “like” your post.

This increases your inbound links and tells Google that people are loving all your quality content.

If people are enjoying your content then this encourages Google to increase its visibility to ensure more and more people can get in on the action too.
Whichever social media platform your brand is active on, have a good hunt through and make sure all areas are filled in with a short description of your business and its website link.

Increasing Your Backlinks & SEO with Facebook

If your brand is active on the world’s largest social networking site then you are already a step ahead of your Facebook-averse competition.

Here are a few places you can add in backlinks and improve your website’s SEO:

1. Personal “About” tab. From time to time people will visit your profile. Include your website’s url and don’t forget to make your profile public. If it’s private then only your friends will be able to see it.
2. You can also connect your company’s Facebook page to your personal account. Remember to include an “About” section on the company page too and link to your website.
3. Company “Story”. On the right hand side if you haven’t filled in this section you will see an area marked “Tell Your Story”. This is a great place to let your visitors know what your business does, who your team is (you can include photos too!), showcase your awards or provide an example of your most successful project.
4. Link all our future posts to your website (remember to make those posts public too).
5. Profile & Cover Image. If your images are eye-catching and creative then these elements will also attract clicks. Include your website link and a short overview of the business (make sure the link is at the beginning to encourage clicks).

GROW YOUR ONLINE BUSINESS WITH QUENTOSITY TAURANGA

At Quentosity we are a digital marketing consultancy based in Auckland and Tauranga and we use are digital techniques and expertise to grow our clients’ businesses all over New Zealand.

If you are a New Zealand business that is looking to take things to the next level then look no further than Quentosity. We are a fully operational marketing agency and can take care of your brand’s entire offline and online presence.

Our beachside Papamoa office is next to the incredible QCafe so pop in for a casual chat over a coffee and let’s see how we can help your business grow its profitability.

Call us on 0800 467 8932, text 021 025 23809 or contact us through our website to get the ball rolling.