Keyword optimization gets a lot of attention, usually too much.

But backlinks are the lesser loved half of SEO optimization.

Gosh, who named this stuff? I’m bored already…

Anyways this is important to getting ranked on Etsy and growing your business, so if you find yourself nodding off halfway through this post, just grab another coffee and focus. FOCUS!

So a quick explanation of what backlinks are.

A backlink is just a link from one website to another.

If you’re on Facebook and you click a link to visit Buzzfeed.com, you just clicked a backlink.

Obviously keywords on your page are important for Google to know what your page is about and where it should pull up in search results, but backlinks are actually a little more interesting.

A backlink is basically a vote.

If a web page about how to make amazing souffle has 100 backlinks and another page with similar content about souffle has 1000 backlinks, Google usually ranks the one with more backlinks higher.

Every time someone links to a page, they are saying it’s a good page and is worth linking to.

BUT…

Of course, that’s not all.

Backlinks also have different page ranks. zzzzzz….

If you built a web page and put 5000 links to a load of different websites, then those backlinks aren’t really good votes.

It’s kind of like when you want to get coffee, your kid wants to get ice cream, and the dog wants to go to the park.

Your vote counts the most, and your dog’s vote counts the least.

High-quality backlinks include links from pages that have similar content to yours, you don’t want a web page about cat food linking to your shop that sells fine art.

There’s no relation.

Unless your art is cat food…?

You also want links from pages that have links going to them and get traffic.

Links from popular sites like YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Stumbleupon, Twitter Google+ and other big sites are great.

So when getting backlinks to your site or Etsy shop, you don’t want to just get as many as possible from online directories and fiverr.com gigs, you want high-quality backlinks.

Getting tons of low-quality backlinks is actually bad for your shop.

So anyways, now that you have a general understanding of the exciting world of backlinks, let me show you how to get more of them.

Harness the power of Social Media

First and foremost, spread out your social media campaign. Try to become active on as many relevant networks as possible, as this will certainly make your shop more visible in the vast online world.

Of course, never forget that social media is not only meant for your own content.

If you are flooding your followers’ feeds with boring posts only by you, they will soon grow tired.

Instead, make sure to share interesting content and even link to other sellers and blogs.

The owners of those websites will notice, and they will certainly return the favor.

Pay individual attention to each shop section

Shop sections are there to stay in your store unless you choose to change or remove them.

The metadata stored in them are descriptions, titles, and keywords, and using them properly will certainly increase your Google ranking.

Make sure that the wording in your section name is what Google, as well as people browsing through the store, would like.

You would not believe the number of factors the search takes into consideration: even grammar counts!

Once you have your section names properly set, use them for promotion through backlinks.

This way, your individual store sections will also rank well on Google, not only the entire store.

Keep in mind that, if you change or delete your store section, all the promotion activity will be lost.

So choose wisely when naming them, and make them as permanent as possible.

Start blogging

Instead of having to rely on other people’s blogs for promotion, create your own!

In this way, you are not only ensuring that the inbound links will be relevant, but you are potentially creating a large audience that will follow you and probably buy from you as well.

Make quality a priority

Whether it is your product photos, the items themselves, or the description, the whole package is what will attract blog owners and motivate them to do a review of your products.

This works for your own blog as well.

When you are choosing the content for your blog on the basis of quality, your readers will be motivated to engage with you, and the owner’s shop will backlink to your blog.

That means potential customers are only a click away from your own shop!

Stop planning, start doing

None of this matters if all you are doing all day is reading advice and never putting it to use. Work hard in every aspect, and your product (and store) will get the visibility they need.

Engaging with the blogs you already read is a great place to start. Instead of being a passive reader, comment, do a guest post, give some tips, and share their content.

Always keep in mind the first rule – backlink quality beats quantity any day!

I am sure that by now you have come to understand the goldmine that backlinks are.

They are a crucial aspect of SEO, and an important asset if you are looking to improve your Google ranking.

If you have any other useful advice on how to get high-quality SEO inbound links to your shop, be sure to let us know in the Comment Section below.

Happy backlinking!