Let’s say you own a company that sells organic baby clothes. Obviously your target market is moms with new babies. But even though there might be hundreds upon hundreds of sites that are about baby clothes, sooner or later you are going to run out of new, quality link building opportunities, right? Keep in mind—just because a site exists that doesn’t mean you have to get a link from in. So when you’ve run out of directly relevant sites to get links from where do you look next? Indirectly relevant sites—those that exist in similar niches but aren’t directly competing with your baby clothes company for the same business.
Here are three examples of indirectly relevant links that are a great addition to your inbound link profile:
Business Partnerships
Put yourself in the shoes of a new mom. Obviously they need baby clothes, but what other products are they going to need. Car seats, strollers, diapers and cradles, formula---the list goes on and on. Why not partner with another business that sells related products your customers are interested in? A business partnership, unlike a link exchange (which is banned by Google) is about connecting two related business together for their mutual benefit. It’s not just about getting a quality link, although that is a good bonus; it’s about introducing your brand to an entirely new audience and leveraging the power of your partners.
For instance, your organic baby clothing company could partner with a company that sells organic and all-natural baby formula. You both are targeting the same demographic, the health conscious and organically minded new mom, but you aren’t competing for the same business. A baby needs both clothes and formulas, right? In addition to being listed on the formula’s site as a “preferred partner” you might also be able to advertise on their site, contribute content to their company blog, get mentioned in the company newsletter, creating special deals for their customers and so forth.
Local Events and Sponsorships
Everything you do offline can be leveraged for SEO in one way or another, including local events. What are some of the local events in your community that would be a great place to get some exposure for your brand? For your organic baby clothing company, a kids’ day at the community center is a great place to meet and greet with your target audience. Your company could be the sponsor for the event and get listed on the community center’s website as such (maybe even mentioned in a local news article about the day). Or maybe there is a local craft fair/market you could get a booth at and then get a blurb on the market’s site. These sites are much bigger than just baby clothes, but they are still relevant to your target audience and can help with your local brand and local SEO efforts (especially if you have a brick and mortar store you’re trying to drive foot traffic too!)
Sites That Are Relevant to Your Customers
A mom that cares enough to buy organic baby clothes probably shops organic and all-natural for a lot of other things, right? Consider going after links on sites that sell organic cleaning supplies, blogs about organic cooking (especially kid friendly organic cooking!), and other all-natural products. The site may not actually have anything specifically to do with babies, but caters to the all-natural lifestyle in general. These kinds of indirectly relevant sites are still visited by your target audience and can help drive the right kind of traffic to your site.
These are just three examples of how indirectly related sites can provide valuable link building opportunities for your site and overall SEO program. The important thing to remember when looking for new inbound link sources is that you don’t want to just get a link for the sake of the link. Look for sites that are going to appeal to your target audience and drive relevant traffic to your site. Also look for ways to get more than just the one link (like becoming a regular guest blogger) so you are getting more bang of your buck from that indirectly relevant website.