34 comments

Link Building 101 For Fashion Bloggers

holding hands network links concept

By Ally Biring of FeelUnique.com.

Posting gorgeous, brilliant content is unquestionably the best way to increase traffic.  The second best way is link building.  And while there unfortunately isn’t a clear formula for accomplishing the former, there are many tried-and-true methods for waging an effective link building campaign. Here’s how:

What is Link Building and Why is it So Important?

 

Simply put, link building is about two things: networking and visibility.  Needless to say, both are essential for serious bloggers.  If you want to attract visitors to your site, they need to be able to find it.  The more links pointing back to it, the more likely users are to stumble across your blog.  Think of links as doors opening onto your content.  The more doors you create, the more people will enter your site.

If well placed, links also connect you to other bloggers and experts in the industry.  They help you establish a niche in the fashion community, which connects you indirectly to the traffic other sites have already built (ie. users interested in fashion).  They don’t call it the web for nothing.  No blog is an island, and networking is incredibly important.

But perhaps most importantly, link building is a powerful SEO tool. Links are a very important factor in the Google ranking algorithm, and so the more quality incoming and outgoing links you have, the more likely Google will rank you highly in its search results.

Quality Over Quantity: Where is What Matters

 

A single incoming link from a high-traffic, trusted site is worth any number of links from disreputable or spammy pages.  Not only do you risk being penalized by Google for linking to untrusted or irrelevant websites, you will also be devaluing you blog in the eyes of users.

Guest Posting: A Link Builder’s Best Friend

 

The hardest part of establishing good incoming links is finding sites willing to host them.  That’s where guest posting comes in.  It is by far the best way to network with other trusted fashion sites, gain exposure, and establish quality links.  The first step in hunting down guest posting opportunities is knowing not where, but how to look.  For that, you’ll need to use Google Advanced Operators (a tool every serious blogger needs to be familiar with).

[Disclaimer: At first glance, this is going to seem confusing.  It isn’t.  Google Advanced Operators are just phrases you type into the search bar to narrow down your results.]

Finding Other Fashion Bloggers

 

Good bloggers do their homework.  This means getting inspiration, advice, and information from other people who are successful at doing what you do.  To hunt down blogs like your own, try typing something like this into the Google search bar:

site:.com inurl:“blog” “comment” –“you must be logged in” fashion

I told you it would seem confusing.  But here is what you are looking at: site: inurl: and – are three different Google Advanced Operators.

  • site:.com tells Google to only return pages ending in .com.  (You can also use site:.org or site:.net).
  • inurl:“blog” means Google will only return URLs containing the word “blog”.
  • Putting comment in quotation marks tells Google you only want blogs that accept comments.  (You might also try ‘post a comment’ or ‘leave a reply’)
  • The negative sign (–) filters out sites containing the phrase “you must be logged in”
  • Fashion is your keyword

If you’re still a bit mystified, spend a few minutes playing around with these terms in Google.  You’ll quickly see what is going on. To make things even easier, just have a read of one of the many great guides available on utilizing Google's advanced operators.

Finding Receptive Fashion Bloggers

 

As we all know, blogging is quite personal––a bit like a diary sometimes.  And while bloggers obviously want people to read, they aren’t always willing to let someone else write on their blog.  So when looking for guest posting opportunities, narrow the field.  Only contact bloggers who have previously accepted guest posters.

Again, Google Advanced Operators come in quite handy.  Try searches like these:

inurl:”guest-post” fashion

inurl:”write-for-us” style

inurl:”guest-post-guidelines” chic

inurl:category/guest (To find sites who separate guest posts into a unique category)

inpostauthor:guest (A URL-independent search for sites that designate post authors as ‘guest’)

So, uh, can I post on your blog?

 

Now that you’ve found some blogs you want to connect with, the only thing left to do is contact them.  No need for anything fancy, just shoot over an email or––better yet––contact them via social media (yes, this may involve Facebook stalking).  Just remember to:

  • Always ask about reciprocation.  (This process works both ways, you can also solicit guest posters.  But either way, ask if they want to guest post to your site or if you can post to theirs).
  • Screen any guest posts for duplicate content, topical relevance, and similar writing style.  Never allow a guest post to devalue your site.
  • Never put more than 1 or 2 links in author bios.  Google will penalize you.
  • Add them to your blogroll (You need to have a blogroll).

Remember, outgoing links are as important as incoming ones.  Get your name out as much as possible, but also put time into building quality outgoing links to increase the value, relevance, and Google rank of your site.

Get Creative

 

When you offer value, you get value.  Consider unique strategies like creating an infographic that compiles relevant tips and advice from all of your favorite fashion bloggers, and links back to their content.  Just be sure to contact them well in advance to get permission and make them aware.  This is a great way to get other industry experts talking about you on social media sites, and can lead to huge traffic boosts.

Ultimately, link building is about community.  You need to reach out to the right people if you want to tap into the user resources they have built.  Web traffic is not a zero-sum game.  What is good for one fashion blogger is good for others.  Your blog becomes more valuable to visitors when it gives access to more content (believe it or not: even if it isn’t your own!).

Link Building 101 a Guide for Fashion Bloggers was researched and written by FeelUnique.com.

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About The Author

Ana is a Travel Blogger and Blogging Coach at The City Sidewalks. With her expertise in online marketing, she's able to help other bloggers, creatives, and entrepreneurs grow their businesses so that they can achieve financial freedom to travel the world on their own terms.

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34 Responses

  1. Petya

    Totally one of my favorite posts here in the site! Really helpful for everyone 🙂

    http://instyle21.blogspot.com

    Reply
  2. Bree

    Great post. I feel like many connections just happen naturally though, you just find other blogger friends without even “searching”!
    www.theurbanumbrella.com

    Reply
  3. Lauren - Slowburn Fastburn

    This is great advice. I’d love to start writing guest posts, looks like I need to start doing my homework.

    x laur

    Reply
  4. Arash Mazinani

    Great Tips!

    I’m going to get on to this, my friend who works in SEO is always banging on about building links.

    Reply
  5. Tali

    Great article!! I feel I have to do my homework after reading it. Only thing I didn’t understand is – what is the meaning of not puttinv more that 1-2 links per bio? Meaning any (different) links or 2 same links? Does it count for a regular blogpost too? If I post more than 2 links per post will Google hate me?
    I’d also like to add – when writing to bloggers to ask about guest posts, use the blogger’s name as well as correct blog’s name (not just Hi there) otherwise it looks like spam. And tell the blogger yoj want to work witb how he/she will profit from the collaboration (as opposite to saying “I want to promote my blog”). I got my share of emails written this way, stright forward asking to promote them. Uhm, it’s not very tempting..

    Reply
  6. Karina De Jesus

    Another article saved in my “blogging tips” folder!
    I do have a quick question. You said that guest posting is one of the best ways to build links. Do you have any other examples to do it?
    Thanks so much,

    Karina
    http://beachanddress.blogspot.com

    Reply
  7. Super Hans

    Thanks for this it has really helped me understand link building a bit better especially for fashion sites. Guest posting also seems like a really good idea for SEO ; ) though I don’t know where to start!

    SHx

    Reply
  8. Lynn

    Thanks for the great tips, blog posting is still the hardest part for me, your strategy may be the solution.

    Reply
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    Reply
  10. roots

    Absolutely a great post. Hats off to you! The information which you have provided is very helpful.

    Reply
  11. johny

    In this time link is needed everywhere. In online sector seo is needed very much. Here is link is the main thinks , so that you can related everybody. thanks for nice post.

    Reply
  12. sexy lingerie

    Absolutely a great post. Hats off to you! The information which you have provided is very helpful.

    Reply
  13. Orietta De La Villa

    By ny experiencie I can said this is a unique way to bloggers. great post and a lot to learn from here.

    Reply
  14. Wholesale Lingerie

    Thanks for this it has really helped me understand link building a bit better especially for fashion sites. Guest posting also seems like a really good idea for SEO ; ) though I don’t know where to start!

    Reply
  15. Anil Valvi

    Good day very cool website!! Guy .. Excellent .. Wonderful I’m satisfied to find numerous useful info right here in the post, PR Agency in Delhi

    Reply
  16. Dresses for Women

    We have a fashion blog and it works really well as it features up-to-date new on the catwalk, seasonal wear and accessories. Thanks for the advice!

    Reply
  17. saira

    All the above mentioned tips are great. I hope that i will apply these from today.
    Thank you dear auther.

    Reply
  18. Tracking system

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    Reply
  20. ffff

    Good day very cool website!! Guy .. Excellent .. Wonderful .. I’ll bookmark your website and take the feeds also…I’m satisfied to find numerous useful info right here in the post, Tracking system

    Reply
  23. Konveksi Jaket Kulit

    Totally one of my favorite posts here in the site! Really helpful for everyone

    Reply
  25. jam tangan online

    It is awesome list.I wasn’t aware of this feature of this article.thanks!

    Reply
  26. Farhana

    Hi Taylor Davies,
    Really I am highly impressed to learn Fashion Blogging by reading your blog! I
    pray to almighty that you can grow up more and more and share your
    knowledge among us. By the way do you have anything special on your blog
    about Fashion? looking forward to your reply.

    Reply
  27. harga tas wanita

    I am very grateful for the information that has been presented. Success always.

    Reply
  28. chicfashionworld

    Inspire me to ready and presude me to share this post to my colleauge
    Thanks

    Reply
    • Patek Philippe

      I was curious if you ever thought of changing the page layout of your
      site? Its very well written; I love what youve got to say.

      But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could
      connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having 1 or two pictures.
      Maybe you could space it out better?

      Reply
  29. Zaychishka

    I’m starting to use some of these tips 🙂
    and I Hope it works out! Thank you to the poster for this!

    *fingers crossed*

    – Zaychishka

    Reply
  30. Jahid Hasan

    If you have lovely fashion style decease it’s will be great for human being exactly for me, As A long time ago I have taken the lovely dresses on another place It was privet.

    Thanks for post.

    Reply
  31. Anushka Pandey

    I have a fashion blog and I really needed this type of techniques to create backlinks… Thanks for sharing this informative article with us 🙂

    Also check my Blog : https://sites.google.com/site/fashionjunction1535/

    Reply
  32. mark constantine

    I completely agree with this. Traffic to my website since I have started worrying about backlinks has grown almost exponentially. Thankyou for this amazing post.

    Reply