There are thousands of people who could use your services or products. But none of them are contacting your business.
It’s an all-too-common story for weight loss professionals. And it’s completely preventable.
You can fix this. But you have to engage in a rather complex SEO task: link building.
If you’re intimidated by that idea, don’t be. I’ve put together this quick guide to weight loss link building so you don’t have to guess what to do next.
Let’s get moving.
Link building is the process of obtaining links on OTHER websites that point to YOUR website.
Each of those links is called a backlink.
Backlinks have long been THE most important ranking factors for search engines, including Google. A ranking factor is anything a search engine uses to decide:
Google and other search engines see backlinks as votes for your website. The more (and better) backlinks you have, the higher you’re going to rank for valuable weight loss keywords that can bring you business.
Basically, it’s how you get here:
Building backlinks for ANY website takes time, money, or both. So, why should you do it?
I touched on this earlier, but I need to emphasize it:
There is no replacement for link building in weight loss or any other industry. No shortcut, no other way.
If you want to rank for competitive weight loss search queries, you’re going to have to build backlinks.
It’s as simple as that.
This reasoning may not have worked with your mom, but it REALLY matters in weight loss link building:
Everyone else is doing it, so you should, too.
I know that’s a little silly-sounding, and link building is not the same as “If everyone else was jumping off of a bridge, would you do it, too?”
But the logic is still there.
Here’s why:
You have hundreds of competitors. With the rise of telehealth services, maybe thousands.
The vast majority of them are building backlinks.
And every single link they acquire puts them farther ahead of you in the SEO game. Fall too far behind, and it’s hard to come back from.
Weight loss is related to health. And health falls under the “Your Money or Your Life” (YMYL) umbrella of niches, according to Google’s standards.
What does all of that mean for you, a reputable weight loss business just trying to improve your SEO?
See, Google has designated certain topics as being particularly impactful for people’s lives. Which means they need to pass a higher level of scrutiny in order to rank well in Google search results.
Because you’re facing that extra helping of scrutiny from Big G, you can’t skimp on the SEO. And that means investing — heavily — in high-quality backlinks.
Backlinks are like weight loss programs: Some are better than others.
Obviously, you need to be aiming for the great backlinks. But what, exactly, makes a weight loss backlink great?
Here are a few key factors to keep in mind as you build your link building strategy:
I don’t know how else to say this:
The websites you get backlinks from have to be … good websites.
When I tell people that, the most common question I get is: “What makes a website a good website?”
My answer: If you’re even an amateur internet user, you’ll know a spammy website when you see it.
Which means you need to actually VISIT the website you’re aiming to obtain backlinks from.
Here’s an example of a website I would not want to get a backlink from:
Why? Because it has a giant blank space underneath the site header. And it has a “category” for pretty much everything under the sun.
You can’t see it in that image, but the article I clicked on there was about car accidents. Not weight loss or health.
That’s not to mention: This site is littered with intrusive advertisements.
So, then, what does a GOOD website look like? In other words, a “not spammy” site that would be great to have in your backlinks profile as a weight loss business.
This one:
That’s clearly a health website. It’s focused on weight loss. It has identifiable, credentialed authors and reviewers. And it has clean, clear ads that don’t get in the way of the content.
One of the most important and most often overlooked aspects of weight loss link building is anchor text.
Anchor text is the clickable text that comes with the link. It’s usually a different color than the rest of the text and underlined.
Google uses anchor text to understand backlinks. Specifically, it uses the words in the anchor text to understand the relationship between the two sites, the keywords the destination link might be relevant for, and more.
So you don’t want the anchor text you get to be random or unrelated to the keywords you want to rank for.
For example, if you got a backlink to your “Top Minneapolis Weight Loss Professionals” webpage, which anchor text would be better?
The first one.
It’s close to the keyword you want to rank for. It’s relevant. And it tells Google (and humans) what the destination page is about.
Backlinks are extremely valuable in SEO. But backlinks can be worthless for a lot of reasons.
One of the most common reasons why a backlink is worthless? The linking site has no search traffic.
In other words, Google doesn’t trust the site enough to prominently include it in its search results.
By extension, a backlink you get from that site won’t build Google’s trust in or opinion of your website.
So, make sure any website you’re trying to get a backlink from has some search traffic.
How do you do that? You’ll need an SEO tool if you want to do it yourself.
In most of the common SEO tools, you just plug in the URL. Then, you’ll see something like this, showing the organic search traffic:
If that number is zero or close to it, run the other way. Fast.
The websites you get backlinks from should be about weight loss. Or health.
The closer you can get to your EXACT area of focus, the better.
Why? Because Google gets suspicious when websites have a bunch of backlinks from websites that aren’t at all relevant to their subject matter.
You need health and weight loss backlinks. Not home improvement or legal backlinks.
And don’t listen to anyone who tries to tell you otherwise. They’re just trying to sell you something that won’t help — and may hurt — your website.
We’ve learned a good bit about backlinks and how to build backlinks in the weight loss industry. Now, let’s look at some common link building methods.
I’m certainly not advocating that you do each one of those link building methods. In fact, I doubt you’ll even have enough time to devote to one — at least not if you’re also trying to run your business at the same time.
Which brings me to my next point:
Should you be doing all of this yourself? I don’t think so. But I’m not here to tell you what to do.
Here’s the difference between DIY and outsourced weight loss link building:
Set aside at least 15 hours per week to devote to link building at scale.
Speaking from experience, anything less than that isn’t going to net you good backlinks fast enough to keep you competitive.
Also, be prepared for rejection. A LOT of rejection.
Most people who run websites get at least 100 link building emails per week. And they do one of three things when they see those emails:
Obviously, you want option No. 4: They respond with a “yes” and give you that backlink you need so badly.
That happens around 1 out of every 100 attempts. And for total beginners, the numbers look even worse.
But, over time, you can start to rack up backlinks that WILL help your business.
It just takes a lot of time, blood, sweat, tears, etc. And it distracts you from actually running your business.
When you outsource your link building, you have an initial meeting with your provider. They should get to know you and your business.
Then, they’ll prescribe a link building plan or strategy based on your business and needs.
If you approve that proposal, they’ll take it from there. And they will report on their progress at regular, clearly defined intervals.
Behind the scenes — and while you’re running your business — your link builder will be arranging guest posts and link insertions, sending outreach emails, planning campaigns, and allocating your link building budget appropriately.
They’ll handle all the rejections and regroup before you ever even hear about it.
There’s a clear winner between DIY and outsourcing link building in the weight loss space: outsourcing.
Yes, there are scammers and those who just can’t do the job. And yes, you need to identify and avoid them.
But you’ve saved yourself some time by landing here, on this website. This is UppercutSEO. And I built it after more than a decade in the link building business.
Why did I build this business? To solve YOUR problems.
I saw that too many link building agencies simply aren’t delivering for their clients. So I set out to change that.
That’s why I build the best SEO dashboard in the industry, by hand. You can have yours for free. And when you log in, you can order as many backlinks as you want with no fuss.
Then, you’ll see the backlinks roll in right there on your dashboard.
No confusion, no smoke and mirrors, no excuses. You get what you pay for. And then your SEO skyrockets.
It’s weight loss link building done the right way — for weight loss businesses and SEO agencies alike.
Want to give it a try? Claim your free dashboard and book a free consultation with me today.
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