Using Testimonials & Reviews to Build Links
By Iain Fraser - Business Technology Journalist 
www.iainfraserseo.com


Hi straight into a jewel that you must add to your SEO Protocols as valuable tool in your SEO Protocols Armoury. This is a straightforward often overlooked technique but once deployed it offers significant rewards for minimum effort - and we all like that in our busy lives.

Testimonials and reviews help in customers' purchase decisions but they can be used as a superb white-hat protocol and should definitely be added to your SEO Protocols Schedule.

So without further Ado on to the Protocol - This is Super Straightforward!

Well, yes – it is straightforward, which is precisely why your business should implement testimonials and reviews into your SEO Protocols Schedule.

1. Research, Research, Research! 

Research all the Relevant Websites & Blogs for industry specific services that you use say every week. The could be suppliers, contacts or in your business network or simply providers of services that you regularly use. Don't be too fussy! But do consider their relevancy to your company and if your review is going to be published on their website check their Domain Authority and also their Alexa Ranking

2. Check for Opportunities

Not every company provides a space for submitting reviews directly on their website.
If there isn’t an on-site location for submitting a review, check the company’s contact information to locate an email address. Review sites like Yelp and Foursquare also provide opportunities to review and rate companies, although they’re not as personal. If you use a review site, be sure to include your business name and website in your profile. You also have the option to share a review on your own site, in the form of a blog post.

3. Write or Create a Unique Review

Create an authentic review with a good deal of personalization. Offer trust and authority, and use a few relevant keywords in your text. Having keywords and phrases near your business name in your review can increase your company’s relevance to those keywords during search engine crawls and boost your exposure online for your brand name. Share your review or mention the company in a blog post on your own site, and include a backlink.

4. Reach Out

Now it’s time to reach out to the company! Be sure to include your business name and website when you submit your review, to provide the opportunity for a backlink to your site. If the company doesn’t link back to you, they’ll probably still include your business name. That’s helpful, too, because even unlinked mentions can be beneficial. If you wrote a review or mention in your own blog post, be sure to include a link to the post when you reach out to the company. You can even use an excerpt from your content as the official testimonial.