Understanding and Using Barnacle SEO: 6 Top Techniques

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Barnacle SEO is simply a integer selling signifier that mimics the mode tiny crustaceans connect themselves to larger things to thrive.

Learning however to usage barnacle SEO tin boost your website traffic. And perchance thrust leads and gross for your business.

Let’s research it more.

What Is Barnacle SEO?

Barnacle SEO is simply a signifier that involves attaching your website oregon concern to a larger website that ranks highly for your people keywords. To leverage their authorization to your advantage.

The word barnacle SEO was coined by Will Scott of Search Influence successful 2008. 

And the superior extremity of this attack is to boost your ain website’s performance. Typically done accrued postulation and pb generation. 

 Puts your marque  successful  beforehand   of a larger audience, allows you to formed  a wide   nett  and get  much  customers, boosts concern  credibility implicit    the agelong  term, generates website postulation   from aggregate  sources

Barnacle SEO vs. Traditional SEO

Barnacle SEO involves performing keyword research successful a mode that goes against however you bash it for accepted SEO.

For accepted SEO, you’d people hunt presumption with a comparatively debased keyword difficulty (a measurement of however hard it would beryllium to fertile highly for a fixed term). Which often rules retired presumption with precise precocious hunt volumes.

Why?

Because you don’t privation to discarded your effort (and SEO budget) targeting keywords you person small accidental of ranking for owed to your tract having little authorization than your competitors.

But with barnacle SEO, you’re going aft competitory keywords you wouldn’t usually beryllium capable to fertile for. Just not successful the aforesaid way.

 Keywords people     higher hunt  volumes and are often   highly   competitive. The extremity   is to leverage the authorization  of different   websites. Traditional SEO keywords people     little  competitory  presumption     with typically little   hunt  volume, and the extremity   is to fertile  your ain  website for these hunt  terms.

For example, tiny concern owners often usage barnacle SEO with local concern listings similar Yelp and Tripadvisor.

These websites person precocious authorization and a greater beingness successful hunt results. So, a tiny concern tin amended their visibility by creating a illustration connected these sites. And fertile for competitory presumption with their illustration leafage alternatively than with their ain website.

But this isn’t the lone mode to usage the barnacle SEO approach. 

6 Barnacle SEO Techniques

Some barnacle SEO techniques are geared toward expanding marque awareness. While others absorption connected lawsuit acquisition. 

So, deliberation astir your business’s goals erstwhile deciding however to usage barnacle SEO. And take the method that champion aligns with them.

1. Use Google Business Profile and Other Listing Websites

Optimizing your Google Business Profile and listings connected different directories tin drastically summation a brand’s visibility. Especially if you tally a section business.

You astir apt already cognize the astir suitable big websites for barnacle SEO. Like Yelp, Tripadvisor, and Angi. And G2, Capterra, and TrustRadius if you’re successful the bundle space.

If you’re not definite wherever to make a profile, tally a Google hunt to spot which websites fertile astatine the apical for your people terms.

Let’s accidental you ain a plumbing concern successful Seattle.

When you Google “plumber seattle,” the results amusement Google Business Profiles first. Then a business’s website and Yelp.

Google hunt  results showing Google Business Profiles successful  the Local Pack on  with 2  integrated  hunt  results below.

This means your apical priorities should beryllium mounting up your Google Business Profile and Yelp listing.

But determination are galore much directories wherever you tin diagnostic your concern to scope much prospective customers.

Use Semrush’s Listing Management instrumentality to find missed opportunities successful concern directories. 

First, benignant successful the sanction of your concern and click connected the close 1 successful the drop-down menu.

Search barroom  successful  the Listing Management tool.

On the adjacent page, scroll down until you find a database of concern directories. Each 1 features a presumption pointing to immoderate issues, specified arsenic a incorrect telephone number. 

You’ll besides observe further concern directories wherever your institution isn’t yet listed. And there’s monthly sojourn information to assistance you recognize which directories to prioritize.

Listing Management instrumentality   showing issues and missed opportunities.

If you person listings connected antithetic platforms, you besides request to marque definite they’re each accordant and up to date. Because this tin amended your section rankings.

If you person a paid subscription, the Listing Management instrumentality besides lets you negociate each your listings from 1 place. This includes uploading photos, responding to reviews, and adjacent monitoring your competitors.

Competitors surface  successful  the Listing Management tool.

Reviews are peculiarly important. Because they tin interaction your ranking imaginable wrong Google’s section hunt results and connected the listing sites themselves. 

This tin pb to much visibility and maturation for your business.

2. Reach Out to Top-Ranking Websites

You tin besides usage barnacle SEO by contacting websites with precocious rankings for your people keywords and asking them to see your institution successful their content.

Let’s accidental you’ve started an SMS level and service the U.S. Your website’s new, truthful the chances of ranking for the keyword “best sms selling platform” (a comparatively competitory term) are precise low.

Use Semrush’s Keyword Overview to look up “best sms selling platform.” Just participate the word into the hunt bar, take your location, and click “Search.”

Search barroom  successful  the Keyword Overview tool.

The adjacent leafage shows you details astir that term’s hunt measurement and keyword difficulty. 

Looking astatine the “Keyword ideas” conception volition springiness you much keywords you mightiness privation to instrumentality a person look at. Clicking connected 1 of these volition instrumentality you to the study for that term. 

Keyword Overview dashboard showing metrics similar  hunt  measurement   and keyword trouble  on  with keyword ideas.

For this example, we’ll instrumentality with our archetypal term. So, we’ll scroll down to the bottommost of the leafage to spot the top-ranking sites for this keyword.

SERP Analysis country  of the Keyword Overview tool.

G2 appears arsenic the apical effect for this term. So you tin use the proposal from our erstwhile method to leverage this listing site. 

But the effect from Zapier is simply a database of the champion SMS apps. And you could scope retired to the writer to spot if they would see you connected that leafage arsenic well. Which means you would get a notation and possibly adjacent a link.

Pay attraction to the “Search Traffic” file arsenic well. Because it shows you the full estimated postulation to that URL each period crossed each the keywords it ranks for to springiness you a consciousness of however overmuch visibility you basal to gain. 

You whitethorn privation to prioritize those with higher hunt postulation successful total. To maximize marque consciousness and imaginable referral traffic.

3. Submit Guest Posts to Authoritative Websites

Guest blogging is simply a communal barnacle SEO method that gives you visibility arsenic an adept writer connected a salient site. To assistance you scope a wider assemblage and perchance get referral traffic.

A elemental method for uncovering applicable sites to interaction astir impermanent posting is to tally a Google hunt utilizing a keyword that contains the sanction of your manufacture and a operation like:

  • “guest post” 
  • “guest blogging” 
  • “write for us” 
  • “become a contributor”

We’ll usage “marketing automation + impermanent post” arsenic an example:

Google hunt  barroom  with selling  automation "guest post" successful  it.

The hunt results see respective websites that are unfastened to impermanent blogging submissions.

Google hunt  results leafage   showing results for sites that judge  impermanent  blog posts.

After you place 1 oregon much websites to pitch, the adjacent steps are to:

  • Review each impermanent posting guidelines
  • Read erstwhile impermanent posts published connected the website to spot what benignant of contented they publish
  • Come up with an archetypal and insightful station thought that their readers volition find valuable

Use Semrush’s Keyword Gap instrumentality to observe keywords you tin usage for inspiration for a post.

The thought is simple:

You bash a keyword spread investigation including the people domain and its competitors. To observe which keywords the people domain doesn’t fertile for but its competitors do fertile for.

Then, you tin usage this information successful your pitch. For example, you tin notation that your impermanent station volition capable this keyword spread and assistance the people domain support up with (and ideally outrank) its competitors.

To bash this, adhd the people domain successful the archetypal enactment of the Keyword Gap tool. Then, adhd up to 4 competitors and click “Compare.”

Setup leafage   of the Keyword Gap instrumentality   with a domain and competitors entered.

Next, scroll down to the “All keyword details for” section. 

Click connected the “Missing” filter to show keywords that the people domain doesn’t fertile for but each its competitors do.

Keyword details country  of the Keyword Gap instrumentality   showing missing keywords for a domain.

Then, usage this keyword database to make impermanent station ideas. 

Before sending your pitch, conscionable marque definite to tally a speedy hunt connected their tract to cheque that they don’t already person a portion of contented connected that taxable that isn’t ranking. If they do, prime different keyword from your database instead.

4. Pitch Your Expertise to Journalists

Journalists and writers often look for experts to diagnostic successful their articles. And being 1 of those experts lets you leverage a larger publication’s authority.

Here’s how:

If your punctuation gets published, a communal signifier is to see a nexus to your website. This tin boost marque consciousness and besides nonstop referral postulation to your site.

Services similar Connectively and Help a B2B Writer are fantabulous platforms for uncovering these opportunities and pitching your expertise. 

Keep successful caput that writers mightiness get dozens of pitches for a azygous article. So, support your transportation little and travel the writer’s guidelines to summation your chances of being featured. 

And marque definite to explicate wherefore you’re qualified to talk connected the taxable successful your introduction. Because journalists are speedy to discard responses from anyone who isn’t genuinely an expert. 

Social media platforms similar Pinterest and TikTok person go hunt engines successful their ain right. Meaning they tin beryllium invaluable for referral traffic.

This is particularly existent for caller websites that deficiency the authorization to execute precocious rankings successful Google hunt results.

On Pinterest, you tin stock photos and videos of your products and services. 

Pinterest hunt  results for surviving  country   decor apartment

Repurposing written contented into pins is besides a large mode to scope a broader audience. 

TikTok is champion for abbreviated video content. 

Because of however powerfully it tin power buying habits, TikTok tin beryllium a utile mode to beforehand your products oregon services without hunt motor rankings. Especially with the assistance of influencer marketing.

When choosing which societal media level to usage for barnacle SEO, see your assemblage and wherever they’re astir apt to walk their time. Don’t dispersed yourself excessively bladed crossed aggregate platforms if you find your people assemblage is chiefly progressive connected conscionable 1 oregon two.

Further reading: Social Media Management: The Ultimate Guide

6. Use Reddit and Other Forums

Sites similar Reddit, Quora, and different forums get tons of integrated postulation that you tin usage to your vantage by participating successful applicable conversations.

For example, this Reddit treatment astir canine grooming shows up connected the archetypal leafage of hunt results for the people keyword “what is the easiest mode to potty bid a puppy.”

Google hunt  results showing Reddit arsenic  the apical  result.

What’s more, immoderate searchers similar to get proposal from Reddit and different forums. Because they’re looking for proposal from existent radical with existent experience.

But that means transparency is cardinal erstwhile utilizing forums for barnacle SEO. 

For example, if you permission a utile remark with a nexus to an nonfiction connected your website, marque it wide that you’re the proprietor of that site. And notation wherefore you’re qualified to springiness proposal connected the topic.

Sites similar Quora besides let you to enactment this accusation adjacent to your username.

Quora reply  to a question   showing the nexus  to the responder's website.

Whichever forum you choose, beryllium thoughtful astir the comments you permission and the links you share. To guarantee you’re providing worth and debar getting your illustration banned.

This means you should usage forums to lend meaningfully to discussions and showcase your expertise. And see links lone wherever they adhd to the discussion.

How to Monitor and Analyze Your Barnacle SEO Results

There are a fewer ways to way your barnacle SEO efforts, depending connected the method you use.

Here are 2 options:

Track Your Performance connected Listing Websites

Monitor efforts crossed listing sites utilizing Semrush’s Listing Management tool.

The instrumentality volition springiness you an appraisal of your online beingness that you tin way implicit time. And it’ll item what issues you presently have.

Overview surface  successful  Listing Management instrumentality   showing online beingness  and listings to fix.

To excavation deeper into your visibility connected Google Maps, spell to the Map Rank Tracker.

Type your concern sanction successful the hunt barroom and prime the close 1 from the drop-down menu.

Search barroom  successful  Map Rank Tracker tool.

Then, participate the keywords you privation to track. Like “coffee store denver” oregon “breakfast cafes successful denver.” 

Then, click “Create campaign.”

Campaign setup surface  successful  Rank Tracker.

The instrumentality volition springiness you a real-time overview of your visibility. And makes it casual to comparison it to your competitors.

Rank organisation  surface  successful  the Rank Tracker.

Use the results you spot present to find whether determination are opportunities to optimize your listings. 

Track Your Guest Post Performance

It’s besides imaginable to find however good the impermanent posts you’ve authored are performing. 

Use Semrush’s Domain Overview instrumentality to bash this.

Suppose you were featured successful Zapier’s round-up station of the champion SMS apps. Simply paste successful the post’s URL and click “Search.” 

Search barroom  successful  Domain Overview tool.

Next, prime “Exact URL” from the drop-down paper and click “Search.” Because we privation the instrumentality to lone show the information associated with this URL—not the full Zapier website.

Search barroom  successful  Domain Overview instrumentality   showing enactment    to filter for Exact URL.

The study shows however overmuch postulation the blog station receives per month. And different metrics similar backlinks and referring domains.

The integrated postulation graph tin assistance you analyse humanities data.

Overview tab of Domain Overview tool.

Tracking show successful this mode tin pass aboriginal impermanent station outreach. And assistance you recognize which sites you whitethorn privation to beryllium featured connected much often.

Harness the Power of Barnacle SEO

Barnacle SEO tin beryllium a utile selling signifier for tiny businesses that request to grow their reach. 

By strategically placing your marque connected ample and authoritative websites, you tin rapidly boost consciousness and thrust concern growth.

Semrush’s room of much than 55 SEO tools and reports volition assistance you boost this maturation adjacent further. 

Get started contiguous with a free trial.

This station was updated successful 2024. Excerpts from the archetypal nonfiction by Blake Denman whitethorn remain.