Let’s face it, creating backlinks can be tricky. It’s time-consuming, often seen as tedious, and requires a lot of strategizing and elbow grease to get things done. And because the subject is so vast, businesses have found ways to market their products and services to individuals worldwide through this powerful tool. SEO or search engine optimization prepares a website for Google’s search engine to earn higher web traffic levels and improve the site’s visibility. Simply put, its goal is to get your website to rank higher in SERPs, leading to more website visitors. Your website’s backlink profile is the core of your off-page SEO. Focusing on building backlinks is the most effective way to improve your authority and SEO. Linkbuilding can be time-consuming and challenging, but a successful SEO strategy must include it. This easy-to-follow link-building guide will show you how to build high-quality backlinks to improve your SEO and help you achieve your business goals.
What are Backlinks?
Backlinks are your website’s URLs mentioned on other websites that point back to your site. They are also touted as “inbound links” or “incoming links.” Backlinks are vital because they are like votes of credibility, usefulness, and value for your website. They show Google that your site is valuable, relevant, and popular, which will help you rank higher in SERPs. The more quality backlinks you have from other popular sites, the higher your site will rank in SERPs. Google admits that backlinks are among their top three ranking factors, along with content and RankBrain (Google’s artificial intelligence system). If you plan to rank higher in SERPs, you must focus on building backlinks.
Some Figures and Stats
Over 90% of marketing experts believe that Google’s ranking algorithm will continue to factor in link building for the next five years. More than 50% of experts find these mentions to significantly impact a website’s performance. A survey found that most small businesses generate backlinks through content marketing, with nearly half of those surveyed saying they create new content specifically to generate backlinks. Other popular methods include guest blogging and directory listings. Interestingly, small businesses are more likely to generate backlinks organically (through their own efforts) than by paying for them. Yet, around 40% of marketers feel it’s the most challenging part of SEO.
How To Build Backlinks
Now that we’ve touched base on why backlinks are important and how they can help your website, it’s time to learn how to build them. Here are a few methods you can use to start building backlinks for your site:
Create Guest Posts for Other Blogs
One of the best ways to get high-quality backlinks is to write guest posts for other blogs in your industry. When you guest post, you write an article for another blog and include a link back to your own site. It gives your site much-needed exposure and lets you build relationships with other bloggers in your industry. To find blogs that accept guest posts, you can search for “guest post + [your industry].” For example, if you’re in the SEO industry, you would search for “guest post + SEO.” It should bring up a list of blogs that accept guest posts. Another approach to finding guest posting opportunities is to use a tool like BuzzSumo. BuzzSumo lets you see the most popular content in your industry. You can then contact the authors of that content and inquire about writing a guest post for their site.
Best Practices for Guest Posting
Some many successful bloggers and businesses continue to use guest posting as a part of their content marketing strategy. When performed correctly, guest posting can be an effective way to reach a new audience, build relationships with other bloggers, and grow your blog or business. However, there are some best practices to consider if you want to make guest posting work for you. First, it’s crucial to find guest posting opportunities that are a good fit for your blog or business. Guest posting has no point if it’s on a website that doesn’t align with your values or target audience. You also need to ensure that your guest post is high-quality and informative. A helpful tip is to consider your guest post an extension of your brand. Would you be satisfied or proud to have your name associated with the guest post? If not, it’s likely not worth your time. When you pitch your guest blog idea, be sure to:
- Include a proposed title and outline for your article
- Explain how your report will be relevant and exciting to their audience
- Include a link to your landing page
Finally, don’t forget the promotion of your guest post once it’s published. A great way to do this is to share the post on your social media channels and include a link in your following email newsletter.
Email Template for Guest Posting Request
Emailing bloggers to request a guest post can be an effective way to get in front of a new audience and promote your website or blog. But, like all outreach, it needs to be done the right way, or you risk turning people off and getting your email deleted. Here’s a guest posting email template you can use when reaching out to bloggers to request a guest post:
Hi [Blogger Name],
I hope all is well. I recently came across your blog and really enjoyed reading it. I can tell you put a lot of time and effort into creating high-quality content.
I also have a website/blog in a similar niche as yours. I would love to contribute a guest post to your blog. I’m confident your readers would appreciate the valuable content I share.
In return, I would include a link to my website/blog so your readers can find me.
If you’re interested, I’ll happily send over some ideas for guest post topics. Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing back from you soon.
Best,
[Your Name]
Share Survey Results and Data to Earn Backlinks Organically
Surveys provide invaluable insights that can help to improve your products, services, and overall marketing strategy. But what happens after you’ve collected all of this survey data? How do you turn it into something valuable that will actually help your business? One of the most effective ways to do this is to share survey results, figures, and statistics on your blog or website. When you share original data that is compelling and valuable, other websites and blogs will be more likely to link to it. That helps you earn backlinks naturally and can lead to more traffic and exposure for your website or blog. Case studies also build relationships with other businesses. If you can show how your products or services have helped them, they will be more likely to link to your content and recommend you to their own customers. When you create surveys, you can ask people to rate your products or services or ask general questions about their experiences. You can then use this data to create case studies that show how your products or services have helped people. It shows potential customers the value of what you have to offer. Here are some tips for sharing survey results, figures, and statistics:
- Make sure the data is accurate and from a reliable source.
- Present the data in an exciting and visually appealing way.
- Write a captivating headline that will grab attention.
- Share the data on social media and other websites to get exposure.
- Provide a link back to your website or blog so people can find more information.
Sharing survey results and data with other websites and blogs in your industry can help you to earn high-quality backlinks. That can improve your search engine ranking and drive traffic to your website. Here’s a step-by-step guide to sharing your survey results to earn backlinks:
Create a Landing Page for Your Survey Results
Don’t just share a link to your raw survey data. Instead, develop a landing page on your website that presents your results in an easily digestible format. Make sure to include:
- An overview of your survey results
- An explanation of what your results mean
- Visual representations of your data (e.g., charts, graphs, infographics)
- Your contact information in case other websites have questions
Approach Other Blogs and Websites in Your Industry
Once you’ve set up your landing page, it’s time to start reaching out to other websites and blogs in your industry. Look for websites that:
- Have a high domain authority
- Regularly publish content related to your industry
- Have previously linked to similar content
Monitor Your Backlinks
Once you start sharing your survey results and earning backlinks, monitoring your progress comes next. There are a few different ways to do this, including:
- Checking your website’s backlink profile using a tool like Moz or Majestic
- Monitoring your website’s search engine ranking using a tool like Google Analytics
- Tracking the traffic to your landing page using a tool like Google Analytics
By monitoring your backlinks, you’ll see how effective your efforts are and make necessary adjustments to your strategy.
Repeat the Process
Finally, don’t forget to repeat the process regularly. As you create new surveys, share your results and earn backlinks. Over time, you’ll build a strong backlink profile that can help to improve your website’s search engine ranking and direct relevant traffic to your website.
Quality Content Can Worth a Million in Backlinks
The age-old link building method was to go out and get links from other websites through link begging, link buying, or link spamming. This process can be very time-consuming and, if not done correctly, can result in a penalization from Google. So, what’s a better way to get links and traffic to your website? The answer is quality content. Quality content is the key to natural backlinks because people want to link to informative and well-written articles, videos, or infographics. If you create informative, well-written, and helpful content, people will be happy to link to it. You can even promote your content on social media and other websites to get more people to see it. Here’s how:
Write In-Depth Articles That Offer Value
Businesses and website owners are always hungry for insightful information. They will link to your site if you can provide them with valuable and informative articles. Include keyword-rich titles and descriptions so your articles can be easily visible to people searching for them.
Offer Freebies and Downloads
People love free stuff! If you offer freebies on your website, you can earn a lot of mentions. Your freebies must provide quality and value to the person receiving them. Remember, the key is to offer value and be informative so that people will want to link to your website.
Create Infographics and Visual Content
An infographic is a super popular type of content on the web. It’s easy to consume, highly shareable, and effective in driving traffic and links. Infographics can be handy for link building because they offer a unique opportunity to get high-quality, relevant backlinks from authoritative websites.
What are infographics?
An infographic is a visual content that uses charts, graphs, and images to present concise and easy-to-understand information. Infographics typically communicate complex data or information in a more digestible and engaging way than text alone. While infographics can serve various purposes, they’re particularly well-suited for this strategy because they offer a unique opportunity to get high-quality backlinks from authoritative websites.
How can infographics help you get more backlinks?
Infographics can be particularly effective for link building for the following reasons.
- Infographics can communicate complex data or information in a more digestible format. It makes them ideal for creating content that is both informative and link-worthy.
- Since infographics are visual, they tend to be highly shareable. It means that it has the potential to reach a broad audience and generate a lot of backlinks.
- Infographics offer a unique opportunity to get links from high-quality websites. That’s because infographics are often available on websites with high domain authority, which can help boost your own website’s authority.
- Visual assets like infographics are usually embedded in articles or blog posts, so they offer an excellent chance to get your content in front of a new audience. It can help increase the reach of your content and generate even more backlinks.
How to Get Started with Link Building Using Infographics
A successful infographic has a structure. For example, a good infographic on meditation ideally provides an overview of the benefits of meditation. It includes a brief description of meditation, how it can benefit your health, and tips for getting started. The graphic is informative and visually appealing, with a relaxing color scheme and imagery. Now let’s see how you can create something like this:
Create Something Both Informative and Visually Appealing
To do this, you’ll need to come up with a topic that is interesting and relevant to your audience. Once you have a subject in mind, you’ll need to gather data and information to support your infographic. Once you have all the data and information you need, it’s time to start putting your infographic together. When designing your infographic, use high-quality images and visuals to make it as engaging and visually appealing as possible.
Publish Your Infographic on Your Website
Once your infographic is complete, it’s time to publish it on your website. When publishing your infographic, include a brief description and a call-to-action (CTA). The CTA should encourage viewers to share your infographic on social media or embed it on their own website.
Share Your Infographic on Social Media
After you’ve published your infographic on your website, start promoting it on social media. Use engaging visuals and catchy headlines to grab attention. You should also put a link to your website to encourage viewers to visit your site.
Reach Out to Websites in Your Industry
Contact other website owners in your industry, include a link to your infographic and add a short description of why you think it would interest their audience.
Monitor Your Progress and Adjust Your Strategy
As with any link-building campaign, monitoring your progress and adjusting your strategy as needed is essential. You’ll need to track the number of backlinks you’re getting from your infographic. You can use a tool like Moz’s Link Explorer to do this. If you do not get the desired backlink profile, it may be necessary to adjust your approach. For example, you may need to create more engaging content, reach out to more websites, or promote your content more aggressively on social media.
Some Bonus Tips on Building Quality Backlinks
We’re adding some of our top picks on link-building strategies that can potentially explode:
Speak at Events
You can speak at events in your industry if you have something valuable. It can build your reputation and get exposure for your site. To do this, register with places that list upcoming events in your industry, and look for opportunities to speak. When speaking at an event, include a link to your website in your bio or slides. It will help people to find your site after the event. You can also hand out business cards with your website URL on them. If you give a great talk, people will want to share it. It can lead to your talk being posted online with a link to your site. If the site that posts your talk is high quality, this can be a great way to get a backlink.
Host a Contest
You can promote your contest on social media and other websites to get more people to participate. Offer valuable prizes to your target audience to make your contest more successful. For example, if you are a food blogger, you could offer a free cookbook or a cooking class as a reward.
Do a Roundup Post
A roundup post is a post that features many different experts in a particular field. You can reach out to the experts and ask them to contribute to your post. To write a roundup post, you need to find experts in your field. You can use Google to find such people. Once you have their contact information, you can email them and ask them to contribute to your post.
Create a Blog
If you don’t already have a blog, now is the time to create one. A blog is ideal for sharing your expertise and getting people to link to your site. Blogging takes time and endless commitment, but sticking with it can pay off significantly. To get links to your site, make sure you offer something unique. People who like what you have to offer will link to your site without you even asking. Provide valuable content that is worth linking. If you do this, people will link to your site without you even asking.
Do a Google Search
A Google search is one of the easiest ways to find backlink opportunities. You can search for things like “guest post + [your industry]” or “submit article + [your industry].” It should show you a list of websites where you can submit your content or write a guest post.
Tools You Should Use to Build Backlinks
You can use several free and paid link-building tools to help you build backlinks to your website or blog. 1. Google Search Console – This free tool from Google can help you track your backlink profile and see which websites are linking to you. It can also help you identify and fix any broken links. 2. Moz Open Site Explorer – This tool helps you research and analyze your backlink profile. It also includes a link checker tool to help you identify and fix any broken links. 3. Ahrefs Site Explorer – This is another popular tool for researching and analyzing your backlink profile. In addition to a link checker, it also includes a backlink analyzer to help you understand your link-building strategy. 4. BuzzSumo – BuzzSumo allows you to see the most popular content on the web, including the number of social shares and backlinks. It can help you identify popular content to target with your link-building efforts. 5. Majestic SEO – You can get extensive data on your backlink profile using this tool, including metrics like trust flow and citation flow. 6. Link Explorer – This free tool from Moz allows you to research and analyze your backlink profile. 7. SEOmoz – SEOmoz provides a suite of SEO tools to help you with your link building efforts, including a link checker, backlink analysis, and more. 8. Linkody – Linkody lets you track your backlinks and get notified when new ones are added or old ones are removed.
Final Thoughts
Building high-quality backlinks can be indispensable for your website’s SEO. This guide has shown you several different ways to build backlinks. Now it’s time to put these methods into practice and start building backlinks for your site.
Warning: The Problem with Low-Quality Backlinks
Low-quality backlinks can lead to a drop in search engine rankings. They can also cause your website to be blacklisted by Google. You can undoubtedly avoid low-quality backlinks and remove them if they already exist on your website. Link only to high-quality websites with good domain ratings, authority, and spam scores. If they already exist, use Google’s disavow tool to disavow any low-quality backlinks you cannot remove yourself. Low-quality backlinks can come from various sources, such as directory submissions, blog comments, and forum signatures. They can also come from link farms, websites that exist solely to sell links. Link farms are not the only source of low-quality backlinks. Many so-called “black hat” SEO tactics can result in low-quality backlinks, such as link buying, link spamming, and link schemes. If you suspect a website is selling links, you can use Google’s Link Diagnostics tool to check for links coming from that website. If you find links from a link farm, disavow them using Google’s disavow tool. If any website uses black hat SEO tactics, you can report it to Google using the “Abuse” link at the bottom of the search results page. Taking these steps to avoid and remove low quality backlinks will help to improve your website’s search engine rankings and overall reputation.
