Numerous studies have shown that link-building is vital in increasing search engine rankings. Truthfully, link-building takes some effort, though it’s worth the work. Backlinks are links from another website to your website. The more backlinks you earn from high-quality websites, the more people find you online. Not only does that increase your page rank, but it also increases website traffic, brand awareness, and brand authority. Thus, robust link-building strategies are a must for Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
You must continuously build backlinks by employing effective link-building strategies to increase and maintain your backlink profile. This article contains 20 proven link-building techniques for gaining high-quality backlinks, pushing you ahead of the competition, and ranking your website higher in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).
1. Create Evergreen Content
What is evergreen content? Evergreen content remains relevant. In contrast to posts on trending topics or current event news articles, evergreen content continues to provide value to your readers. Such content naturally ranks well on Google and gains more backlinks. Because it is “link-worthy,” it encourages editorial links, precisely the type of natural links Google likes to see.
To create evergreen posts, be sure to do the following:
- Use keywords with a good search volume; any keyword research tool can aid you in this endeavor. Your shortlisted keywords should not be seasonal and should be proven to have consistent search volume within the last few weeks to months.
- Publish “10x content.” Using your keywords, work until your content is ten times better than the highest-ranking results for those same keywords. If you accomplish this, it’s difficult for your competition to outrank you.
- Even so, audit your evergreen content to ensure it’s still ranking as trends evolve. If you find that it’s no longer generating links naturally, refresh and relaunch your content as needed.
2. Keep Up with News and Trending Topics
While evergreen content brings traffic and backlinks throughout the year, news and time-sensitive content also attracts backlinks. Publishing content on trending topics often yields backlinks from media houses and similar sites. These links may not have the same longevity as evergreen backlinks, though they are an excellent way to earn backlinks quickly.
One technique is to have a seasonal calendar through which you can tap into essential events, create content about them, and earn backlinks in the process.
3. Use Infographics to Build Backlinks
Infographics are an increasingly popular medium and are especially good for link-building. The combination of visual and text-based content makes infographics easy to understand and just as easy to share. If you employ a graphic designer, you can create excellent infographics on various topics within your niche. Even if you don’t have the budget for a designer, tools like Canva enable you to create infographics quickly.
Here are the ways you can use infographics to generate backlinks:
Use embed code. The easiest way to use an infographic’s ability to generate backlinks is to place infographics on your website and place an embed code below it to make it easier to share.
Request a backlink. When someone uses this embed code in the content, it earns you a backlink. Some may use your infographic without the code. Periodically, you can run an image search for your infographic, reach out to those featuring it on their page, and request a backlink.
Offer an infographic as a guest post. Identify bloggers within your niche. Email them about your infographic and explain how it will add value to their content. They often accept your offer and include your infographic in their article.
4. Publish Interactive Content
Interactive content generates a great deal of engagement. Interactive content includes quizzes, calculators, and polls. These generate a lot of internet buzz. Take Buzzfeed as an example. The website creates an average of 7.8 quizzes daily, and most users who start Buzzfeed quizzes finish them. Quizzes create backlinks from authoritative publications like Forbes, The Washington Post, and others. There are tools available to help you create quizzes and calculators. Some examples are Outgrow and Uberflip.
5. Be a Guest Blogger
Guest blogging is a high-quality backlink strategy because it involves reaching out to an existing set of audiences in your niche, driving referral traffic, and building authority for your site. To find guest blogging opportunities within your niche, search Google for “Your keyword” + the following:
- + become a contributor
- + inurl:contribute
- + inurl:write-for-us
- + intitle: write for us
- + guest posts
You can also use SEO tools to analyze competitor backlinks and see where they may be guest blogging. Once you have a list, reach out with a guest blogging proposal. Just be sure the sites rank well with Google, as guest blogging on lower-quality sites won’t gain valuable backlinks.
6. Create Your Own Podcast
Producing your own podcast gives you creative control over the content (versus being a guest on someone else’s). It’s also a perfect way to build your brand and demonstrate your expertise. Podcast apps are available now, enabling you to record podcasts from your smartphone.
Once your podcast gains some popularity, the backlinks will begin. Other influencers within your niche may reach out to you and ask to be a guest or invite you to be a guest on theirs.
7. Spend Time on Product Hunt
Product Hunt is a website where people explore new technology, websites, mobile apps, and other tools. It’s a hub for discussions with other tech enthusiasts. To get backlinks from Product Hunt, you’ll need to create a free account and link to your website. Then, participate in Product Hunt by writing reviews, leaving comments, and upvoting and downvoting products.
8. Backlinks from “Best of” Blog Posts
This method of acquiring backlinks was designed by Brian Dean at Backlinko. It is simple but effective. To begin, search using the following search strings:
“Best (TOPIC) Blog Year”
“My Favorite (TOPIC) blogs”
“(TOPIC) blogs to read”
Any of these search terms will yield a “best of” list of blogs on your topic. Next, create a Google Doc and add links from any good blog from which you’d like a backlink. Be sure you have captured an email address for the blogger as well. Reach out to each and present them with a link to an article you have prepared. Ask if they could include it in one of their weekly or monthly roundup posts.
In addition, many of these blogs will allow you to post a comment and a link to your website. Just be sure your comment (or question) is thoughtful and sincere.
9. Create a Crunchbase Account
Crunchbase is an online community whose members keep abreast of the latest global industry trends, investments, and news from startups to Fortune 1000 companies. While it’s intended to be a place to make connections, it’s also a rich resource for gaining quality backlinks for your website.
To take advantage of the backlink opportunity, create a Crunchbase account. Then, link to your website. As a result, you automatically gain a backlink from a website with high domain authority. If you’re a small business owner, take an additional few minutes to build a company profile.
10. Build Links with Help A Reporter Out (HARO)
HARO is a sourcing service that connects journalists and bloggers with expert sources. This enables journalists to meet deadlines and brands to tell their stories. Subscribing to HARO and signing up as a source allows you to gain quality backlinks from news sites. Soon, you’ll begin receiving emails from reporters looking for sources. Once you find a good fit, respond with some helpful content and, of course, your credentials.
11. Provide Testimonials
Give a testimonial for a product you use and let the owner know they can include it on their website. Include a link to your website in your signature.
12. Link Reclamation
Link reclamation is a simple and effective process. First, find mentions of your brand that do not include a link to your website. Next, email the site owner and request that they add the link. You can use a tool like Buzzsumo to find mentions.
13. Republish Content on Steemit
Steemit is a blockchain-based blogging and social media website that rewards users with the cryptocurrency STEEM. With over a million registered users, republishing articles here means reaching a wider audience and gaining some all-important backlinks.
14. Repurpose Your Articles on Quora Spaces
Quora is a platform where users can ask questions and connect with people with insights and answers. Quora also allows you to create your own blogs and, more recently, publish them in Quora Spaces. You can repurpose some of your older content on Quora and gain some good backlinks in the process.
15. Publish Skyscraper Content
Skyscraping content is another technique by Brian Dean that involves finding the best-ranking content in your niche and using it to create something better. Google for the keyword you wish to target, then review the first-page search results. Select the content receiving the most backlinks. Create a similar piece of content, though add to it to fill in any content gaps you see in the original.
If you need help prioritizing topics for skyscraper content, you can use tools like Ahrefs Site Explorer or Ahrefs Keyword Explorer to analyze competitor websites. These tools enable you to sort the keywords and blog topics based on the total number of referring domains.
16. Broken Link Building
A broken link points to a page that has been moved or deleted, resulting in a 404 error. You can use a tool like Ahrefs Broken Link Checker to find broken links on any site from which you want to earn a backlink. Once you find a broken link, email the site owner and ask if you can share a relevant piece of content from your site to replace it.
17. Create an Ultimate Guide
An ultimate guide is a type of long-form content that compiles much information on a topic in a single place. A well-crafted guide becomes a go-to source for a given topic and thus generates backlinks.
To create a compelling ultimate guide, find a popular topic not covered in depth within your niche or industry. Then, develop a detailed content outline that captures all-encompassing information related to your topic. Once you’ve published your guide, promote it thoroughly, and you should begin generating backlinks.
18. Publish Original Research
Publishing original research attracts many high-quality backlinks because few people take the time to thoroughly research and then write a comprehensive report or article. Conducting original research is time-consuming and can take months just to collect the data. This includes conducting surveys, generating case studies, and collecting other statistics that have not been found previously by other studies. You’ll also need to maintain your research data to preserve its authenticity.
The rewards come later when other websites take an interest in your research and link to it, whether they are writing about your study specifically or using it as a source in their own article on a similar topic. Such content also establishes your authority and results in high-quality backlinks.
19. Host Meet-up or Other Event
Offline connections can lead to backlinks. Some ways to accomplish this are to host an offline event or sponsor an in-person meet-up. When hosting an event, backlinks naturally occur when you post your event (with a link to your website) on event listing sites. You generally earn a link on the event page if you’re sponsoring an event or meet-up.
In addition to gaining a few backlinks, such offline events also strengthen your branding strategy.
20. Maintain a Strong Social Sharing Strategy
It goes without saying that a robust social sharing strategy improves your SEO by driving traffic to your website and enhancing your online brand exposure. The same principles apply to the backlink strategy.
As your content is shared across social networks, more people see it. Logically, this increases the chances that readers will link back to your content from their own posts or websites. Further, you’ll connect with niche influencers on social media platforms, establishing potentially long-lasting relationships. As influencers share your content, Google is alerted to your now-stronger brand reputation. Increasing your brand authority is an excellent complement to building quality backlinks.
Slow and Steady Wins the Race
Now that you’ve reviewed some of these 20 proven link-building strategies, you can put some (or all) of them to use. If you are just beginning to build your backlink profile, you’ll apply a bit more elbow grease to see results. Remember, your initial momentum may be slow, but the pace will pick up as your efforts begin to pay off.
As you publish more quality content and earn more backlinks, more users will find those pages through organic search and referrals. That, in turn, leads to more backlinks with no additional effort from you. Effective link-building isn’t a trick. It’s keeping to the basics for the long term. The results may take time, but they are rewarding.
