“Backlinks”, that is, the sites that link to your site , are, for most search engines, the supreme ranking factor. So is getting more organic traffic. Since that traffic is directly related to the quality of backlinks your website has, the more authoritative websites link to you, the better rankings and traffic you will get.
And, of course, you should keep an eye on your Google ranking. When crawling the web, Google looks in particular for your website’s backlinks, to understand how and in what way your pages are connected to each other. Certainly, there are hundreds of ranking factors. But backlinks represent the most important metric for SEO.
Now, it goes without saying that quality backlinks are hard to come by, but they shouldn’t be. In fact, there are smart ways to build or earn backlinks, to get authoritative websites to link to your online business. Here are ten:
Table of Contents
1. The Broken Link Building Method
I love the “broken link” building method because it works perfectly for creating one-way back links. The technique is to contact a webmaster to inform them of broken links on your website.
At the same time, you recommend other websites to replace that link. And here, of course, you mention your own website. Since you are doing the webmaster a favor by reporting broken links, the chances of them returning a link to your website are high. So, to use the broken link method, first find relevant websites in your niche that have resource pages.
Find them using these Google search queries:
• your keyword + links
• your keywords + resources
• enurl keywords: links
For example, if I have a parenting website, I will search for parenting + links.
To easily find broken links on those pages, download and install the Google Chrome plugin called Check my Links.
Now, back to the webmaster: When you contact him, be nice and introduce yourself.
Tell that person that you are linking to resources that are no longer available. Always provide the exact location of broken links, so they can be found easily. Offer some alternatives to replace those links, including your own website. Try to be helpful, not greedy to get a backlink. Often this method will work, but there will be cases where the webmaster will refuse to link to you.
Also Read: How to do LinkBuilding for SEO
2. Backlinks through infographics
Infographics are one of the most popular methods to drive traffic to your website and gain valuable backlinks. They’re also great because they’re easy to understand and share. Everyone likes visual data, right? That is why the demand for infographics has increased considerably.
Now, choose your infographics carefully: Each one should include a unique and interesting story for your audience . To make your selection, follow the topics that are currently trending and see what people are searching for, and then create your infographic using statistical data. To get started, research and gather data for your content. Next, find someone to make your content visual.
There is a misconception that creating an infographic is expensive; Is not always that way. Estimate an average price of between 150 and 300 euros. Assuming you can earn 10 backlinks per infographic, you will be paying €15 per link. For five backlinks, the price will be €30 per link. That’s very cheap for backlinks earned through webmaster moderation. And if your infographic goes viral, you earn even more. Try using Dribble to find designers with good portfolios. Contact them directly by upgrading your account to the PRO category, for only 20 euros per year.
Then, simply use the search filter and type “infographic.” After you find someone you like, click “hire me” and send a message need your needs and request a price. Fiverr is another place to find great designs willing to create cheap infographics. Next, once your infographic is ready, you need to make it easy for others to share. To do this, create your own embed code using the Siege Media generator.
Once everything is ready, and your infographic shines on your website, it’s time to distribute it. There are infographic directories where you can submit yours. Last but not least, reach out via email to people who have previously linked to similar infographics or shared them on social media. Ask for feedback on your infographic, but never ask for a link directly. If they like your infographic, they’ll know what to do.
3. The advantage of guest articles
Guest blogging is the most effective way to reach new audiences. By publishing articles on other popular websites, you’ll help your content reach new readers and gain more exposure. Sometimes, it’s not just about the backlink, but about increasing your online reputation or your followers on social media. Guest blogging helps you leverage your relationships and expand your audience. In case you have concerns about guest posting, consider that even Google accepts guest contributors on their Google Analytics blog.
Use Google search queries to find blogs that accept guest contributors:
• your keyword + inurl: write-for-us
• your keyword + guest posts
• your keyword + inurl: guest-post-Guidelines
• your keyword + become a contributor
• your keyword + bloggers wanted
• your keyword + submit an article
• your keyword + I want to write for
• your keyword + contribute
• your keyword + become an author
• your keyword + guest post by
• your keyword + now accept guest posts
Look for influencers who regularly guest post and try to contribute to the same websites they have had in the past. Repeat the process with other influencers, and you’ll find endless opportunities to post content on third-party websites.
Use social media to discover other options.
On Twitter , search for “guest post,” “guest article,” or “guest author.” To automate the process, use Tops and to set alerts for the keywords you want to track. When you post a guest post, always make sure you link to your social media profiles . If someone likes your post, they can easily follow you for future similar articles.
Also Read: Retargeting: How Does It Work And Why Is It Essential For Your Business
4. Spy on your competitors.
If you are serious about getting more organic traffic, it is mandatory to stay up to date with the online marketing strategies of your main competitors. You have to spy on your competitors on social media and look for their link building or earning techniques as well as their content marketing methods.
Here are some tips:
• Sign up to receive alerts when competitors post new content on their websites.
• Subscribe to their email newsletters or follow them on social media. Another smart way to catch up on their new content is to create a Google alert for the keyword “site: tucompetidor.com”. For example, if my competitor is TechCrunch, I can set a Google alert with the keyword: site:techcrunch.com
• Know when and what backlinks your competitors are building or earning.
This will help you replicate their best backlinks and better understand what methods they are using to promote their website. If they get links through guest blogging, try to become a guest author on the same websites. If most of your links come from blog reviews, contact those blogs and offer them a trial to try your tool. In time, they may write a review about it.
A free tool to spy on my competitors’ backlinks is called Backlinks Monitor. It allows you to add your four most important competitors. From there, you get a weekly report with all the new links they have earned. Within the tool, you get more information about these links and can rank them by their value and other SEO metrics. A useful feature is that all the links that my own website already has are highlighted in green, like in the screenshot below.
Using this technique, I can easily determine new link building opportunities. With Backlinks Monitor, I can track all the backlinks my website is earning. Every time my link building campaigns are successful, I can see all the new backlinks I’m getting on my dashboard.
5. Build internal links.
Internal links are a key factor for a successful blog. They pass the link juice, and you can use your anchor texts. With a good internal link structure, you can help users easily navigate your website and increase the overall user experience.
There are tools that can automatically create internal links on your blog, especially if you use WordPress, but you must do it manually. Matt Cutts, former director of Google’s web spam department, has recommended webmasters keep the number of internal links per page below 100 , both for usability and SEO.
6. Promote your content.
Great content won’t get you backlinks unless you know how to promote it well. You have to go out into the world and spread the word to promote your best articles. One of the best strategies to do this is to contact bloggers or websites that do weekly or monthly rounds. Again, you can use Google and search for queries like “keyword + summary.” Make sure to choose, to see results only for the last week or month.
Next, contact the webmasters and give them a quick presentation of your website. With your message, send a link to one of your best tutorials or guides. If they find your resource useful, they will link to it in their next weekly digest. These bloggers are constantly looking for great content, so they surely want to hear from you. As with the other techniques, be sure not to abuse your relationship with any webmaster by asking them directly for a link.
7. Write testimonials.
An easy method to earn quality backlinks is to write testimonials for the websites you use. You will only spend a few minutes and you can earn a link from the home page of an authoritative website. As long as you are a customer of that product, there is a good chance that you will get a link in exchange for a testimonial. List all the tools you currently use and contact them to discuss the possibility of including your testimonial on the desired website.
Also Read: Positioning factors: what influences your position on Google
8. Contact important journalists and bloggers.
To get links to your website, you have to make your business known. And what better way to do that than to reach out to journalists and influencers in your niche via email? Finding someone’s email address can be a challenge, but there’s no reason to get discouraged. Here’s how to find someone’s email address:
More than 90% of email addresses for publications and websites are in the following format: john@website.com or sjohn@website.com or smith.john@website.com. So try sending your proposal to these emails directly.
If the above formats don’t work, use tools like Voilanorbert, Thrust.io or Emailfinder.io. You just have to enter the name of the person you are trying to contact and the website they work for. Alternatively, you can send your message using social media or Linkedin. Also keep in mind that each message should be brief and direct. Nobody has time for long, boring emails from strangers.
9. Make donations.
Yes, you can get backlinks by donating to non-profit organizations. This method is quick and simple. All you have to do is find websites in your niche that accept donations and link to sites that have donated. Simply indicate the donation amount you wish to make and enter your website URL. Finding these websites requires some Google searches.
Below are some queries that usually give good results:
• Contributors page + donate + your keyword
• Donation + contributors + your keyword
• Contributors page + your keyword
10. Have yourself interviewed.
Online interviews are all the rage right now, and they’re a great and easy way to get backlinks to your website. Once you become an authority in your niche, you will receive many interview invitations, but until then, to get started, you need to take the first step. Look for websites that are running interviews and days that you would like to participate in and what knowledge you can bring to the table.
Conclusion :
Getting quality backlinks can sometimes be a challenge, but you can easily find link building opportunities using the right resources and methods. Finally, remember that maintaining your backlinks is just as important as building them. Therefore, keep track of the backlinks your website receives, using tools like Monitor Backlinks, Ahrefs or Majestic.