Backlinks are links that are one-way hyperlinks to certain websites that content creators use to improve their visibility on the search engine optimization. This is what is also called Link building. There are various link building strategies that one can use. Some of them are email outreach, public relations, broken link building, building useful tools, and content marketing. There are also websites that offer link building services.
We will tell you all there is to know about link building, anchor text, and backlinks to get your website high on that SEO ranking.
Why You Should Pay Attention To Link Building
Remember the old days when AltaVista and Yahoo were our go-to search engines? Well, that was when these search engines used to rank web pages solely on the basis of their content. As soon as Google entered the race, things changed completely. Now, Google uses the number of people linked to a certain website to analyze its ranking. This does not mean just an overdose of backlinks but quality links and link popularity as well.
And till date, backlinks have remained one of the major factors in determining a webpage’s ranking on Google’s algorithm. This is why it’s so important for a website owner to work on link building and valuable content. We will tell you many link building tactics and SEO strategies, just read on ahead!
What Are High-Quality Links and How To Find Them?
A high-quality link is extremely important for your site’s ranking. Here’s how you can run a successful link building campaign!
Look For The PageRank
The authority of the website that you link your page to has to be of high quality. When you get a backlink to a website that’s popular and legitimate, the authority of your content grows as well.
The authority of a page is called PageRank. The PageRank of websites is not published by Google, but it is still used in Google’s algorithm. One great proxy indicator for PageRank is Ahrefs.
Simply attach a page’s URL onto Ahrefs, and it will show you the URL Rating.
Look For The Domain Rating
The popularity of the domain also plays a crucial role in determining its legitimacy. For example, a backlink from The Washington Post will help you much more than some website that no one knows of. It may be difficult to get these links. But they are worth it.
You can use Ahrefs to see the Domain Rating, or you can also use Moz to check the Domain Authority.
Is the Backlink Relevant To Your Content?
While it may have been easier to get traffic into your website years back, it’s gotten much more competitive now. The outbound links matter as much as the inbound link. You need to learn how to build links specifically for your link profile.
For example, if your article is about Yoga and healthy living, you can’t just attach a backlink to some article about rain or the weather. It has to be relevant to your site’s theme. The general rule is that you need to build a backlink to sites that have a similar theme to your website.
Where is The Backlink Located On Your Social Media Page?
This is a little detail that a lot of beginner SEO professionals miss. The position of your link matters. If it’s hidden in your content’s footer, then it won’t have much value. You need to attach it appropriately onto your content’s body.
Is Your Link An Editorial Link?
Once you gain some experience in SEO link building and link building techniques, you will realize that it’s the details that matter.
Whenever you see your website’s link somewhere, check if your link was placed editorially.
And editorial placement means that someone liked your work and picked your link exclusively for their content. If this is not the case, there won’t be much impact.
In fact, if you create a random blog post on some website just to create a backlink to your web page, it might be seen as a violation by Google.
What Is An Anchor Text?
An anchor text is that section of your content where you hyperlink the backlink. So, these are the relevant words where you connect your content with another article on another website.
And, Google’s algorithm uses this information for a site’s ranking. But unfortunately, this link opportunity has been misused by site owners. So, now using random anchor texts is considered a form of spam. And the tag of spam is not great for your valuable content.
Link Co-Occurrences
These are also called “baby anchor text.” These are the words that surround your outbound links. Google uses this to analyze what your website is all about. So, it’s important to keep this detail in mind while link building.
Does Backlinks From A Guest Post Work?
A couple of years back, Google announced that Guest Posts have become more of a paid thing and have become spam.
While it is true that Guest Posts can quickly become an indicator of spam, creating an authentic, relevant, and authoritative content can make it a useful tool.
Here are some points to keep in mind:
- Your content and the content of the guest post should not have the same anchor text.
- Do not create a website that is there only to publish your content as a guest post.
- The site should be relevant and related to your website.
All the above points make it look like you have paid someone to make a guest post just for the sake of it. This will not look like a natural link, hence, guest posting should be authentic.
What Are The Nofollow Attributes Of A Link?
Nofollow attribute of a link signal to SEO that link should not be counted as an endorsement. And we do not want that. We need dofollow links for all our content.
Here’s how You Can Use Content Marketing To Get Top BackLinks
Obviously, good content pulls traffic to your website. But, there’s a technique for building links that will give your link profile all the traffic it needs. There are four top ways of doing this.
Take Care Of Your Visual Asset
Your visual asset contains diagrams, images, charts, infographics, and other visual content.
It’s one great way to get backlinks to your website because it’s much more likely to be used by other website owners that deal with similar content as you. And anytime they share one of your visual assets, your domain authority will grow.
Furthermore, visual content is attractive and not everyone has the time or skill to create one. So, if you are really dedicated to taking your game up a notch, invest your time in your visual asset.
Always List Your Posts
Being organized and presentable will always make you stand out. Moreover, it will prove your professionalism and give you legitimacy.
One way to show this is by listing your posts. Whether it is a list of techniques, myths, tips, or reasons to do something. Anything can be organized into a nice and attractive list.
A recent study by BuzzSumo showed that posts with lists had higher backlinks than posts with infographics, videos, and even quizzes.
It will attract loads of comments and shares because it is much easier to read and works as a backlink magnet! The only thing is that you need to put extra effort into presenting your content.
Don’t Be Shy To Publish Original Data And Research
If you have any experience in collecting original data and conducting research, go ahead and do it. These can range from anything, but it is preferable that it is relevant and connected to your website. Some highly demanded research data fines from surveys and original industrial studies.
It works because statistics give an argument or content legitimacy. It shows that what the post theorizes has a basis on real-life events. And, they are highly attractive and linkable. And, whenever anyone uses your data, they will have to generate a backlink to your website. And these backlinks have the potential to grow very fast.
Furthermore, people are likely to click on the source of original data or research much more than on other backlinks.
And, the beauty of such work is that people keep using these data and original studies years after it is published. So, your post will keep attracting backlinks.
A Complete Guide Into Whatever Topic Your Website Deals With
This is a great way to gather momentum for your website. It basically means that you will provide a comprehensive and complete guide to your readers/viewers on whatever topic that your website covers. Trust me; this is a great way to attract beginners.
This technique works because the internet can get quite cluttered at times. And, most people would not want to visit several websites or read multiple articles. So, if you provide them with a complete guide on something, people are bound to click on it. And sometimes, they will visit your website multiple times to reread the same article. And, if you are lucky, you might even earn loyal followers, which is the ultimate reward for all your hard work.
Use Email Outreach Creatively To Make A Lasting Impact
Email outreach is a risky area because if you don’t use it correctly, you can end you in your customer’s spam folder. Pay close attention, and even your local SEO ranking will soar.
Look For “Likely Linkers”
Likely linkers are websites or website owners that share similar areas of interest as you. And so, they will be more likely to link to your website. So, one way of finding a likely linker is by searching for them on a search engine.
What you can do is google a keyword that you want to target. Copy the first URL that shows up on the search engine. And then, paste the URL in a link analysis tool. Click in “backlinks” and viola, you will see a list of websites that are your likely linkers.
Do A Deep Dive Into Your Likely Linkers
If this sounds like too much work, pull yourself up because you will thank yourself for taking the extra effort. I would suggest you to avoid using a website’s contact form. You will most likely receive a reply very late or not at all. The best thing to attract someone’s attention is by emailing them directly.
One great website is Hunter.io. This site is best for finding individual websites and small blogs’ contact information. Open the tool and insert the name of the website you wish to contact. The contact information related to that particular domain will appear as soon as you click on the “find email addresses.”
Another great tool is ViolaNorbert. This tool contains personal email addresses of all the bigshots from all the industries. If the company you are trying to reach out to is a huge one, you should get the contact detail of the highest authority to get direct access.
So, in ViolaNorbert, you can look for the contact details of an individual. For example, if you want to reach out to Elton Must from Spacex.com, you can always look for his email address in this tool. Yes, you might be surprised. But, trust us, this is a tool that all the professionals use.
Create A Personalized And Creative Script
Imagine that you get thousands of emails daily, would you go through every single one of them? Well, if you get that many emails a day, you might probably have an assistant scan through them. And so, a sincere, creative, and personalized script should be your top priority.
And since you should be sending your links to more than one person, you should keep a template ready with a lot of space for personal alterations according to your likely linkers.
The script should be professional but have a friendly tone. It should be engaging but not too long at the same time.
Make sure that your script is clear in its intention. What I usually do is tell them the topic of my article and inform them that I read an article of theirs with a similar topic. And I mention that they might be interested in my article (I provide a link to my article as well.)
You can also compliment them on their website or appreciate them for a specific thing about their article or website. It shows that you are genuinely interested in the topic and are not just bluffing. Moreover, it will give your script a cool personality and a friendly tone, which will go a long way in building business relations and social connections.
Follow these steps, and you won’t have to worry about a broken link or a link building package. If followed wisely, your website can become a landing page on a search engine!
About Black Hat Link Building and Google Penalties
Link building is an incomplete process without learning black hat SEO. If a link defies the guidelines of Google’s webmaster, it is a black hat. This brings us to the question of whether black hat link building should be avoided.
Opting for black hat SEO is completely your call but it is not recommended. However, a black hat link building or white hat, it is important to know about the penalties meted out by Google.
Google Penguin
Sites that go for link building strategies that are mostly scam are targeted specifically by Google Penguin, a penalty by Google’s algorithm.
If you want to avoid a penalty, go for white hat link building. Collective data suggests that one can avoid Penguin by reducing exact match anchor text. But, irrespective of anchor text, steer clear of shady links to dodge Penguin.
Manual Penalty/Unnatural Links
It refers to receiving a manual penalty from someone at Google. In this case, you receive a message from Google via Google Search Console.
The mechanism as to how manual penalties are detected is unknown to people other than those in Google. Possibly, a website potentially spamming the system is detected by an algorithm. Thereafter, the site is sent for manual reviewing to someone at Google.
You can avoid manual penalties if your link-building game is clean. But, if you are slapped with a manual penalty, file a request for reconsideration or opt for disavowing links.
The Three Best Link Building Strategies (Step-By-Step Tutorials)
Creating backlinks calls for proper link building strategies. Here are the three best guides to create authentic backlinks.
1.Resource Page Link Building
Resource pages are pages that link out to great content on a particular topic.
As the only purpose of these pages is to link out, they are the most appropriate link building targets. The step-by-step method for creating backlinks is as follows:
Look for Resource Pages
Google has some particular search strings to find resource pages: Use the following:
“Keyword” + inurl:links
“Keyword” + “helpful resources”
“Keyword” + “useful resources”
“Keyword” + “useful links”
Measure The Page’s Pros
First, identify if a link from the chosen page will reap benefits. For example, if you see that the resource page has a good URL rating and is also its domain authority is good, go for it. If the backlink is placed anywhere on the page’s body, you have succeeded.
Find Appropriate Content
As a link building strategy, it is important to know if the content you have chosen is appropriate for the resource page as well. If not, you’ll fail in creating a backlink.
You should choose your content wisely keeping in mind the resource page. Once done, refer to the next step for further procedure.
Reach Out By Sending This Tested Script
Subject: Query about (Their Website)
Hello (Name of the recipient),
I chanced upon your resource page (Give the URL) as I was looking for content about ( Mention the topic) this morning on Google. I wanted to convey that your page has been very helpful for me. It would have never been possible to find (Resource they link to) without it.
Meanwhile, I would like you to see a post I published on (Topic) last month. The content is about [Content’s brief description]. If you’re willing to give it a read, check out (URL). Hopefully, my guide might be a good addition to your page. Nevertheless, thanks for the resource list you have put together. Have a nice day!
Hope to talk to you soon,
(Your name)
Tip: Ensure that your script is personalized and doesn’t look like a script per se.
2.Broken Link Building
One of the best link building strategies for creating backlinks is Broken Link Building. This link building tactic tops the scoreboard as instead of begging for links, you add value to someone’s website.
Opt for Check My Links or LinkMiner
The above-mentioned tools are very efficient in detecting broken links on a page.
Look for Pages With Many Outbound Links
When a page has more links, it increases the probability of one of them being broken. In this case, resource pages work perfectly. Refer to the search strings to look for resource pages.
Detect Broken Links
Use the tools mentioned in the first step to detect broken links on that page.
Pass the Broken Link Information To The Site Owner
Once you inform the site owner about the broken links on the page, you can present your content as a replacement link.
Follow this script:
Subject: Problem with (Mention their site’s name]
Hello (Name),
I was wondering if you are still updating your site. I chanced upon your page ( Title of the page or URL ) as I was looking for content on ( Your topic). However, the purpose of this email is to tell you that I noticed a few links that are not working on the page (URLs of Broken Links). It is mention-worthy here that I recently published (Write about your content briefly). My content might work out as a good replacement for the ( Mention the particular Broken Link). However, I hope this was helpful.
Thanks,
(Your Name)
3.The Skyscraper Technique
Go through this video to know about the step-by-step process of this technique. Once you’re done scroll down to read case studies.
Case Studies
These case studies will present you with real life experiences of individuals working on link building.
Case Study #1
Broken Link Building Works Out
Last year, I took up the task of running a broken link building campaign. As mentioned in the previous chapter, I opted for the same method.
At first, I utilized search strings to look for pages with several outbound links. Secondly, I identified links that weren’t working with the help of Check My Links. Look at the email I sent to the site owner to inform about the broken links I had come across:
You must observe the personalized tone used in the email. On receiving a response, I sent them the broken link’s URL and replacement content.
The result? Most of the people I emailed responded positively and added my link.
Case Study #2
Matt’s Way of Building Links to His E-commerce Site
Using the apt link building strategies for creating backlinks is rather difficult for e-commerce sites. But it’s not impossible and e-commerce site owner Matt Lawry has proved it.
Like majority site owners, Matt struggled with building links to his e-commerce website which is an Australian gift site.
Since his site was filled with product pages, it was difficult to find apt links. The solution to this problem, Matt realized, is creating great content for link generation to his e-commerce site.
The website owner published an excellent Skyscraper content on his e-commerce site titled: “Australian Gin: The Ultimate Guide”. Instead of waiting for links to flow in, he used email to promote his content and reach out.
Since Matt selected the right people and opted for personalized emails, several people came forward to create backlinks on his e-commerce site.
The links resulted in boosting Matt’s rankings for a keyword that amounts to direct sales for his site: Australian Gin.
Know-How’s of Advanced Link Building
These are some of the best link building tactics I have come across for creating quality backlinks.
1.Link Reclamation with Easy Links
You may think that whenever your brand is mentioned in an article by someone, it is linked to you. Although that makes sense, it doesn’t happen that way.
However, most website owners gladly convert your unlinked mention into a link. BuzzSumo works great for finding unlinked mentions.
2.Reverse Image Search leads to “Bonus” Links
Does your site produce valuable content like charts and infographics? Possibly, your images are being used by other sites. But, there’s nothing to worry about! Use Google reverse image search to look for people using your images without a proper link.
3.Emails Work Best In the Afternoon
The thing about outreach emails is that it works best in the afternoon, according to the local time of the recipient. When you choose morning to send your outreach emails, it gets lost among several other emails received. But, if you opt for sending them in the afternoon, it increases its visibility. You can use Boomerang to set time for outreach emails.
4.Create Appealing Visuals of Your Ideas, Concepts, and Strategies
It’s true that several people have connected with me because of catchy illustration.
This link building technique works great because of its visuals. Using text for explaining the APP formula would have made my content less shareable. But, if you go for visuals in your content; bloggers or incase of guest blogging or guest posts, your visuals will be used in their content.
5.Close After Sending Feeler Emails
Is it okay to ask for a backlink in the first outreach email itself? A process involving two steps may bear better results.
Mike, a Backlinko reader, uncovered that the feeler emails were a waste when asked for a link in the first go.
The most significant consequence of opting for this approach is that it helps to save time. The personalized outreach emails are generally read by non. So, it is better to reach out by sending ‘feeler emails.’ Following that, you can personalize your next set of emails.
6.Podcasts Interviews
One of the best link building techniques is opting for podcast interviews. If you want to create quality backlinks, try podcast interviews. Guest posts are considerable but one setback is they take a lot of time to write. On the other hand, podcast interviews are much easier.
In case of podcasting, you don’t have to outline, draft, or edit a guest post. The only thing you need to do is talk about what you know in the podcast. And you are bound to receive a link.
7.To find Linkers, Use “Link Intersect”
To build backlinks, try finding people who have linked with your competitors. If you find people who link to your competitors, it is likely that they can link to you as well. Use Ahrefs Link Intersect Tool to narrow your search. Make a list of a few competitors and this tool shows you all those who are linked to them.
8.“Pre-Curated” Lists are a Must
Finding target pages for your links is hard, but in this digital generation, perhaps someone has already curated the high-quality target pages in the form of blog-posts.
So, if you have a baking blog, the sites mentioned would give way for a perfect link opportunity.
Look for lists by opting for searches like: “best (topic) blogs” or “list of (topic) blogs”.
As a content creator, your first motive is to enhance your page’s visibility. As the digital world is only progressing, it is important to be aware of the hacks to improve your digital experience. The article has covered in detail the tactics for link building, anchor texts, link building services, or creating a backlink for your page. Follow these link building strategies to top the SEO rankings. Boost up your page’s ranking further by going over the nitty-gritty details of link building and create likeable and shareable contents. What are you waiting for?
