The process of “building links” has long been touted as the key to ranking in search engines. Finally, studies on the relationship between external links and rankings have shown that it is almost impossible to rank without them.
A Moz study of over 15,000 keywords found that 99.2% of all websites at the top of the rankings had at least one external link.
With millions of websites all trying to achieve the same goal, it can sometimes be challenging to get onto that coveted first page of results.
Who doesn’t want more backlinks?
Every business wants to ensure more visitors come to its website and improve its search engine optimization (SEO) to rank first in web browsers.
While getting links is still crucial for SEO, the way those links are gotten has changed.
Link-building tactics through spam emails, article submissions, and trade links are a thing of the past. If you want to generate links today, you must put in the work to earn them.
If you want to generate backlinks, you have to earn them.
What makes a quality backlink?
First, we need to identify exactly what is and isn’t a quality backlink. Because as Neil Patel points out about quality backlinks:
While the right inbound website link can boost your Google ranking, sales, and brand, the wrong link can penalize your website.
As we try to avoid penalties at all costs, we want to focus on getting the RIGHT inbound links.
What makes a backlink quality one?
SEO consultant Mark Walters puts it in the simplest way. He says quality backlinks:
- Are from a relevant source
- Are from a trusted source
- Send traffic
- Are in the main content
- Are on a page with Google’s PageRank
- Are next to backlinks to government websites
Mark also shares that quality backlinks are NOT:
- Earned by link exchange
- Included in dozens of other links in the content
- Easily acquired
- Paid to be included
Now that we know what makes a quality backlink, let’s look at some strategies for earning them.
How to earn backlinks: 10 strategies
If I haven’t clarified, these strategies are more about earning backlinks in seo than building them.
If you commit to earning instead of building, you no longer have to worry about Google’s constant algorithm updates impacting your ranking. Because ultimately, trying to outsmart Google’s engineers is a game you will lose.
Commit to earning links instead of building them. And do it with these four strategies.
1. Create the best content available on your topic
While this strategy is easier said than done, it is by far the best way to earn a large number of backlinks in SEO.
To do this, look at the content that already ranks high for the desired topic.
Let’s say you want to create content about defining conversion copywriting. The first thing you would do is do a Google search for “what is conversion copywriting?”
If you browse the results, you’ll see that there’s an excellent opportunity to create more valuable content – highly relatable content – on the topic. And since most of the results don’t answer the question directly, you might even be able to create content that will show up in Google’s answer box for that phrase.
Here’s what the process looks like after a Google search on your topic “how to get backlinks for free”:
Take notes on top content ranking
Open and scan each result on the first page of the ranking to describe what each piece of content does and doesn’t do well.
Identify where and how your brand can create better content
Use these pointers to identify opportunities to improve it. Ask yourself questions like, “Can my content be more actionable?” “Could I include more appealing graphics?” or “Could I include original research or a case study?”
Create an outline
Now that you know what to expect create a thorough outline detailing the research you used, visuals, actionable advice, etc.
Develop better content
With outlining, you can now create a post that gives searchers of your chosen topic better content results.
And since you’re trying to cover the topic as thoroughly as possible, know that you’ll likely need to create long-form content. Not only does this help your post to be highly informative, but it also puts you in a better position to rank high in search engine results.
Don’t forget to develop long-form content for a better chance of earning links.
2. Conduct exclusive interviews with industry experts and/or influencers
This influencer or expert content strategy is becoming more and more common. You produce trustworthy, unique content and garner links from the person you are interviewing who share these links on their websites and social media accounts.
3. Create custom infographics for quality backlinks
Infographics are one of the most popular ways to drive traffic to your website and gain valuable backlinks. They’re also great because they’re easy to understand and share. Everyone loves visual data, right? Because of this, the demand for infographics has increased significantly. Remember that influential online publications like t3n.de publish numerous infographics from all over the internet.
Now choose your infographics carefully: each one should contain a unique and interesting story for your audience. To make your choices, follow trending topics and see what people are searching for, then use statistical data to create your infographic.
To get started, research and collect data for the content, then find someone to translate your content into visuals.
It’s a misconception that creating an infographic is expensive. This is not always the case. Expect an average price of between $150 and $300. Assuming you can get 10 backlinks per infographic, you’re paying $15 per link.
With five backlinks when you buy backlinks, the price is $30 per link. This is very favorable for backlinks earned through moderation by webmasters. And if your infographic goes viral, you’ll win even more.
You can post an infographic on social media and Pinterest, which is where most people get their images from. This is an excellent way how to get backlink from Google.
Creating an infographic is relatively easy and inexpensive because all you need is a concept.
You can also create an infographic yourself using free resources like Canva and embed a link in it once completed so that when visitors click, they can be taken to your website or the article where you originally published the infographic.
That way, every time someone shares your infographic, your backlink is shared too.
4. Reach out to website owners personally
When it comes to securing coverage or contacts of any kind, the best way to make yourself known is with a friendly, personalized email.
The email itself should be written specifically for that person by including their name in the email and mentioning their work. If the person knows that you are familiar with their work, they will be more willing to take up your offer.
When you reach out to webmasters, give them a brief introduction to your site. Include a link to one of your best tutorials or guides with your message. If they find your content useful, they might link to you in your context in their next weekly post.
As with other techniques to get quality backlinks, you should be careful not to abuse your relationship with a webmaster by directly asking for a link.
The response rate is higher when you send a message to a specific person on social media than when you use an automated email contact form on a company’s website.
When it comes to the different social media sites, you should take different approaches depending on the program.
Your first goal should be to build a relationship with that person. Without a relationship with that person, don’t expect to get anything back, especially a backlink.
5. Send out press releases to get backlinks
A press release can help you get quality backlinks automatically if you publish it through a distribution channel like PR NewsWire or PRLog. These distribution channels also send your press releases to relevant bodies. You can also send your press releases to relevant partners.
Because a press release contains up-to-date information about your company and is written by your team, you can include the backlink you want and additional links that can serve as inspiration for future articles.
6. Submit guest post content 📜
This is where elements like guest posting and backlink exchanges come into play. Guest posting effectively establishes yourself as a credible source of information on a specific topic while also reaching a new audience.
Guest posting is the most effective way to reach new audiences. By publishing articles on other popular websites, you can get your content in front of new readers and gain more attention. Sometimes it’s not just about the way to get quality backlinks, but also about increasing your online reputation or your social media followers.
Guest posting helps you leverage your relationships and expand your audience. If you have any doubts about guest posting, keep in mind that even Google accepts guest posting on their Google Analytics blog.
There are numerous ways to find sites that accept guest posts. Use Google searches to find blogs that accept guest posts:
- Your keyword + inurl:write-for-us
- Your keyword + guest posts
- Your keyword + inurl:guest-posting-policies
- Become your keyword + guest writer
- Your keyword + blogger searched
- Submit your keyword + article
- Write your keyword + post
- Become your keyword + author
- Your keyword + guest post by
- Your keyword + accept guest posts now
Find influencers who guest post regularly and try to guest post on the same sites they have been on in the past.
Repeat the process with other influencers and you’ll find endless opportunities to post content on third-party sites.
Whenever you publish a guest article, always make sure to link to your social media profiles. If someone likes your post, he or she can easily follow you for similar future articles.
Tip: When writing a guest post, be sure to include links and resources to other credible sources, not just your own backlink.
7. Become a free resource 📰
Resources like HARO (Help A Reporter Out) are a great way to connect with reporters and bloggers who need citations. Also, this is another opportunity to improve your backlinks.
In return for your knowledge on a specific topic or for a product, these sources will insert a backlink to your website. That’s how you get quality backlinks.
8. Write and solicit reviews 🗒
Reviews can also be a link-building tactic, as writing quality reviews increases your site’s visibility with every new mention of your product or service.
The way to turn those reviews into a backlink is to turn the reviewer into a lead by contacting that person and asking for the backlink.
9. Recover broken links 🔗
This link-building strategy is a simple and effective way to get quality backlinks for your own website.
Essentially, you can use a program like Ahref’s Broken Link Checker to find out which pages are currently linking to those broken links.
I love the broken link-building method because it works perfectly for creating one-way backlinks. The technique involves contacting a webmaster to report broken links on their site. At the same time recommend other websites replace this link.
And here, of course, you mention your own website. Since you are doing the webmaster a favor by reporting the broken links, the chances of getting a backlink back to your site are high.
10. Bonus tip: Don’t forget internal linking 🙌🏽
Finally, don’t forget to use your own website to your advantage through internal links. Internal links serve the purpose that the visitors of your website can find relevant information quickly and at the same time help to improve your search engine optimization.
Internal links are best placed through anchor text on your site so that your own helpful links are easily accessible to your audience.
Conclusion
With the four strategies outlined, you now have everything you need to start generating links properly.
Use this tactic to earn links and move up the SERPs without worrying about being affected by Google’s algorithm updates.
It will be worth it. I promise.