May 13, 2024
A backlink is one of the strongest signals used by Google and other search engines to rank websites. Websites with many authority sites in their niches pointing to their service pages, homepage, or blogs get the top spots on SERPs.
In the past, people used blackhat strategies to get backlinks, but with Google bots and algorithms getting more intelligent, you will get penalized if you go against the recommended practices. Two of the most critical factors that you should keep in mind when creating a backlinking strategy or seeking SEO link building services are:
The website that links to your content should be an authority in your niche. Check not only the amount of traffic it gets but also its domain authority and current ranking.
Relevance refers to how relevant the content published on the site is to your brand. For example, if you are an HVAC company, you should strive to get backlinks from authority websites in the HVAC industry.
Here are the top backlink-building techniques recommended by SEO pros.
Today, savvy online customers always look for options before buying a particular product or service. Research shows that listicle format articles such as “Best Digital Marketing Agencies” or “Top Woolen Carpets for Wooden Flooring” get massive traffic from search engines compared to the conventional pieces.
Look for websites that publish these kinds of articles and request them to review your brand. The mentions will reinforce your brand by increasing its competitiveness.
Use Google to locate top-rated and ranked blogs related to your niche, then pitch to the authors. Be sure to explain your product’s unique selling points and why it should be included in the list.
The best blogs get thousands of requests; make sure your pitch is customized, short, and persuasive to stand out from the crowd.
Do you know that every time an author mentions your name in an article, that is a low-hanging backlink opportunity? All you need to do is use tools such as Google Alerts, Mention, Ahrefs content explorer, or BuzzSumo to locate unlinked brand mentions.
Reach out to the author and request a proper link attribution to a service page or any other section of your website that is most relevant to the content cited in the article. This mutual collaboration benefits your brand and the author as it offers the readers more details on the topic.
In addition, you can use the same tactic to get links on other mentions directly related to your company, such as research reports, interviews, events you organized in the past, and names of employees.
Unfortunately, most brands don’t bother to update old content published on their websites. Use Google to locate research reports or other forms of publications that many websites have cited.
Write a better, new, informative, accurate report packed with the most recent data. Once the report is published on your website, reach out to the journalists, bloggers, and web admins linked to the old report to inform them about your updated version.
That way, you will win hundreds of free backlinks from authority websites. Other benefits include an opportunity to collaborate on other projects related to your niche to give your brand a firm footing in the industry.
The more links and mentions of your brand in reports that are considered an authority, the more traffic you will get. Concisely, your website ranking in SERPs will improve.
Every day, journalists and renowned bloggers get hundreds of email pitches from companies that want to be featured in their upcoming articles. Unfortunately, most pitches are declined for being too promotional or offering little value to their readers.
Be different by reaching out to journalists with valuable information that is not promotional. For example, you can request the founder or CEO of a company you consider an authority to give you views or opinions on specific topics.
For instance, you can ask for an opinion on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the X industry. Armed with their first-hand comments, write a top-notch article and send it alongside the pitch to the journalist.
If successful, the journalist will use the content to write a new report or article for their readers and link back to you as you are the primary source of the information or statistics. The pitch does not have to always be in text format; you could record a short video explaining how the content will be of value to their readers.
By visuals, we mean images and infographics related to your niche. The human brain processes visuals faster and better than blocks of text. Get ahead of the competition by creating original images and infographics on various trendy topics.
For example, if you run a digital marketing agency, you can create an infographic with valuable social media marketing trends. Here are a few more ideas on how to apply this backlink hack today.
Offer the visuals for free by making it mandatory for anyone who uses the content to reference them with a link to your official website or service page.
Wondering where to get royalty-free images? Unsplash and Pexels have thousands of high-resolution photos on a broad range of industries. Download and edit them to suit your visual’s concept.
Contrary to popular belief, directories are still effective, especially in the local SEO realm. Create a business profile or listing in legit directories that people use to locate local businesses such as TripAdvisor, Google My Business, and Yelp.
The above directories are not niche-specific but will have a significant positive impact on your backlink profile. Go the extra mile and look for niche-specific directories to get even better results.
While at it, use tools like Siteliner to identify websites linked to you, but the link is broken. Reach out to the webmaster with the correct link to a page whose content is most relevant to their website.
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Disclaimer: The information provided on the website is only for informational purposes and is not intended to, constitute legal advice, instead of all information, content, and other available materials.
