“Great content without great links is invisible content”
Adam White (SEOJet) on Edge of the Web Podcast
A good content strategy hinges on high-quality content that speaks directly to your audience.
Great content should result in organic traffic.
But here’s the irony in the “great content” paradigm: No matter how great your content is, it won’t get organic traffic from search engines until it ranks near the top of page one, and content quality alone can’t improve your search engine ranking.
So, you need to find ways to promote your content, too, no matter how great it is.
Creating backlinks is one of the most effective content promotion strategies on the planet.
Not only are backlinks a super important Google ranking indicator, but they also help connect you to networks and communities in your niche that can grow your audience and build brand authority.
Creating backlinks is no easy task.
Within the digital marketing atmosphere, it’s still a persistent difficulty.
Crafting high-quality backlinks can separate an average website from a top-ranking one. But with strategic planning and execution, you can make significant headway in your link-building efforts.
When done right, creating backlinks doesn’t just boost your site’s search engine rankings – it propels you toward sustainable online success.
What is Backlinking?
A backlink is created when one website links to another. Ideally, the originating website is a highly respected and authoritative site; the website they are linking to is yours. More specifically, they are linking to a page on your website that features some of your best content.
In the early days of SEO, backlink quantity was all you needed to worry about. But nowadays, with updates to search engine algorithms (mainly Google’s BERT update), relevancy and authority are vital factors. The most effective backlinks to your content come from respected, high-authority websites that share relevant content and have solid search engine rankings.
Backlinking operates much like the timeless effectiveness of word-of-mouth promotion – its success hinges on the credibility of the endorsing source. When seeking fresh recommendations for a restaurant, you might consider input from your Uber Eats driver; however, advice from a close friend carries greater weight. Regardless of their professional background as a chef or food critic, you hold their opinion in high regard due to the trust you have built over shared dining experiences.
Search engines operate similarly. Using .gov and .edu websites as referring domains can boost your SERP position, as they are considered trustworthy and authoritative sources.
Find out how to get other websites to link to your content.
Understanding the Power of Backlinks in SEO
Among the ranking factors in search engine optimization (SEO), backlinks are of critical importance. Among these, backlinks stand as a crucial ranking factor. Think of them as votes for your website from other websites.
According to Moz’s study, backlinks are one of the top three ranking factors for search engines. This highlights their potential to improve search engine rankings significantly when employed strategically.
The Impact of High-Authority Websites on Backlink Quality
When it comes to making a successful backlink portfolio, both the number and quality of links are essential – possibly even more so than quantity. One key determinant is whether these links originate from high-authority websites.
Ahrefs’ research reveals that most pages on the internet have no backlinks at all.
This indicates that those with quality backlinks—especially from reputable sources—are likely found higher up in SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages).
According to Mox, backlinks originating from high-authority websites tend to impact rankings more powerfully than others.
Beyond Rankings: The Multifaceted Benefits Of Backlinking
Moving beyond improving search engine rankings, managing inbound link profiles offers several additional benefits.
An increased domain authority often corresponds with enhanced visibility across cyberspace—an invaluable asset considering the vast expanses constituting today’s internet landscape.
Increasing brand visibility amongst prospective customers is another compelling reason businesses should prioritize cultivating diverse portfolios encompassing myriad referral traffic origins—all pointing favorably towards their respective online offerings.
Another bonus of having a diverse team is the chance to reach new audiences we haven’t touched before. This opens up possibilities for tapping into profitable markets that were previously uncharted. Companies can now extend their influence online, where borders are less of an obstacle.
Building a Diverse and Natural Backlink Profile
A diverse and natural backlink profile is crucial for the SEO success of your website. While it may seem challenging, with strategic steps, it is achievable.
It’s important to diversify your link sources to improve SEO. Here’s how you can achieve this:
Dedicate Time and Resources
You should know right from the start that building high-quality, relevant backlinks is a long-game strategy. Allocate enough time and resources to research, strategize, plan, and execute an email outreach campaign to garner more backlinks to your site.
A good backlink can collect traffic over a period of months, but investing time now will be well worth it in the long run.
The Power of Diversity in Link Sources
What makes search engines trust one site over another? How do they determine which content serves users best?
Diversity in link sources plays a significant role. If all your backlinks come from just a couple of sites, it could raise suspicions of possible manipulation. However, links from various reputable sources signal organic growth – something that search engines reward.
Ahrefs emphasizes that backlinks from diverse sources hold more value than sheer numbers alone.
Varying Anchor Text for Authenticity
An often overlooked aspect of building a natural-looking backlink profile is varying the anchor text. Repeated use of identical anchor text can suggest spammy practices while using different phrases indicates genuine linking patterns.
Maintaining Balance Between DoFollow & NoFollow Links
NoFollow tags instruct search engine crawlers not to follow certain outbound links. While these links don’t directly influence ranking, they play a role in creating balance. Having an excessive number of either type may raise suspicions, so maintaining a balance between them helps establish an authentic image.
As we explore building links effectively, let’s remember that building high-quality backlinks isn’t just about quantity—it’s about quality, too. Our next section will explore proven methods that yield powerful online connections.
The Influence of Anchor Text in Backlink Relevance
Within the realm of backlinks, a pivotal yet often underemphasized element is anchor text. The words chosen to create hyperlinks can significantly influence a webpage’s relevance and ranking on search engines.
Anchoring Your Understanding: The Role of Anchor Text
A crucial player in any SEO strategy, anchor text denotes clickable phrases that link one webpage to another. These hyperlinked snippets assist search engines in deciphering the theme of your content, offering context for linked pages, and enhancing their relevancy.
In the grand scheme of backlink strategies, employing suitable anchor texts amplifies your website’s visibility on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). This enhancement makes it easier for users to find your page by searching for relevant keywords or topics among a vast amount of online content.
Types Of Anchor Texts And Their Impacts
Diverse types of anchor texts influence the relevance of web pages. Predominantly, four types exist: exact match, partial match, branded anchors, and generic anchors. Each type possesses unique traits that make it more fitting for specific scenarios than others.
- Exact Match: This variety incorporates a keyword that exactly mirrors the target keyword(s) for the linked page. While they might initially appear ideal due to their direct targeting potential, excessive use could lead algorithms like Google to suspect manipulation attempts, potentially resulting in penalties per Google’s Penguin update guidelines.
- Partial Match: This type encompasses variations or synonyms related to target keywords but not an exact replication, providing some flexibility without risking suspicion from algorithms.
- Branded Anchors: A Branded Anchor employs brand names as its hyperlink, enhancing brand recognition while maintaining organic traffic flow toward targeted sites.
- Generic Anchors: These are everyday phrases like “click here” or “read more.” Even though they don’t directly boost SEO because of the missing specific keyphrases, they still give that much-needed variety to your overall link profile.
Strategies for Effective Link Building: 6 Practical Ways to Build Backlinks
Building a strong online presence depends on a solid link-building strategy. The key goal is to obtain trustworthy backlinks that enhance your website’s credibility and attract organic traffic.
1. Guest Blogging: A Powerful Method for Earning Quality Backlinks
Guest blogging has emerged as an influential method for earning quality backlinks. This practice allows you to share your knowledge on reputable platforms, expanding your visibility among their audience.
This process begins by identifying relevant blogs within your industry and proposing unique content ideas. Once these platforms feature your post, they typically include a backlink leading to your site.
According to reports, adopting this technique can significantly boost website traffic while establishing firm credibility.
2. Study Competitors and Industry-Leaders
Make a list of your top competitors and the leading websites in your industry or niche. These should be websites you trust and follow yourself or create content for a similar or adjacent audience to yours.
Use a backlink checker to research each site’s backlink profile (there are several free options to get started with: Ahrefs, monitorbacklinks, Neil Patel). These free tools list sites that have backlinked to your competitors. Analyze each referring site’s domain score (a website’s credibility factor), the backlink types, and the anchor text used.
Create a target list for an outreach campaign of your own based on these referring sites. If they have linked to your competitors, chances are good that they will also be interested in your content.
This exercise also allows you to survey the kind of content that generates backlinks to inform your link-building campaign. It is also good to run your domain through a backlink checker to compare results with your competitors.
3. Be a Community Member
You are probably already tapping into specific communities on various social media platforms by using hashtags or joining LinkedIn or Facebook Groups.
Since Google ranks content based on topical and contextual relevance, it’s important to take a similar approach to your blog posts and website content.
Whether you are backlinking to a site or requesting that someone backlink to you, build relationships with trusted, reputable content creators. Google even has a term for this – a link neighborhood – and you want to ensure your site is part of a good neighborhood, not a bad one.
Are there local content creators doing work you admire? Who are the top subject matter experts in your sector? Add these to the target list you already started. A thousand irrelevant backlinks will do far less for your brand (and might even damage your search engine ranking) than one highly relevant, powerful backlink from a trusted and authoritative source.
4. The Role of Social Media in Link Building
Social media is significant in formulating successful link-building strategies. Although social media links are nofollow, they offer potential channels for indirect backlink creation by enhancing visibility and engagement around content. This may encourage others to link from their websites or blogs.
An expertly executed social media campaign fosters shares, likes, and comments, potentially directing users back to the original content on your site. As a result, increased activity often leads to more people discovering and linking to that content organically from their sites or profiles, further boosting search engine rankings.
5. Plan an Outreach Campaign for Backlinking Opportunities
Once you have your target list ready, it’s time to make contact. An outreach campaign is not an opportunity for mass emailing or spamming. Backlinking is really about being part of a conversation around a given subject.
The more personal, specific, and targeted your outreach activities are, the more likely you are to build relationships that result in reciprocal linking and long-term support.
Brian Dean, the founder of Backlinko, shares examples of email messages for reaching out to websites that could potentially backlink to your content. In addition to sites that are your competitors or “neighbors,” try contacting:
- Sites that have mentioned your brand but not linked to your page – ask them to add a link!
- Sites that link to broken or out-of-date sites that could be updated with a link to your content instead
- Sites that rank near the top in Google searches that include keywords or search strings specific to your niche and are publishing content highly relevant to your brand or target audience
6. Pursue Guest Posts
Go after blogs, publications, podcasters, and YouTube channels relevant to your field that are trusted as credible sources and draw organic traffic.
Contribute a guest post that is substantive enough to build trust among your new readers and will motivate click-through to your own site. Getting relevant and natural backlinks into a 500-word piece can be tricky. Blog length can make a difference.
Content must be valuable and legitimate; anchor text must be natural and conversational.
Even though anchors should be keyword-rich, ensure they aren’t overly optimized.
Consider offering to guest post for a sequential series of posts. This gives you more opportunities for backlinking to your own content and allows you to build a relationship with the hosting site’s readership over time, one that can eventually be leveraged into a loyal audience of your own.
Fill a Content Gap and Diversify Your Content Format With Creative, High Quality Backlinking
We have come full circle on the “great content” argument. While it’s true that content is only as good as how well it’s promoted, the content still has to be great. In fact, you can only build up backlinks by creating great content.
The two go hand-in-hand.
One of the easiest ways to create backlink opportunities is to publish linkable essential content. If you are an active community member and stay involved in conversations in your industry, you will quickly identify gaps in available content.
Check out our earlier okwrite blog post about writing Skyscraper content and the Content Marketing Guide for SMBs to find great suggestions on positioning your content as the go-to authority on a particular subject.
Diversify your format to create more shareable content. Infographics, videos, or memes often go viral, separate from their originating posts. Create useful, shareable images that address a problem or explain a key question relevant to your audience . This will draw entirely new traffic to your site and reach a much wider audience than the article or blog post might have on its own.
Building meaningful, relevant, and effective backlinks from and to your content requires dedicated time and resources and a long-view content strategy. But, when done right, they can bring sizable returns in new traffic, increased brand awareness and authority, and improved search engine rankings.
FAQs about Creating Backlinks
How to Create Backlinks:
Creating backlinks is crucial for enhancing your website’s SEO success. You can boost organic traffic and improve your site’s ranking by employing effective strategies. Let’s explore some proven methods:
Publish High-Quality Content: One of the most effective ways to attract backlinks is by publishing high-quality content that others want to link to. When your content is valuable, informative, and engaging, other websites are more likely to reference and link to it.
Guest Blogging: Guest blogging on reputable sites is another excellent way to build backlinks. By contributing valuable content to other websites in your niche, you can include a link back to your site, driving traffic and improving your SEO.
Engage in Social Media: Social media platforms provide excellent opportunities for creating backlinks. By actively engaging with your audience and sharing valuable content, you increase the chances of others linking to your website.
Manually Creating Backlinks: You can manually create backlinks through outreach and participation if you prefer a more hands-on approach. Here are a couple of methods:
Final Thoughts
A solid understanding and strategic approach can be a game-changer for achieving SEO success.
The significance of backlinks should be considered, as they play a crucial role in driving organic traffic and improving the rankings of your website.
Having a diverse backlink profile is not just desirable but essential. It is important to prioritize quality over quantity when establishing these connections.
Implementing strategies such as guest blogging and engaging on social media platforms can open doors to acquiring high-quality backlinks. While it requires effort, the rewards for credibility and visibility are well worth it.
The role of anchor text should not be overlooked. It is more important than you might think!
Crafting well-optimized anchor text can significantly enhance the relevance of your backlinks, further boosting your SEO scorecard.
So there you have it – a roadmap to creating effective backlinks that will elevate the performance of your website. As you take each step, you’ll find yourself closer to achieving better search engine rankings!
okwrite is an award-winning content marketing agency that can link content with conversions and increase traffic to your site using authoritative, SEO-driven, high-quality content. Connect with us to learn more.
