How to get backlinks for your website
The backlink, also called an inbound link, is an essential pillar in your organic search strategy. Indeed, having a good backlink strategy is a significant advantage for your website’s SEO.
In the following lines, we will see how to set up a backlink strategy and why it is essential. We will also identify the different possible strategies and how to ensure that your backlinks and external linking strategy are of high quality.
What is a backlink?
Definition of a backlink
A backlink is an inbound link to your website from another website. These links are important for organic search ranking (called SEO) because they serve as votes of confidence for search engines, indicating that your site’s content is valuable to other users.
For example, if you have a gardening website and a well-known gardening site links to your site, this action can increase your credibility with Google and improve your search rankings.
What makes a good backlink?
A good backlink has six essential characteristics:
- It comes from a website with good authority and quality. Always prioritize sites with recognized authority in the eyes of Google. You can rely on the authority score, which is a composite metric evaluating the overall quality of a site or web page. The higher this score, the more impact a link from this domain will have in the eyes of Google
- The link must be relevant to your industry. It is not appropriate to have links with sites that have no relation to what you offer. The link should be natural and logical
- The anchor text must make sense for the article containing it and for the destination page
- The link should be natural. Buying links can be heavily penalized by search engines
- The backlink should be on an active page of the site and not in the footer, as this location is less visible to users
- The link must be taken into account by search engines. You should request that this link be a do-follow.
Reminder: the quality of the backlink is always more important than the quantity.
Why Create Backlinks?
Backlinks significantly improve the discoverability and authority of your site, which can translate into a better position in organic search results and thus more potential customers for your business, all without spending a budget on advertising.
They can also generate traffic directly from the sites linking to you. For example, if a popular news site links to a page on your site, it can bring a significant flow of visitors directly to your content, again without spending on advertising.
Backlinks: Mistakes to Avoid
Buying Bulk Links
Organic search ranking is, as its name suggests, natural. Google has repeatedly warned, during its updates, about the importance of having natural and relevant links, as we have seen in the previous section.
You must avoid buying dozens, or even hundreds, of links from link-buying sites. At best, you will have wasted money; at worst, you could be heavily penalized by Google.
Don’t Overuse Over-Optimized Anchor Texts
Wanting anchor texts optimized with your keywords is very interesting. However, following numerous abuses, Google began to penalize sites that had backlinks only with optimized anchors.
Reminder: an optimized anchor is a targeted keyword, while a natural anchor is, for example, your brand name.
Keep in mind that 20% of your links can be optimized, and the remaining 80% should be natural anchors.
What is a Backlink Strategy?
The goal of a backlink strategy is to obtain links on external sites that lead to your website.
A backlink strategy is therefore an action plan designed to increase the number and quality of inbound links to your website. It requires a thorough analysis of your niche, your competitors, and potential link opportunities.
Example: you are a sportswear company and want to obtain backlinks. An analysis of your main competitors’ backlinks would help you identify fitness blogs and influencers to establish partnerships with.
11 Different Backlink Strategies
Here are 11 effective and quick strategies to implement to gather quality backlinks:
Linkbaiting
Linkbaiting is a simple method that consists of creating exceptionally attractive content to naturally encourage other sites to link to it. This could be through in-depth articles, case studies, guides, or practical online tools.
For example, if you publish an original study on trends in your industry, other sites might link to your study to support their own articles.
To make others want to share your content, you need to have engaging, even viral content!
This strategy is not accessible to everyone, as it is a very precise type of writing that requires experience.
Here are some examples of types of articles that could provoke linkbaiting:
- E-books
- Tutorials
- User guides
- Buying guides
- Studies
- Interviews with well-known personalities
Infographics
Infographics are also very effective for obtaining backlinks. By representing complex data in attractive, visual, and easy-to-understand formats, they provide a lot of information and can be picked up by sites wanting to explain these complex data simply.
For example, a well-designed infographic on climate change statistics can be widely shared and linked by environmental blogs in particular.
Broken Links
Finding broken links on other sites and offering your content as an alternative to replace these links is a proactive technique that has proven itself.
For example, you could use tools like Ahrefs to identify broken links on blogs in your industry and then propose one of your relevant articles as a replacement. It is advantageous for the site to stay relevant, and it gives you a new trusted partner for your backlink strategy.
Public Relations
Using public relations to get your site talked about can lead to natural backlinks from news sites and industry blogs. You can consider issuing a press release, an interview, or an article dedicated to your service or product. In all three cases mentioned, the press article will link back to your website.
Guest Blog Posts
Writing articles for other blogs in exchange for a link to your site can be very beneficial. It allows you to reach a new audience and get quality backlinks.
Before choosing this practice, make sure of two things:
- The site you are targeting has a good reputation.
- The article you will propose must be of quality and match the style of the targeted website.
For example, a nutrition expert could write a guest article for a popular health blog, including a link to their own website.
Local and National Events
This is a technique that may not come to mind immediately but is very effective. Participating in or sponsoring local or national events can generate backlinks from event sites, local blogs, and press sites. By talking about this event, sites you might not otherwise have access to can mention you and link back to your site.
An example would be a technology company sponsoring a conference on innovations in cybersecurity. This could earn them backlinks from various news outlets covering the event.
Industry Directory Listings
Listing in industry directories is a powerful backlink strategy because it strengthens the credibility and authority of your website in your field. Specialized directories are often considered reliable and recognized sources, which can improve your search engine ranking.
Additionally, they facilitate the discovery of your business by potential customers and business partners. By obtaining links from these sites, you benefit not only from qualified traffic but also from increased brand awareness.
Links on Public Social Media Profiles
Public social media profiles offer a golden opportunity to generate backlinks while strengthening your online presence. By adding links to your website on platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, you increase your site’s visibility and create additional pathways for users to find your content.
These links may not always dofollow links, but they contribute to the diversity of your backlink profile and can generate direct traffic to your site. An active social media presence can also improve user engagement and strengthen your brand perception.
Links on Google Business Profile Listings for Local SEO
Obtaining backlinks from Google Business Profile listings is an essential local strategy for improving your SEO. These listings often appear at the top of search results for local queries. Including a link to your website can drive significant and relevant traffic to your pages.
Additionally, detailed information and reviews on your listing build consumer trust and increase the likelihood of conversions. By optimizing your Google Business Profile, you improve your local visibility and the quality and quantity of backlinks pointing to your site.
Bing Places for Business
Bing Places for Business is another local listing platform not to be overlooked. Although Bing has a smaller market share than Google, it is a valuable traffic source. By listing your business on Bing Places for Business, you obtain a quality backlink, improving your backlink profile.
Moreover, this platform is often used by different users than Google, expanding your reach and attracting a diverse audience. Backlinks from Bing Places for Business can also contribute to your ranking in Bing’s search results, increasing your online visibility.
Apple Business Connect
Apple Business Connect is a promising new platform for businesses seeking to improve their visibility on Apple products, such as iPhones and iPads. By registering your business on Apple Business Connect, you can obtain high-quality backlinks, which is particularly beneficial given the growing importance of the Apple ecosystem.
Apple users indeed represent a remarkable demographic, often characterized by brand loyalty and a propensity to spend more. Therefore, being present on Apple Business Connect can not only improve your SEO but also attract a highly engaged and willing-to-interact potential clientele.
Which Backlink Strategy to Choose Based on Your Needs?
The strategy you should prioritize will depend on your industry, objectives, and resources. It is crucial to opt for a strategy that generates quality backlinks and aligns with your brand and values.
To help you, here are the criteria to consider when choosing your strategies:
- Speed: Do you need links quickly, or are you more in a long-term strategy?
- Competition: What are your competitors doing in terms of strategy? Is it possible to come up with something innovative to surpass them?
- Your objectives: What types of links are you looking for? Rather high-authority links in small quantities or lower-authority links but in larger quantities?
What Are the Steps to Implement Your Backlink Strategy?
1.Audit your current backlink profile to understand where you stand.
2.Identify competitors and analyze their backlinks to determine gaps and opportunities.
3.Develop content that attracts links, such as detailed guides or exclusive research.
4.Seek partnerships and guest blogging opportunities in relevant niches.
5.Track new backlinks and their impact on your SEO to measure the effectiveness of your strategy.
6.Regularly clean up low-authority or toxic external links that can decrease your site’s authority.
What Budget to Allocate for Your Backlink Strategy?
The budget will depend on the size of your business, the goals targeted, and the techniques chosen. Some methods, such as linkbaiting, can be costly in terms of resources required for content creation, while others, such as participating in events, may require a more modest budget for public relations and marketing.
By following these tips and avoiding common mistakes, you can develop an effective backlink strategy that will improve your site’s ranking in search engines and increase your online visibility.