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If you are looking for a way to attract new customers, then you have to have a strong online presence. Because the vast majority of people are going to use the internet when they are looking for products and services they require, you need to make sure your website is easy to find.
That is why you need to prioritize search engine optimization, which is commonly shortened to SEO. One of the biggest SEO factors is the number of external links you have pointing back to your website.
External links are important because they position your website as an authority in the field. The more links you have (and the better links you have) pointing back to your website, the better your website will look in the eyes of search engines. They serve as an indication that your content is valuable, which results in better rankings.
There is one downside to link building, though: it is a lengthy, ongoing process. Today we’re going to discuss some tips on how to do it faster.
1. Produce Quality Content on a Regular Basis
Link building requires you to have linkable assets. So, you need to dedicate the time and resources into creating high-quality content regularly.
There are several types of content you might consider producing, including:
- Blog posts;
- Technical articles or whitepapers;
- Podcasts;
- Infographic posts;
- Images;
- Videos from a professional video editor;
- Social media posts.
The strongest link magnets out of the bunch are strong blog posts and infographics. One thing you need to keep in mind is that while creating your content, you also need to monitor what your competitors are doing, and outperform them.
Your content can simply be longer, but it is always best to try and find topics that your competitors haven’t covered, or only touched upon briefly.
In order for your content to attract backlinks, it needs to stand out from the rest, and these are just a couple of ways how.
2. Guest Post on Other Resources
Guest posting is one of the most popular and effective link building practices. This is because a guest post practically guarantees you a link back to your site. But, it can also guarantee you a few more, if you partner up with other link builders.
What I mean by that is that if you have already built links with some other resources, you can set up a tracking sheet with your guest posts and share it with them. Try and add more of their backlinks into your guest posts (if they fit in contextually), and they will do the same for you. After all, it means more backlinks on unique domains for both sides, so a win-win.
Remember that you want to target a specific market, so figure out which websites your target market visits regularly. If they accept guest posts, you might want to post regularly.
Some sites require a guest posting fee, but I would advise you to avoid those and only work with those that do it for free or do guest post exchanges.
3. Manually Add Links in Directories
There are plenty of directories which you can take advantage of for link building.
For example, if you have a restaurant, you might have a profile on Yelp or Trip Advisor. Or, if you have a contracting business, you might have a profile on Angie’s List. If you do, make sure you claim it. Ensure your information is accurate. Then, add a link pointing back to your business.
Make sure your name, address, and phone number are correct as well.
4. Use Social Media To Your Advantage
It’s no secret that everyone spends a bunch of time on social media. It is one of the biggest marketing channels too. So, every time you publish a new blog post, why not create a social media post with a link to your site as well?
Of course, social media links aren’t nearly as valuable as contextual in-content backlinks from relevant sites in your industry, but they can definitely help you redirect some extra traffic to your site.
This is also a great way to announce new products and services, share images and videos, and collect feedback from your customers. You might even be able to add them to an email list.
5. Attend Conferences in Your Industry
Conferences and events in your industry are a great way to meet new people. It is also easier to start building relationships with people that you meet in real life rather than cold emailing them.
For example, you might want to set up a link-swapping arrangement with others in your field. If you have a contracting business, and you meet someone who specializes in roofing materials, it might make sense for both of you to link back to the other’s website. This could be beneficial for both businesses, directing relevant traffic, and helping with the SEO of each..
6. Take Advantage of the Right Link Building Tools
You might also want to use tools that can help you find opportunities to build links. For example, Ahrefs allows you to reveal any website’s backlink profile, which is invaluable for the competitor link building strategy.
Link building is a lengthy and sometimes tedious process, especially if you’re doing it at scale. Take the outreach part, for example. Sending all of your pitches manually can take forever. Or, you could automate the whole process with a tool like Respona.
7. Find Broken Links
Someone else’s broken links can be beneficial to you in a couple of ways. Once again, you can use Ahrefs to find those.
If you find a broken link on someone’s site, you can reach out to them and point it out. Broken links are bad for SEO, so they will appreciate the favor and might even give you a link back as a “thank you”.
But, if you find a dead page and notice that it has a bunch of links still pointing to it, there is a much more effective strategy you can take advantage of. See what the contents of the page used to be, try your best to recreate it, and then pitch your new article to all of the people that link to the dead page.
There is literally zero reason for them to reject such an offer, since you’re pointing out the problem (broken link to a non-existent page), and coming up with a solution (a solid piece of content that fills the hole created by the 404).
8. Make Sure Your Link Pitch Has A Strong Value Proposition
The value proposition is one of the most important aspects of your link building pitch. Without anything to offer to your prospect, you’re more than likely to simply get ignored.
Some common examples of a decent value proposition are:
- A link back;
- A guest post;
- A social media share;
- A free run of your tool.
A lot of the time, a simple link back works just fine. But, if your site isn’t quite there in terms of Domain Rating, you might even consider paying for your backlinks.
9. Joint Projects
There is only so much you can do on your own, and collaborating with other resources is a great way to get your site on Google’s radar.
Webinars are an awesome example of such a project because it is the perfect opportunity to share your insights on your area of expertise. It is also a great idea to record them and publish the videos on YouTube and your social media.
It’s a win-win-win situation: you get the chance to establish yourself as an authority in your niche, build relationships, and gain link-worthy content which you can promote on virtually all of your channels.
10. You Can Buy Your Links
This is a controversial one. Even though Google is strictly against it, it doesn’t stop the countless SEO agencies that offer link building as a service.
I wouldn’t recommend them because a lot of them just generate spammy backlinks with grey-hat tactics, and honest link building companies are few and far between.
Also, if you’ve decided to build links yourself, be ready that a lot of websites will accept your pitch but require an “editorial fee” to place your link. It is against Google’s guidelines, and we personally never do it, but a surprising amount of people actually do.
In our opinion, it’s better to build your links yourself and organically.
Conclusion
So, here were our 10 tips for building better backlinks, quicker. Use these strategies in combination to boost your site and get ever closer to that #1 spot in SERPs.
Author’s Bio:
Managing brand partnerships at Respona, Vlad Orlov is a passionate writer and link builder. Having started writing articles at the age of 13, their once past-time hobby developed into a central piece of their professional life.
