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Link Building: How to Get Backlinks and Why You Need Them

Don’t overlook the benefits of getting backlinks to your business’s website. Learn how to get backlinks and understand why every brand needs to do link building.

Do you want your website to fulfill all the requirements of SEO and drive as much organic traffic as possible? Well, then you must have top-quality backlinks to your websites.

Speaking of top-quality backlinks, there are several methods by which you can get them, such as creating top-grade content, writing testimonials, publishing skyscraper content, guest blogging, and more.

However, before we dive deep into these methods, let’s get you familiarized with what backlinks actually are.

What are backlinks?

Backlinks are links that connect a page on one website to a page on another website. If another contains an external link to your website, then you have a backlink from that website. Likewise, if your website includes an external link to another website, then that website has a backlink from you.

It is as simple as that.

While backlinks seem like they are fairly simple, they are treasured for many different reasons.

It is essential to look at a bit of history to understand the importance of backlinks genuinely. For example, there were several search engines before Google came about, but Google took a different approach. The approach would help this technology company become a global search engine market leader.

Larry Page and Sergey Brin, two students at Stanford, would collaborate to present a search engine that would utilize links to assess the value of individual pages on the world wide web. These two individuals had one critical driving force: gathering the world’s information, organizing it, and making it easy to access.

It would turn out that they were on the right track, and they would eventually make progress on that mission through Google.

These two individuals pushed forward with the idea that it could be possible to assess the frequency of citations for a website page or a research paper online. They did so by, essentially, having a copy of the entire internet, and then using that information to create their algorithm.

They could make search better with their algorithm and improve user experience. It is essential to remember that this continuous focus on user experience has led to regular updates to the Google search engine. These updates help to preserve and improve the user experience.

While other search engines exist, you likely turn to Google to answer your many burning questions, so understanding a little bit more about it helps to understand why backlinks matter. This is also why it is important to think about SEO and the various aspects involved to continue to provide value to your respective audience.

What do backlinks do for websites?

A website is useful when it can reach its respective audience and provide immense value. If the website is not visible, the readers or visitors are less likely to benefit from the website.

Website creators can use many different techniques to improve their website’s visibility. A key component of enhancing visibility and improving overall engagement is search engine optimization.

Search engine optimization, also known as SEO, is one of many different ways to bring visibility to your site. It is critical because search engines are still a primary tool in meeting your needs.These search engines still serve as a portal to the world wide web. Individuals can find information, obtain nearby food, and digitally visit many different businesses with simple search queries.

If you are looking to enhance your digital awareness, prioritize your business or service in search results and make it easier for people to find your business, SEO is a top priority.

Backlinks have a crucial role in making your website SEO optimized, driving more organic traffic to it, and enhancing brand awareness. While thinking about its importance, also remember to stay inline with search engine guidelines for best results.

Here is a breakdown of the benefits of the right backlinks for websites.

Better search engine optimization

Backlinks essentially act as votes of confidence for your website. Search engines, like Google, see them as such. So, the more backlinks you have, the better will your site rank for the relevant search queries.

Of course, there are more aspects to know here, as it is not only about having many random backlinks to your site. Remember that relevance is always important when it comes to Google and other search engines.

More organic traffic

With your website ranking better for the relevant search queries, more people are organically pointed toward your website.

These people constitute a term we refer to as referral traffic.

Organic traffic is important because it enables a website to obtain more visitors without paying for them. If search engine users visit a website by themselves, the owners of that website receive free traffic. They may have found the website through one of the more prominent search engines or a lesser known one, whatever the case may have been, organic traffic can mean a great deal to website owners.

We come back to the importance of search engine optimization and its impact on website visibility. Organic traffic due to improved SEO steps is also important because it adds to higher trust and can improve conversion rates.

The main reason why this is so is because the search engine user is specifically searching for an answer or solution that your website provides. They have intent, and your website is able to meet their needs. Investing in organic traffic can yield more returns as the traffic flows will not stop as soon as your paid ad campaign is finished.

As you can see, organic traffic is very important to long-term success online. Many different factors are present in organic search rankings but a few to consider are: relevant information, regular updates, optimal keywords, and backlinks.

There are many different benefits to organic traffic, including:

  • Attracting engaged customers
  • More likely brand loyalty
  • A core competitive advantage due to beneficial and resonating content
  • Feasible marketing that can last a while

Brand awareness

Search engine bots work in a way that they keep revisiting the pages they already know about, to find new content as well as new links.

If you have a backlink from a popular page, the chances of your content getting noticed are much faster, as search engine bots revisit the popular pages more often than the unpopular ones.

Other sites are linking to you because you have quality content. If that is the case, then that means that you are meeting the needs of their audience. At the same time, you are meeting the needs of your respective audience as well. In this case, over time, you can become an authority on the matter, and that adds a boost to your brand.

As your brand value increases, more people start to think about your product or service first, and that can translate into real financial results.

Link building: How to get backlinks

Now, you know why backlinks are valuable and why different websites integrate this into their search engine optimization strategy. The next question that may arise is, how can I get backlinks? Are there any best practices involved in getting backlinks?

Here is what you need to know about link building to get backlinks naturally and manually as well.

Look for backlink opportunities from top referral sources

You can start off by searching up the top referral sources on your website. These sources are basically that provide backlinks to your website.

By doing this, you can determine the type of content that is earning you backlinks. As a result, you can look for new opportunities or create similar content to get more backlinks.

This also means that you can get backlinks for free. If you provide quality content, and others online are aware of you, they will likely want to link to your content automatically.

Form partnerships with relevant website owners

Thankfully, you can be active about your search for backlinks. Using outbound links to form partnerships is another great way of getting backlinks to your website. Outbound links are basically the external links from your website pointing to other websites.

If these websites have high authority and there is a lot of traffic diverted to them through your website, you can send out an email to these websites and begin to build a relationship.

In the email, highlight that you are looking to form a sort of content collaboration. If they agree with your idea, not only would you form a relationship, but also high-quality backlinks and more traffic to your website.

Scrutinize your competitors

Having a knowledge of what your competitors in the industry are doing is not only necessary for keeping your content up-to-date, but also to get backlinks.

Scrutinize your competitors for sources of backlinks, top-performing content, organic keywords, social media activities, and more.

If, for instance, one of your competitors has a backlink from a forum, create a profile on that forum and they try to win a backlink from it. Similarly, if your competitor has a backlink from a guest post, try creating content on that guest writing website.

Broken link building

Broken links are the links that no longer work. There could be a variety of reasons for that, such as the source website removing these links, these links having an incorrect URL, or the website containing these links being closed.

Whatever the reason, while you are scrutinizing your competitors’ sites, look for these links. Once you find these links, contact the website owner to replace them and while you are at it, suggest your website as a replacement.

It is worth mentioning that while making the suggestion, you should adopt a humble tone. Introduce yourself and make sure to point out the exact location of the broken link(s) as you are trying to help them out.

Creating premium content for your website is a straightforward but time-intensive way of gaining backlinks.

You need to create content that is appealing to the bloggers and the industry experts, who may, in turn, link to your website. There is assorted content that you can produce for your websites, such as how-tos, list posts, and guides.

For instance, if you own a food blog, you could make a list of the 10 healthiest vegetarian foods.

However, make sure that whatever you write is precise, grammatically correct, and most importantly, plagiarism-free.

Publish skyscraper content

When building a website, website creators will want to think about how their content will stand out. One way is with skyscraper content.

The idea behind skyscraper content is to produce an article that covers every single aspect of the given topic. This piece of writing is better than the rest on the given topic, which makes it worthy of generating lots of backlinks.

The reason why it is known as skyscraper content is because it will stand out and it is full of information.

To create skyscraper content, you can start by searching for a topic from your niche on Google. Then go over the pages that pop up on the first page. Note that these pages are the ones receiving the most backlinks. If you want to write about that topic, go through each of the pages in detail, producing your own article that is many folds better.

With your skyscraper content ready, you need to promote it. There are several ways you can do that:

  • Reach out to the people, companies, and influencers you mentioned in your content to let them know that you found their tools, methods, techniques or products to be useful and ask them to check out your content. If they find the content to be helpful, ask them to mention it to their audience. As more learn more about you and your content, you’ll get backlinks with time.
  • Find sites that have already backlinked to relevant existing posts and suggest your content as a better alternative.

Use infographics

Infographics are important to think about as you create content.

Usage of infographics within your articles and blog posts is another simple but effective way of gaining backlinks.

These infographics are not only helpful to your audience but to other content creators as well, who may find them useful enough to refer to in their websites or blogs, providing you backlinks in exchange.

Write testimonials

Many companies are looking for testimonials to show as proof on their website. Hence, if you are a user of a service of one such company, you can write a testimonial in return for a backlink.

To get the most out of this strategy of getting backlinks, keep looking for companies that are relevant to your industry and submit testimonials.

Guest blogging

Guest Blogging is a well-known strategy for getting high-quality backlinks to your website that targets the right audience.

There are many websites out there, which have a write for us section or an option to create a contributor account. If you write content for any of these websites, you would have the option to include the link to your website within the text of your content or in the author bio section.

To find relevant guest blogging websites, you can search on Google and other search engines using the topic keyword, and add “guest article” at the end of the search query.

Once you find one such website, make a pitch for your topic, covering the details of what the topic will cover and how it will help their audience.

Participate in interviews

Similar to guest blogging, you can also participate in interviews to earn backlinks.

For landing an interview, search through the internet and look for websites in your industry that conduct interviews on a regular basis.

Become a part of discussions on different forums

There are a plethora of discussion forums on the internet where you can find backlinks for your website. By becoming a part of these discussion forums, you can become an industry expert with the passage of time and get backlinks.

One such forum is Quora, where you can answer queries on a variety of topics and build your profile. In the bio section of your profile, you can add a link to your website.

Tips to remember

You might wonder, which backlink is best? There are different places that work out well. These places can range from HARO to posting on Twitter and platforms like MyBlogU. There are many different places to generate backlinks, such as Youtube, to other places that present content to an audience.

Create your own website

And that brings an end to our guide regarding getting backlinks. To sum it up, backlinks are mandatory for organic SEO and a higher ranking for your website.

In addition, there is no shortage of ways of getting backlinks. These include publishing skyscraper content, writing testimonials, using infographics within your content, forming partnerships with the relevant website owners, becoming a part of discussions on different forums, and more.

Sure, some of these tactics or methods will take a little bit of time and effort but it can pay off. It is important to remember to have a compelling strategy as you are creating a new website to have the best results.

Website owners who conduct research in their domain and interact with different communities within their respective domain, can notice gaps and opportunities to provide real value. The research process can take place before building a new website, ensuring a strong plan of action and better results.

If you have any further questions on acquiring backlinks, creating content, or building a new website, feel free to browse around or contact us today.

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