Generating organic online traffic has become a challenging aspect for every business or individual. While most search engine rankings are still being overseen by big names such as Google or Bing, changes in their algorithms have enhanced the user experience to ensure high-quality and authoritative content is ranked within the first few slots on results pages.
Luckily, with every challenge, there is a viable solution that will help boost your search rankings and generate organic search traffic.
Today, most SEO experts and digital marketers make use of something called “backlinking,” sometimes referred to as “inbound links.” The adoption of this strategy has quickly caught on, and it’s been shown to help improve search engine optimization and search engine rankings.
When it comes to anything related to SEO or SERP (Search Engine Results Page) there are a couple of things you should know before jumping in.
Let’s explore link building and how it works below.
What is Link Building?
Link building, also known as backlinking is an SEO strategy that sees a different website direct link to your website or business site in their online content.
Companies, bloggers, journalists, or forums tend to include links to other websites to help support their articles and ensure readers that the content is authoritative and can be trusted.
Let’s say, for example, you operate a window cleaning company, and a blogger writes a post about easy small business ideas for 2022. They then include a link to your website or internal web pages within their article. This link is then considered a backlink or “vote.”
Backlinks have become a way for Google and other search engines to recognize authoritative websites through votes or backlinks used for a specific site. Basically explained, the more a specific link is used in the content (or votes it receives) the quicker Google algorithms pick up on this.
Backlinks can be used in all types of online content, but SEO experts and digital marketers are cautioned not to overuse backlinks as a way to increase organic search traffic.
If backlinks are used as a way to manipulate search or page rank, Google will pick up on this as a violation of their Webmaster Guidelines.
Although link building may seem too complex or difficult to first get a grasp on, there are a few strategies or link-building best practices that you can make use of to help you improve your online search rank.
What Kind Of Backlinks Will Help Your Page Rank On Google?
So, while it may seem that including various links either in your content or vice versa can help your SEO rank, it’s not always to say that those links are authoritative or high quality.
It’s been said that one valuable backlink from a high-ranked website is a lot better than 100 different backlinks from low-ranked websites.
Link building is sometimes a bit tricky to get right first, but when done right, you’ll be able to notice how your organic web traffic can increase.
Authoritative Links
Websites tend to be ranked or categorized according to their Domain Authority (DA). Search engines use this method to see which websites have trusted and high-quality content.
When links come from an authoritative website with a higher DA, search engines tend to place a lot of focus on those specific sites. If a website receives a lot of traffic and is a trusted or recognizable source, its DA tends to be a lot higher than that of lesser-known blogs or websites.
It’s the simple equation of whether you would rather receive a backlink for a major company such as J.P. Morgan or CNN or a small freelance blogger. The answer is quite obvious here: websites or domains with authority can have a major impact on your business’s organic traffic.
It also depends on your niche, as it won’t make much sense to receive a backlink from an online gaming website when your business is about selling indoor plants. It needs to be relative and maintain a certain type of value for it to work and be recognized by Google or other search engines.
Placement of Links
Generally, throughout articles, copywriters or journalists will put links in places where it can add value to specific statements, or redirect the reader for further research. Follow-through traffic might increase or decrease depending on where a link is placed in the article.
Adding links, especially a link directed at your website in a paragraph that doesn’t mention anything related to your business, can be quite useless.
Let’s say, for example, a blogger writes about different types of iPhone features but places a link to your website, which sells MacBooks and computers, in their article. It might seem fitting at the time, but the placement thereof is not typically what you’re looking for.
If the blogger mentioned Macbooks and how to fix them, then perhaps it would be more fitting to link back to your business.
Some companies also tend to look for digital PR and marketing firms that place a lot of focus on where their in-house copywriters will place their links and whether it’s relevant to what’s being talked about.
People tend to place a lot of focus on where these links should go, but ultimately, it’s important to have them blend in naturally with the content and not stick out like a sore thumb. Keep the information interesting, and ensure the link is relevant to what’s being said.
Niche and Relevance
We may have briefly touched on this topic in the previous category, but niche and relevance can play a major part in the overall success of your link-building strategy.
If your niche is designing school backpacks, and a company talks about the best type of hiking bags you should have this summer, it might seem relevant at the time, but when you look at it from a different perspective, it’s not quite as relevant as you’d like it to be.
But if a social media influencer or well-known blogger includes a link to your school backpacks in one of their posts after they’ve purchased one for their kids, then you’ll (hopefully) be able to see a spike in online traffic to your website. It’s a battle between keeping readers engaged and ensuring that the topic at hand refers to your business or niche in some sort of way.
Using press releases or editorials can be a way to get more clout around your business and build authoritative links, but these might not be what readers are looking for or are hoping to read about when researching school backpacks.
Don’t completely diminish the thought of press releases, as they can still help improve your SEO.
Anchor Text
Anchor text is the clickable word or phrase in an article that links one website with another.
An anchor text or keyword will generally include a specific link, either to a blog, website, or questionnaire that helps support a specific statement.
Usually, a copywriter will research specific keywords to see which are currently ranked highest, or have a high search ranking. They will then make use of high-ranked keywords as the anchor text for their article or copy.
For example, a copywriter includes the anchor text “clean white shoes” in their copy as it’s been ranked the highest among others. This includes a backlink to a website that cleans white shoes. This will indicate to the search engine that the linked website is correlated to clean white shoes.
Anchor text means that the right texts or keywords are used to anchor a link to it. This means it won’t help to include a link to cleaning white shoes on an anchor text that explains how to get scuff marks on black leather shoes.
Google, and perhaps other search engines, have some general guidelines, filtering out websites that use links with appropriate anchor texts instead of those that misuse backlinks or use the wrong type of anchor text and links.
Finding the right anchor text does come with some research and takes some time, but it’s worth it in the end.
Content Syndication
You’ve probably seen this line displayed somewhere while reading an article:
“This article originally appeared (Original Publication and Link) and has been published by (Current Website) with permission.”
Some news websites and forums make use of content syndication as a way to easily and conveniently spread authoritative information to their readers. While it may save journalists and in-house writers a lot of time, it also means that your website will now be able to receive a lot more attention from their readership.
Content syndication is just republishing any type of written, video, voice, or image content on another platform. While it requires the website first to obtain permission from the original creator or writer, it can automatically help improve online awareness of your website.
It’s been shown that although content syndication won’t necessarily harm your SEO or ranking, it’s important to clearly state where the content came from and that it’s being republished with permission. This could mean a simple statement or, more importantly, a link to the website where the story first appeared.
Whether you’re republishing the content or the one whose content is being republished, always make sure that you’ve obtained permission from the original author and that it’s clearly stated within the article, either at the top or bottom.
What Kind Of Backlinks May Hurt Your Ranking On Google?
As already mentioned, excessive use of backlinks or using links that are broken can hurt your Google rankings. Google takes a lot of consideration into how it ranks websites that contain too many frequently used links that may appear ambiguous.
According to an article published by Google, the search engine sees excessive use of certain backlinks as a link scheme, which can violate its Webmaster Guidelines.
Google specifically refers to it as “Link to me, and I’ll link to you,” where partner pages or websites make use of cross-linking.
While it may seem as if Google or any other search engine, for that matter, won’t pick up on cross-linking practices that easily, it’s still completely possible for their algorithms to flag excessive use as unnatural or spam.
To ensure your online reputation is not tarnished by the ill practice of link building, here’s a brief overview of the type of backlinks that can drive down your Google rankings.
Unnatural links
These include links that are placed in online content, either written or other visual media content that seem completely out of place.
This comes into action when a company is desperate to increase organic traffic, where they’ll either pay a blogger or copywriter to include links to their website that are not relevant to the information.
You’ve probably read an article about something specific, only to link an anchor text link that redirects you to something completely different or irrelevant.
This usually comes across as unnatural, and Google can, most of the time, pick up on these practices.
Writing guest posts or blog articles that feature a link to your website is a great idea to boost traffic and improve SEO, but it doesn’t help if it’s published on a site that is outside of your niche or is not related to your industry.
Additionally, it’s important to consider how authoritative these websites are, whether they receive a lot of inbound traffic or if they rank high on Google search rankings.
Spammy Blog Comments
In some cases, companies, both big or small, will usually leave a comment on a blog post, an article, or perhaps a simple social media post. Depending on the situation, it’s not uncommon for businesses to interact with one another over the internet via comments or tags.
There has, however, been an increase in companies misusing this as a way to increase their link-building efforts. What this means is that companies make use of comment sections as a way to increase awareness around their website or a specific web page.
And while it’s possible to debate over a given topic, if it’s within your business niche, companies tend to overuse this tactic, which can quickly come across as spammy.
Whether it’s a SkyNews report or even a small-time blogger posting about the latest trends, including irrelevant comments to the copy, your niche is not only unprofessional and places the business in an uncomfortable position when confronted – it generally is picked up as spam by Google algorithm.
This should completely stop you from commenting on blog posts or social media. Instead, it should be done in moderation and with the right set of intentions.
Leaving unnecessary comments is not only considered unprofessional, but if done enough times through multiple accounts or asking staff members to leave comments or reviews, it can impact your Google rankings and tarnish your SEO strategy.
Tactics To Obtain Backlink
Now that we’ve covered some insight into how backlinks work and what you can do to help improve your Search Engine Optimization let’s look at some of the best tactics professionals use.
Help a Reporter Out (HARO)
HARO has become one of the easiest ways to obtain high-authority backlinks from well-known news sites.
How it works:
- Sign up for a HARO source such as Helpareporter.
- On average, three emails are sent per day stating specific information reporters are looking for.
- Depending on the topic, and requirements, you can respond with your information and the copy they’re looking for.
Help a Reporter Out is straightforward, and it can land you some high-ranking backlinks. Just make sure to respond to information that is relevant or industry-related.
Press Release Distribution
Press releases still have some allure to them, even though many SEO experts and digital marketers ignore the use of Press Release Distribution when seeking authoritative backlinks.
Having a press release published about your business requires the information to be newsworthy. For starters, have you recently launched a new product or service? Is there a new executive on your team? Are you going through a rebranding, or perhaps your systems have failed, and you want to inform customers?
Press releases can be about a range of things as long as they are newsworthy. You want readers to be interested, read the full press release, even click on the link provided and visit your business website.
Ensure that there is a clear anchor text in your press release or call-to-action (CTA). More importantly, remember to publish only relevant and notable news that both journalists and reporters will be interested in writing about.
Directory Submissions
This is more known as an off-page SEO strategy and involves the business or SEO team submitting the company website URL to a web directory website.
It’s not as common as other tactics, as it’s sometimes overlooked or forgotten. However, directory submissions can help improve Google rankings, speed up the website indexing process, and increase the pool of potential customers who can visit your website.
Website directories help to build more authoritative backlinks, which can ultimately help improve your domain authority.
Round-Ups and Listicles
Round-ups are periodic lists or copies written and published by bloggers or journalists. These can depend on the publication or website itself and can either be published on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis.
A round-up or listicle can include various important information or items that can add value to the reader.
For example, a blogger might write about the top ten best restaurants/bars to visit over Easter. Or perhaps a tech writer could include your eGuide among the must-read items in tech for the week ahead.
To be featured in a round-up, research bloggers are journalists who frequently publish similar articles. Reach out to these people, introduce yourself and your brand, and clearly state why your product or service could add value to their readers’ lives.
It’s a win-win situation. You help a reporter compile research while you’re also building authoritative backlinks.
Broken Link Building
Ever clicked a link and received a 404 Error Code? Or, even better, have you ever clicked a link and got redirected to a website or company that doesn’t exist anymore?
These broken links are a gold mine for building backlinks, as it allows you to contact website hosts or companies and inform them about broken links they’re featuring in their copy. This leaves an opportunity for you to have your specific link being used as a replacement.
What you want to do is add the Check My Links Chrome Extension, as this will help you search for websites that currently have broken links. You can then see which links are still active, and those that are quite useless.
You can then contact the website owner through an email and inform them about the situation. It’s important to choose your wording perfectly, as you don’t want to seem too pushy or salesy. State the problem, give them a solution, and see your backlink authority increase.
Link Reclamation
With billions of websites and millions of articles published online every day, there’s a high chance somewhere that someone managed to make use of the information that can be found on your website.
While this gives you better exposure, it doesn’t help if the article doesn’t include a backlink to your website or internal web pages.
Platforms such as Mention.com can help you search for a copy that mentions your company name or your brand. You will then be able to see if the copy that is published has a link included to your website, and if not, you can then reach out to the site owner or perhaps the writer.
A simple email could help resolve this issue, and while it means you directly supply them with a link or solution, you can also increase your networking contacts.
Unlinked Brand Mentions
Similar to link reclamation, unlinked brand mentions are more common on social media, whereas a company, journalist, or blogger might share useful information about your business but do not include a brand mention.
This can either be in the form of a social media handle mention, a specific hashtag or your website link.
If you’re a small business owner who still doesn’t have social media, you could reach out to them and ask to include a link to your site in their caption or bio.
Make sure to research any platform or copy that mentions your business or brand in any shape or form, and be sure to check whether they’ve linked back to your website.
Interviews
Perhaps you’re not the best public speaker, or you have a story to share about your brand but are not quite sure how to get it onto the online world while at the same time building your network of backlinks.
Interviews, either with a journalist, a blogger, and now more recently, on a podcast, are a straightforward way to not only publicly release information about your business but also use high-ranked and authoritative websites that can increase your SEO.
Always make sure that the websites you choose to conduct an interview with or perhaps collaborate with have high-quality content, and are already well-established within the online ecosystem.
Infographics
Many sometimes think that the use of infographics is slowly seeing its decay, but there is hope that infographics still help produce authoritative backlinks.
Infographics take some time to put together, and you will need to bring a designer on board who can help you put together well-formulated infographics that other publishers can use.
Additionally, it depends on whether people use these infographics freely or if you send them directly to copywriters or bloggers.
Make sure to include valuable information and resources that will add relevance to an article and also your niche.
Guest blogging
Along with some other popular tactics, guest blogging has been known as one of the best backlink-building strategies for quite some time now.
I found a website that publishes interesting blogs about your niche while also having a strong readership and online presence. Reach out to see whether it’s possible to write a guest blog related to your business.
Be logical when doing guest blogs, it doesn’t help to write a blog about art and art history when it will be published on a tech-based website. Your information should be relevant and have value throughout.
Types of Links
NoFollow Links
NoFollow Links can be found in various online copy and do not directly improve SEO, search engine results page rankings, or help increase the placement of a website on Google.
DoFollow Links
These are authoritative links that directly link back to your website. These can be included in online content such as blogs or research. The more DoFollow Links are used for your website, the more it improves your SERP and SEO on Google.
Final Thoughts
Building backlinks is no easy task, and it can take some time before having a solid grip on all the ins and outs.
It is, however, important to consider how these links work and why it’s important to include backlinks in your Search Engine Optimization strategy.
Be sure to use authoritative backlinks and websites, and when companies make use of your brand or business as an example, they include a link for your website. Be creative, and look for ways that can improve your website exposure online while at the same time cultivating a link-building network for your business.
