In this post, I will outline the main tactics to build backlinks to your web project.
In the SEO world a famous 80/20 rule will refer to "Spending 20% of your time on content and 80% on outreach, amplification and link building".
You read that correctly. Content is king, but without links, it will take you "years" to reach some tangible Google traffic.
Of course, your content should be of top quality. But, even the most amazing content has a little chance to rank if you just post it and wait without link building campaigns.
Link building is the "secret sauce" of SEO. Also, it is an essential and non-missable part of any SEO campaign.
Seriously, many content writers and SEO specialists have this one common mistake: they never build links. Mostly, they focus on creating content, on-page SEO (including keywords in meta tags, titles, headings, alt tags) and tech SEO setup.
Link building is often considered as a spammy, black hat SEO technique.
In fact, your site just won't get any serious traffic without active link building. In my own experience, if I just posted content (even with amazing content, great on-page SEO and tech setup) - traffic was reaching a "plateau".
You should be in constant "link hunt" - think of all the ways to get more high-quality backlinks to your site.
Here are the top tips, which will help you to build more backlinks and get more Google traffic.
1. Outreach
Outreach is the main method to get links. The way you perform outreach can be crucial to how many backlinks you can get.
Every time you publish a new blog post, you should find relevant blogs and reach out to them, asking to include a link to your source as well.
Here is a template you can use:
Hey, I stumbled your nice blog about ... Great job!Recently, I created something similar: urlWould you mind checking it out and maybe, linking in your blog or sharing on social?Now, it all depends on the WOW effect of your content - if it is another 400-word blog post from Fiverr, of course, it won't be linked. But, an impressive, visual long-form blog with infographic, video - have all the chances to earn a link this way.
2. Register on relevant sites
In every niche there some portals, directories, forums, sites, which can offer you to create a profile with a link to your site. Do that. It is more an old-school SEO technique, but it still works, as the majority of these older domains might have great authority.
3. PR campaign
If you have some news-worthy update, maybe a product or feature launch or anything else, use it for a PR campaign.
You can start by sending some press-releases online to thousands of publishers - however, it doesn't work that well in 2019.
What creates high-quality backlinks - is an overreaching PR campaign, which can get the attention of top journalists and publishers in your niche.
After that, they can publish your press-release, with links to an original source - your blog.
4. Utilize newsworthiness
You released a major product update, created a 10000-word study, published unexpected findings - all these are great opportunities for creating powerful backlinks.
Notify top influencers (bloggers, publishers, journalists) in your niche, spread the word.
You will get more links.
5. Guest posts
One of the fastest ways to get backlinks is by creating guest posts. It works like a charm in 2019.
You will need a unique and engaging piece of content and then send it to relevant bloggers in your niche. Include one or two links to your site.
You can use something like this in the outreach email:
Just found your nice blog ...I would be really happy to contribute a guest article.Here are some ideas ...Take a look at some example of my previous work ...Looking forward to your reply.Cheers, Andrew.Remember, the best links are those, which are getting clicks. Don't try to fool Google by creating hundreds of spammy referrals or buying links on Fiverr. They just don't work and can harm your site or even lead to a Google penalty.
6. Link building via influencer outreach
Influencer marketing is one of the hottest things right now.
Create a list of top influencers, thought leaders, journalists, bloggers in your niche.
Every time you create a new blog post in their area - reach out to influencers and ask them to mention on their blog.
You can use tools like Buzzsumo or just Google research to identify top influencers in your niche.
I would really recommend creating a Google sheet with at least 100 top influencers in your niche and always keep an eye on that list.
Try to tweet them, send a dm on Twitter or Instagram, @mention on social media. Try to provide some value first.
Offer them free content, free product sample, trial or discount, ask for an expert opinion, create a blog about top influencers in your niche and so on.
Just one backlink or social media share from a well-known person in your area can open many doors, create hundreds of referring domains and of course drive huge amounts of traffic.
7. 3-way link exchange
Link exchange means you create a link to the second site and second site links back to you. It is the easiest way to get backlinks - just by asking bloggers to do link exchange - but, it doesn't work.
What you can do, is find two other sites and do a 3-way link exchange.
Site1 -> site2 -> site3 ->site1
It is a safer way to get backlinks.
8. HARO
HARO (Help a Reporter Out) - a great way to get backlinks from top publishers.
You can signup for free for their service and receive daily emails with content offers. You add some insightful info - receive a backlink.
Here is how HARO request looks like:
9. Competitors research
Do a backlink analysis of your competitors - all these referring domains will be a good fit for you as well. You can use "Link intersect" tool in Ahrefs to quickly identify which sites link to your competitor, but not to you.
10. Ask your customers for a link
Does your business already have customers? Great! Ask them to add a link to your site.
11. Join SEO groups and forums
Join relevant groups on Facebook and/or Linkedin. Participate in the community. Avoid spammy link building ones. You can get tons of insight, upgrade your SEO knowledge and receive link building opportunities.
12. Constant link hunting
There are hundreds of other ways to build links.
You should be in a constant "link hunt", always think of how to get high authority backlinks to your site. You can find link building opportunities in most unexpected ways:
- Maybe your colleagues/friends own high sites, which can link to you;
- Attend events and ask for a link;
- Network with SEO-colleagues, ask for a link;
- And so on...
To sum it up
Link building is an exhausting and long term process. You won't see immediate results and traffic spikes as in the case with Facebook or Reddit. Traffic will come in some time. So, be patient.
And remember, organic traffic is evergreen - your old blogs will rank as well!
Happy link building!
Author: Andrii Gorh - SEO specialist with 10+ years of experience. He LOVES keyword research, rank tracking and tech SEO tricks. Check out his SEO blog: Online Hikes and inspirational writings at .
