Link building is one of the most important aspects of SEO that has a huge impact on the website’s ranking. A majority of people think that the search engine giant Google, which receives 70,000 queries every second from all over the world, doesn’t rely much on backlinks while ranking the websites.
They are awfully mistaken!
Backlinks are here to stay for a long time and not leave any time soon.
Backlinko.com studied 11.8 million Google search results to determine the factors that correlate with top results of search engine ranking.
The study found web pages with lots of backlinks ranked above those that didn’t have many backlinks. In addition, the first result on result pages has 3.8 times more backlinks than the following nine results.
Link building can take SEO to new heights when combined with other effective strategies such as content marketing, providing a good user experience, and improving website speed.
Search engines no longer consider the quantity of the backlinks. It also takes into account the quality, authenticity, and relevancy of the backlinks. An organization that wants to step up its SEO game shouldn’t rely on the old-school techniques of getting low-quality and spammy backlinks. While these methods may work, they won’t provide long-term results to boost the traffic.
In today’s article, we have gathered proven link-building tactics to help you move in the right direction for securing relevant and high-quality links to boost organic traffic on your website.
But before we proceed, let us first quickly walk through the term ‘Link Building.’
What is Link Building?
The process of securing links from other websites to your website/webpage is called link building.
When a website provides your website’s link, it provides a bridge to its users to visit your website. For example, website A provides the link of website B on its blog post. The users of website A can visit website B by clicking the mentioned link.
A search engine uses links to crawl a website when it receives a search query. It crawls the links connecting individual pages of your website and the connections between other websites and yours.
Securing links without asking the other websites or paying for them can change your SEO game. An organization that wants to improve its SEO must strive to build backlinks.
We know what you are thinking. How to secure backlinks without asking?
To answer your above question, keep reading to equip yourself with link-building strategies for 2021.
13 Proven Link Building Tactics To Boost Organic Traffic To Your Website
1. Create Valuable Content
Before we begin to discuss this point, answer the following questions:
- Do you share all the posts of a business on your profile?
- Why do you share the posts, images, or videos from another website to your social accounts?
People do not share everything that they come across on the internet. They only share information that is interesting, funny, or helpful for them and their friends.
The same is the case with backlinks. Why would people link to your website if you have nothing valuable to offer?
The first link-building strategy for 2021 is to create helpful information for the audience. If the content you create for your audience is remarkable, other websites will link it for their audience too.
Make your content a powerful tool to earn some quality and authentic links from your niche or industry’s other websites.
2. Guest Blogging
Blogging has become an integral part of digital marketing. Companies that publish blogs on their website create 97% more inbound links and also observed a 55% increase in visitors.
Suppose you are already publishing blogs on your website, great! How about you share your expert knowledge with the viewers of other websites? Don’t worry; it is pretty easy. By writing blogs for different websites, you can secure a link and invite people to visit your website.
Many companies have started using guest blogging to their advantage. If you want to leverage guest blogging for boosting traffic on your website, look for websites that accept guest posts, and share them on other platforms.
For instance, if a company wants its guest post to secure a position on the first result page, it must publish its blog on the websites that already rank high, instead of publishing it on a website that appears on the second or third result page.
Consider the following prerequisites before creating and submitting the guest post for a specific site:
- Understand the audience of the host’s site. Study what they want to learn or need.
- Review the previously published posts. It will help you understand how to create the content, what kind of images to use, and how to make it enjoyable for the audience.
A marketer who understands the audience is better positioned to create content that will earn him links from that audience.
3. Create and Share Infographics
Graphical information is shared more than textual. If you want to secure authentic backlinks, then put your graphic designer to work.
Infographics generate quality links and increase traffic to your website without having to ask for it.
Did you know that an infographic is more potent than guest blogging? Infographics can secure 37.5% more links than a blog? If you are not creating interesting and engaging infographics, you miss out on the opportunity to build more links.
Try to create an infographic for a blog post you create and publish. Visual information is easy to scan and share.
4. Social Media Marketing
Social media handles are no longer nice to have for the business; rather a must to have. In the era of the digital market, social media marketing has become an essential strategy to increase brand awareness, target new audiences, and engage with your existing audience.
Stay active on social media by sharing valuable posts, interesting images, and hot news and updates. Social media has a massive audience. If your content interests your followers, they will share it on their profiles. It will expose your brand and web address to a large audience.
You will get new followers on your social media accounts and a good number of visitors will visit your site if your content interests them.
5. Use Resource Links From Trusted Sites
A resource link is a guide that a website creates or gathers for its target audience. It drives traffic and builds quality links.
Resource links are also created by some of the famous websites, such as Forbes, Social Media Examiner, Copyblogger to list a few. They compile all the blogs in their respective niche to help their audience find and visit the blog from that link.
For instance, a fashion blogger creates a resource link ‘25 blogs that will elevate your fashion game.’ The blogger will mention the links of those 25 blogs for its audience. Once the article is published, he can reach out to all the websites he has linked on his blog via email and request them to share his blog’s link on their websites or social media handles.
By appreciating other websites and mentioning them in your resource link, the websites will thank you by linking your webpage on different platforms.
6. Mend Broken Links
This strategy creates a win-win situation for the marketer who wants to secure a backlink and a blog with broken links.
All you have to do is look for the pages that are dead and no longer available. Once you have identified the pages that do not work, contact the blogger. Inform the blogger about the links that are not working and offer him to replace those links with similar content or blog posts published on your website.
For example, a blogger linked ABC.com on its webpage on the anchor ‘Tips to boost organic traffic.’ ABC.com removed the blog, and as a result, the link on the blogger’s webpage became dead. Your website had a blog post with a similar title. The blogger will remove the previous link to replace it with yours.
7. Personal Branding
Another effective and proven link-building tactic is to build your personal brand. Personal branding is about making your image, establishing your reputation in the market, and showing the audience who you are as an individual.
Just as people talk about a product, your personal branding would be how people perceive you as an individual. For instance, Amazon is an eCommerce store, and its CEO is Jeff Bezos. The owner of Amazon has his own personal brand. Similarly, many celebrities have launched their businesses by leveraging their personal branding.
As your personal brand grows, people will naturally link to your website. For instance, a well-reputed designer published a blog on his website. People will naturally link to his website because of his reputation, popularity, and excellence in the industry.
8. Spy on Your Competitors
The competition in the online world is cutthroat. You have to keep a watchful eye on your competitors to learn how many backlinks they are securing and which sites link them.
To keep yourself updated with what content your competitors are creating is by signing up for their newsletters. You can also create a Google Alert by mentioning your competitor’s website URL as a keyword.
Google Alert will notify you when a website links your competitor’s website. It will help you get an insight into what technique your competitor is using to earn the links. If he is securing links by publishing guest articles, then you can do the same. Similarly, if his website is linked by blog review, connect with those bloggers and offer them to review your products or services.
9. Write Testimonials
Are you running short on time to create guest posts, infographics, and resource links? No problem, you can still earn a link by writing testimonials for products or services that you are using.
By writing just a few lines about the product you are using, the authoritative website will reward you by linking your website to its homepage.
Make a list of all the tools, software, or services that you are using. Next, reach out to the website and discuss the chances of featuring your testimonial on their website or social media accounts.
10. Collaborate With Influencers
Influencer marketing is raging in the arena of digital marketing. By collaborating with the key influencers of your niche, you will get exposure to a vast audience, increase your brand awareness and boost traffic to your website.
Reach out to influencers through an email. Discuss your offer for collaboration and be very specific about your objectives. Remember to keep the email short. Nobody has time to read essays during work.
The influencer can mention your website’s link on his/her blog, YouTube channel, or social media accounts.
Learn how to rank YouTube videos.
11. Donate
The simple act of donating money to a charitable organization can earn you backlinks. You have to look for a nonprofit organization that accepts donations and links back to the donor’s site.
You have to submit the amount, and your website will be linked to the nonprofits organization’s website. You can even donate your products to earn links. For instance, an online clothing store donates clothes to underprivileged children in an orphanage. The store will earn you a quality link from that orphanage’s website.
12. Interviews and Podcasts
Online interviews have gained immense popularity and have proven to be an excellent way to build links for your website. If a person becomes an authority in his niche, he will receive many invitations for being interviewed. If you are invited for an interview, accept the invitation. It will be good to secure some backlinks.
Suppose you do not receive such invitations, no issue. You can look for online magazines or bloggers that run interviews. Connect with them and inform them that you would like to participate in an interview and share your knowledge with the audience.
Podcasts have become quite popular. According to a survey, around 26% of Americans listen to podcasts regularly. Try to connect with an eminent podcaster and go to their podcast as a guest. You will get exposure to thousands of people who will be interested in visiting your website.
Your website will also earn a link in the show notes; it will improve your SEO.
13. Content Transformation
Are you running out of ideas to create content? Don’t worry! Put your previous blog posts to use and promote them on different channels. Content transformation refers to the simple strategy of turning your old posts into an eBook, infographic, video, or podcast.
For example, you previously published a post about ‘how to get more followers on Instagram and Facebook.’
You can use the information mentioned in your post to create an infographic. Share that infographic on your social account. People love to share exciting visuals on their profiles. Apart from creating infographics, you can create videos and post them on your YouTube channel. Transforming your content increases its chances of being shared on a different platform by people.
Wrapping Up
Building and earning backlinks is a challenging task, but not an impossible one. You can quickly secure numerous links by using the right link-building tactics and strategies.
The tactics mentioned above will help you earn some links for your website and boost traffic.
Stay consistent and keep creating content to earn the links.
Author Bio:
Ricky Hayes is the Co-Founder and Head of Marketing at Debutify – free Shopify theme, helping dropshippers build high-converting stores in minutes. He is a passionate entrepreneur running multiple businesses, marketing agencies, and mentoring programs.
