Link building and backlinks are a vital part of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). How essential they are to the whole SEO dynamics is underlined by the fact that Google uses backlinks as a kind of reputation management tool.
Links are the number one ranking factor for Google. So, in reality, if you want to rank your website without link building, you’ll be setting yourself up for a pretty tall order.
Link building involves getting web pages to link to one another. With the existence of links on the web, users are better able to move across the various web pages on the internet.
Links are also important to search engines because they helps them crawl the pages of a website. This is why your link building strategy has to be top-notch.
If you take your link building methods seriously and do it the right way, just like a good link building agency would, you can boost the ranking of your website and help your readership discover great content.
Let’s check out some link building tips that still work in 2020.
1. Writing about hot/trending topics
This is standard practice for a professional link building service. Creating a blog post or content around trending topics is a great way to earn backlinks. Since these topics are fairly new, there is limited information around them on the internet.
So, if you can create relevant content within a quick time frame, your blog will become the reference point for those topics. This way, you can earn a large number of backlinks from different sites.
2. The broken link method
Most websites have broken links, including your website. These links can become a great asset for you during the link building activity for your website. On your own site, all you have to do is use a tool to find broken backlinks, recover them and then repurpose the content.
Also, you can try to discover broken links on other websites. Once you discover any broken links, notify their admin about them. You can then send them a request to allow you to create content around those topics. However, this is entirely up to the discretion of the website admins for the other sites.
3. Help a Reporter Out
Also called HARO, the Help a Reporter Out method works via a platform intended for journalists and their sources. While journalists try to find stories through the platform, you can use it to pitch a story to a journalist so that you can get backlinks. To get started, you would need to register on the website, then you can start getting emails for source requests. With this technique, you’ll be getting authoritative backlinks.
4. Developing link relationships
If you want to create a good link profile, it’s important that you build good professional relationships. You will have to build new business contacts to tap into link building opportunities. One way to do this is by joining communities relevant to your niche so that you can discover other websites that are open to organic link building activities.
You might not achieve results overnight. You will need to engage with the people on these platforms, comment on their posts, and show interest in their content.
Once your goals are aligned, you can then partner for a link building relationship. Also, you can provide testimonials for these websites by writing about them. This can earn you more backlinks.
5. Co-authoring
You can propose your content ideas to various site admins and ask them to allow you to co-author a piece with their content creators, clearly stating the backlink clause.
For subject-matter experts, you don’t have to worry about whether this is being done in return for another favour, or if it could be an unethical link building strategy. This works because it’s a win-win for everyone; you will get a good quality backlink from an authority site and the other admin will get high-quality content created by you.
6. Convert mentions to backlinks
This trick is clever but really simple. It is great for link building to your website. What you need to do to turn mentions into backlinks is this; anytime someone mentions your website or your products and services, you can contact them to ask them if they can turn the mention into a backlink. This only works if they’ve not already added a link to your site in their content.
7. Skyscraper method
This is a rather difficult technique, but it’s highly effective. What you need to do is create great content around a particular topic within your industry, then offer a solution through your content.
If your solution turns out to be a great one, you will ultimately end up gaining loads of authoritative backlinks.
8. Run a blog on your website
One link building technique that will continue to work in 2020 and beyond is developing a blog on your website.
Once you start blogging, you can begin creating content around niches that are relevant to your website, thereby earning backlinks for authoritative content. Regular blogging is a giant step towards creating an effective link profile for your site.
Link building errors to avoid
- Don’t use links with over-optimised anchor text.
- Don’t add optimised links to the post or signature of your comments.
- Don’t indulge in excessive reciprocal link building just because you want to heavily cross-link to another site. The search engines are clever. When they find out, your website will be penalised. And that will negatively affect your site’s ranking in search results.
- Don’t add your site to just any web directory to get a backlink. This will hurt your site’s ranking. Ensure that you always choose a directory that’s relevant to your niche.
- Don’t ever buy links. It can backfire on your site.
Link building still has a great impact on the way we optimise our websites to rank high in search engines. Therefore, the link building activities mentioned in this post are still effective for building a solid link profile for your website so it can rank better in SERPs. If you need a professional link building agency to handle this for you, then you are at the right place.
If you need help with link building, we’d love to hear from you. Please get in touch today.