Links are still one of the best ways to improve your SEO results.
The only downside is that your links now need to be of a much higher quality than before to get sustainable results that won’t make you worry every time there’s an update to the algorithm.
Some people in the SEO community are upset because they think that link building is no longer effective. The reality is quite the opposite.
If you are willing to put in the effort and use the correct methods, you can now get greater rewards than ever before.
The more difficult something is, the more rewarding it is, because other people are not willing to put in the extra effort.
There are a few ways to go about link building so that you can get a good return on your investment. If you’re willing to put in the time and resources, you can get a lot out of it.
1. Get Interviewed
Blog interviews have been common for a while, but it may be more difficult to get featured on reputable sites. Meanwhile, podcasts are becoming more popular, and there are many shows looking for people to interview.
Research the most popular podcasts in your field and brief the hosts on why you would be a great guest.
And guess what? Most podcasts have a separate website that includes a list of episodes as well as links to content that is relevant to each show. Additionally, most of these websites will also list the people who are involved with the podcast.
Bingo!
2. Guest Writing
A tactic that is not done well recently, but is still a good idea if done correctly. You will be successful if you can identify high-quality publications that your target audience reads and then write well for them.
Do not create link simply for the website.
The more you write and the more targeted your publications are, the more effective they will be. This will not only get you great links, but also increased brand awareness and referral traffic that could lead to business.
3. Reverse Guest Writing
What if, instead of writing on someone else’s website, you got them to write on yours? But how does that yield links for you?
If you’re an author, you can get some great links by listing and linking to articles and places where you’ve been featured. This can also bring traffic to your site by providing free content on a regular basis.
4. Traditional PR
Links from well-known publications are very powerful. Having just a couple of people working with you can have a significant effect on your ranking during a competition.
Even though Twitter, stunts, and news trends are popular, traditional public relations will always be effective.
5. Be the Source
If you tell the world something they want to know, they will link to you as the source.
If you have some breaking news that you can share before anyone else, it could lead to getting some big links.
You could have a property that celebrities visit on their honeymoons, or you could get information on a recent change in regulation in your industry.
You should always keep an eye out for chances like this, even if they seem like they might not amount to much. Make sure that you can be used as a source if needed. Make sure key industry journalists know you’re a reliable source for stories by publishing your work on a blog or building relationships with them.
6. Create Linkable Assets
There’s no more satisfying way to build links than to have them happen automatically. Done right, this is the dream tactic.
This involves finding the different types of content in your industry that attracts links, making sure it is better than what is already out there, and then trying to get onto Page 1 for the phrase people search for.
To see how many links are pointing to the results on Page 1, look for certain phrases on the pages. If there are many links leading to the pages that rank on the first page of a search engine, it is likely that you have a good asset that can be linked to.
A good example of this is the phrase “top travel blogs.” This is a phrase that is full of websites that have a lot of links pointing to them.
It makes sense for travel bloggers to link to a list of the best ones whenever someone is writing an article about them. By doing a search and linking to one of the results, they are more likely to get exposure and drive traffic to their site. It’s the link version of the rich getting richer.
7. Content Marketing
. Content marketing is an effective way to earn links from high-quality publications that would be difficult to get through other methods, with the exception of traditional public relations.
The approach is similar to giving a publication a piece of content, such as an infographic, illustrations, maps, or some other asset, that can be used in an article on their site.
This approach has led to a wide variety of publications, from national newspapers to specialist places like Lonely Planet, writing about us.
8. “2022” Jacking
People always want to click on the newest and most current posts, so by adding the current year or some sort of call to action to the headline, you can increase the chances of getting people to click on your links. This can help you get your site on the first page of search results.
Suppose we have 2 posts:
“Link Building Strategies“
and
“Link Building Strategies for 2022″
The user is obviously interested in link building strategies for 2022. You can also include the following phrases in your headline (Remember to include the current year to increase curiosity).
- Top
- Discover
- Free
- Get
- Try
- Greatest
- Fastest
- Newest
- Oldest
- Strangest
- Cheapest
- Most
- Expensive
- Easiest
- Unbelievable
- Best
9. Local Business Citations
If you have a local business, then building links with other local businesses is an ideal back-linking opportunity for you. You can get great links by optimizing your website for local searches, which will also draw additional traffic from people who use local searches to find businesses near them.
Having your business appear in local search results is key to improving your position. This can be done by ensuring your business is cited in local directories. Local citations have the three terms named “NAP” i.e. Name, Address and Phone number.
Whilst creating your local business citation, ensure that the address featured is the same as on your website. Citation links help improve your local rankings by providing verification to search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing that your business exists and is located where you claim it is.
Links from review sites like Yelp, Yahoo Local, Yellow Pages, and Bing Local can help improve your website’s ranking in local search results. Having links from these types of sites can also help build trust and authority for your site.
There are several ways that you can use to easily find citation sites. Here are some of them:
- You can start with Whitespark’s List of Top Citation Sources and you can also head over to this comprehensive list of niche citation sites for 41 business categories including Automotive, Accounting, Marketing, Real estate, Health & Medical, and more.
- You can also find city-specific and keyword-specific citation sources by using the following:
- (city) business listings
- (city) business directory
- (city) directory
- For keyword-specific citations:
- (keyword) business listings
- (keyword) business directory
- (keyword) directory
These sites can be very helpful so it’s a good idea to use them and feel free to look for more.
10. Building Links from Trusted Sites
Google has said that it is committed to only showing trusted websites in its search results pages, in order to remove spam sites from the internet.
It is essential to build links from trusted sites to establish your site’s authority and improve its ranking in search results. When a website has backlinks from a trusted site, it is an indication to search engines that they are an authority on that subject.
For example, there are many websites and blogs that mention Wikipedia within their content.
If a website links to Wikipedia, it will increase the backlink count and site authority for Wikipedia. Search engines find Wikipedia to be a credible source and it often appears near the top of search results.
Search engines also take into consideration links from less reputable sites. Websites that use these techniques are considered untrustworthy and are penalized in search rankings.
A website will not be recognized by a search engine’s algorithm if the website has links on pages that are not related to the website’s products or business. A car parts website would rather not be linked to on a cooking website. The two are not related and will not benefit from the link.
If you build too many links in a short amount of time, search engines may think you’re trying to spam them. If a business has a lot of links from websites that are not considered to be high quality, then that business’ website will likely rank lower in search results. Make sure you are always paying attention to how you are creating your links.
11. Scoop.it
Scoop.it allows users to select a favorite topic and curate content from around the web to share on any social network they prefer. Some other content curation sites are available, but Scoop.it is currently the best option. Some other sites include:
You can start using Scoop.it by creating an account and choosing a desired topic. Next, search inside the Scoop.it pages for content which is related to your topic. There, you have 3 categories: Scoops, Topics and Users.
Find a topic that has a lot of views and that has been updated recently. This allows you to build links indirectly.
Choose the topic you want to suggest content for, add the URL, and hit the suggest button. This will notify the creator of the Scoop.it topic that you have suggested content for their topic. If the creator of the page likes your post, they will add it to the page, giving you a backlink.
Make sure to add valid tags when sharing content on scoop.it. This will help ensure that your content is seen by as many people as possible.
The Users tab also allows you to share your content with others by following them on Twitter and other social channels. This can get you dozens of authority backlinks.
12. List.ly
Kellet says that Listly is a social curation tool that uses lists as a way to organize information. Listly is a free service that allows you to create and share lists with other professionals in your field.
Lists are a popular way to view content as they are easy to scan and digest. This platform makes it easy for you to create lists of tips, popular songs, or anything else that your audience might be interested in.
List.ly is a site where you can sign up for a free account. You can also sign up using your Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or LinkedIn accounts. To create your first list, click the “Make a List” button at the top.
With Listly you give others the ability to like your list, as well as react to it with an Emoji. You also give them the ability to share it to social media, and comment on the list. Additionally, you can keep your lists to yourself, or embed them onto your WordPress blog, Tumblr, or website.
The rank of your list is important on Listly, with a rank of 20 required for your list to be indexed by search engines or to be recommended by Listly.
A few tips to score a high list rank for your lists:
- Create lists that others will find useful. Avoid creating lists only to get backlinks.
- Write a proper headline and description for your list.
- Always add a headline image to your list.
- Invite friends (via social share buttons and via email) to contribute to your lists.
- Improve your profile on Listly by connecting multiple social accounts.
Conclusion
A strategy that focuses on earning links will always result in better SERP position and traffic than one that relies on simply building links. Use these techniques to get the results you want for your website or blog.
The techniques I listed are based on my personal experience. Let us know if there are any other methods you’ve tried that you would recommend.
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