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If your business isn’t building quality backlinks, you’re not increasing prominence. If you’re not increasing prominence, you’re missing one of the fundamental criteria to rank higher in the search engine results pages (SERPs).
As Google shares, prominence is based on “information that Google has about a business, from across the web, like links, articles, and directories.”
The bottom line is that every business needs quality, white hat backlinks.
White hat backlinks essentially serve as a vote of confidence from a website and tell Google your web page is a trusted resource. The more votes of confidence your web page has, the more prominent it will be seen to be.
White hat backlinks are acquired through ethical means rather than leveraging spam tactics. Yet, obtaining quality backlinks is easier said than done.
If you’re looking to build your white hat backlink strategy, you’re in the right place. This post will share 11 proven strategies that work to get backlinks and boost your SEO strategy.
Let’s dive in and discover the techniques to get quality backlinks for your website.
1. Mine For Broken Links
Broken links negatively impact a user’s experience with a site.
Consider when a user eagerly searching for information clicks a broken link to a site. This likely causes frustration and potentially a lost customer.
Google also continues to prioritize the overall user experience with recent updates.
Broken link building entails finding links to pages that no longer exist and politely reaching out to the website with the broken outbound link to notify them and suggest replacing it with a link to your relevant, high-quality content.
It’s important to understand the difference between dofollow and nofollow links.
Dofollow links are the most valuable for SEO, as they pass link juice from the referring site to your website. These links are seen as endorsements by search engines, indicating that your content is trustworthy and relevant.
Nofollow links have a rel=”nofollow” attribute, which tells search engines not to follow the link or pass any authority. While nofollow links don’t directly impact your SEO, they can still drive traffic to your site and increase your online visibility.
It’s essential to have a healthy mix of both types of backlinks to create a well-rounded backlink profile.
Utilize backlink analysis tools like Ahrefs, Moz, and Semrush to discover broken inbound links to your closest competitors or broken outbound links from prominent industry publications and blogs.
Start with the dofollow links from sites with strong domain authority.
Broken link building takes time and effort, but it can be an easy way to build your backlink profile for sites that prioritize their users’ experiences.
2. Leverage Existing Relationships
Tap into your existing network of partners, suppliers, or satisfied customers.
Reach out to them and propose collaborative projects, testimonials, or case studies that showcase your products or services, providing opportunities for mutual backlinking.
Since you already provide a valuable service to a business, they’ll be more inclined to link back to you, as you’ve already developed a business relationship with them.
Additionally, many businesses already have a partner page to showcase who they do business with.
If they’re not linking to your site already, this should be an easy ask and a quick way to get a credible white hat backlink to your site.
3. Monitor Brand Mentions And Unlinked References
Sometimes, your business may be mentioned, but you aren’t receiving proper credit.
For example, a customer may write a glowing testimonial on a successful blog, or they reference a finding published by your business, but they aren’t linking to your site.
Ask for credit where credit is due. In both instances, you’ve provided a noteworthy service. Ask customers who reference your brand or websites that mention you in any capacity on their sites to provide a backlink.
Also, look for content published on sites that may list your competitors as resources but should have mentioned your relevant brand.
Utilize tools like Google Alerts or Mention to monitor mentions of your brand or your competitors. You’ll receive an email notification whenever a website mentions a designated brand name.
When you come across unlinked references to your website or content, reach out to the site owners and kindly request them to add a backlink for proper attribution or a pertinent inclusion that would benefit their audience.
4. Publish Original Research
Creating high-quality, valuable content is essential for attracting backlinks from authoritative websites. You can become a trusted content-sharing source by leveraging your expertise and original research.
When considering why and when people share content, you must consider the psychology of content sharing.
A recent study found that 94% of respondents said they carefully consider how the information they share will be useful to the recipient.
In the same study, nearly half of the respondents reported sharing content because it allows them to inform others of products they care about and potentially change opinions or encourage actions.
Develop comprehensive guides, research studies, infographics, or industry reports that serve as go-to resources within your niche.
These authoritative assets naturally attract backlinks from websites seeking to provide valuable information to their audience.
Every time a consumer, blog, or business mentions your research, you’ll receive a white hat backlink. The more informative your content is, the more likely it will be shared.
5. Create Engaging Visual Content
Visual content such as infographics, charts, or slideshows attracts attention and shares on social media platforms.
Why is visual content a top priority for marketers? Because it is easily digestible and shareable.
Nearly 41% of marketers said original graphics (e.g., infographics, illustrations) help them reach their marketing goals. And more than 50% of marketers said visual content is very important in their marketing strategy.
Whether you’re creating an infographic or any other type of visual, it’s an easy way to increase the likelihood of your content being shared.
When possible, embed your website’s link within visually appealing content to increase the likelihood of earning backlinks as it gets shared across the web.
6. Publish Ultimate And Step-by-Step Guides
As the name suggests, ultimate guides are the “ultimate” resource on a designated topic.
The word ultimate suggests you have the best, most in-depth current knowledge on the subject, drawing consumers to want to learn more.
A step-by-step guide, in theory, provides an easy way to learn how to do something. Consumers favor ease and simplicity, which a step-by-step guide aims to accomplish.
Both these types of guides can help a business build its backlink profile. For example, if you’ve written an ultimate guide to digital marketing, a writer may reference one of your points in a blog post about affiliate marketing.
Crafting content that offers unique insights, solves problems, or entertains your audience is essential for attracting natural backlinks.
7. Offer Free Valuable Tools Or Resources
Are you a technology company?
Building a free tool or a light version of your solution is an effective way to build quality white hat backlinks, and it can also drive potential leads.
For example, Adobe offers free or “lighter” versions of several of its tools, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader and Adobe Photoshop Express. These allow users to preview the tool’s capabilities and may encourage them to convert to paid users in the future to maximize its software.
Develop free tools, calculators, or templates that provide practical value to your target audience.
Websites and blogs within your industry may naturally link to these resources as references, establishing your website as a go-to destination and earning valuable backlinks in the process.
8. Use Data Aggregators For Citations
A data aggregator, as the name suggests, compiles information from multiple sources, including phone and utility bills, business registration records on government websites, chamber of commerce membership rosters, and other citations for the sole purpose of providing it to search engines.
Local citations help publish your business’s information across the vast search ecosystem.
While the greater majority of searches take place on Google and other popular search engines, these directories also receive traffic – and are another way for consumers to discover your business.
To start, ensure your business is listed on Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business), Yelp, Facebook, and Apple Maps.
Then, branch out to other general or industry-specific directories. Every directory you’re listed on provides you with a backlink to help you build your backlink profile.
Business owners can provide this information directly to the data aggregators so that they can submit it to other sources on their behalf. In turn, this helps businesses appear in online citations.
Citations may not be as prominent of a search ranking factor as they were in the past; however, their benefits are not completely obsolete, as they can provide hundreds of relevant backlinks to local landing pages.
9. Leverage Public Relations
A public relations plan is a great way to build prominence and authority in your industry. It’s also a surefire way to help build your backlink profile.
Consider content syndication for your press releases and editorial content, which is the process of republishing or distributing content from your website to multiple other news platforms or industry-related websites.
Content syndication often involves partnering with reputable vendors specializing in distributing content across various platforms, websites, and publishers. These vendors have established relationships with news publications and can help amplify your content’s reach.
Each press release or article is an opportunity to add at least one backlink to your content when publishers allow it.
It also establishes your brand as an expert in your industry. The more often you have useful and relevant information to share in your industry, the more you’ll establish yourself as a voice of authority.
Public relations extends to social media, too, where you can share links to content. If users find your content beneficial, they may reshare it, helping you build additional backlinks.
10. Create A Roundup Or “Ask The Experts” Blog Post
Organize expert roundups or interviews featuring prominent figures within your industry.
Ask potential contributors for a short contribution – maybe two to three sentences – to encourage participation.
The less burdensome the ask, the more likely they will want to participate. Asking others for insights around a certain topic can help strengthen your content and add valuable information you may not otherwise have had.
Creating a roundup or an ask-the-experts-style post increases your chances for shareability, too.
When these experts contribute their insights or opinions, they are more than likely to share the content piece with their networks, which will cause the content to reach a wider audience, generating valuable backlinks and exposure for your website.
11. Build Relationships With Influencers And Thought Leaders
Engage with influencers and thought leaders within your industry through social media, forums, or industry events.
Remember to choose influencers whose audience aligns with your target audience. Once you find the right blog niche or influencer to support your brand, send them your product or provide the service free of charge in exchange for a review.
Collaborating with influencers not only helps to generate backlinks but also exposes your brand to a wider audience. When an influencer promotes your content or mentions your brand, their followers are more likely to trust and engage with your website.
Or, if you have a larger budget, you can also pay macro-level influencers to give their honest feedback. Then, have the blog or influencer link back to your product or service.
Additionally, you may provide a blog or influencer with an affiliate link. Whenever a potential customer clicks their affiliate link, they’ll receive a commission.
The commission may come from simply clicking the affiliate link or if the consumer makes a purchase. This link-building endeavor requires more effort on your behalf; however, it also sends higher-quality traffic, which leads to higher conversion rates.
Concluding Thoughts
Cracking Google’s evolving search engine algorithm can be time-consuming and full of trials, tribulations, and errors.
Focusing on backlinks plays a significant role in improving the prominence and relevance of your website in the eyes of search engines.
Acquiring quality backlinks without resorting to paid placement methods is a long-term investment that requires dedication, creativity, and a commitment to providing value to your audience and industry.
By implementing the 12 actionable tactics outlined in this guide, marketing professionals can enhance their website’s authority, brand visibility, and organic search rankings, driving sustainable growth and success in the competitive digital landscape.
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