These days, in order to have a successful business, you need to be present online. Actually, you need to be more than present. You should be dominating the online world. No matter what kind of business you are in, big or small, products or services, this is important for everyone. However, owning a place at the top of the search results is not easy. It is not impossible, either, so that’s good news.
Throughout the years, links have become a vital element of SEO. When Google is deciding on the positions pages occupy in the organic search results, there are two important signals it takes into account. They are the content of your page, and the links pointing at specific content. That is why we have come up with these 16 killer link building strategies to help you increase your organic reach.
16 Link Building Strategies Worth Trying
Since acquiring links from authoritative and trusted domains is a pretty hard thing to do, you will need all the help you can get. In the end, what are links if not an online equivalent of an academic quotation? So, they shouldn’t be very easy to obtain in order to stay relevant.
For the desired traffic, you will have to invest some serious time and patience. It is crucial that you use website optimization services, for starters. Also, that is the most cost-effective way to obtain organic traffic to your website. From there, you will start building your community and relationships with clients and interested parties. So, let’s get started with the link building strategies that will change the course of your business for good.
1. Make your content the best
Firstly, carefully think about the keywords that you want to rank for, Google them and see who your biggest competitors are. After you explore their websites, create content that is better than all of theirs. Also, search for the sites that link to your biggest competitors and subtly reach out to them in order to establish a business connection. This “skyscraper technique” is one of the best link building strategies for positioning.
2. Write a testimonial
This is one of the easiest link building strategies to try. After you buy a product or a service from a company, leave a testimonial on their website. Since the feedback from their customers is the best advertisement there is, they will probably share it with the readers.
3. Reclaim your links
If you already have a brand, do your best to find mentions of it online. If it happens that there are no links attached, write an email to the publisher and ask for it. There are great chances of getting the link since they probably already like your brand if they’re mentioning it.
4. Share your infographic
After you create an awesome infographic about a relevant subject, make sure to link the image to your website. Find the bloggers who might be interested in that subject, especially if you have mentioned them as a source. Or write an article about the subject and share your content with infographic sharing websites.
5. Guest blogging
This is one of the very popular link building strategies because of the constant need for fresh content. Either write or hire blog writing services to create guest blog posts for other sites. However, don’t forget that you need sites with higher authority to make this strategy work.
6. Do the interviews
Either interview an important person from the field of interest or be the one yourself and get interviewed. Afterword, make sure to link the interview with your website and watch the number of backlinks and incoming traffic is rise.
7. Have a blogger review your product or service
Also, one of the most popular link building strategies nowadays, in the era of influencers. Offer your product or service to a blogger to try and give a review. However, make sure you offer it for free, as you don’t want to violate the Google Webmaster Guidelines
8. Use your own social network
We are not talking only about your social media reach here, but also about the people that you actually know in person. Any of your friends and family, colleagues, partners or clients could be a good match for your backlinks. However, you really do need relevant sites and profiles in order for this strategy to have a bigger impact. Also, make sure your fields of content are somehow connected.
Link building strategies are not easy but neither are they impossible
9. Comment on other blogs
This isn’t something that would spike your follower base immediately. However, over time, it can give you some relevant followers. For example, if you are in the moving industry, follow the work and blogs of relevant sites and make sure to give your contribution in comments. Not only you will get potential followers of your own, but you will also have a chance to connect to other people from your industry.
10. Use blog directories
If you have your own blog, don’t just stop there. There are many different blog directories that you should submit your blog towards and start collecting links and followers.
11. Make sure to create your RSS feed
You probably already have an RSS feed, if you have created your blog using some Content Management System such as WordPress. If not, make sure to create one ASAP. However, don’t forget to put some internal links to other pages on your site in every blog post. If someone ”steals” it and does not mention you, you will at least have the internal links to your blog.
12. Offer discounts
This is one of the basic strategies to increase the number of customers in any industry, especially with online possibilities. Find writers that share discounts and let them get familiar with your product or service.
13. Make donations
Non-profit organizations and charities usually have some donors’ page that you will be mentioned on when you donate. However, this is one of the most used link building strategies, therefore Google has classified these links as paid ones.
14. Create an email signature
This doesn’t take a lot of effort, that’s for sure. But it will bring you more visits to your site if you just include the backlink in your email signature, so why not use that opportunity?
15. Exchange links with other sites
However, when you use reciprocal linking as a strategy, be very careful and picky who you choose to be on the other side. You need trustworthy and relevant sites if you don’t want to endanger your brand.
16. Use sponsor events and venues
Since events are always looking for sponsors, this is your time to shine. Start with small stuff like local meetups and work your way up with industry conferences. The same goes for sponsoring venues. These are proven to be very successful link building strategies, that will most certainly increase your follower base.
We hope that these link building strategies for beginners will help you get your foot in the door of the world of SEO. As we have already mentioned, you will have to invest a lot of time and energy into getting high organic traffic. Always try to find new ways of reaching out and spreading your brand. But once you understand how this industry works, it will be much easier and your business will thrive.