When it comes to the process of developing backlinks to your blog site or website, it can be frustrating right, as it is a process that really requires patience, extra work, and dedication. Gone are the days of simple SEO, where you could insert any link to your blog anywhere on the web. So for your backlinks to be truly successful and earn you cool money this year 2020 as a digital marketer or copywriter, you must be conscious about your backlink generating strategy.
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There are more than 7.5 billion people alive at any given moment, and more than half of them are online. This means that, excluding those who don’t have access to the internet (and those too young or too old to use it), almost everyone has some online presence. For many, this may be limited to social media accounts and a smattering of subscriptions, but there are still billions of business websites and personal blogs.
So no matter the nature of your online platform, you need to be smart and resourceful if you want your site to be visible. The days of simply posting online and adding a few keywords are very much long gone. The world of search engine optimization has evolved to a point where even most novices know that there are hundreds of factors that contribute to your ranking.
Some of these factors—especially keywords—are very well known. The problem is, with the rise of voice search, keywords are no longer the dominant SEO tool. Many SEO experts have stepped forward and stated that keywords are somewhat outdated. And while they’re not likely to ever fall away altogether, relying purely on keywords is suicidal. That’s where backlinks come in.
What Are Backlinks and why are they so important?
A backlink is a link created when one website links to another. Backlinks are also called "inbound links" or "incoming links." Backlinks are important to SEO.
Backlinks are especially valuable for SEO because they represent a "vote of confidence" from one site to another.
In essence, backlinks to your website are a signal to search engines that others vouch for your content. If many sites link to the same webpage or website, search engines can infer that content is worth linking to, and therefore also worth surfacing on a SERP. So, earning these backlinks can have a positive effect on a site's ranking position or search visibility.
Use the following tricks below to generate engaging backlinks to your blog:
GUEST POSTING
It may sound like you’ll just be helping another site build their resources and generate more views for themselves, but this is very much a case of helping each other out. After all, guest posting is very different from ghostwriting. As a ghostwriter, you get no credit for the content whatsoever. But every guest post is entirely credited to the writer, not the hosting site.
Of course, this does help the host site to generate views, but that’s okay for the guest writer because more often than not it includes a backlink to your site. Guest posting is one of those cases where it’s not only about generating a backlink to improve your search engine index ranking for SERPs, which shouldn’t be your only focus at all. This is a great way of getting your name out there, making your content available to new readers and winning increased online visibility. Guest posting, most especially for authoritative sites in your industry, builds your reputation online in a big, big way.
But it can take a long time to find opportunities to create guest posts if you go about it the wrong way. One sure means of discovering fresh, relevant opportunities is to make use of sites like Twitter. By using the search function, you can quickly find authoritative sites that are looking for guest post contributors on a regular basis. Just type “your niche” + guest post (for example “SEO” + guest post) and scan the results for new opportunities.
Of course, this does help the host site to generate views, but that’s okay for the guest writer because more often than not it includes a backlink to your site. Guest posting is one of those cases where it’s not only about generating a backlink to improve your search engine index ranking for SERPs, which shouldn’t be your only focus at all. This is a great way of getting your name out there, making your content available to new readers and winning increased online visibility. Guest posting, most especially for authoritative sites in your industry, builds your reputation online in a big, big way.
But it can take a long time to find opportunities to create guest posts if you go about it the wrong way. One sure means of discovering fresh, relevant opportunities is to make use of sites like Twitter. By using the search function, you can quickly find authoritative sites that are looking for guest post contributors on a regular basis. Just type “your niche” + guest post (for example “SEO” + guest post) and scan the results for new opportunities.
CREATE SHAREABLE CONTENT
Shareable content is just that – shareable – providing you with the opportunity to have your expertise pushed throughout the Internet and the chance that your website will be linked to multiple web pages and platforms. Whether you decide to create a well-researched blog post, actionable eBook, or valuable infographic, any shared content can be distributed with a call-to-action (CTA) asking content viewers to distribute the content as they see fit.
Pinterest is another great way to generate backlinks. Make sure that all of your blog posts, case studies, infographics, and high-value sharable content is linked to your Pinterest board. If an individual finds your work and insights valuable, there is a chance that they will create a backlink when posting the content in a blog post or on one of their web pages.
The initial reach out can be done over social media, using hashtags and other methods of targeted distribution to reach people within your niche.
Pinterest is another great way to generate backlinks. Make sure that all of your blog posts, case studies, infographics, and high-value sharable content is linked to your Pinterest board. If an individual finds your work and insights valuable, there is a chance that they will create a backlink when posting the content in a blog post or on one of their web pages.
The initial reach out can be done over social media, using hashtags and other methods of targeted distribution to reach people within your niche.
COMMENTS ON BLOG AND FORUM
Everybody finds themselves turning to the blogs they follow for information, but sometimes readers want or need something more than what the post has to offer. This is where you step in. Find blogs that cover your industry, whether directly or by posting on some of the products and (or) services that form part of your own, and start following them. There are a lot of reasons for you to do so, and we’ll talk more about them later on in this article, but one of the easiest ways doing so can help you build backlinks is by going through the comment section.
Many bloggers (and we’re including vloggers on sites like YouTube) often invite their readers to ask questions or add their opinions, stories, and ideas in the comment section. Questions are often responded to by the original poster themselves, and most bloggers will try to answer to every comment, but often some of the best answers come from other readers. And this is where you step in.
First off, if you notice there’s information missing or that isn’t covered very well in the post, you can make a suggestive comment providing that information. And by reading through other readers’ questions, you can also find opportunities to provide answers.
Sometimes, you’ll find that the answer another reader is looking for is too long to post as a comment. Use these opportunities to provide a summarized answer, and end with a link to your article.
Another place the public turns to are forums such as Yahoo Answers and Google Groups, as well as industry (or even product) specific options. These offer much the same opportunity as the blog comment section does.
BACKLINKS FROM YOUR OWN BLOG
As another form of shareable content, create well-researched posts that link to other valuable content that fit into a specific niche. For example, creating countdown posts to your favorite CRM tools or travel blogs allows you to link to recognized web content, and creates the opportunity for that respected site to share your post and link back to your website.
It’s all about putting your best foot forward when working to generate backlinks, so why not give a shout-out to the products, services, or content creators that help make your daily life better?
Additionally, you may choose to do a simple content round-up to compile helpful tips and tricks for a certain topic or concept. If this is the case, you can find timely content using Feedly. Feedly helps you sort through available content to find articles and blog posts that relate to a specific topic or niche. Try creating a content roundup once a week to keep your readers updated on topics of interest, and make sure to link back to all mentioned websites.
GET INTERVIEWED
Online interviews have become a popular trend lately, and they offer an easy way to earn some backlinks. It takes time to become considered an authority in your industry or niche, but when you do you’ll probably find you’ll be getting a lot of interview invitations. Until then, you’ll have to take the first step in finding opportunities to be interviewed.
One way to go about this is to be on the lookout for websites—especially blogs, and even vlogs—that run online interviews. It doesn’t have to be focused on your particular niche, but in that case, you should narrow the list down to those that cover a range of topics. You’ll be wasting your time trying to get an interview on a site that isn’t relevant to your industry at all, and even if (by some miracle) you do land one, the backlink isn’t going to do much for your SERP ranking.
Once you’ve found a relevant site, send them a friendly email and let them know that you’d like to participate in their project. Always be sure to include an overview of the type of knowledge you can offer as a contribution. It’s a little like guest posting and providing resources via HARO, but as a blend of the two—you’re providing a source of information that someone else will translate into content for their site.
Another option is to reach out to online publications that are located in your vicinity, and let them know you’ve recently started up. Ask if they’re interested in doing an article on local businesses, and offer to be one of the interviewees. Whichever method you use, you’re guaranteed to earn a few backlinks over time.
SOCIAL MEDIA
This is something of an extension to the above section on Google+, which we felt deserved its spotlight. Other social media platforms can be just as important as a platform to generate backlinks for your site and to promote your content. In fact, it’s so viable and popular an option that people have made a career out of being Social Media Marketing Managers.
You don’t have to hire one when starting out of course because you should be able to run your social media platforms by yourself without any difficulty, but in the long-term, you’ll probably turn to one too.
How it works is this: you create a Facebook page for your business, where you can interact with users, promote your company, and share your content. You’ll also find yourself sharing content from other sites, of course, and they’ll usually return the favor. Your followers can get regular updates on new content, products, and promotions, and they’ll be able to share your posts with their friends to—creating a ripple effect of backlink opportunities.
The same can be said for Twitter, which we already mentioned as a great platform for finding opportunities to guest post on other sites. Another popular trend (more for product oriented businesses, although service providers should also consider finding ways to utilize the platform) is Instagram, which will allow you to promote your brand and share advertising campaigns such as competitions with a wide range of followers.
GOOGLE+
If you haven’t already created a Google+ profile account, we recommend you do so, because it’s an easy way to build a backlink to your site. All you need to do is sign up for free, add a link to your site in the Introduction section, and start interacting with other Google+ users. The more time you spend communicating and sharing, the more exposure your backlink will generate for your site, so like all SEO practices, it’s going to be an ongoing, long term process. Over time, you’ll be getting more and more referrals via your Google+ profile, making it an increasingly powerful backlink.
One important thing to take note of is that you have to be logged out of Google+ to be able to see the link as a link, otherwise known as a dofollow link. It’s a little weird, but the link shows as nofollow when you’re logged in, meaning the backlink exists and is present on your profile, but doesn’t show as a link and can’t be clicked on to redirect users.
This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do add it though. There is bound to be users who won’t be logged in when they come across your profile—if it pops up on a SERP, for example—so they’ll see the link and hopefully follow it. Besides which, having that backlink available will help search engines (Google most obviously, but Bing and Yahoo will also pick it up) to index your site and improve your SERP ranking.
conduct INTERVIEWS and be INTERVIEWED
Online interviews have become a popular trend lately, and they offer an easy way to earn some backlinks. It takes time to become considered an authority in your industry or niche, but when you do you’ll probably find you’ll be getting a lot of interview invitations. Until then, you’ll have to take the first step in finding opportunities to be interviewed.
One way to go about this is to be on the lookout for websites—especially blogs, and even vlogs—that run online interviews. It doesn’t have to be focused on your particular niche, but in that case, you should narrow the list down to those that cover a range of topics. You’ll be wasting your time trying to get an interview on a site that isn’t relevant to your industry at all, and even if (by some miracle) you do land one, the backlink isn’t going to do much for your SERP ranking.
Once you’ve found a relevant site, send them a friendly email and let them know that you’d like to participate in their project. Always be sure to include an overview of the type of knowledge you can offer as a contribution. It’s a little like guest posting and providing resources via HARO, but as a blend of the two—you’re providing a source of information that someone else will translate into content for their site.
Another option is to reach out to online publications that are located in your vicinity, and let them know you’ve recently started up. Ask if they’re interested in doing an article on local businesses, and offer to be one of the interviewees. Whichever method you use, you’re guaranteed to earn a few backlinks over time.
SPY ON YOUR COMPETITORS
To help you create good content that will earn your site backlinks, you want to spy on your competitors. Why? Because the chances are that they’ve got great content that is already ranking well and has generated a lot of backlinks.
The easiest way to do so is to follow their pages on social media because that’s where they’ll be sharing their most fruitful and relevant content. Having access to this content will come into play in a big way in our next section, the Skyscraper Method, but it’s important in other ways too. Knowing what your competitors are doing on their social media platforms will give you an idea of the type of people and companies that follow them, people that you can reach out and market to as well. Not only that, but you’ll also be able to stay in touch with the marketing methods they’re using to earn backlinks, information that you can adopt and adapt to your brand.
So what you want to do is not only follow them on social media but sign up to any newsletters they send out. Google Alerts is another great way to receive notifications as to when they’re posting new content on their site.
One of our favorite tools for discovering when and how your competitors are building links is Monitor Backlinks. This will give your direct insight on the techniques you can replicate to earn your backlinks in the same industry: specific sites that you should offer to do guests posts for, bloggers you can ask for reviews, and nearly every other method we’ve mentioned.
Generating backlinks can be a tedious process, but if you’re dedicated to generating high-quality backlinks on a range of websites and social media accounts in your niche, you can stay in Google’s “good books” and experience an increase in web traffic over time. Also if you have some tips that can generate engaging backlinks feel free to share them on the comment section below. SHARE & COMMENT
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