Backlinks: they’re a critical component of SEO.
They’re also notoriously difficult to produce.
While all marketers want a site with a huge number of backlinks, very few understand how actually to produce one. Instead, they waste their precious time pursuing unproductive backlink strategies that may harm SEO more than they help it. Luckily, there’s a way out.
By understanding how backlinks affect SEO, and then developing an actionable plan to earn high-quality backlinks from around the web, you can improve the visibility and authority of your site while also becoming more relevant to your audience.
We’ve put together ten smart tips to get you started.
Why Backlinks Matter For SEO
In the world of SEO, backlinks are a sort of popularity vote.
Today, the way that Google ranks sites is more complex than it’s ever been. Instead of looking to things like keyword density to determine whether a site is authoritative and high-quality, Google and other search engines look at a broad spectrum of ranking metrics – varying from social shares to meta content.
One of the most important metrics Google evaluates, however, is backlinks. When a site has hundreds or thousands of high-quality backlinks from other locations on the web, Google interprets that as a sign that the site in question is relevant, quality, and authoritative enough to have earned all of those backlinks.
As a result, Google ranks the site higher and makes it easier for users to find.
With this in mind, it’s clear that earning quality backlinks is about much more than just reach – it’s also critical for the proper function of SEO.
10 Tips To Earn Quality Backlinks For Your Site
To produce more quality backlinks for your site, follow these ten proven tips:
1. Create Quality Infographics
As it stands right now, infographics receive 3x as many likes and shares on social media as any other type of content. With that in mind, it’s clear that creating infographics for your site is an excellent way to earn backlinks from other reputable sites on the web.
For best results, research the infographic thoroughly and hire a professional to design it if you doubt your skills.
2. Be Ruthless About Guest Blogging
Guest blogging is one of the best ways to earn quality backlinks from outside sources. While learning to guest blog takes some time, landing a guest spot on a high-profile site is an excellent way to gain links to your content and site, which can help broaden your audience.
3. Evaluate What Your Competitors Are Doing
One great way to improve your link building strategy is to assess what your competitors are doing. Keep an eye on things like their social profiles and website to get a feel for their backlink strategy, and then see if there’s anything within it you can apply to your site.
4. Boost Your Internal Link Strategy
To earn external links, your internal link strategy must first be on point. By executing a good internal link strategy, you can help readers navigate through your website and locate the content they need quickly and easily. This, in turn, makes it easier for them to backlink to your site.
5. Learn How To Promote Your Content Well
Promoting your content is central to developing a quality backlink strategy. For best results, push your content to like-minded bloggers who share quality content, post your content across your social profiles, and share each piece you write several times.
6. Donate Your Services Or Time To Other Organizations
One of the easiest (and most efficient) ways to earn backlinks is to donate your time and energy to prominent organizations. This can come in many forms, ranging from services to a guest post.
Regardless of what you choose to do, just ensure that the site you decide to donate to is reputable and relevant enough to offer a quality backlink.
7. Conduct An Interview With An Outside Source
If you’re an expert in something that other people want to know about, share the knowledge by doing an interview. In addition to the fact that this will help establish you as an authority in your industry, it’s also a great way to earn backlinks from the interviewer as well as his or her audience.
8. Ask Influencers To Share Your Content Or Site
While many people fear this step, it can be an essential one to help you get noticed. When you reach out to influencers and other bloggers and ask them to share your content, you get to capitalize not only on your audience but also the influencer’s audience.
While you may get turned down a few times, it’s well worth it to find an influencer who wants to work with you and your brand.
9. Fix Broken Links On Other Sites With Your Links
One useful yet underutilized way to build backlinks is to locate broken links on another person’s site and reach out to the site master about them. Instead of leaving it at that, though, offer a link to your site as a replacement. The probability that the webmaster will use it is high, and it can be an effective way to boost your link authority.
10. Link Everything To Your Social Accounts
Every post you write should link to your social accounts. This helps produce more backlinks and streamlines the content sharing process.
SEO Services Made Simple
If you’ve been struggling to build backlinks, you don’t need to go it alone anymore. Contact Thrive Internet Marketing for a complete selection of quality SEO services to help your site shine.