Google recently confirmed that “backlinks” are a top three ranking factor and like most things in life, there is a right and a wrong way. Most SEO experts agree that it’s best practice to employ white-hat techniques.
What Does White-Hat SEO Mean?
White-hat SEO means improving your ranking slowly, and organically. But Google has a history of ‘moving the goalposts.’ Eight organic ways to build backlinks to your website, that are at least today, considered white-hat.
1. Replace broken links
All you need to do is get in touch with the blogger in question and explain that you have found a broken link on their site, and offer a replacement link.
No blogger wants to have broken links (it’s not great for SEO), so once you suggest a replacement – i.e., your piece of content – they might be happy to accept it.
But how do you find these broken links? It is easy; there are many free backlink checkers available, which will crawl through your favorite blogs on the web so you can find excellent opportunities.
2. Blog commenting
The next method to consider is blog commenting, which is a popular and very effective way to get backlinks to your site.
It works exceptionally well because you are going to gradually increase the number of backlinks to your site over time, which is perfect for building a ranking organically. Make sure all of the comments you contribute are meaningful and insightful.
They should not come across as spammy.
3. Guest blogging
Of course, it would not be right to talk about building backlinks without speaking about guest blogging.
You need to make sure that this content is original, engaging and exciting.
Moreover, you should only post it on websites that are relevant to your business and have a strong readership. For example, if you sell car parts, look for auto blogs to post your content on.
4. Repurposing
Another strategy for building engaging backlinks is to repurpose content.
It is incredibly easy to do, but you need to do it effectively. This involves taking your blog posts and turning them into content in another format.
For example, this could be a PDF, a podcast, or a video. However, one thing you should never do is simple duplicate your blog and post it elsewhere.
Irrespective of what you change your blog too, make sure you link it to the original version or your website, as this will generate another level of white hat backlinks to your site.
5. HARO and Vertical Press
HARO stands for Help a Reporter Out.
It is a website that enables you to connect with influencers, bloggers, journalists, and any other sort of people that are knowledgeable authority figures within the industry.
The website will not cost you any money to join, and you will receive emails twice per day with digests from reporters who are looking for expert opinions.
If you are selected by these experts, the content produced will incorporate a backlink to your website, which can be incredibly valuable. This can help you in many different ways.
Of course, the Vertical Industry Press provides for great backlinks, which helps to boost your search engine ranking. Nevertheless, it also shows you as an authority figure in your industry.
6. Communities
Aside from the suggestions that have already been mentioned, you can also use communities to build backlinks.
You should get involved with forums in your niche. Reddit is also a good place to get involved in. Make contacts and network with people so that you can build up a group of contacts that you have rapport with and you can use to your advantage.
Become an asset to the communities you join. Provide help with a link to your website, and contribute premium quality posts.
However, as mentioned with regards to the adding comments point earlier, you should never simply spam. Everything needs to be helpful.
7. Yahoo Answers and Quora
Both Yahoo Answers and Quora provide another great option for generating natural backlinks.
People post questions on these platforms, so you should take the time to answer them. Make sure you give as much detail as you can.
Your replies need to be helpful, and they need to actually answer the question.
Do not merely post irrelevant promotional content on any random question you can find. However, do make sure you naturally incorporate a link to your website within the comment.
8. Newsjacking
Last but not least, we have newsjacking. This is an approach that does not only help with your backlinks, but with your branding as a whole. You are bound to find industry news related to your company daily. If your news these items, you will make your brand relevant.
So, basically, you take a piece of relevant news, and then you attach it to your brand. By doing this, you make your brand relevant.
This will make your content shareable, and so it is much more likely to gain traction and make an impression.
Summary
So there you have it: eight of the effective ways you can build backlinks to your website. If you follow the suggestions that have been presented above, you should start to climb up the search engine result pages.
You do not have to use all of the methods that have been presented, but it is ideal to at least diversify your backlinking strategies.
So before you know it, you will have a backlink campaign that will improve your Google Ranking.