Link building might seem a lot of hassle, and you might not consider it while trying to rank your website up. Well, you might be wrong there!
There have always been numerous changes in the Google ranking algorithm, in which backlink remains an essential ranking signal.
Google itself has revealed backlinks being one of the top 3 ranking factors. Hence, it is important to get high-quality backlinks to your website to rank high in SERPs.
What exactly is a backlink?
A backlink is a link to your website mentioned on other websites. They are known by various other names such as incoming links, one-way links, or inbound links. Most of the search engine algorithms consider them as votes from other websites. The more the number of votes, the possibility of a website getting a higher rank in SERPs.
Why is Backlink so Important?
They are essential because they are referred to as “vote of confidence.” SEO protocols are always changing and updating. It also builds a brand value along with ranking you up in SERPs. It increases traffic to your website as well. Link building creates a win-win situation for you.
Quality Backlinks over anything
Say your website has a backlink from Huffington Post and a backlink from a random website no one really knows about. The backlinks from quality sites are always more preferable than random sites. Therefore, if you want to get ranked high on search engine page results, focus on getting quality backlinks.
Engage in White Hat Link Building Only
Google released a Penguin update on 24 April 2012, which was a way of rewarding high-quality websites by ranking them higher on SERPs. It focuses on eliminating websites that use manipulative techniques to rank higher on SERPs. It is now a part of Google’sGoogle’s core algorithm, making it impossible to rank up using manipulative link schemes.
Practices aligning with Google’s guidelines
White-hat SEO refers to the usage of Google-approved website optimization strategies. There are certain dos and don’ts in guidelines for outreach strategy, which are to be followed. Shady tactics don’t last long and may be harmful to your website at the point in time. They might seem tempting and easy, but with regular updates in Google’s policies, you might end up getting caused by a penalty.
White Hat Link Building Techniques to improve your website rankings
Link building is a never-ending task, and you always have to strive for more. However, we are here to provide you with easy and clean strategies to help you get backlinks and shoot up your organic traffic. Let us have a look at some most effective link-building strategies.
Asking for it
One simple way of getting backlinks is by asking people you know to give you backlinks in their blogs and websites. You can ask your friends, family, and people you know in the SEO business.
Make sure the website is relevant to your niche. Being relevant matters to a huge extent, and if not relevant, it may even be harmful.
Moving backlinks
In this, you have to take care of the backlinks you already have. You should keep a check on your website pages, which are linked, and if they are updated and are still relevant in today’s world. If that is not the case, restructure and update and ask them to change their backlink to newer and more important pages of your website.
Giving testimonials to certain brands: Several brands ask you to write testimonials for them. In which you have written about your experiences with that brand or product.
This provides you with an opportunity to get a backlink from the site along with a fair amount of traffic, and the company gets a testimonial for their product. Therefore, it is beneficial both ways.
Getting listed in directories
There are certain spam directories that are removed by Google search results. But there exist certain directories with useful information for users. Those directories are niche directories, in which there is a list of websites related to a particular topic.
This helps a website in getting ranked high in search engine page results and maximize outreach.
Finding Unlinked Content
There could be certain content or brand-specific graphics that are unique just to your brand; reverse search for them, and find if any website used it as a resource without mentioning you or giving you a backlink. Make a list of such websites, ask them to mention your website, and give you credit.
Redirecting Status 404 to backlinks
This arises when the client is able to establish a connection with the server but is unable to find the requested resource. You can redirect those broken pages to a newer and relevant page of your website. This will help you in keeping the backlink of your broken page to yourself.
Guest Posts
Writing a guest post is a good way of outreach and earning a backlink. You can write an article or a blog for some other website. The article has to be of good quality as brand reputation matters. Bad links are harmful in various sorts; therefore, we should focus on good link building.
Looking out for Lost Links
You have to check the recent links that you lost. This includes figuring out the reason for the lost link, which could be due to many reasons, either the website was being restructured, or a competitor replaced you. You can reclaim your lost link if you figure out the reason for losing it in the first place.
Converting mentions to backlinks
There are times when websites have mentioned you, but they did not give you a backlink. You could simply ask them to change that mention into a backlink. You can do that easily by contacting the webmaster and ask for a change of mention to backlink.
Finding Link Building Opportunities
There are several articles and blogs related to your niche, but they don’t give links to any websites. It becomes difficult to search for such websites, but you can use SERP research tools to make the task easier and find the potential articles which can give you a backlink.
Enhancing the content
You can work on the betterment of your website content for better traffic and more backlinks. You could work on quality articles, infographics, extra materials, and videos. This includes providing a better user experience by enhancing your content quality.
Giveaway
If you host certain scholarships and giveaways, you can get a good amount of traffic and backlinks. Launching scholarships get you backlinks in University blogs.
This can be beneficial for your website if you can afford to do so. You may use a few or all of these tactics to increase backlinks to your website and figure out which works for you the best.
Now all you have to do is start trying all these methods to get more backlinks.
Read More: Off-Page SEO: How does Off Page Optimization helps increase traffic?