Having the best-selling product hidden inside a dimly lit shop is pointless.
Similarly, having quality content with great on-site SEO might not be enough to do wonders for one’s website. Establishing trust and authority through expertise is critical when one wants to lead in search engine rankings.
Backlinking is a central pillar in establishing your website on the E.A.T framework of search engines. Quality link-building is a leading driver behind increasing referral traffic, improving a website’s ranking, and showing the business as an authority in its domain.
To save your website from the trouble of getting penalized, there are six ingenious tips that you can use to instantly up your link-building game. They are:
In the pursuit of ranking their website as quickly as possible, some business owners and web admins partake in grey-hat and black-hat SEO practices. Regarding link-building, link-farming, link spamming, and other malicious methods were commonplace in the initial days.
However, with advancements in AI-based algorithms, search engines like Google are now well-equipped to track down such websites and slap them with a penalty. If websites continue to indulge in such practices, Google will permanently block them.
Therefore, try to build links organically with a focus on value generation, i.e., using high-quality, reputable links that lead to original content instead of stuffing poor-quality links for the sake of it.
There exists a common misconception in SEO communities that links that attract visitors to a site are preferable over links that direct visitors away. Hence, the two most overused linking tactics are to create internal links and receive backlinks from other websites.
However, a lot of people might be unaware that outbound links also play a crucial role in SEO. One may ask what are outbound links and how can they play a pivotal role in a website.
Outbound links can also be known as external links. They direct a visitor to an external source.
Outbound links, when used correctly, can result in an improvement in organic traffic.
Moreover, they also build Expertise, Authority, and Trust for a website. Linking to similar and valuable external content helps facilitate relationships with other businesses and improves the image of one’s website in the eyes of a search engine.
Professionals always reference their sources. Similarly, using outbound links to direct visitors to other quality sources will help establish authority and trust for one’s website. Moreover, referring to other websites can also establish goodwill with other businesses.
Posting quality content on one’s website is a no-brainer.
However, people should not limit themselves within the confines of their website’s boundaries. They should find sites that operate within their niche and encourage guest authors to write for them. Giving quality contributions to similar websites can earn oneself backlinks from high-trust and authoritative websites.
Relationship-building with other businesses can assist in expanding a website’s presence in the community. This can result in search engines improving the rankings of one’s website.
Natural, high-quality backlinks attract more significant numbers of organic traffic. It can also help unlock access to subject matter experts in one’s niche. While building backlinks through such a strategy might seem slow initially, once it picks up pace, it will help establish authority and trust in the long run.
Why wait for Google to send traffic to your website when it can access the target audience directly?
Social media is a powerful tool in today’s age. Half the world’s population has access to social media, and the numbers keep growing. The new era of influencers can determine the rise and fall of businesses within a few seconds.
Influencers operating in your niche can direct significant numbers of traffic to your website. Building relationships with influencers can assist in building brand recognition of one’s business.
This can be done by contacting influencers via social media channels or email. You can ask them to link back to your website. Creating influencer connections can have lasting returns in terms of generating quality backlinks.
Words are sometimes not enough to retain recognition. Supplement website blog posts with research, graphs, statistics, or any other primary source of information that other writers can find value in.
This can result in other writers linking back to your original post if it contains valuable information. It helps create your website’s expertise in the eyes of Google if other sources link back to it.
Another strategy is to include podcasts. A growing segment of online traffic prefers an auditory experience of content consumption. Instead of scrolling endlessly for content, such an audience likes to listen to podcasts, especially with experts on the topic.
It can potentially earn multiple backlinks if listeners find the content helpful and link back to it. This is an effective strategy that one could employ and can potentially help in expanding one’s audience.
Another quick way of increasing links is to become active on social media forums and websites that allow open discussions.
Websites such as Quora, LinkedIn, Reddit, YouTube, Pinterest, etc., are the most popular. Instead of waiting for a user to search, SEO professionals can proactively reach out to such forums where the target audience exists.
Answering queries in forums can help you build trust and authority in your niche, which can be leveraged later. Participating in question-answer platforms can help build engagement, ultimately resulting in several backlinks.
Link-building is not a single-day job; it requires a lot of patience, hard work, and genuine value contribution. Several sources might suggest shortcuts, such as buying links. Others might suggest strategies such as spamming links in comment sections of websites or asking for payments against guest posts.
Rest assured, search engine AI has become quite capable of sniffing out unfair, black-hat practices. Using such shortcuts might serve the purpose in the short run but can damage your website’s reputation for good. The consequences can range from being penalized by search engines to outright blocking your website.
Therefore, it is best to engage in strategies that promote organic growth.
Mashum Mollah is an entrepreneur, founder and CEO at Viacon, a digital marketing agency that drive visibility, engagement, and proven results. He blogs at BloggerOutreach.io.
