If your business isn’t building quality backlinks, it’s not getting attention.
If you’re not getting more attention, you’re missing one of the basic criteria for ranking well on search engine results pages (SERPs).
It has long been known that Google’s search algorithm rewards distance, popularity, and relevance.
All three of these SEO pillars impact search rankings.
And while your business doesn’t always affect your distance from searchers, it can work to improve your relevance and visibility.
As Google shares, popularity is based on “information Google has about your business from across the web, including links, articles, directories, and more.”
Here’s the gist: Every business needs quality white hat backlinks.
White hat backlinks essentially act as a vote of confidence from your website, telling Google that your web page is a trustworthy resource.
The more trustworthy a web page is, the more prominent it will be displayed.
Also, white hat backlinks are done through ethical means rather than using spam tactics.
But getting quality backlinks is easier said than done.
12 Ways to Get Quality Backlinks (Really Effective)
If you’re looking to build a white hat backlink strategy, you’re in the right place.
In this post, I share 12 proven strategies that work to get you backlinks and boost your SEO strategy.
Let’s dive in.
1. Ask a Guest Blog
One of the most effective ways to build white hat backlinks is to find guest blogging opportunities.
Guest blogging allows businesses to organically build their backlink profile by inserting links to their own resources, research, etc. where applicable or relevant.
Additionally, the site welcomes the publication of guest blog content. This is to uncover new blog post ideas that you might not normally cover and add them to your content schedule with little effort on your part.
We accept guest posting submissions and look for sites related to your industry, product or service.
Also, look for content published on sites with higher domain authority. Because backlinks can earn more mileage on these types of sites.
The higher your domain authority, the more likely your page will rank in the SERPs.
Check your website’s domain authority with Moz’s free link explorer tool.
2. Ask your partner/distributor/supplier
Ask for a link to your site if you are affiliated with a business or are a preferred vendor or supplier.
Since you’ve already provided a valuable service to the business and you’ve already built a business relationship with them, they’ll want to give you the link back.
Additionally, many companies already have partner pages that showcase their business contacts.
If they haven’t already linked to your site, this is a quick question and a quick way to get credible white hat backlinks to your site.
3. Ask for credit if you want it
In some cases, your business may be mentioned, but you have not received proper credit.
For example, if you provide a glowing testimony to a vendor, that vendor does not link to your site.
Another example – successful blogs show research published by your business and may not be able to provide backlinks.
Your business should receive backlinks on both instances because it offers a service.
If a current customer is referring to your brand, or a current business you work for, and they mention you in some way on their site, ask them to provide you with a backlink.
Additionally, if you find a business that references your original research, you should also provide a backlink.
Set up Google Alerts or similar tools to find websites that mention your business.
Get an email notification every time your business name is mentioned on a website.
4. Leverage brands and influencers to share products and services
Find niche blogs and influencers within your industry to post product and service reviews.
Once you’ve found the right blogging niche or influencer to support your brand, we’ll either send you a product for free or offer you a service in exchange for a review.
Or, if you have a bigger budget, you can pay macro-level influencers to provide honest feedback.Then have your blog or influencer link back to your product or service .
Additionally, you can provide affiliate links to blogs and influencers.
You receive a commission every time a potential customer clicks on your affiliate link.
Commissions can be earned simply by clicking on an affiliate link or when a consumer actually makes a purchase.
This link building effort requires more effort on your behalf. But it also sends high quality traffic.
This traffic is already valued because you know they are interested in your product or service, resulting in higher conversion rates.
5. Create engaging visual content
Nearly 41% of marketers say original graphics (infographics, illustrations, etc.) help them achieve their marketing goals.
And 52% of marketers say visual content is very important to their marketing strategy.
Why is visual content a top priority for marketers? Because it’s easy to digest and easy to share.
Whether you’re creating an infographic or any other kind of visual, it’s an easy way to increase the likelihood that your content will be shared.
And you can get quality backlinks to your site.
6. Publish original research
When considering why and when people share content, we need to consider the psychology of content sharing.
According to a recent survey, 94% of respondents said they carefully consider how the information they share will help their recipients.
In the same survey, nearly half of respondents reported sharing content because it lets others know about products they care about, which can change their minds or inspire action.
The more informative your content is, the more likely it will be shared.
Leverage our expertise and original research to become a trusted content-sharing source.
Receive a white hat backlink every time a consumer, blog, or company mentions your research.
This helps improve your visibility, which ties into Google rewarding you with improved search rankings, leading to more organic search traffic.
7. Create useful free tools
Are you a technology company?
Building lightweight versions of free tools or solutions is an effective way to build quality white hat backlinks. It can also drive potential leads.
For example, Adobe offers free or “lightweight” versions of some tools, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader and Adobe Photoshop Express.
These allow users to preview the functionality of the tool and may encourage them to convert to paying users in the future in order to get the most out of the software.
Hubspot’s email signature generator has also generated a lot of buzz in its own right.
Since its launch, it has proven its worth by receiving over 5,520 backlinks from 1,168 referring domains.
8. Publish Ultimates and Step-by-Step Guides
As the name suggests, the ultimate guide is the “ultimate” resource on a given topic.
The word ultimate means that you currently have the best and deepest knowledge about the subject, making the consumer want to learn more.
A step-by-step guide theoretically provides an easy way to learn how to do something.
Consumers love ease of use and simplicity, so our step-by-step guide aims to achieve that.
Both of these types of guides help businesses build their backlink profile.
For example, if you wrote the ultimate guide to digital marketing, writers may refer to one of your points in your blog post on affiliate marketing.
9. Use citations
Citations may not be as prominent a search ranking factor as they once were. However, those advantages have not been completely eliminated.
Local citations help expose your business’ information across the vast search ecosystem.
Although the majority of searches are done on Google and other popular search engines, these directories also receive traffic. Another way for consumers to discover your business.
First, make sure your business is listed on your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business), Yelp, Facebook, and Apple Maps.
Then branch to other general or industry-specific directories.
These 21 web directories are still worth it.
Every directory you list provides backlinks to help build your backlink profile.
10. Use PR
Having a public relations plan is a great way to build prestige and authority in your industry.
It’s also a surefire way to help build your backlink profile.
For example, each press release your business publishes is an opportunity to add at least one backlink to your site.
Also establish your business as an industry expert. The more often you have useful and relevant information to share in your industry, the more you can establish yourself as a voice of authority.
Publicity efforts also extend to social media where links to content can be shared. If users find your content useful, they will re-share it and help build additional backlinks.
11. Create a Roundup or “Ask the Experts” Blog Post
Asking others for insights on specific topics can help enhance your content and add valuable information you might otherwise not have.
It’s also a great way for contributors to include their own links in their posts to improve their backlink profile.
Writing a wrap-up or asking an expert-style post also increases your chances of being shared.
Contributors are more likely to share their content with their networks, helping your content reach a wider audience.
Ask potential contributors for a short contribution. Perhaps a few sentences can encourage participation.
The less burdensome a request is, the more likely they are to want to contribute.
12. Find Broken Links
Broken links negatively affect the user experience on your site.
Consider a user eagerly searching for information who clicks a broken link to your site.
This will likely cause frustration and possibly lose customers.
With recent page experience updates, Google continues to prioritize the overall web page experience.
Broken link building finds a non-existent (or updated) page and contacts the website linking to it to let them know that there is a similar resource that can be replaced instead.
Building broken links takes time and effort, but can be an easy way to build a backlink profile for sites that prioritize your SEO efforts.
in conclusion
Cracking Google’s evolving search engine algorithms can be time consuming and filled with trial and error and error.
Focusing on improving your brand’s relevance and visibility are two surefire ways to improve page results in SERPs.
Link building, including internal links and backlinks, is just one way to get there.
There are many other SEO concepts that must be followed.
But working on building backlinks and internal links is a great place to start.
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