What is Link Building for SEO?

In today's world, where competition in the online space is growing daily, effective website promotion has quickly established itself as a cornerstone of success for any business. One of the most powerful tools in SEO specialists' arsenals is link building — the purposeful building of external links to your website.

Why is link building so important for SEO? It enables search engines to locate and rank the pages on your website. With its help, your brand can get significant traffic and become more visible and appealing to your target audience, which is crucial for any website looking to rank well within its niche.

Here's an example: You have a product or service that will be useful to your audience and have written a valuable and interesting post about it on your social networks.

And yet nothing. No one is interested in your product, as if it doesn't exist.

It is true that if you don't create a "bridge" between your post and your target audience, they won't know all the benefits of the product you were eager to share with them.

You need links for Google (and then potential customers) to see your post. Links are a "bridge" between your content and your target audience. The more links you build, the better your website's ranking will be!

It's no wonder that most major companies succeed online using link building as one of their top strategies.

However, caution is key; not all links are as good as they seem 🙂. Some offer no value, while others can even harm your website.

In this article, we'll explore the benefits of link building and learn how to create high-quality links that will positively impact your site's ranking in search engine results.

What is SEO?

Let's start at the beginning and figure out what SEO is all about.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a set of various methods and approaches to enhance a site’s visibility in search engine results, making it more visible to people potentially interested in your product.

Certain factors determine which pages rank higher in search results for a given query.

These include:

1. Keywords. Keywords are phrases and terms that potential visitors type into the search engines. Identifying and using the most relevant keywords increases the chances of attracting targeted traffic.
2. Content. The foundation of SEO is high-quality, unique, and regularly updated content. It should be helpful, engaging, and informative to users and contain essential keywords.
3. Technical SEO includes the website's HTML code, site architecture, loading speed, usability from different devices and browsers, mobile friendliness, URL structure, SSL certificates, and much more.
4. On-Page optimization. On-page optimization focuses on improving elements within the site itself, such as meta tags (title, description), headings (H1, H2), internal links, and images.
5. Off-Page optimization. Off-page optimization involves enhancing a website's authority outside its domain.

Link building, in particular, is one of the most critical aspects of Off-page optimization. It determines the number and quality of backlinks that lead to your page.

On-Page and Off-Page SEO

A website's SEO consists of two key components: on-page SEO and off-page SEO.

On-page SEO focuses on optimizing elements within your website to fit modern SEO trends better.

On-page SEO is not about "convincing" the Google algorithm that your resource is interesting, helpful, and significant to the target audience. The task is to make it high-quality, valuable, and trustworthy.

That includes working on content, site structure, meta tags, headings, loading speed, and other aspects that affect page optimization for search engines.

Well-designed on-page SEO makes your website more accessible and appealing, enhances user experience, increases time spent, and reduces bounce rates. It also boosts conversion rates by helping users find the information, products, or services they need more quickly on your website.

On the other hand, off-page SEO focuses on improving your website's authority by developing a link profile. It includes strategies for building external links (or backlinks) from other authoritative sites, engaging in guest posting, preparing social media posts, and other promotional techniques to increase your site's search engine ranking.

Off-page SEO helps establish trust in your web resource, improves its reputation, and enhances its positioning in search results.

Both types of SEO work together to enhance search engine results. On-page SEO creates the foundation for effective optimization, while off-page SEO increases your website's authority and contributes to its growth in search engine rankings.

A successful combination of these two strategies can improve your website visibility, increase organic traffic, and grow your online presence.

Advantages of SEO

• Enhanced organic traffic: SEO drives more targeted traffic to a website without the additional cost of paid advertising.
• Increased trust and authority: Users trust organic search results more. Good search engine rankings help build trust and authority for your brand.
• Long-term results: Unlike paid advertising campaigns, the results of quality SEO optimization have a long-lasting effect and continue to benefit you over time.
• Improved User Experience (UX): Many aspects of SEO, such as easy navigation and page loading speed, directly improve user experience, leading to increased time spent on the site and better behavioral metrics.
• Competitive Edge: Amid the intense online competition, SEO helps your website stand out among many similar resources by attracting and retaining more visitors.

SEO is a complex and versatile process that requires time, knowledge, and labor. However, when approached strategically and using all of its tactics, the results will not be delayed.

One such SEO tactic is link building, which determines how other websites link to yours. This helps Google recognize your site as trustworthy, boosting its ranking in search results.

What is Link Building?

Link building is a core strategy that has long been central to SEO optimization. It involves acquiring backlinks from external sites to your own and enhancing your authority in search engines.

At the same time, links to other pages should appear as naturally as possible so that search engine algorithms recognize them as a sign that you're offering valuable, appropriate information that meets users' needs.

To achieve this goal, you should seek links from authoritative websites within your niche. The articles, posts, or publications you link to must be relevant, engaging, and helpful.

Despite ongoing updates to search engine algorithms, high-quality external links remain one of the most significant factors affecting a website's ranking in search results.

Of course, the main goal of link building is to increase a website's position in search rankings.

The more other resources reference or cite you as an authoritative or valuable source, the more Google will trust your website.

For instance, the Semrush Backlink Analytics tool indicates that our client's website radioq.com has backlinks from more than 400 domains. With numerous referring domains, Google's algorithm ranks this site reasonably high.

It's important to consider that the quality and relevance of links matter more than their quantity. When authoritative and thematically related sites link to your resource, search engines view it as more significant and improve its ranking in search results.

Backlinks can be acquired naturally, but this process takes time. Active external link building, however, can help you reach the market leaders and attain or maintain desired positions in search results.

Various strategies exist to encourage authoritative websites to place backlinks to your site on their pages. Stay tuned as we share the most effective strategies for getting backlinks.

The Anatomy of a Hyperlink

Before diving into current promotion strategies, let's cover the basics and define a hyperlink.

A link (or hyperlink) is a connection between two web pages that redirects users to a specific page of your website, a social media post, or another online object.

First and foremost, links are essential for users as they allow them to navigate between websites easily.

Additionally, links play a crucial role for search engines in two key ways:

1. To discover and index new web pages for further use in search results.

   At least one link from an already indexed site is needed for a search engine bot to notice your website.

2. To assess the appropriate ranking position of a page in search results.

Link in HTML

In HTML, a hyperlink is written as follows:

<a href="https://linkbuilder.com/link-building">Link Building agency that drives insane rankings</a>

Let's examine this more closely:

• The opening tag of a link is written as <a. The letter "a" stands for "anchor" in English, referring to a link that anchors one page to another. It opens the link tag and informs search engines the following content contains hyperlink information.
• The link address "href" stands for "Hyperlink REFerence" and contains the URL you are linking to. In this case, it's the URL of our link-building services page (https://linkbuilder.com/link-building). It doesn't have to be a link to a website: you can add a reference to a file download page, an image, and more.
• Anchor text or visible, clickable text (e.g., "Link Building agency that drives insane rankings") is what users see on the page. It's recommended to format this text in a way that helps users understand it is a clickable link, such as underlining it or highlighting it in a different color, etc.
• The ending tag of a link </a> indicates to search engines that the link has been completed.

Anchor Text

Anchor text is the clickable part of a hyperlink on a webpage. It can be a word, phrase, or even an image users click to navigate to another page online. Anchor text plays a crucial role in SEO, as it helps search engines understand the context and topic of the linked page.

Anchor Text Assignment:

1. Anchor text should reflect the content of the page it leads to. It helps users and search engines understand what to expect from following the link.
2. Correctly used anchor texts can improve a page's ranking in search engines. Matching keywords and phrases related to the page's subject also increases its ranking.
3. Good anchor texts make site navigation more intuitive and user-friendly. They guide users to the correct pages and information.

How to create good anchors:

1. Use keywords or phrases related to the topic of the linked page. It will help search engines better understand the page's context.
2. Ensure the anchor text is closely related to the page content it links to. This enhances the link's value for both users and search engines.
3. Anchor text should sound naturally within the context of a text. Avoid over-optimization and keyword stuffing, as Google may penalize you for it. Instead, replace keywords with synonyms with similar meanings. You can check your backlink anchor text using the Semrush Backlink Analytics tool. Enter your domain and go to the Anchors tab.

Types of links

There are several different classifications of links, depending on their visual representation and function.

Let's take a look at the main types.

By Technical Characteristics:

1. Anchor links are links in which the text inside the <a> tag defines the link's content. Typically, this text contains a keyword or phrase underlined and highlighted in a different color, making it easy for users to recognize.

   Example:

   <a href="https://linkbuilder.com/">Order link building at Linkbuilder.com</a>
   

2. Non-anchored links have no anchor text ( the content inside the <a> tag with the keyword/phrase). It might be a random mention of a URL not associated with a specific text or neutral words with a call to action like "click here," "read more," etc.

   Example:

   <a href="https://linkbuilder.com/">https://linkbuilder.com/</a>
   

   or:

   <a href="https://linkbuilder.com/">Read more</a>
   

   Another example of a naked link:

   <a href="https://linkbuilder.com/">linkbuilder.com</a>
   

3. An image link is an image that acts as a hyperlink. In this case, the anchor element is an image, not text.

Example:

<a href="https://linkbuilder.com/">
 <img src="https://linkbuilder.com/linkbuilder.jpg" alt="Linlbuilder Services">
</a>

Each link type serves a specific purpose and is selected based on the context and objectives of the webpage.

By Acquisition Method:

• Natural Links occur organically without special efforts to obtain them. They are created when other websites or individuals mention and link to your site. Natural links are considered more valuable for SEO, reflecting your website's popularity and authority. Examples include links in blogs, articles, reviews, directories, etc.
• Acquired links are links that you specifically obtain through various arrangements. For example, placing links on other sites, exchanging links, buying links, etc. Acquired links can be helpful for SEO, but their value is lower than natural links.

It is necessary to aim for natural links, a more reliable and long-lasting signal to search engines. Acquired links can be used with caution and moderation, as some methods of obtaining them may be considered spam or manipulation by search engines.

By Placement:

• Contextual links are embedded directly into a page's text. For example, "Learn more about our company at [link].”
• Sidebar links are placed in the sidebar of a web page. They can lead to other sections of the site or external resources.
• Footer links are at the bottom of a web page (in the footer). They often lead to company information, privacy policy, site map, etc.

Nofollow, Sponsored, and UGC vs Dofollow Attributes

The Nofollow, Sponsored, and UGC attributes are HTML attributes that tell search engines how to handle links on a webpage. Specifically, they instruct Google not to consider these links for ranking purposes.

There are specific differences between these attributes:

Nofollow:

• Instructs search engines not to consider this link when ranking the webpage.
• Prevents the transfer of search weight (PageRank) to other sites or web documents.
• Used for links that may be untrusted, spammy, or promotional.

In HTML, it looks like this:

<a href="https://linkbuilder.com" rel="nofollow">Anchor</a>

Sponsored:

• Indicates that a link is sponsored or part of paid advertising, enhancing transparency and trust.
• It helps search engines distinguish paid links from organic ones.
• Used to comply with search engine guidelines for disclosing promotional content.

In HTML, it looks like this:

<article>
 <h2>New product from our sponsor</h2>
 <p>Check out the link-building services provided by our sponsor.</p>
 <a href="https://linkbuilder.com" rel="sponsored">Learn more</a>
</article>

This attribute can be applied to various HTML elements, such as <a>, <article>, <div>, and others.

In this example, the sponsored attribute is applied to the <a> tag to indicate that the link is part of sponsored content.

UGC (User Generated Content):

• Indicates that a link is a part of user-generated content, such as comments or forums.
• It helps search engines distinguish user-generated content from the site's main content.
• Used for links that may be less reliable or harder to control.

One example of the UGC (User Generated Content) attribute in HTML is the contenteditable attribute. This attribute allows users to edit the content of an element directly on a webpage.

For example, you can use contenteditable to create a simple text editor on a webpage:

<div contenteditable="true">
 It's text that you can edit.
</div>

When a user clicks on this element and starts typing, the entered text becomes part of User Generated Content (UGC).

Other examples of UGC elements in HTML include:

• <textarea> – allows users to enter multi-line text;
• <input> – allows users to input text, numbers, dates, and other data;
• <form> – allows users to submit data to a server;
• <comment> – allows users to leave comments on a webpage.

Dofollow:

The Dofollow attribute is a conditional term referring to the absence of characteristics in the <a> HTML tag that prevent the transfer of search weight. It signals search engines that the link should be considered for ranking purposes.

Key Features of Dofollow Attributes:

1. By default, all links on a webpage are Dofollow unless explicitly marked otherwise.
2. Dofollow links pass "search weight" (PageRank, authority, or Link Juice) from the source page to the destination page, helping search engines assess the importance and relevance of web pages.
3. Dofollow links are a fundamental part of off-page SEO strategies. They are key to link-building and improving a website's search rankings.

In HTML, it looks like this:

<a href="https://linkbuilder.com">Link Building Services</a>

The absence of the Nofollow, Sponsored, and UGC attributes indicates that search engines will follow this link and pass "weight" from the source page to the destination page.

Want to check the ratio of nofollow and dofollow links on your site?

You can use the Backlink Analytics tool from Semrush.

Just scroll down to the "Link Attributes" chart in the "Overview" report:

You can also analyze your backlinks using Moz Pro and Ahrefs.

FAQs About Links and Link-Building

What are natural backlinks, and how do you create them?

Natural backlinks are hyperlinks placed on other websites pointing to your resource. They appear not at your request or payment but because another website found your content helpful and decided to share it with their readers. Such links are considered high quality in the eyes of search engines and can significantly improve your website's SEO.

Creating natural backlinks involves the following strategies:

1. Creating high-quality content. Writing informative, creative articles, blogs, infographics, videos, and more to attract users' attention and encourage sharing.
2. Guest Posting. Publishing articles on prestigious and authoritative websites within your niche allows you to attract new audiences and increases the chances of obtaining natural links.
3. Competitor Research. Analyzing your competitors' backlinks using tools such as Ahrefs or Semrush to see what resources link to their sites. You can reach out to these resources and offer them your content, which might lead to gaining valuable backlinks.
4. Reviews of your products/services. You can ask your customers to leave reviews after they purchase your products or services. While not every customer will take the time to do this, those who do will provide valuable feedback that can help you identify areas for improvement in your offerings.
5. Social Media Engagement. Sharing your content on social media increases its visibility, encouraging bloggers and website owners to link to your resource. To further boost this effect, you can participate in discussions on forums and blogs and collaborate with influencers who may mention your content in their posts.

What is the difference between internal, inbound, and outbound links?

Internal links connect one page of your website to another on the same site. For example, a link from the homepage to a contact page, product page, or services page.

Internal links enhance user experience, improve site navigation, and help search engines index your pages more effectively.

Inbound links are links from other websites that point to your website. For example, northiowatoday.com published an article, Linkbuilder.com & Link Detective, which gave us an external link from an authoritative website.

Such backlinks can increase your website's trust and authority in search engines and drive more traffic to your website.

Outbound links (also known as an external links) direct users from your website to other websites. By including these links, you provide valuable information to your audience, which, similar to inbound links, helps enhance your site's trust and authority. Outbound links also show search engines that your content is related to other high-quality resources. For example, we have placed outbound links to our partners' websites on the Partners page.

Why are backlinks so important?

To answer this question, let's go back 30 years. In 1994, the Yahoo search engine was launched and remained a dominant player in the market until 1998.

That same year, Google emerged with its famous PageRank algorithm, which introduced the concept of link equity. While Yahoo focused solely on content analysis, Google's algorithm examined how many websites linked to a page.

This approach worked so well that even 25 years later, it remains the most effective way to assess page quality.

In other words, if other online resources cite your website, Google considers this a trust signal, indicating that your content is credible.

However, this changed in 2012 with the introduction of Google Penguin, an algorithm designed to combat search spam. As a result, Google now prioritizes link quality over their quantity.

What Makes a Backlink Valuable?

The value of a backlink depends on several factors:

• Authority & quality of the referring site (mentions from industry-relevant websites are the most valuable).
• Relevance of the linking site to your content.
• The anchor text of the link.
• Link placement on the page.

Having high-quality, relevant, and authoritative backlinks can significantly boost your website's visibility and overall success online.

There are several methods to evaluate the value of a backlink. You can use the following tools:

• Domain Rating (DR) by Ahrefs – Measures the strength of a website's backlink profile on a scale from 1 to 100.
• Domain Authority (DA) by Moz – Predicts how well a website will likely rank in search engines.

What Makes a Bad Backlink?

Backlinks can be problematic for several reasons:

1. Low-quality or irrelevant sources. If backlinks come from low-quality or unrelated websites, they can harm your site's reputation and rankings in search engines.
2. Excessive backlinks. Search engines can see too many backlinks, especially if they appear manipulated or artificial, as an attempt to manipulate algorithms. Any link created intending to manipulate PageRank or SERP rankings is considered a violation of Google's guidelines.
3. Links from harmful sites. Backlinks from sites that spread viruses, spam, or other malicious content can negatively impact your reputation.
4. Unnatural link patterns. If the structure and sources of your backlinks seem unnatural or suspicious, search engines may consider it an attempt to manipulate rankings.
5. Links from low-authority sites. Links from unknown, low-ranking websites typically do not benefit SEO much.

Let's say you're confident in the quality of the backlinks you place yourself.

However, this doesn't mean your competitors aren't using shady SEO tactics, such as purchasing links from spammy sites that point to your site.

To ensure that your brand hasn't fallen victim to such SEO tactics, analyze your backlink profile and add anything you consider unnecessary or potentially harmful to the Google Disavow Tool. You must prepare a list of all negative domains linking to your site and upload it in .txt format.

To identify bad backlinks, you can:

• Do it manually using Google Search Console. Log in, select your domain, and in the "Search Traffic" section, choose "Links to Your Site." There, you will see a button that allows you to download a .csv file with all the backlinks. Of course, manually identifying and analyzing all links is quite a tedious process. Therefore, you can:
• Order a comprehensive backlink audit, including the collection, analysis, and identification of spam domains, from us at LinkBuilder.com. We know exactly what spam links look like and are ready to remove them promptly so that they no longer affect your PageRank.

How to Find Quality Links

Before diving into detailed link-building strategies, it's essential to understand what makes a link effective or ineffective.

This insight will help you focus on creating links that genuinely boost your Google rankings.

Page Authority

After years of link building, we've concluded that the page's authority linking to you is more critical than any other factor.

This metric reflects a webpage's influence and significance in the eyes of search engines based on the number and caliber of its inbound links.

You can easily check this metric using Semrush, Ahrefs, or Moz tools.

Enter the URL into Semrush and review its "Page Authority Score.”

Site Authority

The authority of the domain hosting a link also determines its quality. A link from an authoritative website carries significantly more weight than one from an unfamiliar blog or online resource. While obtaining such links may be challenging, their benefits make the effort worthwhile.

You can use the Semrush tool to assess a site's authority by entering the root URL and checking its "Authority Score":

Site Relevance

When it comes to backlinks, the site's relevance is just as crucial as its authority.

For example, if your website specializes in selling sports equipment but you receive a link from an authoritative site focused on cosmetics, will that link still count?

In general, yes but beyond obtaining a link from a high PageRank page, it's now important that the link comes from a site with content relevant to your niche.

Link Placement on the Page

Where exactly is your link located?

Is it integrated into the site's content?

Or is it tucked away at the bottom of the footer?

A link's placement also affects its value. Links in the footer or sidebars are less influential than those embedded within the page's main content.

Generally, it's best if your backlink appears at the beginning of the primary content.

Editorial Link Placement

Editorial link placement refers to the natural inclusion of a hyperlink to your website within the content of another webpage or resource based on the quality and relevance of that content. These links are not explicitly promotional or paid; instead, they blend organically into the context of the material. In other words, if you create your site and post a link to your main resource, that link wouldn't be considered editorial.

Editorial links can appear in news articles, blogs, and other authoritative platforms as recommendations, quotes, or simple mentions of your resource.

They generally increase users' trust because they're seen not as ads but as genuine recommendations or helpful resources. Such links can also positively impact your site's SEO, as search engines like Google often regard them as a sign of trust and quality content.

Link Co-Occurrences

Link co-occurrences are a concept in SEO and web marketing in which two or more external websites or pages link to the same page or domain. This strategy can enhance search engine optimization and increase search engine trust in your content.

Top 3 Aspects of Link Co-Occurrences:

1. Linked Domains: When different websites link to the same page, it can signal to search engines that this page or domain is authoritative and deserves a higher ranking.
2. Anchor Text: If various sites use anchor texts that include important keywords, it can boost the relevance and authority of the target page. However, overusing anchor links may have negative consequences, as search engines might view it as an attempt to manipulate their algorithms.
3. Surrounding Text: The context provided by the text around the link helps search engines better understand its relevance.

White Hat Link Building

White Hat Link Building is a set of ethical, legal, and long-term strategies for acquiring links to your website. The main objective is to secure natural, relevant links that boost your site's reputation and search engine rankings.

This approach is highly recommended for building a strong backlink profile without the risk of penalties.

Key Principles of White Hat SEO:

1. Creating high-quality, unique, and valuable content that attracts natural backlinks from other websites.
2. Building relationships with authoritative resources in your niche, such as through guest posts, collaborative projects, and partnerships.
3. Optimizing internal site structure and interlinking pages.
4. Engaging in social media: Sharing content and participating in discussions.
5. Creating "link bait": Useful resources other websites will want to reference as valuable information.

Black Hat Link Building

Black Hat Link Building involves strategies to boost a site's search engine rankings by obtaining as many inbound links as possible. Typically, these links are acquired from questionable sites without following search engine guidelines.

Some examples of these methods include:

• Buying Articles for Backlinks: Paying other websites to publish articles that link to your resource directly violates search engine rules.
• Creating PBN Networks: Massively building hundreds or even thousands of low-quality sites solely to host links to your leading site.
• Using hidden links: Involves concealing links so they remain invisible to users while still being detected by search engine bots.
• Hacking Sites to Place Links: Illegally accessing other websites to insert links to your resource.

While these "black hat" techniques might produce short-term results, they can lead to severe long-term consequences, including:

1. A drop in your site's search engine rankings.
2. Penalties or filters applied by search engines.
3. Total removal of your website from search engine indexes (a ban).

What Types of Links Do You Need?

When developing your link-building campaign strategy, it's crucial to determine which types of links you need to acquire.

There are several types of links:

• Direct links to your site's main page.
• Links pointing to specific product or category pages.
• Links that include your brand or company name.
• Links that contain the keywords you're targeting.

To determine the types of links you need, start by analyzing your website's existing backlinks and evaluating your rankings for key terms compared to your competitors.

• Moz's Link Explorer: Use this tool to identify areas for improvement in your link profile.
• Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer and Site Explorer: The Keywords Explorer helps you discover relevant terms for any niche. At the same time, the Site Explorer provides a detailed analysis of the organic search traffic and backlink profile of any website or URL, enabling practical competitor analysis.

Types of Link Building

When choosing the right link-building strategy, you need to consider several factors:

1. Goals and Objectives:
   • What are your primary goals? Are you looking to boost your search engine rankings, drive more traffic, or enhance brand authority?
   • What specific issues do you want to address through link building?
2. Business Specifics:
   • What niche and subject matter does your website cover?
   • Who is your target audience?
   • What resources (time, budget, human resources) can you allocate to link building?
3. Competitive Environment:
   • What methods are your competitors using?
   • What types of links are they acquiring?
   • Which platforms and channels are they leveraging?

Taking these factors into account, you can conclude the most suitable types of link-building:

• Manual Link Building – if you have the time and resources to place links manually.
• Automated Link Building – if you need quick results with limited resources.
• Content Marketing – if you can generate high-quality, valuable content.
• Social Link Building – if you can actively engage with your audience on social media.
• Local Link Building – if your business targets local markets.

It's important to combine various methods to maximize the impact of your promotion efforts.

Advantages of Link Building

Link building is a relatively lengthy process that demands significant time and effort. The links must be valuable, functional, and come from authoritative sites relevant to your niche.

Is link building worth all that effort?

The answer is yes if you care about:

Your Brand Positioning

You can work to ensure that your audience forms a positive impression of your brand even before they click through to your site via an external link. We recommend publishing informative content on topics where you are an expert.

As your readers see your consistent publications, they'll view you as a specialist in your field, building trust in your products or services and your brand overall.

Through link building, you can:

1. Boost brand awareness;
2. Create a positive image;
3. Demonstrate your expertise;
4. Expand your audience reach;
5. Improve how your brand is viewed as reliable and trustworthy.

Building Relationships

Link building is a powerful tool for establishing partnerships between the sites where you place external links.

• Sharing links on a mutually beneficial basis fosters cooperation between site owners and creates a sense of shared benefit and trust.
• Working together on content creation and promotion strengthens these partnerships.
• Participating in professional communities, forums, and conferences helps build personal connections and find new partners.
• Organizing co-branded promotions, contests, or advertising campaigns allows you to combine resources and efforts to achieve common goals.

Ultimately, all these efforts contribute positively to the growth and development of your business.

Search Engine Rankings

Link building has a long-term and cumulative effect.

The more backlinks your site has, the higher its ranking in search engines.

In turn, top positions in search results are crucial in generating organic traffic.

Of course, attracting more users doesn't guarantee increased sales; however, it certainly boosts your chances of reaching potential customers interested in your products and services.

Budget Savings on SEO Promotion

By choosing this brand promotion strategy, you'll quickly appreciate that:

• Link building allows you to gain valuable backlinks without spending large budgets on advertising or other paid promotional channels.
• Unlike paid advertising, link building doesn't require continuous investment to maintain effectiveness.

Disadvantages of Link Building

In reality, link building doesn't have many drawbacks:

1. Generating high-quality content, selecting authoritative resources, and securing agreements for guest posts with external links can be challenging.
2. The impact of new links won't be immediate. Search engines must index them before they affect your site's rankings. Typically, you can expect to see results within three to twelve months.
   • Several factors influence how quickly you'll notice results, including:
     • The authority of the resource;
     • The type of pages providing the links;
     • Your brand's popularity;
     • The level of competition in your niche;
     • Current traffic trends;
     • The budget allocated for the promotion.
3. Incorrect tactics and strategies that either don't produce results or lead to penalties from Google.

To avoid these issues, trust your link-building to the experts at LinkBuilder.com. They know exactly how to make your links as beneficial as possible for your site's SEO.

How to Build Links

Below, you'll learn about four primary methods of link building. Each method has unique applications and levels of effectiveness.

After that, we'll share 15 proven tactics we use to promote our clients' businesses. You can incorporate these tactics into your strategy or contact us at LinkBuilder.com for a custom link-building plan.

Earn Links

When you earn links, users will naturally reference your resource without your request.

This approach benefits any brand because it prevents Google from penalizing it for spammy links that violate its guidelines.

To earn links, you need to create genuinely high-quality content that people will want to share on social media or feature on their websites.

So, what can this content be?

• The results of your experiments and studies that are directly relevant to your target audience.
• Confidential insights from your company (shared only if it won't harm your business) that interest users enough to share.
• Analyses and reviews that demonstrate your expertise while offering value to your readers.
• Up-to-date information about trends and events in your niche.
• Tutorials or guides on how to use your products effectively.
• Useful digital tools that assist users in working with your product.
• Engaging charts, infographics, diagrams, videos, and more.

To see which pages on your site receive the most backlinks, use Semrush's Backlink Analytics tool. Enter your domain and navigate to the Indexed Pages tab.

In the "Domains" column, you'll find the number of unique sites linking to the page in question.

This approach allows you to analyze your own site and your competitors.

We hope you noticed that the link to Semrush's Backlink Analytics is an example of "earned links." We're sharing a tool that's proven invaluable in our work because it's genuinely relevant to this article's target audience.

Request Links

A link request is when you contact the owners of other websites and ask them to include a link from their site to yours. SEO specialists often refer to this process as “outreach”.

In what situations might websites link to your resource?

• If you approach a site within a similar niche and offer content that could be interesting to their target audience, they may agree to include your link. This method is called guest posting.
• You can also ask them to credit you appropriately when your content is mentioned (for example, if they use your images or videos without authorship).
• Alternatively, you might request that other authors mentioning you on their platforms convert your brand name into a clickable link to your site.

We've only covered three tactics so far, but there are many more, and we'll revisit this topic later. Let's discuss finding websites that might be open to linking to your resource.

To do this, you can use SEMrush's Link Building Tool. Set up your project and navigate to the Prospects tab, where you'll find a list of potential sites for collaboration.

Now you know how to identify websites that could be a good fit for partnerships, and you have a general idea of what you can do in this direction. However, one more key factor can influence your success: the ability to build relationships within your industry.

Establish partnerships before you actually need them. This approach increases the likelihood that a site owner will respond positively to your request for a link, much more so than if they received a cold email from a stranger.

Add Links

We're covered ALL of the primary methods for acquiring links. However, not every technique is equally effective or safe for your site.

For instance, manual link placement falls into this category.

It involves visiting a third-party website and manually adding your link to drive referral traffic to your site.

The downside? In Google's eyes, such links might be seen as low-value or even worthless.

It doesn't mean you should completely dismiss this promotional tactic.

You can still use it by placing your information in:

• Business directories;
• Various forums, communities, and Q&A sites;
• Social media profiles;
• Blog comments.

Remember that these links are unlikely to give you a competitive advantage. Therefore, use them cautiously and only where they genuinely provide value to users.

Buy Links

It is the simplest method of creating links.

However, it's also the riskiest, as Google may view purchased links as an attempt to manipulate its algorithm, potentially resulting in your site being removed from search results.

The only option you may consider is buying sponsored links. As mentioned, these links carry the sponsored attribute, so that Google won't factor them into rankings. Still, they can help diversify your backlink profile.

Another drawback to this approach is that you waste your budget on purchasing "bad" links that are unlikely to work in your favor.

That's why we won't teach you dubious tactics that could harm your brand's promotion.

15 Best Backlink Building Tactics

From theory to practice.

There are many link-building strategies, and we've gathered the most effective ones for you:

1. Send Outreach Emails

Here's how to get started:

First, enter a keyword in Google that you'd eventually like to rank for and get backlinks to.

You can also use Ahrefs' Content Explorer for this.

Copy the URL of the first result. Then, open Semrush and use its backlink analytics tool.

Click "Backlinks analytics" in the sidebar, then switch to the "Backlinks" tab.

These websites are potential link placement opportunities.

Find the email addresses of the site owners and write a personalized email asking for collaboration.

2. Become a Source

Collaborating with journalists is another excellent strategy for earning backlinks.

Here's how it works:

• You can connect with journalists who cover your industry by finding them on social media (through their profiles or hashtags like #JournoRequest), browsing industry-specific websites, or using platforms like Connectively, where journalists post their requests.
• Connect and offer collaboration. Suggest exclusive content, interviews, expert commentary, or other unique materials relevant to their audience. It will increase your chances of being published.
• Build your collaboration and make sure that, in exchange for your insights, journalists link back to your site in their publication.
• Monitor publications that mention your company or brand, even if you haven't worked with them before. Reach out to the authors to express your gratitude and, if relevant, ask them to add a backlink.
• Consider link swaps or other forms of collaboration if journalists find them relevant.

3. Launch a Blog to Enhance Link Building

A well-prepared blog with engaging, helpful content is another reliable way to earn natural backlinks.

To ensure your blog does more than just exist and truly boosts your link profile, you should:

• Create valuable content that is genuinely interesting and beneficial to your readers. Quality content is more likely to spread and attract links from other sites.
• Publish new posts on a regular schedule to keep your audience engaged.
• Share your articles actively on social media, email newsletters, and industry-specific forums and communities.

You can manage your blog content yourself or hire a professional content marketing agency to produce high-quality material that consistently increases backlinks.

4. Fix Broken Links

Repairing broken links is one of the most effective SEO strategies. With this approach, you're not just asking for your link to be added; you're also helping another website resolve its broken hyperlinks.

You can identify competitors' broken backlinks using tools like Semrush's "Backlinks Analytics" or install resources like Check My Links or LinkMiner on your site.

Once you've found broken links, notify the website owner and suggest replacing them with your links as a possible alternative.

5. Create Linkable Assets

A linkable asset is a piece of content strategically designed to attract backlinks.

Common examples include:

• Research studies
• Infographics, maps, and video graphics
• Industry reviews
• Various tools
• Practical guides and tutorials

To implement this link-building strategy, start by evaluating your own assets:

• Can you research your niche and provide expert insights on a given topic?
• Could you run an experiment that would capture your audience's interest?
• Do you offer educational materials that would be valuable to your target market?
• Is there an online tool your users might benefit from?

No ideas? You can always analyze your competitors' websites to discover which tactics they've successfully employed.

Another critical point is that you must promote your assets to gain traction. Consider using advertising and other promotional strategies to increase the visibility of your content.

6. Find Unlinked Brand Mentions

Have you noticed a website mentioning your brand or company without linking to you? It is known as an unlinked brand mention, and you can ask the website owner to turn that mention into a backlink.

To quickly find unlinked mentions, use the Brand Monitoring tool:

1. Sign up for the app and create a new query. Select "Brand" as the query type.
2. All the required fields should be filled out to help the tool work more effectively.
3. Click on "Create Query," and you'll see a list of all mentions of your brand.
4. In the left menu, go to "Mention details" > "Backlinks" and select "Without backlinks." It will filter out the mentions that don't include a link.
5. You can now contact the website owner and ask them to add a backlink to your site.

7. Analyze Competitors' Backlinks

Analyzing your competitors' backlinks will allow you to adopt and implement the best link-building strategies.

For this, you can use tools like Semrush and Ahrefs:

How to analyze using Semrush:

1. Go to the "Organic Research" tab and enter your competitor's domain in the search bar.
2. Go to the "Backlink Analytics" tab. Here, you'll find all the information about your competitor's backlinks:
   • Total number of backlinks
   • Number of unique domains where the backlinks are placed
   • Link distribution by type (text, image, video, etc.)
   • Top pages receiving backlinks
   • Top link sources (websites, social media, directories, etc.)
3. You can also check the "Backlink Profiler" tab for a more detailed analysis of the quality of the backlinks.

Using Ahrefs:

1. Enter your competitor's domain in the search bar.
2. Go to the "Backlinks" tab, where you'll find:
   • Total number of backlinks
   • Number of domains where the backlinks are placed
   • Link distribution by type (text, image, video, etc.)
   • Top pages receiving backlinks
   • Top link sources (websites, social media, directories, etc.)
3. You can also check the "Referring Domains" tab to analyze the quality of the domains linking to your competitor.

By comparing your competitors' backlink data, you can identify their strengths and weaknesses and develop a strategy to improve your own backlink profile.

8. Recover Lost Backlinks

Recovering lost backlinks is usually easier than building new ones, as the site initially wanted to link to you.

To find lost backlinks, use the Backlink Audit tool from Semrush:

• Enter the domain you want to check.
• Go to the "Lost&Found" tab. Here, you'll see how many referring domains were gained, broken, or lost in the last 90 days.
• Visit each URL and try to determine why the backlink was lost. Common reasons include page deletion, updates, or redirects.
• You can then contact the website owner where the link was removed to clarify the reason behind it. Be sure to explain why having that link restored on their site is essential.

9. Build Links Through Social Media

It's no secret that maintaining a social media presence can improve search rankings, and Google has integrated social profiles into search results.

While social networks are primarily used to drive traffic, they can also be used for link-building.

You can generate backlinks through platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, X, and Instagram by:

• Placing links on your profile.
• Exchanging links with other profiles interested in similar collaborations.

10. Promote Your Brand Through Podcasts and Influencers

Besides promoting content on social media, you can partner with bloggers and influencers within your niche to review your product.

Collaborating with influencers offers a personalized approach to brand promotion, builds their audience trust, and enables quick and extensive outreach on a large scale.

Influencer Marketing Strategies:

1. Choosing the Right Influencer:
   • Define your campaign goals (e.g., increasing sales, boosting brand awareness, growing your audience).
   • Analyze the influencer's audience (age, gender, interests) and engagement levels to confirm they align with your brand.
   • Evaluate their engagement metrics (likes, comments, shares) and overall reputation.
2. Developing a Campaign Strategy:
   • Determine the format and content of promotions (photos, videos, stories, reviews, live streams).
   • Agree on the posting schedule and key messaging.
   • Establish tracking methods (promo codes, unique links).
3. Monitoring and Optimization:
   • Continuously analyze campaign performance.
   • Adjust strategies as needed to improve results.

By choosing podcast promotion, you can attract a loyal and engaged audience, keep their attention over the long term, and immerse them deeply in your topic.

Podcast Promotion Strategies:

1. Create Your Podcast:
   • Define the goal and target audience of your podcast.
   • Develop a content plan and set up a regular release schedule for episodes.
   • Invite experts and leaders to participate in your podcasts.
   • Promote your podcast via social media channels and email newsletters.
2. Sponsorship and Advertising:
   • Identify podcasts whose audiences align with your target market.
   • Secure advertising partnerships or sponsorship agreements for particular episodes.
   • Clearly outline the requirements for ad placement, duration, and frequency.
3. Participate as a Guest:
   • Prepare for interviews by researching the host's audience and relevant topics.
   • Emphasize the unique value your brand brings to its listeners.
   • Provide contact details or links to resources for further audience engagement.

11. Analyze Your Backlink Gaps

Analyzing your backlink gaps helps you identify websites that link to your competitors but haven't mentioned your site.

These sites might be open to adding a link to your brand, especially if you try to create high-quality content for them.

First, you need to find these sites. You can use the following tools:

• Semrush Backlink Gap Tool.

Enter your domain with the domains of up to three competitors, then click "Find Prospects."

The tool will analyze and display, on the "Best" tab, the domains linking to all your competitors but not to you.

Check the boxes for the domains you want to contact and click "Start Work" to send them to the Link Building Tool.

• Moz Link Explorer Tool

Start by navigating to the Link Explorer tool on the MOZ platform.

Use the Link Intersect feature:

• Enter your site's URL along with those of your competitors.
• The tool will reveal which websites link to your competitors but not to you.

Now, it's time to assess these opportunities. Identify which of the found sites are most relevant to your niche, possess a good reputation, and have high authority, making them ideal candidates for beneficial link placement.

You can also perform a backlink gap analysis using Ahrefs' "Backlink Checker" by selecting "Link Intersect" from its left-hand menu and following the abovementioned steps.

12. Publish a Guest Post

A guest post link is created when an author writes an article or post for another blog or website and includes links to their own site or other resources. This method is widely used in content marketing and SEO strategies.

Benefits of Guest Posting:

1. Increased Traffic: Links in a guest post can drive new visitors to your website.
2. Enhanced Authority: Sharing your work on respected and relevant platforms is a great way to position yourself as an expert.
3. SEO Boost: Quality backlinks from guest posts can improve your site's search engine rankings.
4. Networking Opportunities: Guest posting helps build connections with other bloggers and website owners.

However, it is important to use this strategy wisely and avoid overdoing it, as Google might devalue your efforts. Always focus on creating high-quality content that best represents your brand and has the potential to expand your target audience.

13. Try Ego Baiting

Ego baiting is a promotional tactic to encourage a specific influential individual (rather than an entire audience) to write about you or share your content.

This technique can be ethical when you highlight that person positively in your posts, interviews, etc., or less so if you intentionally criticize the blogger or influencer in hopes that they'll respond by trying to change your perspective on their work while also including a link to your site.

14. Leverage Digital PR

Digital PR is a backlink-acquiring strategy in which you position yourself as a reliable source for journalists. In this case, your content is created and spread through a press release.

Reporters who use your material in their articles may include a link to your website.

15. The Skyscraper Technique

The skyscraper technique for acquiring backlinks is an SEO strategy that involves creating content that outshines existing material on the same topic in quality and scope.

Key principles of this technique:

1. Carry out in-depth competitor research and identify what content is already available.
2. Develop more detailed, informative, and valuable content of higher quality than existing publications.
3. Optimize your content to secure high rankings in search results.
4. Share and spread your content effectively to attract numerous backlinks and mentions.

The main goal of this technique is to create high-quality, authoritative content that other websites naturally want to link to. This will boost your backlink profile and improve your search engine rankings.

Link Building Tools

While working on this material, we mentioned various tools you can use for link building. Here's an organized list of tools designed to streamline and enhance your backlink acquisition process:

Google Search Console:

• Analyze Your Backlink Profile: https://search.google.com/search-console/links

Google My Business:

• Create and Optimize Your Business Profile: https://www.google.com/business/
• Collect Reviews and Customer Links: https://www.google.com/business/

Google Alerts:

• Track Brand Mentions and Capture Backlinks: https://www.google.com/alerts

Google Trends:

• Analyze Popular Topics and Content Marketing Opportunities: https://trends.google.com/

Google Scholar:

• Find Opportunities for Academic Backlinks: https://scholar.google.com/

Google Images:

• Optimize Images to Attract Backlinks: https://www.google.com/imghp

Google Maps:

• Create and Optimize Your Business Listing for Backlinks: https://www.google.com/maps

These Google tools provide a wide range of features for analysis, monitoring, and developing an effective link-building strategy. When used alongside other tools, they can significantly enhance your search engine rankings.

Semrush:

• Analysis of competitors' backlink profiles: https://www.semrush.com/analytics/gap/backlinks/
• Analysis of link quality: https://www.semrush.com/backlink_audit/
• Search and verification of backlinks: https://www.semrush.com/analytics/backlinks/

Ahrefs:

• Backlink Analysis: https://ahrefs.com/backlink-checker
• Discover New Link-Building Opportunities: https://ahrefs.com/link-intersect
• Link Profile Monitoring: https://ahrefs.com/site-explorer
• Website “Authority” Checker: https://ahrefs.com/website-authority-checker

Moz:

• Backlink Profile Analysis: https://moz.com/link-explorer
• Link Quality Evaluation: https://moz.com/link-explorer/domain-authority
• Anchor Text Analysis: https://moz.com/link-explorer/anchor-text
• Link Profile Monitoring: https://moz.com/link-explorer/link-intersect

Other Popular Tools:

• Linkody: https://www.linkody.com/ – Backlink profile monitoring and analysis
• BuzzSumo: https://buzzsumo.com/ – Discover influential authors and websites for link-building
• Majestic: https://majestic.com/ – Analysis of backlink profiles and link quality
• LinkResearchTools: https://www.linkresearchtools.com/ – Comprehensive backlink profile analysis

Each tool provides distinct features to help you develop an effective link-building strategy. Your choice should align with your particular needs and budget.

In addition to link-building tools, there are also services for gathering email addresses and crafting compelling email campaign scripts:

Email Address Collection Services:

• Hunter.io: https://hunter.io/ – Helps you find company employees' email addresses using their domain names.
• Voila Norbert: https://www.voilanorbert.com/ – A tool for locating email addresses by first and last name.
• Snov.io: https://snov.io/ – A service that collects email addresses from various sources.
• Clearbit Connect: https://clearbit.com/connect – A Gmail extension that enriches your contacts with additional email information.

Services for Crafting Email Campaign Scripts:

• Copysmith: https://www.copysmith.ai/ – Uses AI to generate persuasive email copy.
• Anyword: https://anyword.com/ – Provides templates and suggestions for effective email campaigns.
• ConvertKit: https://convertkit.com/ – A platform for creating and sending email campaigns.
• Mailchimp: https://mailchimp.com/ – A popular email marketing service with many features.

These tools can significantly simplify and speed up the process of gathering email addresses and creating attractive email campaigns, ultimately boosting the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.

Additional Link-Building Tips

Looking to diversify your promotion strategy? Try one of the following tactics to boost your site's backlink profile.

Earn "Bonus" Backlinks with Reverse Image Search

Do you publish a lot of visual content, diagrams, and infographics?

Websites may be using your visuals without crediting your brand. We're sure you're not greedy, and you'll be happy to share these images as long as they include a link to your site.

To locate these sites, use Google's Reverse Image Search. Once you find them, email the site owner requesting that they add the appropriate link.

Send Emails in the Afternoon

The reason is simple: most people email newsletters in the morning. Website owners checking their inbox early might miss your email, lost among dozens of others.

However, sending your email later in the day is less likely to get overlooked since there's far less competition in the inbox.

To implement this approach, we recommend using Gmail's built-in scheduling feature to set the best time to send your correspondence.

Create Visual Representations of Concepts, Ideas, and Strategies

First, visuals grab more attention and make your content more digestible than plain text.

Second, your images can be repurposed by other websites. And if they end up using your content without crediting you, well, you already know what to do 🙂

Send an Informative Email Before Sealing the Deal

In other words, don't ask your potential link builder to add a link in your first email immediately. Most people may not respond to a first email.

We recommend splitting the process into two stages: start with a brief introductory email and follow up with a more detailed message, including your link request. Remember to personalize your messages. It increases your chances of forging a successful collaboration.

How to Track Your Link-Building Efforts

1. Use link analysis tools like Ahrefs, Majestic, and SEMrush. They can help you monitor new links, their quality, anchor texts, and other metrics.
2. Maintain a log of link-building activities, tracking the websites you've contacted, the types of links received, dates, and any other relevant details. This will assist you in evaluating the success of your efforts.
3. Regularly check your link profile in the Google Search Console. This tool shows you which external links Google has discovered to your site.
4. Track changes in traffic and search rankings. Improvements in these metrics can often be linked to successful link-building campaigns.
5. Use tools to monitor brand mentions to know when your brand is being mentioned or linked across the web.
6. Regularly assess link quality and remove spammy or low-quality links to maintain a good link profile.

Start Building High-Quality Links Today

Do you want your website and its pages to rank high in search engine results?

If so, you need an effective backlink strategy.

Link building is like striving for perfection: it may seem like you've reached the top, yet from there, new goals and horizons emerge that you must conquer.

Are you unsure how to correctly organize this process, or do you need help?

At Linkbuilder.com, we offer a wide range of services to optimize your SEO strategy: Link Building, Outreach & Guest Posting, Crowd Links, Contextual Links, and more.

Our experts are ready to develop a custom promotional plan to advance your brand, ultimately driving valuable traffic and boosting your site's rankings.

Get in touch with us now via online chat or by sending a request through our Contacts page to discuss the optimal strategies for promoting your business.

What link-building strategies are you using in your practice? Let us know in the comments.