Isn’t it great when a post about how to tend to lamps at home takes you to a site that sells the most incredible-looking lamps just perfect for your home? How about a link on a post about vinyl records that takes you to a site that recycles damaged records to create furniture or decor? That’s basically all there is to backlinking in digital marketing.
It starts with identifying a niche where you can fit in your service or product and ends at getting your site featured as a link in between their content or other places. That way, you get a whole new exposure through their reader base.
But how does one go about seeking backlinks from people who did not even know you before you emailed them your pitch?
The answer is pretty simple, if you put your mind to it. You make use of the bountiful resource named the Internet and use it to your advantage. From resources to backlinking tools, you will find it all there.
In fact, the Internet is right where you will find this post about the 10 best ways to backlink your website to others. Using the tools and your marketing genius, there is no end to the positive outcomes that you can achieve when it comes to getting backlinks for your website.
10 steps to backlinking like an expert
Yeah, you have read all those ultimate SEO guides. You have revamped the entire system of marketing online using all the trendiest techniques and best practices, as some like to call them. But have you considered how you will go about building links? Backlinking strategies, as we all know quite well, matter a lot when it comes to affecting your rank online.
So why not take the best course to backlink like a pro so you can always have that extra edge over your competitors?
Here are 10 sure-fire backlinking tips that can take your business forward by leaps and bounds. Whether you are a recycled furniture retailer or run a trendy salon for pets, backlink in style and your business is sure to rank high and flourish like never before!
1. Make use of infographics
Creating infographics is something that we all do. However, those can be turned into fabulous tools for getting backlinks, and here’s how. If you have an existing infographic that has ranked well previously and has been a constant hit with readers, then you can rehash and use it again (repurpose it, that is) for building verifiable and credible backlinks.
No worries if you are new to the whole infographic scene though. You will find plenty of easy-to-use infographic-making tools online that create customised designs and templates as per your requirements. Once you create an infographic that is sure to blow the readers’ minds, look for similar content online featured on high authority websites.
The next step is what every marketer worth his salt must learn to do: pitch your product (in this case, the infographic). Contact those websites personally and provide a link of the post you want to collaborate to for context and ask if they would be interested in giving you a backlink in exchange for the infographic. Make sure that your infographic adds to their content, enriching it further, so it is easier for them to consider giving you a backlink to your site on their website.
2. Leverage the skyscraper technique
Do you know what the skyscraper content is on your website? Those are the blogs or articles or videos (or any form of content, for that matter) that have performed really well in the past. What you need to do is go over the performance metrics for each post on your website and identify the ones that rank high in performance metrics.
There is no need to worry if you cannot identify skyscraper content that you can use to get a backlink. You can always create one. The simplest process to do so is to check out the leading content in your domain. A simple keyword search on Google will help you identify the most popular and relevant content.
Come up with better content and start promoting it everywhere with as much zeal as you can gather. Let that be your anchor content for backlinking. Once websites in your niche look at the stats for your content, they will be only too keen to provide you with a backlink on their sites.
3. Use information on broken links
Broken links are pretty common all over the Internet. You click on a link and end up on a different page than the one where you had wanted to visit in the first place. Broken link-checking tools online will help you identify the broken links for any website whose domain name you enter. Make good use of the tools to get a backlink for your website. Simply report the broken links to the webmaster (along with the location of the link as well as a screenshot to back it up) and ask for a backlink politely in the follow-up email. Since you will be doing them a favour by reporting the broken links so they can get on with fixing the issue to bring in higher ranks, you will get your backlink soon enough.
4. Try your hand at guest-posting
Yeah, we all know about this one. But do we really explore the wondrous domain that is guest-posting? It offers a plethora of opportunities for earning backlinks and give tonnes of credibility to your brand. Go for websites with a higher rank than yours so you can leverage on their reader base using your content. Naturally, the quality of your content needs to be awesome for it to be approved for guest-posting on credible websites.
If you cannot find websites that will accept your guest post, try streamlining your search using Google search queries. Alternatively, look in the blogger profiles of leading influencers in your domain and see where they have contributed as guest bloggers.
Pitch your ideas for guest-posting to the websites that you shortlist. Not all websites are patient or prompt with prospective guest bloggers, but keep your hopes up. If your content is compelling and well-researched enough, you will find your call through guest-posting. Get a backlink on the content or author descriptions and half of the work is done!
5. Earn a backlink with a heads-up
The Internet will work out generously in your favour if you give backlinks to the community as well. Calling out outdated domain names or links is one of the superb ways of doing so. Additionally, this might even get you a fair share of backlinks. So are you still going to pass up being a responsible netizen on the web?
Staying abreast of all that is happening in your industry is imperative for making this work. Whenever you spot information or an announcement regarding sites that have:
- Altered/ modified operation names
- Stopped offering a service/ product
- Stopped offering updates for a resource
- Moved to a new domain location, or,
- Shut down shop
It is time for you to create a list of all the site mentions for those websites, especially by the high authority websites. Once you have identified all such sites, all you need to do is compose a heads-up email that gives them the updated information regarding expired links that they keep mentioning in their sites. Earning a backlink after giving away this heads-up is almost guaranteed, for good work always pays off.
6. Cash in on your credibility
Now that you have got a whole website to manage, the chances are that you must be an expert in one field or the other. Whether it is providing Assignment help through expert academicians or custom designing bistro menus as per the requirements, you can always get backlinks by proving your credibility.
If you are already an authority in your niche, then obviously, you are not new to the matter of using your credibility to take backlinking up a few notches. Sign up for online interviews in websites that would mention your website in exchange for an “expert’s take” on your niche or knowledge area. That way, as you become a familiar face on the Internet, you will find plenty of websites wanting to give you a backlink (sometimes in exchange for one in your site.)
7. Barter a backlink for another
This is perhaps the easiest way to get backlinks for your website. Whenever you are interacting with a fellow blogger or influencer in your domain, try pitching a follow for follow technique for backlinks. Sometimes, this might not work out as they might not be interested in getting their link featured on another website.
Just kidding! This one works every time.
Simply put in a word with someone whom you have networked with before. A well-written and assertive email cheering for their work usually does the trick. Put in a line about how you would like to reach out to their readers in exchange for a link where they can do the same for your readers, and you will be good to go.
8. Review and testify to win a backlink
Review products and services online to win a backlink for your brand. In fact, testimonials work wonders too. Reviews are shorter and occur on a host of media platforms. Ranging from websites to social media, reviews appear everywhere. Most products or services are all too keen to provide backlinks for websites so that they can cash in on the reader-base for faster conversion rates.
The same goes for testimonials. Select a list of websites that you currently use and sort them as per their SEO metrics. Pick the ones with a high performance level when it comes to SEO and write a positive testimonial on the website in exchange for a backlink snuck in (in the content or as part of your brand name).
9. Go for an ultimate guide and own it
Do you rock journaling? Are your baking hacks simply out of the world? Then you are perfect for writing ultimate guides. Ultimate guides are all resources regarding your craft that your readers can benefit from – all in one place. Of course, you can create the structure and design of the guide as per your specific taste and requirements, but the content should be as engaging and informative as possible.
Once your ultimate guide becomes popular, you will receive requests galore from websites who want to feature that particular link with a content of similar slant. Sure, creating that kind of content is pretty difficult, but it will be totally worth your time and effort once the requests for backlinks start pouring in.
10. From brand mentions to backlinks
If you rank among the moderately good in your business, the chances are that your brand name is more popular than you know. Search for all mentions of your brand name by others. Google search queries are the fastest and most reliable way to do this. The next step is to shortlist all those brand mentions that have not linked back to you.
Simply send in a polite email acknowledging the post and ask for a link back to your website. Brand mentions are the commonest forms of acknowledging that they were impressed by what you do. Turn that in your favour by asking for a backlink for all mentions that have not linked back to you.
Summing it up
From making use of designing skills to learning how to call out broken links (and turn them to your advantage), backlinking is fun indeed. You get to try your hand at a plethora of skills and marketing tactics through the entire process and receive high-value backlinks that add to the ranking factors for your website. Backlinking also helps create a network within your industry that you can always fall back on and takes your brand many steps ahead from the rest. Try the tricks suggested in this post and spread the word if they work out for you. Good luck!
