Succeeding in the digital world means learning how to rank high on the search engines for your chosen industry and location.
The easier it is for customers to find you when they’re active on Google, the more likely it is that you’ll end up with valuable leads and conversions.
As most business owners already know, SEO can be a complicated process for beginners, with many ever-changing rules to be aware of.
Google’s frequently updating algorithms also often make it difficult to keep track of which strategies really work today.
One factor that has remained consistently important to better rankings for quite some time, however, is link building. Generating valuable backlinks from authoritative, reliable, and highly ranked websites instantly gives your own online presence a boost in credibility.
So, how do you successfully generate the best backlinks for your blog?
Here are some dos and don’ts to guide you.
Do Produce High-Quality Content
Quality content is one of the most powerful tools a business can have. It’s a great way to market yourself by showcasing your thought leadership and expertise.
At the same time, the content you produce on your business blog could answer valuable questions that your customers have about your products or services.
Producing relevant, high-quality content keeps customers coming back to your website. This, in turn, improves your standing with the search engines.
However, the same content will also help you earn backlinks from other companies that want to reference your insights, statistics, and other information.
To boost your chances of earning links, focus on producing linkable assets that generate attention from other quality sites.
These assets might include white papers with exclusive information, checklists, infographics, and case studies. Ask yourself what you would want to link out to from your website.
Do Offer Genuine Value to Target Sites
Your blog content should always offer value to both your customers and the people you want to link to it.
However, you might need to offer some additional value to other website owners if you’re hoping for a place on their blog.
Remember that some of the market-leading companies on the web today receive hundreds of requests for backlinks on almost a constant basis.
Rather than focusing on what you want from that company with your pitch, describe what you can give them in return.
Is there any exclusive information that you can share as part of a guest post that would be extremely helpful to their target audience?
Also, will you be able to offer the backlinking business a spot on your site with a guest post so they can reach more customers?
Ask yourself what’s going to appeal to the company that you’re reaching out to right now.
Maybe you could even create an infographic for them to use, so they have some new valuable information to share in a more consumable format?
Do Research Every Site You Reach Out To
Many business owners make the mistake of putting quantity above quality when searching for backlinking opportunities.
They reach out to huge numbers of companies at once, using the same copy-pasted pitch every time.
However, failing to make a genuine connection with the webmasters whose help you want could mean missing out on a great opportunity.
Whenever you consider reaching out to a site for a backlinking opportunity, take your time to research that company.
Find out what kind of content they produce and make a genuine suggestion about something you can offer that might be valuable to their customers.
Offer suggestions on how your content could build on a blog or article they already have.
Researching each target website also means that you can ensure any company you reach out to is properly aligned with your brand image in terms of values, mission, and customer base.
This will help to stop you from linking your business to any company that could pull your reputation in the wrong direction.
Don’t Pay for Links on Low-Quality Sites
Building a successful backlink strategy takes a lot of time and commitment. For businesses keen to get new leads as quickly as possible, it’s difficult to be patient.
You might even find yourself looking into link buying opportunities to speed things along.
Unfortunately, buying links is almost never a good idea.
Often, you end up with spammy references to your business placed on low-quality websites.
Additionally, since the Penguin update, the more Google notices spammy links pointing to your site, the more likely it is that your search ranking will end up getting penalized.
Avoid paying for links on any website if you can, but if you do pay for a boost, make sure that you only do so when you know you’re working with a highly reputable brand and website.
Don’t Use Black-Hat Tactics
In the SEO world, black-hat tactics refer to the underhanded methods some impatient website owners use to build their ranking online.
There are various forms of black-hat strategies that are common in the backlinking world, including paying people to place links to your website in the comments of blogs belonging to other sites or adding “hidden text links” to pages.
source: unsplash.com
Some black hat tactics seem worse than others, like injecting links, which involves hacking into another companies’ website to place a link to your site there against the webmaster’s will.
However, even something simple, like swapping links regularly between two domains, can appear as a red flag to the Google SEO algorithm.
Anything that may come across as an attempt to manipulate the Google search algorithms or increase your ranking without the appropriate work could be dangerous for your site.
Don’t Ask Just Anyone for Backlinks
Not all backlinks are created equal.
Having hundreds of links to your website from websites that aren’t remotely related to your business won’t increase your rankings.
If anything, links from irrelevant and low-quality websites are more likely to lead to penalties from Google.
The only way to discover the true benefits of a good backlinking portfolio is to make sure you reach out to the most relevant and valuable sites, who already have credibility in your industry.
This also means looking up some background information.
Take your time to research blogs and websites with a connection to your niche and learn about domain authority before you make a connection.
Proper link prospecting, where you examine the relevance of a site, and the value a backlink from that environment can offer, will save you a lot of headache with SEO penalization and missing ROI.
Don’t rush into backlinking and end up damaging your company’s reputation in the process.
Get the Best Backlinks for Your Business
Backlinks are valuable assets for a business hoping to strengthen brand awareness and improve credibility online.
Collecting backlinks from relevant, high-authority companies is an excellent way to access more leads and even improve your search engine ranking.
However, it’s vital to approach your link strategy carefully.
Don’t race into getting links from just any website. Take your time to do the appropriate research, and approach valuable websites with the right pitch.
Easing into this process will save you a lot of effort in the long run and potentially even help you avoid any mishaps with Google’s algorithms.
