As you should know by now Google still largely determines the position of your website based on the text and content you placed on it. In theory, the more high-quality backlinks (a link from some other website to your web resource/page/article) the higher you will be ranked in Google. But how do you get good backlinks?
I have set up ten link building tips that can help you get more and better backlinks and eventually improve your website ranking.
The first tip I won’t even count, since it is the mother of all rules when applying link building but often forgotten. Create relevant and link-worthy content! Now that we got that clear let’s start with the real tips.
1. Provide a natural link profile
For a natural link profile it is important that you spread the publication time, that there is variation in the link profile in terms of no and do-follow links and that there are different domains that refer to your website.
2. Use the correct Anchor text and prevent a Google Penalty
The anchor text refers to the text that is visible when you link to another page.
For example, if you link to the “link building tip anyone can apply” page, then “link building tip anyone can apply” should be the anchor text. The anchor text alway looks like a hyperlink and should be in a different color so it catches attention.
There are four different types of anchor texts for your backlinks:
- Based on brand
- Based on URL
- Based on keyword
- Based on link behavior
Make sure you alternate the anchor texts sufficiently. The less you send, the more natural it becomes.
3. Monitor and fix broken links
Check and monitor your links as it very often happens that sources suddenly disappear from the web. This could happen because the site is no longer active or maintained properly.
Sometimes you could use this type of situation to your advantage. You could create an equivalent source on your own site and contact the website that has dead outbound links. Offer them your content as an alternative – they will gladly fix the error messages on their website!
Also, use a tool to monitor whether all your external links placed are active. With such a tool you can keep a close eye on whether everything is still going well. Big names such as Ahrefs, MOZ and Majestics offer such a tool.
4. Share your knowledge in comments
Get active on forums, blogs and news articles by leaving comments with a link to your website. These are “no-follow links” that contribute to a natural link profile. Also make sure that your comment is not just a promotion for your own website.
This may not help you in getting a followed link, but a well thought of placed link in a comment on a blog post or forum with tons of traffic can lead to lots of awareness. And in the end might help you in getting a followed link.
5. Follow trends and do newsjacking
Newsjacking means that you closely monitor channels with trending news related to your niche, and then write articles about these trends with your brand or idea in it.This can be a very effective way to obtain high-quality backlinks. Keep in mind that timing is everything with newsjacking. If a story breaks, you must act immediately. Be the first to write about new developments in your industry! When you are the first with the latest scoop, chances are that your blog will be found and shared well.
6.View the DA and PA values of your page or article
For link building, Domain Authority (DA) and Page Authority (PA) are useful indicators to find out how well websites and pages perform in Google. Links from websites with high DA and PA are very valuable for link building. The Moz Blog wrote two great articles about Domain Authority and Page Authority.
7. (External) Guest Blogging
It was Matt Cutts, a software engineer in 2014 who stated that guest blogging was dead. However, he mainly tried to express that guest blogs that look like spam do not contribute to your link building profile. When you ensure that your guest blog offers value and you place it on a good website with a high DA, external blogging is still a very good link building tactic.
8. Testimonials of customers
Every website needs testimonials of customers these days. If you have a satisfied customer, you can ask if they want to place a link on their website that links to your website. Do keep in mind that the customer’s website needs to be related to services / products that your company provides.
9. Positioning your link: The higher the better
Google is now so advanced that the search engine also attaches importance to the position of the link. For example, a link in the first paragraph of a category page is considered more important than a link somewhere at the bottom of a hidden spot. You can read all about link positioning on All Links are Not Created Equal.
10.Internal links
Last but certainly not least I would like to point out the importance of creating a good internal link structure which is crucial for link building. With internal links and anchor texts you help Google on indicating which pages of your website are important and how everything is structured. They can establish a hierarchy on your site, allowing you to give the most important pages and posts more link value than other, less valuable, pages. So yes, a good internal linking strategy will boost your SEO and website ranking!
So there you have it, my 10 link building tips. What do you think of them? Is there any tip missing? Do let me know in the comments below.
