I take it you’re here because you already understand the importance of backlinking. So, let’s skip the needless introductions and get down to business.

How do you get backlinks to your site?

That is a question that has bugged webmasters, site owners, bloggers, SEO consultants, and business owners for many years. I’m sure it’s been bugging you, too, for a while now. Maybe you’ve even researched countless sources but couldn’t find anything helpful.

We’re sorry it’s taken you so long to find this post. Today, you’ll discover a number of strategies you can use to drive high-quality backlinks to your website.

Who else is pumped up for this?

1. Hire a proficient link building company

As you’ll soon see, there are many ways to build links to their site. However, due to many factors – which you’ll soon find out too – not everyone can deploy these methods.

In that case, how about hiring a link building company that has the resources needed to combine multiple link building strategies? That would be nice, wouldn’t it?

Indeed, hiring a link building company should be up there as one of the fastest ways to build links to a site. 

With this approach, you don’t have to do anything yourself. The company is the one that will do all the heavy lifting. For instance, say they want to combine strategies like outreach, press, and citation; it’s their responsibility to reach out to relevant webmasters and site owners to drive backlinks to your site.

In short, this is the easiest way to get backlinks. The only challenge is that it costs money, and you’ll also need to do your due diligence to find the best link building company to hire. Most modern SEO companies like Rankwisely have the resources to handle link building operations. So, that settles one part of the problem, leaving you with only a money headache to worry about.

2. Conjure up unique research data

Another effective way to acquire backlinks is to create unique research data to which people in your industry will want to link.

Once upon a time, I worked with an Instagram promotion company that used this method a lot. The company helped people grow their Instagram accounts, gain followers, build engagements, and all of that. So, to acquire backlinks, this company would gather data, facts, surveys, and other relevant stats from all over the internet. 

After that, they will now transform all the information into useful consumer data they know users will be happy to read. They will now publish the content on their site and other popular publications at the end of everything.

This content would start to garner ample backlinks from other websites that referenced them in no time at all. They did this a number of times every month and got thousands of free backlinks for their effort. Genius!

You, too, can pull a similar stunt in your field. Take a moment to reflect on your business niche. And see whether there are opportunities to gather relevant data. I’m sure there are.

For example, suppose your website deals in spa and relaxation business. A good research opportunity would be a simple survey (local or online) featuring the stressful lifestyle of 9 to 5 workers. If you create an infographic or a blog post about your discoveries from such a survey, you can bet that many websites will reference and link back to you. 

3. Use a link building outreach platform

Whereas a link building company will handle the entire process of link acquisition for you, the job of an outreach platform is to connect you with relevant bloggers & websites that you can email for backlinking opportunities.

Naturally, if you wanted to handle an entire link building campaign yourself, you would need to identify blogs & websites that are up for backlinking. Then, you would now need to meet the requirements of these sites, which unfortunately vary from site to site.

It’s a long and tedious road.

That’s why link-building outreach platforms make a lot of sense. They’re built to help reduce your workload. Once they find your sites, the next thing is to pitch these sites and get started with your link-building efforts. Heck, depending on the outreach platform you even use, you might be able to sift through options of blogs & sites to choose one whose requirements sit well with you.

4. Work with a reporter

Did you know there are many reporters from major channels like Forbes, American Express, CNBC, BBC, Yahoo, Metro, etc., who are constantly looking for credible information from expert sources?

Yes, there are.

As you know, all these A-list media outlets have a responsibility to always provide authentic, undiluted content. In other to achieve that, they send their reporters, correspondents, and media people out to gather insights.

If you’re certain about your expertise and are able to provide quality information to these reporters, you may have just won yourself a free backlink from some of the world’s biggest media outlets.

Not many bloggers & site owners use this method to acquire backlinks because of its apparent difficulty. Many believe you have to be inch-perfect for your opinion to be featured in some of these publications. But that’s not true. As long as you understand your niche in and out, you should be able to provide credible information to anyone seeking insights in that field.

If you’re ready to try this method out, you can check sites like HARO (Help a Reporter) to find reporters to work with.

Website:Helpareporter.com

5. Create unique images, infographics, and videos

Ok, let me ask you this. How many times have you gone to Google to search for free photos to embed in your blog posts? My guess is a million times.

Well, many bloggers and website owners are like this, too. 

The internet is crawling with tons of visual content. And people know this. So, when they need to expand the context of their opinions, they simply take a photo from the internet and embed it wherever they want.

Instead of joining the bandwagon, why not create unique visuals you know people would love t embed in their posts? Rather than go to Getty Images every time you need an image for your post, why not create a similar image with unique qualities? Not only will this boost your credibility in the eyes of readers, but it will also give you a rare shot at backlinking. With that, you’ve also contributed a valuable piece to the internet, which others can download and reference.

The same can be said of other visual content like videos and infographics. If you create unique, niche-relevant videos that address common issues in the industry, you can bet that others will want to embed such in their blog posts and web pages, sending you a backlink as a reward.

6. Offer free tools, hacks, and tips

Everybody has their own unique way of doing things. If you have a unique tip, hack, shortcut, or tool you use to complete certain tasks, you may want to consider sharing it with the public.

Take a look at Ahrefs. The company started out by offering free tools to users. They look for a pain point in the digital marketing space and then develop a tool that addresses this pain point. Then they share this proprietary tool with the public and ask for nothing in return.

As you can imagine, lots of people in the industry started using Ahrefs’ free tools. And many others started sharing them with their own audiences. 

Now, here’s the catch (and how Ahrefs gets to reap the reward of its effort). Anytime someone wanted to share Ahrefs’ tool with their audience, whether on social media or via blog posts, they would have to link back to the company. 

This is how the company has generated tons of backlinks over the years.

You, too, can take a page from their playbook. Take a moment to look expansively at your industry; what pain points do you think you can solve by creating a special hack, tip, or tool? 

Mind you; your tool can be as simple as a calculator or as complex as a template for something. It’s up to you to find an opportunity to leverage.

7. Use your SERP competitors

This may sound strange at first, but wait till you hear the details.

Search Engine Journal is a big brand in the search marketing space. We’re right if we say Ahrefs and Semrush are their direct SERP competitors. Because, apparently, they all target similar keywords on many occasions and are ranked by search engines for similar keywords.

Now, would you believe that these guys sometimes reference/mention one another in their respective posts? Yes, they do. 

Here’s a snapshot from a post from a Search Engine Journal praising Ahrefs.

You must wonder then, why talk about your competitor (in good lights, for that matter) in your posts?

Because it helps you build a lasting relationship with them, which you can leverage later for backlinking purposes.

Also, getting relevant backlinks from sites in the top 20 of a search keyword you’re writing about is a clear signal to the search engines that you operate in that space, too.

8. Put in for podcast interviews

Almost all industries now do podcasts. From tech to finance, agro to health, business to sports, podcasting shows are happening almost everywhere.

Interestingly, this creates rare opportunities for people looking to create awareness for their brands, as well as folks looking for backlinks.

Ask me how.

Most podcast shows are always looking for credible personalities to interview. If you’re a business owner and you land this kind of opportunity. That can explode your business to a large group of engaged audiences.

Additionally, your website or blog will also benefit from the effort because, apparently, the podcast host will always link back to your site.

Imagine if you’re able to attend up to five or ten podcasts every month; how many backlinks would you acquire in a year? Hmmm….lots of them.

9. Leverage social media groups

A trending approach nowadays is the concept of “Link to me, let me link to you.” This happens all across the social media space – Twitter, Facebook, Slack, etc.

How it works is that people create groups comprising people of shared interests. For example, a Facebook group containing thousands of digital marketers.

Whenever someone has an interesting article to write or a fascinating post to publish, they will ask the group if anyone has useful links to add to their post. Emphasis on useful links.

When someone (or people) drops their links, the writer will vet them to ensure they align with her post’s context. Then he or she will choose which ones to add and which to discard.

Now, here’s the catch. If she adds your links to her post, that automatically makes you indebted to her. In a future time when you need to gift backlinking opportunities to people in the group, the person who has linked to you in the past automatically becomes your first consideration. Only if such a person’s link isn’t genuinely beneficial for your readers will you not consider them.

Do you get the gist?

10. Digital PR

Last but not least – digital PR.

This involves hiring a digital PR company that can create an engaging story about you, your brand, or a recent milestone. After creation, this company will then share this piece with popular journalists who might be happy to feature it in their publications.

Alternatively, you can have a digital PR company create a high-quality article that’s relevant to your niche or business. This article will bear credit to you, but it will be shared with a journalist from a top-rated media outlet. The idea is to find a journalist who’s covering a related story and who’s willing to feature the content in their publication. If you find such a journalist, you’ll be credited with a free backlink to your site.

Last words

Backlinks are some of the most important aspects of SEO. Meaning that you cannot afford to joke with them. If you’ve not been taking backlinking seriously before now, you really should buckle up from now on. Thankfully, you now have a bundle of helpful strategies to guide you.