As a brand, ranking high on search engines like Google is no doubt your major priority to beat the competition and make that priceless sale. Hence, it is vital to take adequate measures to improve your SEO. And of course, SEO is not all about optimizing content. You also have to generate tons of high-quality backlinks for your site. To do this, you need to implement an effective link-building strategy. But what exactly is link building?
Simply put, link building refers to the process of generating backlinks for a site to improve SERP ranking. Though it may sound easy, link building takes a considerable amount of effort. As a result, it has posed a challenge for some. Hence, you may be wondering how to go about your link building. Well, you are at the right place. This article discusses some link-building strategies that will help you to easily create high-quality backlinks for free in 2023.
But before delving into that, it is necessary to take a detailed look at the importance of link building. After all, there are other ways to improve one's ranking. As such, you may ask: "why backlinking?" Without any delay, here are three main importance of link building to SEO.
Importance of Link building 2023
It drives in more traffic
Without traffic, it is difficult to survive in the online world. Hence, it is only natural that brands are willing to take the needed efforts to drive traffic to their site. They do this both from within the site and from external web pages. But how? It is pretty simple - through backlinks.
Backlinks are hyperlinks to your site from external web pages. As such, they serve as a great source of referral traffic (occurs whenever a visitor from an external web page clicks on a backlink to learn more about a given topic). As long as traffic is concerned, link building is vital. And of course, as a brand, you don't want to miss out on any opportunity to get more visitors, as this can increase user engagement. And who knows, you may get rewarded by search engines with an increase in rank.
It influences Google's SERP ranking
Authority is yet another main reason for delving into link building. Over the years, Google has taken a keen interest in sites with high domain authority, as this dictates their credibility. And the more credibility a site has, the higher its rankings.
In addition to authority, backlinks help pass on a vote of confidence to your site. In other words, it helps to tell search engines that your site is valuable enough and content-rich for other web pages to link back to it. And this helps to build your website's trustworthiness and credibility. And considering Google's aim to improve user experience, you'll no doubt see an increase in rankings.
Hence, building multiple backlinks is essential for every brand out there. That said, in SEO, generating quality backlinks is much more valuable than having numerous low-quality links. But what exactly do quality backlinks mean?
Quality backlinks refer to those links that come from sites with high DA (domain authority) trusted by both searchers and search engines. Thus, having ten backlinks from credible sites will do you more good than having 100 backlinks from unknown websites.
As one of Google's major ranking factors, it is no wonder that every brand is looking to implement a perfect link-building strategy.
It increases awareness of your brand
Promoting your brand is a major function of backlinks. How? It's pretty simple. As seen above, link building helps to drive traffic to your site. It also helps to pass on authority, thereby improving your SERP ranking. All this helps to strengthen your brand's online presence. In no time, users will memorize your brand's name, logo, and domain address.
As a new brand, establishing a solid online presence is your first goal. Hence, you can't afford any chance to drive in traffic and gain recognition from search engines. Without a doubt, you want to get started on link building. But how? Let's get down to the chase.
How to create high-quality backlinks for free 2023
Link building offers endless benefits. But like every other SEO practice, it comes with effort. Some have even considered link building to be one of the most tasking strategies out there. But do not get discouraged. While link building may seem tasking, you need to keep in mind that it all depends on the strategy you go with. And fortunately, there are tons of them. Below are some link-building strategies that'll get you those quality backlinks without stress and cost.
Before we go into the details, it is necessary to first develop link-worthy content. Why? Well, nobody will link back to a site whose content is lacking. Hence, you must create engaging content. Furthermore, your content should be rich in information and well-optimized. Once you've done that, you can get started on your link building.
1.) Reach out to bloggers
Link building is all about generating backlinks from several websites out there. Hence, reaching out to bloggers remains a simple, yet productive link-building strategy. And this is especially so if you are selling a product. All you need to do is ask a blogger to write a review of your product (or service, as the case may be). During the review, your blogger may add a hyperlink or two, to your website.
So how do you go about it? First, search for bloggers that suit your niche. To do this, you can search for your targeted keywords. Afterward, take note of the bloggers who rank high for those keywords. Of course, they do not necessarily need to rank for your target keywords. However, you'll find it more beneficial to work with bloggers who have experience in your field. The next step is to contact your target bloggers. When doing so, keep the following in mind:
Introduce yourself properly. Let the blogger clearly know who you are, and why you are contacting them. Don't bore them with irrelevant information.
Avoid sending your blogger spammy messages. Also, don't disturb them with repeated messages. If you do, you are most likely to be rejected.
Get along well with them. By so doing, you'll be able to work side-by-side with your blogger to create a well-optimized review of your product.
2.) HARO
Help A Reporter Out (HARO) is a platform suited for link building. Well, actually, it is a platform where reporters ask users for advice and tips to write stories and NEWS. If you give them info that helps them develop a new story, they may add a backlink to your site as credit.
This is one of the most easiest and effective methods of link building. And since reporters are well-known for carrying out adequate research, backlinks from them are usually of high quality. Hence, it will increase your site's credibility. So, you have to get started on HARO as soon as possible.
3.) Guest blogging
While reaching out to bloggers is a great link-building strategy, it involves you passively waiting for a response from your target bloggers. If you would prefer the active route, try guest blogging. Opposite to the first strategy on this list, guest blogging involves you offering to write a blog post for other websites.
It is especially suited for those who are experienced in SEO writing and digital marketing. However, not everyone is. But don't get discouraged. Any knowledge about writing will help. You can even begin writing your blog posts to get started. Once you've gotten the hang of it, offer to write a blog for other websites.
Note that any website you choose should relate to your niche. It would help more if they rank higher than you on SERPs. When writing, you can then leave a hyperlink to your website as a form of referring people to learn more about the topic at hand.
This will generate both backlinks and referral traffic for your site. It is a simple and crafty method. But yet, like the broken link strategy, it creates a win-win situation for both parties. While you receive backlinks from the site, you give a well-optimized blog post in return. Writing multiple posts for multiple sites will only increase the backlinks you are getting, leading to a better SEO.
4.) Broken link strategy
Broken links are those links on a website that are no longer functioning. Whatever the reason for it, a broken link can affect one's SEO adversely. As a result, providing replacement to these links has become a common strategy for generating backlinks. Though it is an effective link-building strategy, it takes a considerable amount of time and effort.
First, search for broken links on a web page that are ranking high on Google.
Offer your link to the webmaster as a replacement.
Ensure your content is similar to the broken links. For example, if the broken link's content is about fashion designing, your content must be the same. You do not want to pitch in content about caterers as this won't add anything to the topic at hand. Does this increase your workload? In a sense, it does. However, it is avoidable. When searching for broken links, it is advisable to visit web pages of a similar niche to yours. After all, no fashion designer will link back to a caterer in the first place as their niche differs. Hence, as a fashion designer, target broken links on a high-ranking fashion designing web page.
Once that is done, you only need to wait for the webmaster's response. As seen earlier, broken links are dangerous to a site's SEO. With that in mind, any webmaster will be willing to accept such offers, more so if the replacement surpasses the original.
5.) Through social media
Social media marketing is common today. And this is no wonder considering the amount of social media users out there. Facebook alone has over two billion active users monthly. For brands, social media platforms are priceless for reaching a larger audience. As a result, many brands have incorporated social media as part of their link-building strategy.
Create a professional account on top social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram if you do not already have one. If you do, you can skip to the next step.
You can use this opportunity to get an engaged audience. Hence, post content and actively communicate with users. Do not forget to add links to your site on profile pages, description pages, and so on.
Note that most links on social media are viewed as nofollow by search engines as a means to tackle spam. So, does that mean that your link building from social media is fruitless? Of course not. Believe it or not, nofollow links are more effective when it comes to driving in traffic. And surely, you don't want to miss any opportunity for an increase in traffic.
Wrapping Up
Search engines are very competitive nowadays, especially Google. And for very valid reasons. All the same, one can just see why everyone is looking to establish an online presence. Hence, as time passes, there is an ever-growing need for link building. And in 2022, this need is at its greatest yet. As a brand, now is the time to start generating backlinks.
As seen above, link building is all about developing quality backlinks on several websites on the net. That said, dropping links anywhere and everywhere is harmful to your SEO. Hence, you need a link-building strategy that will allow you to do so without affecting your rankings adversely.
The strategies discussed above will help you create high-quality backlinks while spending nothing. So, go over them once again and choose the one that suits you best. Or better still, implement all five of them step by step. If you do so, you are sure to drive in more traffic, gain more authority, and above all, rank higher on the most competitive search engine, Google.