If your business isn’t building quality backlinks, you’re not increasing prominence. If you’re not increasing prominence, you’re missing one of the fundamental criteria to rank higher in the search engine results pages (SERPs).
As Google shares, prominence is based on “information that Google has about a business, from across the web, like links, articles, and directories.”
The bottom line is that every business needs quality, white hat backlinks.
White hat backlinks essentially serve as a vote of confidence from a website and tell Google your web page is a trusted resource. The more votes of confidence your web page has, the more prominent it will be seen to be.
White hat backlinks are acquired through ethical means rather than leveraging spam tactics. Yet, obtaining quality backlinks is easier said than done.
If you’re looking to build your white hat backlink strategy, you’re in the right place. This post will share 11 proven strategies that work to get backlinks and boost your SEO strategy.
Let’s dive in and discover the techniques to get quality backlinks for your website.
1. Mine For Broken Links
Broken links negatively impact a user’s experience with a site.
Consider when a user eagerly searching for information clicks a broken link to a site. This likely causes frustration and potentially a lost customer.
Google also continues to prioritize the overall user experience with recent updates.
Broken link building entails finding links to pages that no longer exist and politely reaching out to the website with the broken outbound link to notify them and suggest replacing it with a link to your relevant, high-quality content.
It’s important to understand the difference between dofollow and nofollow links.
Dofollow links are the most valuable for SEO, as they pass link juice from the referring site to your website. These links are seen as endorsements by search engines, indicating that your content is trustworthy and relevant.
Nofollow links have a rel=”nofollow” attribute, which tells search engines not to follow the link or pass any authority. While nofollow links don’t directly impact your SEO, they can still drive traffic to your site and increase your online visibility.
It’s essential to have a healthy mix of both types of backlinks to create a well-rounded backlink profile.
Utilize backlink analysis tools like Ahrefs, Moz, and Semrush to discover broken inbound links to your closest competitors or broken outbound links from prominent industry publications and blogs.
Start with the dofollow links from sites with strong domain authority.
Broken link building takes time and effort, but it can be an easy way to build your backlink profile for sites that prioritize their users’ experiences.
2. Leverage Existing Relationships
Tap into your existing network of partners, suppliers, or satisfied customers.
Reach out to them and propose collaborative projects, testimonials, or case studies that showcase your products or services, providing opportunities for mutual backlinking.
Since you already provide a valuable service to a business, they’ll be more inclined to link back to you, as you’ve already developed a business relationship with them.
Additionally, many businesses already have a partner page to showcase who they do business with.
If they’re not linking to your site already, this should be an easy ask and a quick way to get a credible white hat backlink to your site.
3. Monitor Brand Mentions And Unlinked References
Sometimes, your business may be mentioned, but you aren’t receiving proper credit.
For example, a customer may write a glowing testimonial on a successful blog, or they reference a finding published by your business, but they aren’t linking to your site.
Ask for credit where credit is due. In both instances, you’ve provided a noteworthy service. Ask customers who reference your brand or websites that mention you in any capacity on their sites to provide a backlink.
Also, look for content published on sites that may list your competitors as resources but should have mentioned your relevant brand.
Utilize tools like Google Alerts or Mention to monitor mentions of your brand or your competitors. You’ll receive an email notification whenever a website mentions a designated brand name.
When you come across unlinked references to your website or content, reach out to the site owners and kindly request them to add a backlink for proper attribution or a pertinent inclusion that would benefit their audience.
4. Publish Original Research
Creating high-quality, valuable content is essential for attracting backlinks from authoritative websites. You can become a trusted content-sharing source by leveraging your expertise and original research.
When considering why and when people share content, you must consider the psychology of content sharing.
A recent study found that 94% of respondents said they carefully consider how the information they share will be useful to the recipient.
In the same study, nearly half of the respondents reported sharing content because it allows them to inform others of products they care about and potentially change opinions or encourage actions.
Develop comprehensive guides, research studies, infographics, or industry reports that serve as go-to resources within your niche.
These authoritative assets naturally attract backlinks from websites seeking to provide valuable information to their audience.
Every time a consumer, blog, or business mentions your research, you’ll receive a white hat backlink. The more informative your content is, the more likely it will be shared.
5. Create Engaging Visual Content
Visual content such as infographics, charts, or slideshows attracts attention and shares on social media platforms.
Why is visual content a top priority for marketers? Because it is easily digestible and shareable.
Nearly 41% of marketers said original graphics (e.g., infographics, illustrations) help them reach their marketing goals. And more than 50% of marketers said visual content is very important in their marketing strategy.
Whether you’re creating an infographic or any other type of visual, it’s an easy way to increase the likelihood of your content being shared.
When possible, embed your website’s link within visually appealing content to increase the likelihood of earning backlinks as it gets shared across the web.