If you’re creating a lot of awesome content but not seeing organic traffic, it may be because you have too few backlinks. SEO has come a long way in a short time, but backlinks are still one of the most important factors in a high ranking.
Unfortunately, many people try to get backlinks using unethical methods, or “black-hat SEO.” These methods, which include tactics like buying links, are not only extremely shady, but they’re also ineffective in the long term.
The key to link building that boosts your traffic is by earning backlinks in an ethical way, which is achieved through high-quality content that people choose to link to.
That said, there are some ways you can boost your backlinks in an ethical way and generate more traffic for your website.
Original Research
Research is neither quick nor cheap, but it’s an excellent means of link building. You can either do the research yourself or hire a researcher on occasion, giving you the heavily researched pieces you need to bolster your backlinks.
If you prefer, you can also reach out to an organization that conducts research that’s published in a PDF format. Simply request the PDF and write a blog post that summarizes the findings in exchange for a link to their landing page to access the full report. You’ll get plenty of links without the need for extensive research using your own resources.
When you have this post, you can include something like “the latest research” or “new findings” in the headline to let everyone know that it’s research-based, which compels them to read.
If you do conduct your own research, you can also reach out to other industry professionals to see if they’d like to share it. This should be a quick, simple request that merely offers your article to them.
Long-Form Guides
A lot of websites are filled with short-term blog posts, so you can stand out by simply producing lengthy content that’s highly detailed and informative.
Of course, it has to be something that people want to read. To find this, look for topics that have demand, as indicated by keyword research, but that don’t have satisfying answers. A quick search is all it takes to identify these information gaps. Then, you can prepare your own content to provide an answer to that search query.
By doing this, you’ll not only create content that others want to link to, but you’ll also be generating traffic from addressing the needs of the user in a way that others haven’t.
Connect With an Influencer
Influencer marketing is currently trending. The concept of a celebrity endorsement isn’t new, but the vast number of influencers on social media makes them much more accessible to the average business owner.
If you don’t already have the connections, you can reach out to an influencer and request an interview that would help your audience. It can be a little intimidating to think of reaching out to an influencer and asking for an interview, but it holds so much potential for your business.
If you are given an interview, remember to prepare and be respectful of their time. Think about your interview questions carefully, since you’ll likely have limited time to speak with them, and you should come away with more than enough information to craft a compelling post that earns backlinks.
Create an Infographic
Infographics are incredibly useful and earn plenty of backlinks. They not only help readers digest and understand your content more easily, but they also automatically earn links if others want to use them in their own content.
The most challenging aspect of creating an infographic is brainstorming the right topic and putting it all together. If you can, enlisting the help of a professional designer will go a long way toward helping you create an engaging infographic that grabs attention. If that’s not an option, however, there are plenty of sites that help you create your own infographics, or you could hire a freelancer.
Create a Quiz
Quizzes are popular and get a lot of attention and shares on social media. If you create one on your own site, you can include an embed code that earns you backlinks, much like the infographic.
Keep in mind that quizzes should be fun and viral to get attention, not necessarily just academic. Some of the most popular quizzes on social media are silly, such as “what ice cream flavor am I?”
That topic gets a lot of shares and sparks conversations between people.
Offer Testimonials
Offering testimonials to other businesses helps both of you, since the business gets a testimonial and you get your business on the website, complete with a link back to you. Because of this, most businesses will take you up on the offer.
Naturally, you’ll only want to offer testimonials for businesses whose products or services you use. Offering testimonials for products or services you don’t use is dishonest and unethical, and we’re focusing on earning high-quality backlinks from other reputable companies.
Guest Blogging
Guest blogging is an excellent method of link building and building your business relationships. You can either write the post yourself or pay a ghostwriter, but be sure that your content is detailed, accurate, and of high quality.
In the post, link to your other content a few times to gain some exposure, provided that the site owner is comfortable with you doing so. You can also include a snippet about your business in the byline to give readers an idea about what your business offers, as well as a link back to your site.
Track Down Unlinked Credits
Depending on how well-known your business is, you may have sites that mention you without including a link. Those are missed opportunities to drive traffic to your site, so it’s important to track them down and politely suggest a link. This shouldn’t be a problem, since they already gave you the credit with a mention and including a link is for the sake of the reader.
Use Outreach
When you write a blog post that mentions other businesses, you’re likely including a link anyway. In these situations, it’s best to reach out to those businesses and let them know that you mentioned them in your post and linked to their site. This is not only being considerate of them, but they may even repay the favor by sharing your post on social media or mentioning you in a post as well.
It’s important to avoid asking for a backlink when you reach out to them, however. This can come off desperate and disingenuous, so be sure to keep it about the link you gave them and share the link to the post.
Get Started
Link building doesn’t have to involve shady practices and unethical behavior. Just a little creativity, connection, and hard work is enough to earn high-quality backlinks that grow your business and your relationship with others in the industry.
Armed with these tactics, you’re ready to leverage your great content to earn more backlinks and improve your search engine ranking.
