Do you have a website that is not doing as well as you expected? If so, don’t make the mistake many other bloggers do by giving keywords all the attention. Beyond keyword ranking, other good web practices (like building backlinks) can help your blog appear higher on search engines. More so, building backlinks from reputable, trusted sites will give your website an edge over your competitors. If you want to create backlinks, this article will offer adequate information on what backlinks are and why they are important. You’ll also learn how to create backlinks for bloggers who want to run a successful website.
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What Are Backlinks?
In simple terms, a backlink is a connection between an external site and yours. It is pretty much a link that points to your website from another page. You likely already have a few internal links that connect to other pages within your site. In the same vein, you can insert external links that will direct people to relevant sources.
A backlink is a primary ranking signal for top search engines like Google and is a vital part of digital marketing. Backlinks are important, but there are also other things to consider. If your content isn’t top-notch, search engines won’t optimise your site in a top-ranking position or give it high visibility.
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How to Create Backlinks for Bloggers: Types of Backlinks
There are two major types of backlinks; a Dofollow backlink and a Nofollow tag. The Dofollow link helps to rank your site well on search engines, however, only Dofollow backlinks from reputable websites will be of any benefit. So, try to avoid toxic Dofollow links from suspicious sites or those acquired from breaking search engine rules. If you ignore and allow such links, Google might remove your site from their index or, worse yet, penalise your site.
On the other hand, Nofollow links offer no significant value as they give an ‘ignore’ signal to engines. For the most part, this proves useless for the improvement of your site’s visibility or ranking.
It’s also worth pointing out that the effectiveness of backlinks is measured by the quality of the links rather than the quantity. So, you know what to stick with real and quality links.
Other things you should keep in mind regarding backlink acquisition include the following:
- Opt for backlinks from relevant sites with quality content.
- Don’t purchase backlinks. Google considers this a ‘black hat’ method, which is unacceptable for website building. You might be penalised for it.
- Build backlinks gradually to avoid coming off as a manipulative website on search engines.
- Conduct organic searches of your competitors using sites like the Open Site Explorer or MajesticSEO to know the sites linking back to them. This way, you will see if you link your content to theirs.
- Use unclaimed links in a case where another website owner mentioned your brand without proper acknowledgement. You can claim a backlink by informing the site owner to add your URL to their content.
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How to Check Backlinks
Apart from leveraging the opportunities backlinks provide, you must track the backlinks you’re getting to guard against links to toxic websites. Neglecting this can result in a penalty from Google.
With Google Search Console, you can monitor where your backlinks are coming from and request those sites to remove the links. Ahrefs and SEMrush are goods monitoring tools you can use to track backlinks.
Google Search Console is a free tool that offers a full list of backlinks, but it has its limitations in terms of contacting those sites.
SEMrush, on the other hand, offers more features for backlinking. It tracks your backlinks, fishes out toxic ones and helps you send a message to those sites for removal. It is also faster in terms of action and response.
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Why Backlinking is Important
Backlinks are crucial for search engine optimisation and your website’s overall growth. Below are some other reasons you need backlinks.
Backlinks Show That Your Site is Powerful
A link creates a connection and the more a link spreads, the more powerful and valuable it becomes. A link’s strength lies in how many times it backtracks from other sites to yours and vice versa. In short, backlinks help to boost traffic to your website.
Backlinks help your site gain popularity
SEO-wise, links show your site’s popularity because when another site quotes your website, it means you’re sharing value. Search engine web spiders also consider sites with lots of backlinks as relevant, because they assume your site offers premium content for other sites. As such, they will rank yours highly.
Backlinks Help Search Engines Assess Your Site Automatically
Although search engines rank sites based on the relevancy of information, they cannot manually assess and rank every other website for relevancy. Therefore, backlinks help search engines determine the relative quality of your site’s content. Altogether, they rank the site based on the number of links linking back to your site.
Backlinks Help Increase Traffic and Sales
Backlinking will help you get visitors who will become potential customers. As long as you publish quality, engaging and usable information, you will most likely receive backlinks to your site. As a result, you have enough visitors to derive your paying customers.
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How to Create Backlinks for Bloggers
You already know what backlinks are and how important they are to the growth of your website. Also, it has been established that building quality backlinks is not a process that can be rushed. In reality, it can be a bit difficult.
The following tips will help you earn and create backlinks from authoritative websites in smart ways without violating Google Webmaster Guidelines.
1. Use Broken Links
The broken link method allows you to build one-way backlinks by reporting broken links to webmasters on their site. After reporting the broken link, you can suggest a link replacement that happens to be your website. The webmaster will be grateful to you for pointing out the broken link and will most likely replace it with the one you suggested.
To use this method, you need to source high-quality sites with notable resources relevant to your niche. You will do this through Google queries. Your queries can be in the format of ‘your keyword + resources’ or ‘your keywords + links.’ You can also use ‘Check my Links’, a Google Chrome plugin, to locate broken 404 links quickly.
After locating the broken link, be sure to introduce yourself in a friendly way. Then inform them that the resources they are linked to are unavailable. To further make the webmaster’s job easier, show where the broken link is, then suggest a few alternative replacements, including your site.
Be patient and offer your help in a way that doesn’t portray you as being desperate for a backlink because this method doesn’t work all the time. So, avoid frustration and disappointment by genuinely offering your help.
2. Gain Backlinks Through Infographic Content
Infographics include image content, otherwise known as visual data. One of the best ways to gain backlinks is by creating infographics because they are easily accessible, shareable and are also easy to understand. Also, most authoritative sites use infographics a lot. And you want most of your work to come from these reliable sites, right?
The fact that infographics are the rage doesn’t mean you should put out mediocre ones and expect top sites to cite you. The same way your content is unique and highly informative, your infographics should be the same.
More so, only create infographic content that tells exciting stories about a subject matter to your audience.
One tip for creating infographics to stir your audience is to follow hot trends, then create accurate data based on them. If you cannot create the infographics yourself, gather the appropriate information, then hire an expert to do it.
You can easily find an inexpensive infographics creator on Fiverr or Dribble who will earn you up to 10 backlinks per infographic content.
After your infographic is ready, create an embedded code using the Siege Media embed code generator. It makes your infographic available for people to share widely. You can also submit the infographic to different directories where anyone can locate your content and use it on their websites. This way, your infographics gain wide distribution and your site will begin to earn stress-free backlinks.
Another tip is to email brands that used your infographic content in the past. The goal is to ask them for feedback and not to request for backlinks. If they find your infographics useful, they will include your link in their content.
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3. Use Guest Articles
Guest posts are one sure way of getting new visitors to your blog. When you publish articles on a website with a large audience, you increase the likeliness of your site being found. You are pretty much doing the other blog a favour. Still, it is also a win for you because not only will receive backlinks, but you will also gain a larger audience on your social media accounts as well as a better reputation online.
If the high-and-mighty Google can accept contributions from guest bloggers via Google Analytics blog, you can do the same. Guest blogging offers the opportunity to expand your audience and build business relationships with other bloggers.
Helpful ways to locate websites accepting collaboration through guest blogging are;
a. Through Google Search Queries:
The following search queries will help you find the best sites:
- Keywords + blogger
- Keywords+ guest-posts
- Keywords + inurl:write-for-us
- Keywords + become a contributor
- Keywords + inurl:guest-post-guidelines
- Keywords + bloggers wanted
- Keywords + submit an article
- Keywords + contribute
- Keywords + want to write for
- Keywords + guest post for
- Keywords + guest post by
- Keywords + now accepting guest posts
- Keyword + become an author
b. Through Guest Posts by Influencers
Guest posts on top websites can be a good way to set the background for useful backlinks. To do this, follow posts by influencers on sites they regularly post. You can check their Google Plus profiles and scroll down to the contributors’ section that reveals other links to the websites they have contributed to.
c. The Social Media Option for Backlinking
Ensure that you link your social media accounts and website profile to your guest articles; trust us, it’ll drive traffic to your website. Anyone who likes your guest post will track try and track you down on platforms like Twitter; which allows you to do ‘guest’ related searches such as ‘guest author,’ ‘guest article,’ or ‘guest post.’
4. Use Spying Tools to Check What Your Competitors Are Doing
Another method on how to create backlinks for bloggers is by spying on competitors. The above-mentioned techniques are great, but you need to keep up with your competitors. This is one way to improve your chances of building backlinks and improving your site’s performance. You can check their online marketing techniques on social media and find out what they are doing to earn backlinks.
To do that, try the following:
- Subscribe to their mailing lists to get updates of newly published content.
- Follow them on social media.
- Create a Google alert with your competitor’s name as the keyword. For instance, input, site:yourcompetitor.com, to keep up with whatever they are up to.
- Be in the know regarding the kind of backlinks your competitors are creating, as well as where and when they are creating them. This way, you can create backlinks using their methods. If they receive backlinks through blog reviews, guest blogging, infographics, or other legit means, you can easily replicate them. With time, your tracking and replication will pay off.
There are many backlink spy tools, one of which is Monitor Backlinks. You can include up to four top competitors to get weekly updates on their backlinking activities. You will also receive information about the links they’ve acquired that week, as well as the links’ value, and the SEO metrics.
5. Gain Backlinks Through Internal Links
A reliable internal linking system will help you and your visitors explore your website without the stress of searching for a particular page by manually opening new pages. It also improves overall user interaction.
Webmasters think it is better to manually create internal links and keep them below 100 per page to allow search engine optimisation.
The link between internal linking and backlinking is that it allows guest bloggers to see connecting posts to the one they want to use. It also allows visitors to view other posts related to the one that directed them to your site.
6. Gain Backlinks Through Content Promotion
Another method on how to create backlinks for bloggers is with good content. Having good content is excellent but you must promote that said unique content through email campaigns and Google search queries.
You can send emails to webmasters and active bloggers; appeal to them to include your rich content in their weekly or monthly roundups. Be polite, direct and provide helpful information. You can include a link to your best content. If they find it beneficial, they will let you know and place your link on their site.
To find suitable sites in your industry to team up with, for Google search queries, type keywords + roundups.
7. Gain Backlinks Through Reviews
Another method on how to create backlinks for bloggers is through reviews. Every brand loves reviews, especially good ones. One way to gain real backlinks is to write testimonials for authoritative websites you’ve used in the past or are currently using. It will take just a few minutes to write the review.
Once the website confirms you’re a verified customer, your chances of receiving a link are high. One helpful tip for this method is to write out the names of tools you’re using to know which brand is worth contacting. As usual, you must be patient and accept that you may or may not get the link, but it’s worth trying.
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8. Create Backlinks by Reaching Out to Journalists
This is similar to content promotion and still points out to you, giving your website a wider reach. You can reach out to journalists and bloggers with a significant influence in your field through email campaigns.
First, scale the problematic hurdle of getting their email addresses using helpful tools like Emailfinder.io, Voilanorbert or Thrist.io. You can then send in a well-crafted straight-to-the-point pitch. After that, all you can do is hope the response is in your favour.
You can also perform an organic search for their email addresses by using the @website.com format. Just include the blogger or journalist’s name in front of the publication or website they write for. You have a 90% chance of getting the address right.
If the above options don’t work, try sending them a message via social media, LinkedIn or even Google Plus.
9. Gain Backlinks Through Donations
Donating to nonprofit organisations is an excellent way to gain backlinks. You can achieve this by searching for websites in your field that accept donations. Make the donation and include your website URL in the process.
Also, use Google search queries by typing donation + contributors + keywords or contributors page + your keyword.
10. Gain Backlinks With Industry Expertise
Another method on how to create backlinks for bloggers is to become the best in your niche.
However, before you become a force to reckoned with, you can also reach out to websites that offer knowledge at your present level. You can craft a short but detailed pitch explaining your expertise and specific sites that need your contribution.
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How to Create Backlinks for Bloggers: In conclusion
In this article, we explained in detail what backlinking can do for your website. We’ve equally offered up tips on the topic of how to create backlinks for bloggers. These tips will make you a backlink generating guru over time.
That being said, remember that creating quality backlinks requires patience, diligence and may take a long while. But if you’re patient enough and follow the tips offered in this article, your website will begin to rank highly.
Go ahead and share the link to this article with others. But don’t stop there! Tell us what your backlinking experiences are! More so, leave a comment on how these tips worked out for you.
