Link building 101

Strategies to improve your website's authority

When Ahrefs studied around two million new pages online, they found that only 5.7% of them ranked in the top 10 search results on Google. The number one reason that a page struggled to rank? It didn’t have any backlinks. The same study also found a correlation between backlinks and organic traffic.

While the findings from Ahrefs’ study aren’t definitive proof that there’s a direct link between backlinks and traffic, the evidence demonstrates that if your website is lacking high-quality backlinks, you’ll find it challenging to achieve higher rankings in search results.

But how do you build high-quality backlinks to your page and build domain authority? We’re going to take a closer look at the fundamentals of link building and discuss strategies that can enhance your website’s authority, focusing on creating good quality, useful content and leveraging the power of PR and digital outreach.

High-quality, useful and informative content: The foundation of link building

Before diving into link-building strategies, it’s essential to recognise that creating high-quality content is the cornerstone of any successful link-building campaign. Not only does quality content attract readers, but it also entices other website owners and influencers to link to your site naturally. This highlights the value of curating and implementing a concise and relevant content strategy so that you’re consistently providing engaging and unique articles pertinent to your niche.

Wondering how to create content that attracts valuable links? Here are a few tips:

  1. Conduct thorough research: By delving into your niche, identifying popular topics, and understanding your target audience’s needs, you can develop content that provides real value. Use tools such as Buzzsumo to learn what kind of content that is popular in your industry. You can then create new content that delves into those trending topics and helps to answer your readers’ questions.

 

  1. Generate original ideas: When generating ideas for articles, try not to just regurgitate what’s already out there. Stand out from the crowd by offering fresh perspectives and unique insights. This approach increases the likelihood of other websites linking to your content as a reputable source.

 

  1. Incorporate multimedia elements: According to research, content that incorporates visual elements can achieve 650% higher engagement levels. Enhance the visual appeal and shareability of your content by including images, videos or infographics, as these elements make your content more engaging and share-worthy.

 

The importance of PR and outreach in link building

While having exceptional content forms the foundation, proactively reaching out to relevant websites and influencers can significantly amplify your link-building efforts. Press and media coverage, encompassed within the broader umbrella of Public Relations, along with strategic outreach, plays a vital role in securing high-quality backlinks that boost your website’s authority.

Leveraging PR and outreach:

Gaining mentions and coverage on other platforms is something that’ll take some time. Effective PR campaigns need to be strategic and well thought out. To help you secure valuable backlinks through this approach, here are some tactics you can employ:

  1. Build relationships: Start by doing your research. Identify influencers, bloggers, journalists, and industry experts who are active in your niche, then engage with them on social media, comment on their blog posts, and share their content with your own followers. Building genuine relationships helps establish credibility and increases the likelihood of receiving backlinks.

 

  1. Guest blogging: Offer to write guest posts for influential websites in your industry. By contributing valuable content to authoritative platforms, you can earn quality backlinks in return. Ensure your guest posts are well-researched, informative, and relevant to the target website’s audience.

 

  1. HARO: Sign up for Help A Report Out – known as HARO – a platform that connects journalists and reporters with experts in different fields. Twice a day, you’ll receive queries from journalists and have the chance to pitch a response and provide valuable insights. If your response gets selected, you’ll receive a backlink from a reputable news source.

 

  1. Broken link building: Identify websites in your niche with broken outbound links. Then, reach out to the website owners, notifying them of the broken links and offering your content as a replacement. This mutually beneficial strategy allows you to gain a valuable backlink while helping the website fix its broken links.

 

  1. Monitor brand mentions: Once you’ve started rolling out your link-building campaign, keep track of mentions of your brand and product mentions across the web. When you come across unlinked mentions, reach out to the website owner or author, politely requesting a link back to your website, which will help you to reclaim the link value you deserve.

 

Link building can be approached in more ways than one, but one thing it does require to be successful is consistency. If you need help with implementing an effective link building strategy, whether that’s with crafting compelling content or reaching out to journalists, don’t hesitate to get in touch to find out more about how we can help.

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