In this fast-paced realm of search engine competition, building backlinks plays a crucial role in defining a website’s authority on the search results. High quality backlinks serve as an indicator of the authenticity of a website. This in turn leads to more value and trust in the search results.
Building a strong backlink network is critical. However, the process of building backlinks can often be challenging, especially without resorting to exchanging or begging for links. To bypass this challenge, here are 9 creative strategies for smart backlink building.
#1: Building Backlinks through Intriguing Content
Engaging, high quality content that connects with the audience is of the essence in the digital arena. You can engage readers naturally when you create value-adding content in a consistent manner.
What attracts natural backlinks is original and intriguing content, studies, researches, comprehensive guides and appealing infographics.
#2: Taking Advantage of the Skyscraper Technique
You can understand this technique of building backlinks as developing incremental value while leveraging the strength of already well-established content. To do this, the first step would be to recognize the top-performing articles in your niche.
Now, utilizing this content, build something better that gives a unique enhanced character to your content piece. With this content at hand, you can very well present your content to the sites that linked to the original article and provide yours as an enhanced and more engaging version.
#3: Building Backlinks with Guest Posts
Many well-established websites or blogs holding good ranking and domain authority are often willing to be open to guest posts. The only trumping factor to these posts is that they should provide valuable content for engaging readership.
If you can create interesting and unique content, or even provide a new perspective on things, this can be a very good candidate for guest posts. If your guest post gets approved, a link to your website can be included in the author bio or within the content.
That being said, its better to choose for guest posting sites that engage readers in content similar to your niche. The reason is simple. If readers find your content good, they know that your website is a good place to get more such valuable content.
So, along with building a backlink through a guest post, you can also win readership by creating interest.
#4: Engaging in Expert Roundups for Building Backlinks
For those of you who haven’t heard about expert roundups, these are content pieces that feature multiple websites or blogs that tend to be the subject matter experts in their field.
These content pieces are usually created around a question or topic that strikes readers’ emotions. Then, these present few of the best websites that may be doing something similar. This is not only good for building backlinks but can also be free publicity by someone else. This can be helpful in generating reader interest and trust as well.
The key to engage in this activity though is to be a good content player in your field with lots of engaging content on your website. This way, you can not only drive users to your website but also have them as a loyal returning audience.
#5: Investing in Creation of Downloadable Assets
More often that not, readers are looking for a complete guide, interactive content or a walkthrough of tools that provide step-by-step directions for a task. This type of content obviously takes more time and effort to create but at the same time, is a far more valuable resource for building backlinks.
The reason is that this is considered a resource which is downloadable and linkable so users can not only use it for themselves but often share these for others to refer to. And the word spreads itself.
#6: Building Backlinks with Replacement
It’s a research technique to identify websites in your niche that are linking to content which no longer exists. Hence, you are looking for broken backlinks.
Once identified, you can reach out to site admins to have the broken links replaced with your content. This is usually a win-win solution since both sides are advantaged and thus, it is often times more welcoming.
#7: Having Good Connections with Influencers Pays Off
Like in any other business, having connections always benefits in building backlinks. With the world turning to internet for every need, it is critical to connect with influencers in your niche. People tend to follow influencers in a niche to stay updated with quality insights.
You present them with something more valuable or different from what others in your niche are doing. This way, you can get yourself a promotion. The only thing to keep in mind is that it pays in the long-term to be genuine.
Quality is key so the relationships you build with influencers stays strong and benefits the both of you. The other advantage is, if you do that, you may end up with more connections and backlinks without even having to try.
#8: Identify Opportunities with Brand Mentions
You can setup Google alerts to identify the places where someone mentions your website or brand name. Since the name is already there, you can politely request the site admins to have it linked to your website, thereby earning yourself a backlink.
#9: Building Backlinks with Infographics is Still in the Game
Visual representation of content that otherwise takes up time to read and understand is very welcome in today’s online world. Hit it or miss it, as they say. Engaging readers within the first 3 seconds of readership of your content can often be challenging but with infographics, it may be generous.
And these can be saved and shared easily. Hence, it makes so much sense to create valuable infographics for building backlinks.
In conclusion, the key to building backlinks is creativity, commitment to quality, responding to readers’ emotions and mindset and quite importantly, perseverance. With these traits, you should be able to reach the high ladders with link worthy content. Check out more interesting content on marketing here.
