Link building, or link building as it is sometimes called in Swedish, is one of the most important factors for successful search engine optimisation (SEO) . In this article, we will, therefore, deepen the topic and tell you how to start attracting links and getting to the top of the search engines today. Hang on!
Content
Chapter 1: Link building – The art of attracting links
Chapter 3: Strategies for Attracting Links
Chapter 1: Link building – The art of attracting links
Before we delve into different strategies and other useful tips, we thought about starting to figure out what link building is and why it is important in SEO.
To briefly describe link building, it is about attracting links from other websites. However, attracting links from any sites is not enough. In order to achieve the best possible impact, it is necessary to get other credible sites to link to your site. But why is this so important?
Links are especially important for two reasons:
- They will help you get better placements in Google
- They will help you get more referral traffic
We have previously posted a post about how you can be seen on Google . There we explain more in depth how the search engines work and how links will help you get better placements in Google and other search engines. However, I will try to explain it briefly:
Consider the number of links as the number of votes in a selection. The more votes a party has, the more influence they get. The same applies to links. The more links a website has, the better the placements get them in the search engines.
If you have not been aware of it before then there are thousands of ranking factors that determine your search engine rankings (read more about this in our SEO guide ). So your website stands or falls not only depending on the number of links you have, but it is clearly one of the most important ranking factors.
However, through links from other sites, you can also get more referral traffic to your site. The reason that the links were invented from the beginning was to send you to pages you might like. Therefore, try to attract links from websites that can generate relevant traffic to your site.
Chapter 2: Good and bad links
As we mentioned in the previous chapter, it is not enough to attract links only from different websites. But what does it really mean good and bad links? And why do they play?
When it comes to link building, two different scenarios can be played:
1. You attract good and high quality links , which means you can see your website sail to the top of the search engines.
2. You attract bad links , which means that Google and other search engines can instead punish you with bad placements.
Alternate number one is what you should always strive for when it comes to link building. Here’s how to find out if it’s good or bad to try to attract links from a website:
PageRank / Page Authority / Trustflow
Each website (and webpage) has a value, known as PageRank, which determines how powerful it is. The higher the value the more powerful the site is and the more a link from such a site will affect your investments. The reason for this is that a powerful website shares a part of the power for you.
To check how powerful a website or website is, you can use various tools like:
One good tip is to download Majesty’s free plug-in, Majestic Backlink Analyzer , to Google Chrome’s browser. Once this add-on is downloaded to your browser, you can easily access any website or webpage and check how powerful they are:
Website relevance
Today, however, it is not enough to get links from powerful websites alone. Most importantly, they should also be relevant and closely related to your industry or what your site is about.
For example, if you run a site where you share smashy recipes and get a link from a powerful website that sells office supplies, this will not be as good as if it came from a closely related industry or subject. For example, it would be better to get a link from a bakery, a supplier of raw materials or an e-commerce selling kitchen utensils.
Chapter 3: Strategies for Attracting Links
When you have a better understanding of what link building is about and what characterizes a good and bad link, we now thought about sharing strategies that you can use to start attracting links to your site.
First-class links using good content
Believe it or not but the easiest and best ways to attract first-rate links to your site are to write good content. But what is really good content?
Depending on what you are involved with and how your target audience looks, the content should also be adjusted accordingly. A good first step is to get to know your audience and see what they like for content. There are, however, three different types of containments that generally tend to attract many links:
Multimedia
Multimedia and visual assets are a typical form of content that usually attracts a lot of links. This may include uniqueness:
- Pictures
- Chart
- infographics
The important thing is to create unique visual assets that appeal to your audience. By doing this, you easily create added value for your visitors, making it more likely that they share it. Once someone has shared your image, chart or infograph, you can easily do a reverse image search on Google and find out which sites have shared it. If you find a powerful site that shared your image, you can easily contact them and request a link.
Surveys
Content that reveals new data from industry studies, surveys or real investigations tends to attract many links. The reason for this is that people love to share statistics and data. Once they do, they will also link to you because they want to share their source.
In-depth articles and guides
Producing in-depth articles and guides within a specific subject is perhaps the best kind of content you can create. In fact, you are reading an in-depth guide to this now.
The reason why this type of content is so effective is that you get a very large amount of information in one and the same place. This makes your website “the-go-to-place” when it comes to information about that topic. Because your guide is so helpful, so many people usually want to share it.
A big plus to creating these in-depth articles is that they are not only good when it comes to link building, but also to improve your search engine rankings.
Attract links through guest performances
Another strategy that works perfectly when it comes to attracting links is guest performances. For example, this can be a guest post on a popular blog that writes about the same subject as you, but it can also be a guest appearance in a popular podcast.
You probably already have a good look at which websites and podcasts are popular in your subject. All you have to do is contact them, tell me about yourself, why you like their website and why you want to write a guest post. For example, it may be by assisting with expertise in a certain area that they have not previously written.
Although this approach is successful for many, you should prepare yourself for a lot of “no thanks”. If you contact 15-20 different web sites, you may receive 1-2-minute answers on your offer.
Find “Probable Links”
This strategy is similar to the one in the past and is about to find sites that are likely to link to you. In order to find these websites there are a variety of approaches, but this is the most effective:
- Start by searching your keyword in Google.
- Select the first result that appears and enter it in a directory analysis tool. at SEO Expert Melbourne we use SEMrush, but there are a host of other tools like Ahrefs. Then click on “Backlink Analytics” in the left panel.
Then you will see exactly which links to this site and it is also those sites that are likely to link to you.
PS! Use the tips in Chapter 2 to find out which links are potentially good or bad.
Once you’ve found a website you want to get a link from, it’s time to contact them. Try to find a personal email address for the person responsible for the page. Please avoid customer support, info addresses and contact form because you rarely receive any response from them.
The next step is to contact them. Like the previous strategy, you should expect to contact many websites and people before anyone stings on your proposal. To facilitate this process, we recommend that you create a script that can easily be customized to the recipients. This will make it more personal, which also increases the chances that someone wants to link to your site.
Here is a good example of a manuscript that can easily be customized to recipients:
Hello [Name],
I just came across your article [Article Name] that is about [Subject]. Very good reading, especially the piece that was about [Something specific in the article].
I have just compiled a guide about [Topic]: [URL]. Something relevant to your audience and website, as well as a good complement to your article. You may use and link to my guide if you agree.
Anyway, continue with this amazing work that you do with [Name of Website]!
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Link Recalamation / Link Recycling
The final strategy we will be going through is called Link Reclamation or Link Recycling in Swedish. This method goes well to find sites that have already mentioned you in their content without leaving a link. Links you just deserve.
Use Google Alerts
If anyone mentions your name, company name or website, they should also link to you. Something that unfortunately is not always the case. Using Google Alerts , you can easily keep track of who mentions your name. Each time you see someone name your name without leaving a link, you can easily contact them and ask if they can not add one. Something that most people usually do.
Finally,
We now hope that you have a better understanding of what link building is about, which links are good and bad, as well as how you go about attracting good links that take you to the top of the search engines!
Need help optimizing your search engine presence? Then take advantage of SEO Expert Melbourne! Contact us
