How to Get Backlinks: A Guide To Getting Seen on Search Engines

The value of a link lies in its credibility. Links that originate in a reputable site like The New York Times, the BBC, or The Washington Post are considered valuable. Hosting prestigious sites such as these to redirect traffic to the receiving site increases its trust flow. Trust flow is a tool used to measure the quality of a site. Links are classified as natural or unnatural. An unnatural link is a link that directs most of its traffic through paid strategies. Owners will sometimes buy links from other sites for placement and redirection purposes.

On the other hand, a natural link has gained its value organically through some of the techniques we are about to discuss. It is important to note a valuable link is almost always exclusively an organic link.

Here Are Seven Effective Techniques for Building and Earning Valuable Links

1. Be ready to mingle

As we mentioned, links gain or lose value depending on the site hosting them. A link hosted on a strong, reputable site is far more valuable than a link hosted on a random site that no one visits. Because of this, it is important to be on the radar of individuals and groups with reputable sites. For a business trying to earn valuable links, it would be extremely beneficial to have their site featured by sites like Forbes or the Wall Street Journal. If any of those two sites host a link for the businesses' site, they will have earned a valuable link. While trying to build valuable links, it is essential to reach out and network to pursue opportunities that might land you a link in the right place.

2. Maintain quality content on your site

The quality of the content on the site itself will be an essential factor while determining where the site is linked. A site with great content will naturally attract visitors. According to an article published by HubSpot, a digital marketing company, "creating great content that people naturally want to link to is one of the most tried and true ways to organically generate inbound links."

3. Conduct surveys

Surveys are valuable tools for all types of institutions. Businesses, media outlets, politicians, etc., have all utilized surveys as data collectors that have become essential in the most important decision-making processes. Surveys can be attractive in many cases. Humans are, by nature, conditioned to have a desire to participate in activities where their input is required. In other words, people love to give their opinion. Under this notion, one can deduce that surveys are a great tool to generate traffic, and they are.

Surveys can be helpful in the process of earning valuable links as long as they can provide relevant information. Suppose you can efficiently execute a survey that gathers information others might be interested in, and you publish those results on your site. In that case, reputable outlets may find themselves motivated to host links to your site for their readers to access your information. Valuable information can be an effective tool for earning valuable links.

4. Create free tools within your site

Our fourth strategy to earn valuable links connects with the second suggestion of this article. As we mentioned, the quality of a site is one of the most important elements of acquiring valuable links. The quality is also determined by the friendliness and efficiency of the site itself. A user-friendly site is much more likely to receive traffic than a site with a complex and inefficient layout. Sites need to identify their audience's needs to provide solutions for them. The site becoming the solution makes the site necessary for the client. As they find the site practical and necessary, it is more likely that they will share it through a link with other audience members who present similar needs.

5. Data analysis

Regardless of the sector, data-driven information is extremely valuable. Hedge funds use data to make more innovative investments. Newspapers use it to create context and strengthen their stories. Construction companies use it to make their buildings safer. Because of the broad interest in any data in current times, data-based marketing campaigns and data analysis are becoming more popular. Under the principle of quality content, data analysis and distribution is a perfect fit. Millennials, for example, are obsessed with data and answer well to ads like "every time you smoke a cigarette, you lose up to 20 minutes of your life." Anti-tobacco organizations have based many of their advertising campaigns on data and statistics for the past ten years. It seems to be working; tobacco sales are at the lowest in decades.

6. Expert contributions

An expert's opinion on any given topic can be an effective way of generating traffic. However, they can also play an important role while trying to earn valuable links. Expert opinions hold valuable information. They tend to carry a certain prestige because of how knowledgeable these people are in their fields. A quality expert contribution can go a long way in earning valuable links. If the expert reveals groundbreaking information or provides a controversial analysis, reputable sites may soon find themselves drawn to your site to obtain and replicate the data. While replicating, some sites will directly give you credit and host a link to the expert's contribution to your site. In that case, you will have earned yourself a valuable link.

7. Interviews

Variety has been a recurrent topic of this post. The suggested strategies help marketers, bloggers, and site administrators earn valuable links. Interviews, like surveys and expert contributions, can be an effective way to direct traffic to your site. However, unlike expert contributions and surveys, interviews allow the marketer, journalist, or CEO more control over the content. In this case, the site owner decides what questions to ask. Although it can be impossible to know what the interviewee will say before they do, it is easier to set a rhythm when you are the one asking the questions. An interview has a lot of potential to earn a valuable link. If the interviewee reveals something they hadn't revealed before, or if they provide an interesting take on a controversial situation, reputable sites will see themselves, once again, drawn to your site and your information.

Create Unique Content

The best digital marketing strategy for SEO is to create unique content. Creating unique content is an excellent tool for link building. Although nobody else will create a blog post exactly like yours, creating links to your website makes it easier for people to find you. To rank well in search results, you need to incentivize people to follow you on other websites. One way to do this is by creating a list of qualified sites and incentivizing people to click through to your page. You might think there is no such thing as 100% unique content. If you have a niche, look at your data to find new angles to always keep up with the trends.

For example, if you notice specific questions popping up unanswered in your research, that's an excellent opportunity to create some content around that. Once you can identify needs within the data you have not seen before, create your content around that.

Google will reward you for your hard work. Google loves unique content. When you are the first to put something out there, you become the authority on that topic. As an authority, you become a valuable link in the niche. Then from there, other websites will want to link to your content.

Update Your Content

Content is still the most cost-effective way to earn links. Search engine optimization is much more complicated than whenpopular web search engines were first built. Optimizing content has never been more important. The more content you produce, the more valuable your site will be to potential clients. No one wants to link to something from 10 years ago. Most likely, depending on the niche that you are in, that information could be very much out of date.

Think about it in the digital marketing sector. What worked in SEO 10 years ago is not what would work today. So linking to an old SEO blog would not qualify as a good link. That's how other marketers and content creators are looking at your website. They will not want to link to you if they see that your content has not been updated in a long time. Even as technology changes and platforms come and go, content refresh cycles are ultra-interesting. You can't predict the future, but you can avoid looking old or saturated by updating your content regularly. Refreshing content will gain potential readers as well as link-building opportunities.

Outdated content can also cause you to lose quality links if your information is no longer deemed accurate.

Use Infographics

Every link-building campaign is different. First, look at the big picture; it comes down to a well-designed infographic. Most people don't realize the significance of unique concepts regarding link building. Think of infographics as an extension of your marketing strategy. In recent months, infographics have been popping up everywhere, from Facebook to Twitter. They're quickly becoming one of the most popular ways businesses promote their brands online. Think of them as mini PR pieces that give your brand a voice. They allow alternative search engines to understand what kind of content you produce and how you produce it.

A good infographic helps you get more traffic to your site. It gets people thinking about your brand and gives them a reason to view your content.

Making an infographic isn't as easy as it sounds. First, you have to decide what you want your infographic to do. Are you going to promote it on its own? Or will you use it as part of a more extensive promotion? Some sites make it easy for you to upload your image and connect with other companies. Others let you choose the specific network that will host your infographic. Infographics are an excellent way to organize and highlight information. They make the text easier to skim and easier to understand. They can help draw visitors in and help you gain new subscribers or leads when used effectively. With such concise information, infographics are easily shareable on social media.

The quality of content has been a recurrent topic throughout these seven tips to earn a valuable link. There are many strategies and tricks to build and gain a valuable link. However, it all comes down to the quality of the content. A page with quality content, whether it be surveys, interviews, or expert contributions, will inevitably draw traffic and attention.

Want to learn how to build your personal brand to earn valuable links? Talk to one of our growth specialists at gardenpatch today!