In this post, we’ll guide you through some strategies that you can use to get more backlinks and guest posts to your site.
According to an industry study by Backlinko, pages that make it to the top of Google results have an average of 3.8x more backlinks than those on the 2nd to 10th spots.
The same study revealed that the number of referring domains has a substantial impact on SEO performance. As expected, having a more varied set of referring domains equates to better results, with all else being equal.
This tells us that a robust linkbuilding strategy remains to be one of the most crucial parts of SEO success. But if you’re not well-versed in SEO and linkbuilding, taking on the task of getting backlinks can seem daunting.
Read: SEO for dummies
Building backlinks when you’re just starting out
Linkbuilding can be arduous for new websites because, well, no one really knows you exist (unless you make use of our SEO service, that is).
Sure, there are a bunch of tips and tricks on the internet telling you how you can score backlinks for your site. But if you’re new to the game of linkbuilding, the sheer number of tactics out there can make it even more difficult to zero in on a solid gameplan.
That said, we’ve compiled a list of proven strategies that you can focus on as you upgrade your linkbuilding blueprint.
Read: Best link building services
☑️ Invest in quality content
Before you can earn backlinks for your site, you need to begin creating content. At the end of the day, it’s impossible to get a backlink if your site has nothing of value to link to.
High-quality, value-adding, and engaging content is what it’s all about. Getting backlinks to a well-written article is already challenging in itself. Imagine how much harder it would be to convince websites to link to an underwhelming, substandard piece!
Aside from producing well-researched and authoritative content, it’s important to make sure that what you publish is easy-to-read and properly formatted.
There are a bunch of best practices that you should follow to tailor your articles to the needs and preferences of online audiences. Making use of bullet points and tables, as well as breaking up your article into easy-to-digest sections are two examples.
☑️ Stick to proven formats
Not all pieces of content are created equal. Aside from producing high-quality content, one way to help boost your linkbuilding strategy is to focus on the right content formats.
List posts, infographics, videos, and “why” and “how-to” posts have been found to generate the most backlinks. List posts specifically are the best-performing, with an average of 6.19 referring domain links per post. Brian Dean has also previously mentioned that long-form content outperforms the short-form content.
Now, I’m not telling you to just publish a bunch of listicles and ignore everything else. What I’m saying is that these content formats can serve as a great foundation for the rest of your linkbuilding strategy.
If you’re new to the backlinks game and you’re looking for best practices that could give you the most potential value right away, focusing on the content types mentioned above is a smart move.
Read: Best link building tools
☑️ Make use of ego bait content
Using the ego bait strategy is a great way to naturally earn backlinks from influencers and other emerging figures in your niche.
Creating content that includes input from other people results in a community-driven production that is more likely to be shared and featured by others, therefore resulting in more backlinks for your site.
When reaching out to the influencers you would like to include in the article, let them know that a leading figure in the industry is also participating. No one wants to miss out on the chance to be featured in the same article as a prominent influencer, so they’ll be more inclined to entertain your request.
And when the article is published, their participation in it makes them much more likely to aggressively promote the article to their audience.
Calling this tactic an ego bait somewhat gives it a shady air. But when done right, it’s actually a solid strategy that benefits everyone involved.
Read: Best backlink monitoring tools
☑️ Network, network, network
It’s hard to maximize great content if no one ends up wanting to publish your work. And one of the best ways to gain access to publishers is to have a referral from someone an editor or publisher trusts. Tools like Meerkat can help you find the right people to be contacting.
Of course, this one’s easier said than done. Building a strong network could take months, if not years of hard work. While we definitely think networking and relationship-building are always going to be a worthy investment, we also understand that it’s not a viable option for those who are urgently looking for guest posting opportunities.
And that’s where we come in.
Soar’s Managed Guest Post Service connects you to an established network of publishers to help you acquire powerful backlinks through guest posts. You’ll gain access to guest posting opportunities from websites with guaranteed organic traffic and domain authority, effectively taking the guesswork out of looking for websites to write for.
Read: Top link building benefits
☑️ Prioritize writing guest posts for new blogs
Let’s say you’ve already got a couple of guest posts published, and you’re simply looking to add more into the mix. As tempting as it is to reconnect with publishers you’ve already worked with and get them to publish new content, studies show that guest posting on the same domain again and again leads to diminishing returns.
Although it’s harder to convince a new site to publish your work, adding a new domain to your list of backlinks leads to greater returns. Consistently observing this practice will help boost your website’s stats faster, making it easier for you to gain more backlinks and guest post opportunities in the future.
And that’s the end of our list!
Remember, linkbuilding is a long game. If you plan to do it alone, you should expect to wait several months or years before you see outstanding results.
But if you want to quickly boost your website’s SEO performance (thereby accelerating your business’ growth in the process!), Soar’s SEO service is the way to go. ?