11 Winning Link Building Tips to Know
Link building is an outstanding practice for growing your audience and supercharging your SEO.
However, getting tons of backlinks isn’t easy.
It requires effort and wit.
In this post, we’ll be talking about fantastic link-building methods you can use to help your site or blog reach the first page of the search results.
Let’s kick things off.
Create Original Infographics
Creating infographics is one of the simplest yet most effective methods of earning backlinks.
As you know, infographics excel at presenting data and numbers in visuals.
Since great writers think about improving the UX of their posts, adding infographics that prove their claims makes it easier for their readers to understand what they’re trying to say.
If they don’t have the time or resources to build their infographics, they’ll look for infographics from other sites to post.
That earns those sites valuable backlinks.
Best yet, that could be your infographic they’re linking to with their post.
If your infographic appears in the search results and offers relevant information, you’re sitting on a link-building gold mine.
With the right infographics, you could earn dozens of backlinks.
Why do you think heavyweight blogs like HubSpot are doing it? Sure, infographics increase the UX of their posts, but other sites repost them like crazy.
Many content marketers are on to this.
According to a report by the Content Marketing Institute, 67% of B2B marketers are now creating infographics. You should do it too.
Original infographics are a combination of brilliant design and insightful data.
You don’t have to be a professional designer to create them—use an infographic-generation tool and create something linkable.
In case you’re on a budget, Canva has a free option in addition to their monthly subscription.
The other thing you have to think about is what data you will use for your infographics. It doesn’t have to come from your research, but make sure to credit the source.
You can get the data points from industry reports and research papers.
Since we’ve touched upon the subject of data, let’s talk about the value of in-house data and its role in getting backlinks.
Publish Data That Comes From You
There’s hardly any better link-building material than original data.
Blogs and content writers understand the importance of data when covering a topic. Not only does it provide insights, but it also supports their claims.
If their post or content is claiming something, when you have the data to back their claims, they’re going to find it and link it right back to your websites.
You can bet that will earn your site an excellent backlink and help bolster your ranking.
That’s the same strategy Brian Dean from Backlinko is doing.
Think about it.
If you wrote a piece on a topic and specific data helped you, wouldn’t you link to it? Then you’d help that website secure its authority on the subject.
Publishing data would work the same way for you.
If you’re wondering whether content writers will find your published data, you needn’t worry.
It’s often the case that the top-performing company blogs have researchers tasked with fishing out data for blog briefs, so if what you publish is insightful and industry-related, somebody will pick up on it.
And when they do, your site will get a backlink.
Lucky for you, there’re many ways you can go about it, and you don’t have to bust the bank to publish data. You can try these tips for size.
Publish White Papers
Such content gives you a chance to present a view on an issue that is unique to you.
A white paper will help readers understand issues and show them your specific solution to a problem. What’s great about these is that they’re natural link-building material.
Do Case Studies
With case studies, you publish your company’s data to prove a point. If your data illustrates an issue, other writers covering the same topic will use it to back their own claims.
For example, let’s say you published a case study about implementing a content marketing strategy on a client.
Imagine being able to say something like: after our client invested $5000 in a content marketing strategy, they saw a $40000 return in sales—and then back it with data.
That’s a number a writer talking about content marketing ROI would link to.
Publishing unique data is about having quality, linkable numbers ready for other writers to share and link. Why else do you think top-performing business blogs do it?
Let’s keep talking about links.
Fish for Broken Links
Broken links are a drag; they increase the bounce rates of sites linking to them, and they frustrate their visitors.
Since nobody likes them, you have a first-class opportunity to fix them to your benefit.
You might be scratching your head right now, thinking, why should I fix somebody else’s problem?
The answer is: to get a backlink.
Like we said, blog posts need backlinks to be credible and prove their claims.
Otherwise, their posts are opinion pieces instead of insightful takes on a topic. They offer less value to their visitors. Often, the data they link back leads to a broken link.
This is where you come in.
If they linked to a specific data piece and the link is broken, you know exactly what data you need to collect and publish on your website.
When your data is supportive of their claim, they’ll be happy to remove the broken link from their site and backlink it to you. You’d earn a backlink in a heartbeat.
Now that you get the gist of it, we’re going to show you how to do it right.
First off, find blogs in your niche that are well-established and have loads of readers.
Remember, not every backlink is worth the same; the more established the linking site is, the more valuable their link is to your SEO.
After you’ve made a list of blogs and competitors you’d want a backlink from, hop onto your backlink-checking tool, like SERPtimizer.
Type the name of a top-performing blog you’ve targeted for your backlink and explore the site. Analytics tell you whether the site has broken backlinks.
Under broken links, you can check what broken links established pages are linking to.
From there, it’s pretty straightforward.
You check the posts and see how your data could replace the broken links. After you’ve assembled the data, reach out to editors and offer your content.
This is why fishing for broken links is a part of a fantastic link prospecting strategy.
It’s time we talk about content types that exceed fetching backlinks for your site.
Use the Skyscraper Method
Evergreen content performs fantastically.
Skyscraping is a natural extension of writing content that’s evergreen.
The skyscraper method is a sustainable, evergreen approach to creating content and building links.
Content marketers use this method to create five times better content on the same topic that’s already covered somewhere else. So when readers Google for evergreen content, they stumble upon your take on the topic.
Since it aims to be better than what’s available, interested readers will flock to your content.
They’ll backlink to your post instead of an existing, but poorly written article.
Now we’re going to tell you how to do it yourself.
First, find an evergreen topic you want to cover; it has to be relevant to your audience but has achieved evergreen content status.
Let’s say you’re a digital marketing agency trying to find SEO clients.
You can use the skyscraping method to serve up some fantastic content for them:
You’d pick the top-ranking content page.
Now, analyze the page to see what you can do better than them.
You can tell that the page has no SEO images, statistics, and only two backlinks in this case.
If you were to cover this topic, you’d be wise to write a more insightful post so that users who search this topic would stick to your page instead of the one you used as inspiration.
That’s how you use the skyscraper method to earn links.
After providing them with value and educating them on the topic, you have more chances to secure backlinks than the other posts.
Write Comprehensive, Round-up Posts
When posts gather several valuable insights, chances are other blogs will link to at least one of the things you’re talking about.
For example, suppose you’ve published a post that features the insights of 10 niche-related experts.
In that case, there will be multiple sites linking to it: the experts will link to this post to promote themselves, and niche websites that find it insightful will also connect to the post.
In this example, you can earn a dozen backlinks from this method.
The notion that there’s something insightful in a post is at the core of backlinking.
So when you serve a round-up post with a wealth of insightful claims that prove a point, it becomes ideal for backlinking.
A site that’s using this method to the fullest is Databox.
Industry experts often link back when they’re being quoted. When other blogs find these tips insightful, they’ll link back to Databox as well.
Sounds good, right?
You can pull it off as well.
The trick of writing great round-up content is to know what topics you will cover and whom you will include in your round-up.
Covering the right topics is all about doing your research.
By doing research, we mean understanding what topics are relevant to your industry so that offering insights from rounded-up experts will bring value to the discussion.
If you’re writing about SEO, it makes sense to research an SEO-specific topic that could use a round-up treatment from your blog.
Second, research industry leaders and professionals who are happy to share their opinion on the topic, so you can quote them in your post.
Then, reach out to them using LinkedIn or simply by sending them an email and use their insights in your posts.
Now that you know how to write comprehensive round-up posts, let’s talk about the reverse.
Get a Website to Quote You
Quoting works the other way around too.
Content writers are actively looking for experts to quote and requesting info to help them cover a topic. This is where you come in.
If you’re a subject-matter expert, there’re websites in your industry that could use your knowledge.
Helping them cover a topic by giving your insights as a quote is a sure way of getting a backlink from them.
This method works great in practice. Here’s an example:
It’s easy to understand that the quoted experts from the Databox example above also got backlinks to their websites; they profited as well.
Backlinking from quotes is a double win.
Now comes the part when you wonder how you’re going to get a website to quote you or ask for your data.
Knowledge and reputation play a significant role here.
After all, everybody wants a word with the established expert.
If you’re not an industry leader but still have useful information to share, be open and straightforward about it.
Think about ways of letting researchers know you’ve got insights and you’re happy to share them.
You can:
- Make a page on your website that shows you’re open to sharing information and data with blogs.
- Be quick to respond to emails from other content writers and reporters.
- Actively seek out reporters who are asking industry-related questions on Facebook groups and LinkedIn.
For example, if you’re an SEO professional, joining SEO Facebook groups and answering questions is a great way to kick things off.
This brings us to the next point.
Use Ego as a Bait
You’ve heard us.
It might sound cheeky, but it turns out people are happy to link to you as long as you mention them in a positive light.
While ego-baiting isn’t a 100% effective link-building strategy, it offers a fresh approach to content writing and securing backlinks.
Here’s why.
Usually, when you write content, you aim to be reader-centered, so it can appeal to your relevant audience and get backlinks from niche blogs and sites.
On the other hand, ego bait content is personalized around the person you’re baiting.
That means the article has to appeal to them and your audience.
The content is still audience-centered, but it’s also personalized for the influencer or professional you’re ego-baiting.
If you get it right, that person of interest is inclined to share and backlink your article on their site and social media.
Pulling this method off correctly might earn you backlinks from more authoritative sites, provided they find your post to be insightful.
This method has its fair share of advantages and challenges, but you can do it.
Do fantastic research to create an insightful article about a professional, influencer, or industry household name.
If you’re running a B2B blog, don’t focus on autobiographical data points but business-relevant things. You have to study their work.
These would include stuff like methods, skills, innovations, and business achievements.
After you’ve published your post, make sure the person you’ve connected with gets a hold of your article.
You can do it by contacting them directly via LinkedIn or email or by tagging them on your social media (if you’re using social media platforms to share your content).
Don’t be shy to ask for a backlink if they like the post.
If this method works, it can earn you backlinks from high authority sites, so it’s definitely worth the try.
Have Websites Link Your Related Content
We’ve talked about how infographics and various PDFs are excellent link-building material.
We can say the same for other content pieces.
Whenever you create content that brings value to a topic, it can earn your website backlinks from other places.
Those can be:
- Instructional videos that other sites would share
- How-to screenshots
- Animations and graphics
Let’s say you’re explaining how to do something in the Ahrefs tool, and somebody wants to write a post about Ahrefs features without them being subscribed to the tool.
They can subscribe to Ahrefs for a handful of screenshots, or they can link your image.
Congrats, another backlink in your pocket.
If you want other websites to link your content, make sure it adds value to a topic. You can pick any content type that best suits your business and publish it.
Whenever writers pick up on it and integrate it into their work, they will provide you with a backlink.
It would be best if you weren’t shy to reach out to site owners and suggest using your content for a topic. If you feel your content can improve their blog UX, send them an email and ask them.
You only have to make sure it’s relevant and genuinely helpful, and not just there to promote your business.
It has to be a win-win, or you’re just begging for a favor.
Use the Resource Page to Build Backlinks
Resource pages are fantastic opportunities for building backlinks.
Thousands of creatives and content creators visit them daily to discover assets they can use to create their blogs and content channels.
When you have helpful content ready, creating a resource page on your website sends a signal flare to content marketers you’ve got resources they can use for free.
In return, you’ll land a backlink from every one of them.
Even your blog is a precious resource.
Remember, as you’re putting out blog posts, they contain abundant supporting content others can use.
In practice, it looks like this:
As you can tell, HubSpot’s marketers know that by making the resources page available, they’re inviting other content creators to use their resources and link to them.
And this works.
There’s even a 2016 study by Moz where they interviewed 453 SEO professionals and found that 56% of them listed resource pages as their link-building channel compared to 50% that named infographics.
Having a resource page helps secure backlinks, and that’s a fact.
By now, you understand the role of resource pages in securing backlinks. Here are the pros and cons of building a resource page so you can tell if it’s the right fit for your link-building:
We’ve got two more link-building methods for you, and they involve you guesting on platforms.
Write Guest Posts
Guest posting is one of those link-building methods that will never go out of style.
Why is that?
When you write guest posts on other sites, you can link back to your post yourself, so you’re sure it gets a backlink. This method is an evergreen SEO booster for blogs.
If you’re looking for sure ways of getting links, you don’t have to look any further.
Beware though!
Marketers sometimes overuse this method and link their posts just about anywhere; that’s something you should avoid.
Spamming readers with unrelated links is out of the question. Spam links ruin your Google reputation, so you’ll end up doing more damage to your site.
To write guest posts for backlinks, do several things:
- Find websites that are open for guest post submissions and are relevant to your niche.
- Follow the editor’s guidelines to the letter, so they don’t remove your post.
- Restrain yourself from linking more than one of your posts or content pieces.
- Make sure you only link a page that’s relevant to the topic you’re covering. Else, you’re spamming a link.
If you follow up on these rules, you’ll earn yourself another backlink for your site.
And now for the last method of building links.
You’ll never see it coming!
Appear as a Guest on Podcasts
Told you you’d be surprised!
Businesses all across the board have increasingly started using podcasts to promote themselves and industry-related topics.
Being a guest on a podcast episode is a fantastic way to get backlinks to your page because podcasters always include a link to your site on their episode page.
Plus, you can ask the podcast host to link to your blog on their personal site as well.
That way, you can end up getting two valuable backlinks from high-authority sites.
As a nice bonus, you get to tap into the audience similar to your own and win them over in a lively conversation.
Pretty good, right?
The trickiest part about using this method is finding podcasts to guest on.
For that, research your industry, see which podcasts are popular, and hit them up. Show them you’re knowledgeable and ask if you can contribute to a topic.
From there, it’s up to them.
Since industry podcasts are all over the place, it shouldn’t be too much of a challenge to find perfect ones for you.
Conclusion
Like we said, getting backlinks isn’t easy, but we can make it easier.
Any serious B2B website can try these methods in practice and see how their rankings improve.
With that in mind, we’re itching to see your content reach the first page of the search results.
Hope to see you there.
