Link building for blogs: How to build valuable backlinks to your blog?
Bloggers who care about organic traffic would probably know a lot about link building. It is a measure of how many websites find your blog worthy enough to link to.
Back in the early days of Google, search rankings were primarily decided by the number of backlinks a website had. This created an inventive problem as bloggers and SEOs turned to automated link building schemes to get top rankings.
Google has evolved since then and diversified its ranking algorithm much more.
Backlinks don’t matter as much as they once did, but they are one of the more important ranking factors.
The challenge with link building now is that a lot of the old techniques don’t really work well. Google has become smart and doesn’t value some common link building techniques it once did.
Let’s assume you start a travel blog. Link building techniques like search engine submission and social bookmarking are not as valuable as they once were. How then will you build quality backlinks if the old methods are no longer viable?
This piece discusses how bloggers should approach link building and evaluate the quality of any given backlink.
Also read: How to make your WordPress blog a success?
Which form of link building still works?
According to Google, websites shouldn’t spend time on link building at all. In an article on ‘link schemes’, Google implores webmasters to not take any step to manipulate their site ranking. In the same article, Google advises readers to focus on creating quality content and winning backlinks organically.
The practical reality of the SEO world is different. Link building structures like article schemes and guest posting are widely-accepted norms that Google would otherwise frown upon.
How should you approach link building as a blogger? Firstly, don’t spend your time with schemes like search engine submission and web 2.0 profile link building. These techniques may serve enterprise SEO well, but don’t bring a lot of joy to a simple blog.
The only form of link building a blogger should focus on is guest posting. Even article link building is not ideal because it takes too much time and effort.
How to create backlinks with the help of guest posts?
Finding websites open to accepting guest posts and getting an article accepted can be a challenge. The following steps provide a guide to creating backlinks with the help of guest posts.
Step #1 -Research your niche
Every niche has a whole batch of websites that accept quality guest posts. Your job is to find such websites and write a guest post for them.
You can start by using simple search operators. Go to Google and search for the following -
- “Niche keyword” “Submit article”
- “Niche keyword” “Write for us”
- “Niche keyword” “Submit guest post”
You can vary the article submission CTA depending on the trend you notice. Searching for the above queries will specifically show you websites that accept guest posts within your niche. You can go over the submission guidelines for each and start preparing guest posts.
Step #2 — Study the backlink profile of your competitors
Let’s say you’re trying to rank for a keyword. Your content is currently ranking on the second page of the search results. The websites above you have more backlinks.
How do you proceed?
Find the referring domains of the websites ranking above you. This is standard practice in the world of link building and SEO. You can use free tools like Search Metrics to find referring domains.
Once you have the referring domains, contact them, and ask them for a guest post. It is naturally difficult to draft a separate email for every publisher. Create one basic template and send a bulk email to all recipients at once. Reply to the ones who revert back and continue following up.
The logic here is simple. If a website is giving a backlink to your competitor, it might be open to giving one to you as well. You can expand your backlink profile using this simple process.
Step #3 — Always study the website you’re requesting a guest post from
You shouldn’t write a guest post for a website just because it is allowing you to. Not all websites are worth getting a backlink from.
Let’s say have a food blog. You’ve been running it for years and have decent domain authority. While looking for a website to write a guest post for, you chance upon a new blog accepting guest posts.
Do you simply write a guest post and walk home happily with a backlink?
Your job is to check the quality of the website itself. Is the content spammy or relevant to your niche? Does it link to low-quality websites? How does its domain authority compare to your own blog?
These are essential questions that will help you evaluate the website you’re requesting a backlink from. Building bad quality links is naturally easier than relevant links. Finding quality websites that offer good link building opportunities requires patience.
Also read: How to start a successful WordPress blog?
Mobile apps: A lesser-known and unique way to build backlinks
Do you think Forbes or Wikipedia goes out of their way to create backlinks? No. They are a large enough brand with quality content to pull in backlinks organically.
The long-term solution to creating backlinks for your blog is building a brand. If your blog ends up becoming a brand, others will link to it automatically. You won’t have to write long-winding guest posts to build quality links. Your brand will be strong enough to even attract your own competitors.
How can bloggers create a brand out of their blog? Firstly, they need to start capturing the mobile audience. Preference for websites is waning and the idyllic experience native apps provide now is making things even more difficult.
The best way to capture the mobile market is to launch an app. Not many blogs have an app. This makes the prospect even more interesting. Bloggers can steal a march on their competitors by reaching the mobile market first with a native app.
Also read: How to make an app without coding with the AppMySite online app maker?
There is no need to spend mountains of investment on app development either. Tools like AppMySite enable bloggers to create a mobile app using a turn WordPress to Android app builder.
The best part? These tools even allow bloggers to sell products on mobile apps. Let’s say you decide to sell branding merchandise through your blog. You create a separate ‘Shop’ section and sell your own branded products with WooCommerce. Using an app builder, you can go from WooCommerce to a mobile app for Android and iOS devices
A mobile app will help set your blog apart and create a brand for your app. You will then be able to get backlinks based on your brand name alone.
Also read: How to shape the ideal mobile app strategy?
In conclusion
Backlinks are an essential indicator of a website’s popularity online. Google itself deems the backlinks a website has as a ‘vote of confidence’ metric.
This article provides an overview of the process of creating backlinks. Each of the tips mentioned here must be taken seriously by an average blogger trying to scale the SERPs. These tips are not exhaustive by any means. However, bloggers who put them into use have a good chance of succeeding.
