Backlinks are still an important Google ranking factor, but the landscape is changing. Google is now very adept at weeding out poor low-quality links from strong authoritative links.
Getting more links than your competitors is still a successful SEO strategy, but only if the links are from many diverse and reputable domains.
In other words, the best link building strategy is to create irresistible content and then tirelessly promote it.
How do you promote your content? How do you find link building opportunities and get more inbound links?
That’s the subject of today’s guide as we share our favorite link building strategies that work like gangbusters.
Conduct Surveys
Here’s a little-used but highly effective link building strategy.
Start by conducting surveys and collecting statistics about a particular subject. You can do this to provide supporting data to one of your blog posts.
You can easily create surveys using SurveyMonkey or similar software you can find by performing a Google search.
Next, create a visually appealing graphic summarizing your data.
Finally, present your info-graphic to a big-name publication with strong authority in your niche. The goal here is to hit it big with a powerful link from a well-known site.
The idea is, it is better to have one authoritative and relative link from the Wall Street Journal than 100 links for no-name sites with poor content.
John Rampton was able to use this strategy to publish an article for Entrepreneur with an author link back to his website using this strategy.
Fix Broken Links
Here’s a strategy that works very well but the key is to only target relevant sites.
This strategy is quite simple. You find web pages that have broken links to content similar to your own. These links no longer work, most likely because the content they link to no longer exists.
You then reach out to the webmaster and inform of their broken link and tell them you have a similar resource they can link to instead.
This tactic is more successful than most link building strategies because you are helping a webmaster before asking them for a link.
You can find broken links in a couple of different ways. Many SEO professionals use the Broken Outgoing Links feature on Ahrefs. You enter keywords and the software returns broken links that use those keywords.
Another option is to install the Chrome Extension, Check My Links. As you browse popular sites in your niche, the extension can present you with any broken links found on the site.
What’s great about this strategy is these broken links often have hundreds or even thousands of backlinks to them, so you can quickly build up a number of highly relevant inbound links.
Create Expert Roundups
Roundup posts are an oldie but a goodie because they still work extremely well.
The premise is simple. You reach out to a large number of influencers and thought-leaders in your space and ask them all the same question.
You tell them you will include their short answers, typically just a few paragraphs, in a comprehensive post on a particular topic.
For example, you could ask 75 marketing authorities what is their number one tactic for attracting visitors to their website? In this example, you tell them you are creating an epic post called “75 Digital Marketing Experts Reveal Their Top Strategies for Attracting New Traffic.”
Here is an example of a well-executed roundup post about weight loss.
This strategy works on many levels.
Authorities want to be included in lists with other experts — authority by association.
These influencers give you substantive information to create amazing content that easily gets shared.
Many of these influencers will link to the article on their websites and their social platforms, both of which improve your SEO status with Google.
The Final Word: Opportunities for Link Building Strategies
Nothing creates more backlinks than quality content. If you write content that serves your readers above all else, the links will follow.
Complement your content strategy with these effective link building strategies for higher Google rankings and more traffic.
If you would like some help with your SEO link building, we would love to help with an audit and analysis of your site’s current SEO status and help uncover the opportunities for your business to improve online.
Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.