A Complete Guide to the Best Backlinking Strategies for Beginners

Studies show that 94% of the world’s content gets zero external links. What about your content?

Is anyone linking to your website? If not, how to get your website seen by more people?

Backlinking is a core part of successful marketing and content creation. From blog posts to website pages, backlinks are an invaluable way to increase traffic and audience engagement.

If you’re a beginner to backlinking, this guide has all the information you need to get the best results. You’ll learn everything you need to know, from the basics of backlinking to advanced techniques to help you get ahead of the competition.

Read on for our complete guide to the best backlinking strategies for beginners.

What Are Backlinks?

Backlinks are hyperlinks that direct a user to another web page. Sometimes they’re called inbound or incoming links.

When you create content, backlinks are one way to connect your website or blog post with other relevant and high-quality websites. They help boost SEO by showing search engines that the content links to other pages. And that can increase its visibility in search results.

Backlinks help search engines understand how web pages relate and how important the linked pages are. They serve as an indicator of the quality and importance of a particular website.

Backlinks can be used to:

  • Increase a site’s search engine ranking
  • Build visibility for a specific website or piece of content
  • Provide referrals from other websites

As an example, let’s say you have written an article about how to train a puppy. You link this article on your blog with the title “How To Train A Puppy.”

Let’s say someone else has written an article about dog breeds and wants to link it to yours as evidence for their point. That is called a backlink – the other article refers to yours as an authoritative source.

The value of backlinks goes beyond mere web traffic. They also help establish credibility and trustworthiness for your websites on search engines like Google, Yahoo!, and Bing.

The higher the number and quality of backlinks pointing toward your website or page, the higher its ranking will be in search engine result pages (SERPs). This increased visibility translates into more people being exposed to your content which can drive further visits and even more links over time.

In this way, backlinks function like citations in academic texts. The more relevant and authoritative websites that link to another webpage, the higher that webpage will rank in organic search results. That makes it easier for users to find the content they want quickly.

Backlinks Must Be Relevant

Quality over quantity should always be your focus with link building. More links may seem like better rankings at first glance. But low-value links offer little value when gaining online visibility through search engine optimization (SEO).

Remember that relevance is critical. Make sure your links lead readers straight to where they need to go according to their needs.

Additionally, adding irrelevant links violates Google’s Webmaster Guidelines and may result in penalties. So always double-check where you’re linking out from before doing so!

Benefits of Backlinking

Backlinking has many benefits, from boosting SEO to increasing web traffic and engagement. Here are the key benefits of backlinks:

Increased Visibility in Search Engine Results

The more relevant and authoritative websites link to your content, the higher it ranks on search engines. This boosts visibility and increases the chances of users clicking on your content.

More Targeted Traffic

Link building helps attract more targeted traffic to your website or blog. People looking for the kind of information or services you offer will be more likely to find and click on links that take them right to it. They don’t want to have to scroll through a lot of pages.

Increased Credibility

Good backlinks help boost your credibility and authority. Search engines see them as votes of confidence in the quality of your website or blog content.

When you link to content from reputable sources, visitors will view you as a reliable source and be more likely to trust your website or blog.

Types of Backlinking Strategies

There are many backlink options that digital marketing agencies and business owners can use to boost their SEO ranking. Here are some of the most popular ones:

Contextual Backlinks

These are links that appear within text or content. They should be relevant to the topic and contain keywords related to the content on your page.

Don’t overuse keyword-rich anchor text links. This can appear spammy and may result in penalties from Google. Try to link out only when it adds real value for readers by providing more information or resources they can use.

Guest Posting

Guest posting is a great way to get backlinks from reputable websites in your industry. You can write a blog post for another website that links back to your site, giving you exposure and increasing the chance of traffic.

Aim for content that adds value to the website and encourages readers to explore further. Include a link to your website in each post, including a brief explanation of why it’s relevant and how it can help the reader.

Internal Linking

This is when you link from one page on your website to another within the same domain. It’s an excellent way to keep readers on your website longer and increase engagement.

When creating links, use relevant keywords and phrases related to the content on the page you’re linking. That will help search engine crawlers understand what the pages are about. The more relevant your keywords are, the better your organic search results.

Internal links should be descriptive and give readers an idea of where they will go when clicking on them. That helps keep users engaged with your website for more extended periods and helps boost SEO rankings.

Organic Links

Organic links are backlinks you get naturally, without any incentivized effort. These often come from content syndication and earned media coverage.

Research and test the backlinks you’re considering to ensure they have high-quality content and are relevant to your website.

Paid Links

Paid links are often purchased from third-party websites in exchange for money. This can be risky, as Google’s algorithms may detect and penalize you for using this tactic.

Choose the Right Backlink Options

Now that you know some backlinking strategies, it’s time to decide which option is right for your business. Remember, quality is always more important than quantity. Strive for high-quality backlinks relevant to your website or blog.

Consider Your Goals

Think about what you want to achieve with backlinking – do you want to boost traffic and visibility or increase authority? This will help determine which strategy is best for your business.

Understand Your Audience

Knowing who you want to target will help you select the most appropriate backlink options. If your audience is tech-savvy readers, contextual links will be more effective than a guest post on an unrelated website.

Research keywords and phrases that relate to your website or blog and those used by your target audience, and use them in anchor text for internal links. Consider engaging influencers and industry leaders in guest posts or contextual linking opportunities.

Research Relevant Sources

Take the time to research different websites and blogs within your niche to see if any of them would be suitable for backlinking. Aim to find high-quality, authoritative sources with a good reputation, as this will increase the chances of success.

Choosing backlinks is an important part of digital marketing and content creation. Research each option carefully before committing to any particular strategy, and ensure you understand the risks associated with each one.

Diversify Link Sources

Finally, it’s essential to diversify your link sources and strive for a mix of organic and paid backlinks.

Don’t rely on just one type of backlink. Look for natural opportunities to add authoritative links from reputable websites in many areas of your content. This will help boost your website or blog’s SEO ranking and online visibility.

This will help spread the risk associated with any strategy or website. And it will help increase engagement and drive more traffic to your site.

Create Quality Content for Good Backlinks

Quality content helps you rank higher in search engine results. It attracts more readers, leading to better engagement and conversions. Here are some tips for creating content that drives backlinks:

Know Your Audience

Before you start writing, research the audience you’re trying to reach with your content. Who will be reading it? What topics interest them? Knowing this info can help create concise yet valuable content that resonates with the right people. It encourages them to share your post through backlinking.

Research Relevant Keywords

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) plays a massive role in driving organic traffic from search engines such as Google or Bing. It would be best if you researched relevant keywords related to the topic of your post before writing it. This will help ensure potential readers searching for topics related to yours notice your posts!

Create Quality Headlines

Once you have researched relevant keywords, think of an eye-catching headline that accurately conveys what the rest of your article is about—without giving too much away!

Headlines should grab attention and get someone interested enough to link back or share with their network once they finish reading!

Make Sure Everything Is Accurate And Up-to-Date

No one wants outdated information, especially when dealing with SEO. Search engines can change within a few months, so be sure all information in the article remains accurate and up-to-date.

If needed, set reminders for yourself every few weeks or months. Just check on specific facts included in earlier articles.

Add Internal Links & External Links In Your Copy

Linking internal pages allows readers access to more resources with good information. External links showcase growth potential by showing connections outside sources relative to the field/topic. Both tactics improve the trustworthiness of the website and ultimately benefit readers.

Add Visual Content Whenever Possible

Adding visually appealing content (like images, videos, and GIFs) not only brings more interest to your post. But it also gives readers something to engage with (and potentially share!).

Mimick Successful Content

You can also use successful content from other websites as inspiration for backlinking. Analyze the top-performing posts and look for similar keywords, topics, or layouts that resonate with readers. Once you have identified patterns in successful posts, use them to create your own unique content!

Monitor Backlinks

Website owners must check their backlinks to remain up-to-date, accurate, and relevant.

It’s important because you want to show search engines that people find value in what you offer. It encourages trust among users who view these links as endorsements of the information on the destination pages.

Backlink monitoring can help identify negative SEO practices like link spamming, negative reviews, or bad press coverage. Any of those could damage your online reputation.

They can also alert you when a competitor has achieved higher rankings than yours by stealing some of your authority through manipulative tactics (such as redirecting a broken link from another site onto theirs).

Avoid Unethical Backlinking Practices

Search engines like Google and Bing have sophisticated algorithms. They detect suspicious link patterns and penalize websites using unethical SEO tactics.

Search engines see these links as valuable when a website has a few backlinks from relevant sources (including those purchased for a fee). They check content for links that don’t represent organic endorsements from real sites with authority. Buying backlinks often hurts more than it helps.

Google’s algorithm looks at the quality of the incoming links pointing at your site. Links from spammy web directories that aren’t related to your industry can damage your SEO efforts.

Google will begin to think something fishy is going on and start blocking your domain in its search results. Searches made on Google won’t return any pages leading users straight to your site when they should be included in relevant searches. That can take away any traffic you hope to gain through link-building efforts.

Get Those Links to Improve PageRank

Backlinking is a powerful tool for digital marketing and content creation. Great strategies can lead to more website visitors, higher SEO rankings, and greater online visibility.

With SEOJet, you’ll have easy-to-use tools to help you choose the best backlinking strategies for your website, create high-quality content tailored for each link, and check all your backlink activity in one convenient place. With our help, you can optimize your backlinking strategy and maximize the benefits of a successful SEO campaign.

Get started for free with SEOJet’s backlink tools and take your website’s digital marketing success to the next level!