Link building is one of the SEO strategies that have stood the test of time.
Ever since 1998, Google used backlinks (getting hyperlinks from someone’s website back to your own) to assess website quality. So if your site has a lot of links from relevant sources, Google will deem it an authority site, boosting your ranking in the SERPs…
…giving you a major increase in traffic and pageviews!
But before we move ahead, you should know that there are two types of links.
- Internal links are links that are placed on a domain and point to the same domain.
- External links are links that are placed on a domain and point to a different domain.
There are many link building techniques, but below we’re going to focus on:
- Competitor Backlink Analysis
- Resource Pages
- Web Directories
We’ll also go through the best backlink checker tools so you know which tool is worth investing in.
Let’s go!
See What Works For Your Competitors
Your competitors spend large sums of money and time developing a backlinking strategy.
So instead of starting from scratch, you should spy on them and reverse engineer their backlinking approach. This way, they’re the ones working hard to get the links. All you need to do is follow them to get the same backlinks!
To begin:
1. Identify Competitors:
List 5 competitors that are ranking for a keyword you’d like to rank for.
2. Backlink Analysis:
Analyse their backlink profiles with Ahrefs’ Site Explorer by adding the link from your competitors. Click on the orange loop button.
Then, click on backlinks.
Here, you can view your competitor’s backlinks. You can also sort the backlinks by selecting the Link Type button.
3. Export and Reverse Engineer:
Finally, export the list and think about what your competitor did to receive that backlink. Is it the quality of their content? Do they offer something valuable and unique?
You might find it a bit difficult at first. But the more you do this, the more you’ll get a good feel for the process.
Get Listed On Resource Pages
Bloggers and influencers often have a resource page that includes:
- Tools
- Products
- Services
- Website
…they use to run their business.
Getting listed on resource pages is one of the easiest ways to get strong and powerful backlinks.
For example:
I found Loud Digital’s resource page and sent them an email requesting to get listed on their resource page. They included my SEO Guide 2 days later.
…And that is how simple it was to build a backlink from a site with a respectable DR of 37!
To get listed:
1. Undergo Google Footprint Search:
Use an advanced search like [Your niche] + “resources” to find more targeted and specific Google results.
Alternatively, you can also try Inurl:[your niche] + resources to narrow down your results.
2. Scrape the links
Right-click on a search result and click ‘scrape similar.’ Now you will have all the relevant links on the page.
Then click ‘export to Google Docs.’
3. Analyse a Resource Page:
To see whether the site will be a good fit, you’ll need to assess:
- Relevancy: Does your product fit well for their site and yours?
- Types of Links: What other links do they have on their resource page?
- Page Type: Is there a better fit?
- Special Offers: Can you give users a discount or free trial so you get features?
4. Pitching your site:
First, begin thanking the site owner for their resource page and how it’s helped you learn more about a topic. You can then offer something in return, like an evergreen detailed guide within the same niche that would be helpful to their audience.
Take Advantage of Web Directories
Web directory link building is the process of adding your website into an online database.
The directories should be:
- Active
- Relevant to your industry
- Well moderated
…so you can stay on-topic with Google!
If your site is new and recently indexed, getting links from a directory is a great way to start. It shouldn’t form the backbone of your backlinking strategy. However, it can help give your website that much needed link juice boost!
To start:
1. Identify a high-quality directory:
See if the site’s internal page is indexed to Google’s database. You can check this by doing a Google search for the directory’s homepage URL, to see whether the page comes up.
Low-quality directories don’t tend to show up and are not generally indexed by Google.
You can also run the site through Ahrefs to see how authoritative the domain is.
2. Create a Good Directory Submission:
Ideally, each submission is:
- Unique
- Descriptive
- Brand name or URL focused
For example, here’s how I would phrase my submission if I submitted my site to two different directories:
- Matthew Woodward provides SEO and Affiliate marketing advice to beginner and intermediate internet marketers.
- Matthew Woodward is a seven-figure blogger who provides actionable marketing and SEO advice for new and experienced bloggers who are keen to increase their traffic
Here, I’ve conveyed the same message. But I wrote it in different ways so I can avoid issues like over-optimization, duplicate content, and manipulative link building.
Tried and Tested Directories
Here are 10 directories with high domain authority and thousands of indexed pages:
- Google My Business
- Bing Places
- Four Square
- Global Weblinks
- Chamber of Commerce
- Family Friendly Sites
- In Crawler
- Links 2 Go
- Info Listings
- Octopedia
Best Backlink Checkers
A backlink checker can be extremely helpful when it comes to carrying out the backlinking strategies above.
1. Ahrefs: Ahrefs has the biggest and most usable database and starts at $99 per month.
2. SEMRush: SEMRush also has an intuitive dashboard. The subscription starts at $99.95/month.
3. SEO SpyGlass: SEO Spyglass had a major update recently, making it significantly more user-friendly. It’s customizable, rapid fast, and a more budget-friendly option. SEO Spyglass costs $124.75 for the first year and then you only pay $4.17/month afterward.
Rounding Up
In the eyes of a search engine, your content is:
- High quality
- Worth ranking
..if you have many high quality, spam-free backlinks.
The more quality backlinks, the better.
Backlinking doesn’t have to be difficult and challenging. But the process of gaining backlinks does take time. Remember to be consistent with your SEO efforts and persistent with your outreach.
Get started today!