rn link building starter guide //

In 2010, I began building links. It was a very simple process: increase your outreach and build links directly to pages you want to rank.

When focusing on link building from this perspective, it is easy to become too focused on bulk outreach and email automation.

Although these are valuable skills, the best methods of link building are based on marketing content.

Modern link building engages content creators with expert content, demonstrating experience and expertise.

This is content marketing, which is different from traditional link building.

You’ll eventually reach a road fork if you are new to link-building. The first is to build links using highly controlled methods. Second, you can become a content marketer.

It is difficult to start, but if you stay focused on your goal, you will gain more knowledge in Content Marketing.

You have to be able to understand what your audience wants to read.

This guide is for those who choose the second path.

Continue reading to learn how you can build links on highly trusted and reputable websites.

What is the current state of link building?

Link building is an SEO practice to increase the number of <a href="https://searchengineland.com/forget-link-building-think-link-earning-416059#:~:text=The%20idea%20of%20inferred%20links,Upside%20Down%E2%80%9D%20from%20Stranger%20Things. Inferred hyperlinks are links that can be found on a website.

Initially focused on building lists and outreach for websites, the focus has expanded to include strategy and content marketing.

Modern link builders not only use the traditional methods of building lists and fixing broken hyperlinks, but also analyze and create content.

Link building has evolved. Link building has changed. Now, the focus is on creating and sharing quality content.

Link building: 6 different types

Link building tactics and strategies will be grouped into these categories.

To execute and supervise a campaign, these groups require vastly different skills in content marketing and link building.

1. Earned Links

When content creators link to your content without asking you, they do so because they find it valuable.

Create content that your audience wants to see.

They are more likely to link, share and discuss the content if it is designed to be shareable.

The following are some typical methods of distributing content in order to earn links.

• Remarketing social ads
• Social Ads
• Shares on social media are organic.
• Google Ads

Earning a hyperlink is different from link building outreach because it does not involve a request for a place a URL or to share content.

2. Outreach-based links

Link building outreach can be a proactive approach. Contacting content creators and websites via email, social media or phone is the first step.

Outreach utilizes tactics from influencer and digital public relations to secure your links.

One or more of the following campaign types could be used in an outreach campaign:

• Linkable Content: Strategically create content that content creators need or want to share or link to.
• Expert Sources: Being seen as an authority in a particular field can lead to links from industry publications, blogs and news sites.
• Add value: By sharing content and exchanging links, you can help creators reach a larger audience. This will also expand their community. Use creative add-ons and convince them to link to you.
• Building relationships: Contacts who already know you are more likely to respond.

Dig deeper: Manual link building vs. digital PR: Adapting for the modern search landscape

3. Discover links

Content creators are constantly searching for data, quotes or useful resources that will enhance the value of their content to readers.

The creator links and saves content during the research phase.

This method of link building doesn’t require outreach. This method focuses on producing content that ranks in research communities or for research keywords.

One popular way to target “statistical” keywords is by using phrases like “SEO Statistics 2023.”

These types of search queries are used by content creators to find facts and data that they can use in their content.

When the content is ranked for the keywords, content creators can find it easily when searching.

4. Passive PR

Answering requests for experts or sources will give you these links. Journalists and content producers typically use special tools or community to accomplish this.

This type of link-building is an easy way for beginners to find high quality links without cold pitching.

You must be an expert to use this method. You will need this to provide answers or quotes.

• TipRead “Mastery” (by Robert Green) to master link-building – or any other subject.

5. Submitted links

Submit your site to directories or other sites where you don’t need a community manager to do any editing or vetting.

These links can help Google understand the topic of your site and provide more context. They may also increase traffic.

6. Paying links

This is a simple exchange of money for a link to be placed on a site.

You can certainly get many links in this manner. Many of these links, however, are not helpful to the site.

Although it is easy to create a link, the analysis of its impact on beginners takes too much time. By focusing only on the paid skills, you’ll be hurting your career growth.

Google also has a spam policy that they can use to identify and devalue links.

A link builder may use sponsored links in order to strategically share content within a community. It is another way of earning links by sharing shareable content.

Google recommends the use of re=”sponsored”.

• Tip : Beginners should only use techniques for link building that are compatible with content creators. Use subject matter expertise to improve the content.

Avoid these 3 mistakes as a new link builder

I made some early mistakes, which are typical for new link builders.

These mistakes cost me a lot in time and money, lowered my campaign’s performance, and hampered my professional development.

Avoid these mistakes at all costs!

Do not focus on only paid links

Paying for links is easy, but addictive.

Focus on other techniques for link building that have a greater impact at scale.

Mistake: Not selecting niches

Focusing on the wrong niche and building links anywhere that can take you to your site. It is much easier to build a solid reputation within a specific niche than across broad categories.

Backlinks are not the only thing you should be concerned about.

Focus on developing relationships with creators of content for an idea or concept that is meaningful.

Some people set a goal of a certain number links per week or month. This can be a distraction from building a relationship with creators who are important.

You will learn how to create and analyze content to help your audience.

What is a ‘quality backlink’?

This is a hotly debated topic in SEO. Google’s definition of a high-quality link is different from that of many SEOs.

Quality is more straightforward than that. Here’s a quick overview:

• Google determines quality by evaluating the reputation of the source content, the company behind it or the people who created it.
• Some people use SEO metrics such as Domain Rating (DR), from Ahrefs, to triangulate a high-quality site.
• Manually reviewing the content in order to determine if the author understands the topic.
• BuzzSumo has social metrics or metrics for PR and influencer marketing, such as Brand authority from Moz.

Google gives some insights into the way they evaluate sites and their content.

The search quality rating guidelines explain how to assess a website’s quality.

The guidelines for evaluating the overall page quality include:

• The main content should be of high quality.
• Reputation and reputation of the website as well as content creators.
• Experience, expertise and authority ( E.E.A.T).

The company gives the quality raters a scale ranging from lowest to highest.

The guidelines include a “needs-met rating scale” which reviewers can use to “focus their attention on the user’s needs and consider how useful and satisfying the end result is for users”.

Ben Gomes is the former Google Vice President of Search Engineering.

The rater guidelines are a guideline for the search algorithm. They do not tell you the exact ranking of results but show the algorithm’s fundamental actions.

These guidelines can be used to determine a website’s reputation.

Many digital marketers and SEOs rely on popular metrics provided by the main link tools Ahrefs Moz Majestic Semrush.

Ahrefs link building guide says this about link quality.

Nobody knows how Google determines the value of a link. There are some general concepts that the SEO community holds true for evaluating links:

• Authority
• Relevance
• Anchor Text
• Nofollow vs. Follow
• Placement
• Destination.”

Third-party metrics have proven to be beneficial for reducing time spent on evaluating the quality of a website during list building, or auditing a competitor’s link.

Google’s review takes time. But using quality metrics to speed up site reviews will help list building and outreach.

Using PR and social metrics, you can find content creators who create engaging content.

By default, if you analyze the performance of a website’s content, it will provide a list with quality sites.

• Tip Instead of spending a lot of time building lists or evaluating sites, identify and highlight your company’s knowledge on websites that cover your subject. Find out what people are saying about the subject and start a discussion.

Link building strategy basics

The “link building strategy” is a navigational approach to the online marketplace for content creation in order to create links that will result from the marketing of content.

Link building is a strategy to increase a website’s reputation with search engines and users, leading to higher rankings.

In my article, ” Create a Link Building Strategy“, I describe three components of a strategy:

• Analysis:How do you identify the tactic?
• Guidance policy: General strategy or technique tailored to the campaign.
• Steps : Simple steps for executing the strategy.

Choose one of the methods below to begin. You can get links quickly and see how the content creators will react to your message.

Start with these link building techniques:

• Guest posting by experts: Use your expertise to write on other websites about relevant topics in your industry.
• Passive Public Relations: Respond to requests for information from journalists and content creators who are actively seeking expert sources.
• Resource Links: List you site, study or product/service in sites already listing it.

By creating a list, analyzing the sites and personalizing your outreach pitch using these techniques, you will be challenged to find solutions by demonstrating your expertise and experience.

In my article 10 ways of building links for any website I have advanced strategies for intermediate and advanced link builders.

A starter link building process

This process, while you may want to test others, will put a new link-building program on the right track for scaling up the content market.

Step 1: Strategy & Planning

Prior to diving in, develop a strategy for link building. Define your objectives, target audience, and strategies.

• Expert or linkable content?
• Can you create new content?
• How old is the company or site?
• Your experience and expertise can you fill in a void or add to a topic or conversation already underway?

Step 2: List Building

You’ll discover potential opportunities for link building using:

• Advanced Search Operators on Google. If you are in the health niche you can search “health + write us” for guest posting opportunities.
• Link databases such as Ahrefs and Majestics.

There are also sites that offer list-building tools and features. Pitchbox offers default campaigns which use Semrush APIs, Ahrefs APIs and Moz to build lists according to the type of campaign. Buzzstream is a low-cost alternative.

• Tip Use the advanced search operators feature of Pitchbox in order to create a larger list of sites.

Step 3: Backlink outreach

Contact the sites and create a strategy using the list of sites.

Determine the technique you will use based on the list of sites and group them by technique.

Choose an email template best suited to the technique. A guest posting strategy, for example, can be implemented using a standard template.

Customize the template according to the site you are planning.

Step 4: Measure and optimize

Evaluate your initial performance by counting the number of high-quality links from content creators who are influential.

Focus on the messaging when evaluating link building. Also, pay attention to how contacts respond or do not respond.

The analysis should answer the question “Why didn’t the creators want to share these topics?”

Refine your messaging by understanding the needs and wants of content creators within the niche.

The goal of backlinks is not to get as many links as possible

The emphasis today is not just on finding links. Sharing your expertise and experience is key.

In the link building industry, many are now focused on adding real value by using content marketing to build relationships and not just ranking tactics.

Quality over quantity is the mantra for both newcomers as well as veterans.

Avoid quick wins such as paid links. Focus on niche content, compelling content and relationships with the community.

Link building is now more about adding value to the relationship, and creating sustainable success.

The article Modern Link Building Starter Guide first appeared on Search Engine Land.