October 7th, 2024 at 12:03 pm
How to build an effective, high-quality backlink portfolio
7 minutes reading
Building an effective and high-quality backlink portfolio is one of the most important aspects of your SEO efforts. As you already know, creating a strong SEO is the cornerstone behind increasing your organic traffic, CTR, and, most importantly, conversion rates.
Of course, your SEO score is much more complicated than simply having a good backlink portfolio. For a good SEO, you need an excellent hosting service that ensures stability, security, and lightning-fast speed. Moreover, you need helpful content, an excellent user interface, and a stunning yet intuitive design.
Still, while your SEO is definitely more complicated than building an effective and high-quality backlink portfolio, the latter is not to be underestimated. Backlinks are how Google finds out how important your website is. The more one link is shared, the more important it is for Google crawlers. That’s why you have to put internal links on your website.
However, while internal links are undoubtedly important to your success, they are relatively easy to achieve. The hard part is persuading others to share your website. So, today, we will discuss this aspect of your SEO efforts. Furthermore, we will explain several methods of ensuring others will share your website, boosting not only your SEO score but also your outreach, authority, and credibility.
What is Link Building
Link building is a two-front battle that requires you to stay focused on the specific task of promoting one or more pages and making them as authoritative as possible. For a page to be considered authoritative by search engines, it needs to meet some criteria. One of the most important things is to have enough internal and external links to lead to it. Internal links, as we already mentioned, are easy. All you need is a plan of action, and you can create a significant amount of content that links back to the specific page. For example, many brands promote their home page for a specific SEO term. Thus, they link their website’s home page in all their blog posts. To be most effective, you need to use the same anchor text.
What Is An Anchor Text
An anchor text is the text in the content to which the link is attached. For example, if we want to link our home page, we can simply write “The best cloud hosting provider.” In this example, the text “The best cloud hosting provider” is the anchor text.
However, choosing your anchor text is more complicated than simply selecting a few random superlatives. It has much to do with keyword research. To put it simply, you must use short-tail or long tail keywords as your anchor text so that search engine crawlers will get some context on what the page is all about.
Thus, the link-building process is somewhat more complicated, and it becomes even more so when we consider backlinks.
What is a backlink
Building your backlink portfolio is definitely challenging, as you have little to no influence over who, when, and how they will share your links. Essentially, backlinks are the links that external websites attach to their content, linking to your website. These links are pretty much invaluable for your SEO, as they are the ultimate proof for Google that your website is worth pushing forward in its results. In short, backlinks are like endorsements from other websites that you are a credible source of information.
For example, HostArmada has over 8 thousand external domains pointing to our website. This is a clear signal for any search engine that our business is legitimate and that we offer value above all. These 8.2 thousand websites have shared over 354 thousand links from our website.
As a result, we gained more than 144K visits from these external links. Moreover, these links increased our position in Google for various keywords, bringing us another 9.4 thousand visits.
So, as you can see, having a proper backlink portfolio is immensely beneficial to your overall performance but primarily to your traffic.
However, to be effective, your backlink portfolio should follow some simple rules when searching for backlinks.
How your Backlink portfolio should look like
Not all backlinks are equal. For example, if you are in the textile industry and an auto mechanic website talks about how your clothes are perfect for absorbing oil spills, that won’t bring you the much-needed traffic boost. Even if the website that links you is renowned in its industry, if it has nothing to do with your field of work, the link won’t do you much good.
So, first and foremost, a backlink should be relevant. It should come from an external website that has some connection to your business. The closer the link sharer is to your industry, the better for your SEO.
Secondly, the link sharer should be an authoritative website itself. The more renowned the external website, the better the result of your backlink. For example, if Coca-Cola backlinks to your food-coloring business, it would be a huge boost. On the other hand, if a small brand of soda nobody really heard talks about your product, it will be helpful, but clearly not as much.
So, in short, the more authoritative the link sharer is, the better the results will be.
Thirdly, you need to have a follow link. If you check out our portfolio, you will see that over 98% of our links are follow links.
True, it’s rare to have a nofollow link, as most websites don’t try to scam you out of your SEO bonus, but some actually do. For example, Forbs is notoriously famous for always placing nofollow links. Still, if Forbs features you, the nofollow link will be a minor hurdle compared to the immense benefits of getting mentioned in such a renowned source of information.
Regardless, ensure most of your backlinks are follow links so you can benefit from your shared content.
Are Paid Backlinks Worth It?
Paid backlinks are definitely not worth your money or time. As we’ve learned so far, a backlink is most effective when it is from an authoritative website within your niche. However, a backlink can also be harmful if it appears on a low-quality website that Google flags. So, as you can imagine, authoritative websites are not usually selling links. This defeats the authoritative part.
Paid links are most often from websites that gather all sorts of information, and they are not really niched in any industry. Naturally, this makes them entirely unauthoritative, defeating the purpose of you seeking a backlink with them. So, as you can imagine, paying for a website to get your link in their list is pointless when it won’t bring you any results.
On the contrary. You must strive to get only natural backlinks through various tactics. Today, we will share with you some of the most effective ways to build you an effective, high-quality portfolio without paying a cent.
Become a Source for Reporters and Bloggers
When it comes to authoritative backlinks, industry-related blogs and news channels are a great way to start. Using a news outlet is especially effective when you are targeting a smaller area or community. Search engines often consider them the most reliable source of information for local events. So naturally, getting on such a website is priceless for a small local business. Of course, we are talking about features in respectable news outlets, not gossip factories.
Industry-related bloggers can also provide an outstanding first source of backlinks.
Naturally, if you know someone in the media, your job is easy. But even if you’re on the outside, you still have a way to make it work. Luckily, most reporters and bloggers are actually actively seeking professionals for their advice and opinions. Websites like Help a B2B Writer and Featured.com are great places to start looking for bloggers and reporters looking for a professional point of view.
Finding these reporters is easy, but that doesn’t mean the backlink is secured. You need to put some effort into giving some value to the news outlet’s readers. Still, it’s the best and definitely the fastest way to get your backlink portfolio going.
Reclaiming Links
Another way to get started is to find people who already share your content or brand without linking to you. It’s surprising how many websites use a photo or your logo to illustrate a point. They can even give you as an example, yet not share your link. So, make sure you get a backlink for all your shared content.
The easiest way to find such content is either through Google for images or Copyscape for written content. The latter is a paid service, but it’s relatively cheap. So you can find out if someone cited you without giving you a backlink.
Then, it’s a simple matter of sending them an email and politely asking for the backlink.
Google can also help by simply writing your brand name in the search bar. It will show you where your name appears, and you can see if you are getting a backlink from all these places.
Replacing Broken Links
Going a step further, you can check authoritative websites in your industry and see if their links are all active. Some links go broken over time due to various reasons. Businesses change their names and websites, go out of business, or simply delete outdated content.
Once you find a broken link, see if you have relevant information on your blog that could be linked instead. If you don’t, you can always write something that fits their narrative. Then, it’s a simple matter of writing an email. The more personal the email, the better.
Also, make sure you mention that you read their content regularly and flatter their work. Then, give them the heads up that their link is broken and provide them with one that’s active and much more current.
99% of websites will jump on the opportunity to renew their content and repair a broken link with as little effort as possible, so as long as your content is good, they will comply with your request.
Write Guest Blog Posts
Writing a guest blog post is another way to build a respectable and influential backlink portfolio. Now, many new entrepreneurs are reluctant to write such blog posts due to seemingly not receiving any compensation for their work. Mind you, your blog post should be of high quality. You can’t just ask Chat GPT to write something and pass it out as your own work. No, you need to invest the time to write high-quality content and share your experience, thoughts, and unique views on the industry. In other words, you need to bring value with your post, so others will be willing to publish it.
However, as we’ve learned thus far, building a high-quality backlink portfolio is more than worth your efforts and time. So, put your best foot forward when writing a guest blog post. Also, don’t be shy about contacting all authoritative websites with suggestions for guest blog posts. Many of them will happily accept your work, especially if you are only seeking a backlink. Some will ask for a blog post on your website in return. That’s a great opportunity to build up your outbound links as well. Those are also important for your website’s SEO.
Write Testimonials
Now, this is one of the more tricky ways to get a backlink. It’s essentially a mutually beneficial transaction: You offer a great testimonial to an authoritative brand that provides products within your niche, and you get a backlink from them.
For example, if you are in e-commerce and you are genuinely happy with your payment gateway service provider, you can offer them a testimonial with a backlink to your website. It will showcase how you’ve utilized their product, giving them great feedback from a real customer to place on their website. In return, you will get a backlink, giving you a great SEO boost from an authoritative brand. This will also boost your overall credibility with your customers. Whenever an authoritative website features your work also does wonders for public trust.
Create Why and What Blog Posts
When it comes to backlinks, you must understand that people will feature your content only if it’s valuable to them. The sad truth is that about 94% of all content gets absolutely no external links, according to Backlinko and BuzzSumo’s study on the matter. The good news is that they found a way to boost your chances of getting a backlink by simply writing the right form of content.
According to their study, “Why” and “What” posts get the most backlinks, closely followed by infographics and videos. Now, investing in a video or a good infographic is a bit too much for a new website with a small content budget. However, writing some why and what posts are definitely worth your time.
Of course, that doesn’t mean all your content should start with why and what. You need to retain a healthy mix of all sorts of blog posts, especially since you need to consider longtail keywords that often insist on how-to posts or list posts. More importantly, remember that your blog post is primarily for your audience, not someone who may or may not share your content.
So, keep a healthy mix of different content and occasionally share some why and what posts to try and get some backlinks. Of course, regardless of the type of content you are producing, you should always strive to create an “A” grade content. This is the only way to get featured on an authoritative external website.
Write High-Quality Content Worth Sharing
When all is said and done, one of the best ways to get a backlink and gain acclaim throughout the process is to write something worth sharing. High-quality content is mandatory for your website if you want good SEO results. However, if you want to make other websites interested in sharing your blog posts and ideas, you need to go a step further. You need to add value. The best way is to give statistical data, some insights into your niche, or even a revolutionary idea. This sounds easy on paper, but it’s surrounded by a whole lot of work.
Most brands are reluctant to show their numbers publically as they give them a competitive advantage. When you invest time and resources in creating statistical data that would give you an edge over the market, you don’t just share it for free on your blog. However, when you’ve taken full advantage of these statistics, you can share them in a case study. Case studies are often some of the highest-quality blog posts, as they push away the hypothetical and replace it with a real-life case. It’s a goldmine for writers who want to prove a point.
Furthermore, you can illustrate your findings with a nice and well-designed infographic, which will boost your shares immensely.
In short, while your blog post should predominantly target your customers and audience, it’s a good idea to put some industry insights so other brands within your industry will take advantage of your findings and give you a backlink in the process.
Ensure Your Website Can Handle It
Before you start building your backlink portfolio, however, ensure your website can handle it. Having 10 million backlinks leading to your website is only worthwhile if your website can host the influx of traffic. That’s why you need a robust, fast, and reliable hosting provider behind your back. Luckily, HostArmada is right here, one click away. We offer lightning-fast website loading speed, state-of-the-art security features, and a 99.9% uptime guarantee. Our cloud hosting technology allows for massive influxes of traffic without your speed or connection being affected.
So, before you start building a backlink portfolio that will bring thousands, if not millions, of new visitors, check out our plans and choose the one that will suit your needs. Remember that your backlink portfolio is only as effective as your hosting provider allows it to be. So, enjoy all the benefits with HostArmada.