While search engine optimization (SEO) serves for the enhancement of brand recognition, online presence, and organic traffic, the link building strategy appears to be its core pillar. Companies applying link building tactics, techniques, and methods aim to raise their website positions on search engines and gain more visitors as a result. That is why it is important to use the latest backlink-building strategies to reinforce the overall effect of SEO activities .
Even though SEO has many components that ensure overall success, link building remains to be the core element. In fact, the on-page SEO , including the optimization of web pages and the improvement of website technical characteristics, is very important, the off-page tactics, where backlink building is one of them, remain crucial. That is why it makes much sense to craft a deliberate link building strategy and optimize it from time to time for achieving the optimal results.
What is an SEO link building strategy?
As search engine optimization is the part of the overall marketing activity in the company, it also requires a strategy to be compiled. Similar to the general marketing strategy, it should include all the steps, details, and actions related to the search engine optimization processes. Very often an SEO link building strategy is crafted separately as a part of the general SEO and marketing strategy as it has too many details to consider.
In particular, a typical SEO link building strategy outlines the methods to be used when gaining backlinks. It also comprises the information on the number of needed backlinks, their quality, and tools to be present in link building.
Before creating an SEO link building strategy, a general marketing plan should be completed beforehand. That is because the backlink building activities are tightly interconnected with the marketing goals the company is aimed to achieve.
Once an SEO link building strategy has been created, it should be also updated on a regular basis. The changes should be adopted based on the variations on the global market or modifications of search engine algorithms.
Effective link building tactics in 2022
The backlinks coming to the website always meant a lot for Google and other search engines. This principle remains the same in 2022 as well, however, there are changes in search engine algorithms regarding the methods of the backlink evaluation. Thus, the link building tactics should be chosen accordingly in order to match the current regulations.
As most of the search traffic is currently present in Google, the rules related to the backlinks analysis of this search engine needed to be analyzed. Understanding the basic principles in how search engines perceive backlinks would help to create a very effective SEO link building strategy.
Quantity of backlinks
Many people were previously convinced that the greater number of backlinks would bring a better result. There might be a pinch of truth in this statement but many other factors need to be considered.
One of the things to pay attention to is that gaining an enormous quantity of backlinks might be perceived as malicious activity. Search engines are very smart so it is pretty hard to cheat them this way. They are also using artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms for granting better control over backlink building. Such embedded AI-based systems can easily determine any suspicious activity in link building on the website and put it under detailed observation. In some cases, some punishment might be even applied if the backlinks are added in an unnatural way. That is why it is better to add a sufficient number of quality backlinks gradually to avoid any restrictions and drop in rankings on search engines.
Quality of backlinks
Apart from quantity, the quality of backlinks means a lot to search engines. That is why it is crucial to create useful links only for achieving the best results in your SEO strategy.
The quality of backlinks assumes that any links leading to your website should be from credible online platforms. Those should be real backlinks and not the fake ones generated automatically with the help of specially programmed SEO tools .
Origin of backlinks
When Google or any other search engine analyzes the recent backlink leading to your website, it also pays attention to its origin. That means that the backlink source is properly analyzed as well, considering its domain, specialization, sphere of operation, and other factors. That is why the backlinks should not be only quality ones but also gained from the online resources that somehow relate to your business activity. For instance, a backlink from the pasta factory website leading to the Italian restaurant will be of high value, while the backlink from the automotive website would not mean much.
Best practices for creating backlink building strategies
After having determined what aspects to pay attention to when gaining backlinks, it is the right time to start acquiring them. There are several standard techniques and methods that could be used for getting quality backlinks.
Analyzing competitors’ backlinks
There are many dedicated tools designed for analyzing the overall backlink profile of the website. Those could be used not only for your website but also for the competitors’ online resources. Using these tools will help you to discover which types of backlinks your competitors rely on and how effective are those for ranking positions on search engines. Based on the obtained data, you will also be able to decide which types of backlinks to target in your SEO link-building strategy.
Collaborating with media
As a rule, the websites of well-known websites and media sources have high domain authority. Gaining backlinks from such online platforms would be a real breakthrough as those allow for faster ranking improvement on Google. That is why you should try contacting media websites and collaborating with correspondents. This would not only help to gain backlinks from credible sources with high domain authority but also considerably enhance the awareness about your brand.
Getting paid backlinks
Mentioning this approach in the SEO link-building strategy might cause ambiguity, thus this aspect should be clarified over here. Getting paid backlinks is not about buying a huge amount of low-quality backlinks as it was considered before. It is more about contacting specialized agencies that could help you to get in touch with the webmasters of other online sources that would gladly help you by placing the backlink to your website for some remuneration.
Checking broken links
Finding broken links could be a tedious task because it requires much time and attention. Luckily, there is dedicated software for link building described at linksmanagement.com that helps to discover broken links in seconds. This provides good chances for contacting webmasters of those online resources and offering them to substitute broken links with those leading to your website.
Constructing a backlink pyramid
To achieve the best results, SEO specialists refer to the backlink pyramid as the method for a rapid rank boost for the website. Though constructing an SEO backlink pyramid takes much time and effort, the results would amaze everyone. Its core idea is to create several backlink layers where the next one supports the previous. For instance, gaining 2-3 quality backlinks from sources with high domain authority leading directly to the main website would be a priority, while other backlinks leading to those 2-3 sources should be created further, and so on.
Writing articles for other blogs
Another popular method that is widely used in SEO link building strategies is called guest posting or guest blogging. Contact the webmasters of other blogs and informational resources and offer to create an article for them. As a reward, you could insert the link back to your website.
Implementation of the link building strategy
Whether you have created an advanced link building strategy or crafted a simple SEO plan for gaining backlinks, it should come into practice as soon as possible. The ideas for link building tactics, methods, and techniques should be implemented to bring tangible results for website ranking.
For attaining the desired effect, the implementation of the link building strategy would also need the investment of resources and human power. This refers to your budget and the number of SEO specialists involved in the process.
After having started the implementation of the SEO link building strategy, regular evaluation and analysis should be performed. This would help to determine which practices for backlink building are more effective and which ones should be omitted. Based on the obtained results, feel free to amend your SEO link building strategy.