\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n \u201cAccess<\/strong><\/p>\n In this Quick Win, we will show you how you can attract high-quality backlinks that give your website the authority it needs to increase organic (free) traffic.<\/p>\n Access the How to get quality backlinks<\/a><\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n High-quality backlinks increase domain authority, ultimately increasing your Google page ranking. When pages have high-quality backlinks pointed at them, it builds trust with Google. Credible sites are rewarded by the search giant\u2019s algorithms, while those that don\u2019t have backlinks pointing toward them are punished.<\/p>\n A study by Moz found that\u00a0more than 99% of the top-ranking websites<\/a>\u00a0showing up in Google search results contained at least one external link. Almost all of these websites had one or more external links pointing at them.<\/p>\n Of course, not all links are created equal. To assess the quality of a site, you can use tools like Moz to view its domain authority. You\u2019ll also be able to see whether the external links leading to that site are spam and whether the site is spamming its own links out. Unfortunately, spam is more prevalent than ever. In 2018,\u00a0spam click rates rose to over 14%<\/a>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0partially because other attack vectors favored by cybercriminals have become less effective over time.<\/p>\n It all comes down to creating an effective link building strategy \u2014 especially if you want to gain the attention of modern consumers. It's a long game, though, so the time to start is now.<\/p>\n Link building is an ongoing process that takes foresight and careful planning. Especially since certain keywords require you to adopt a more aggressive approach. For instance, trying to rank for a keyword like \u201casset-based lending\u201d \u2014 a popular keyword in a highly competitive niche \u2014 will be harder than ranking for something like \u201ciguana feeder in West Palm Beach.\u201d<\/p>\n If you\u2019re trying to rank for highly competitive keywords, don\u2019t do it alone. Outsource the data entry to build large lists and automate outreach using tools like Yesware, Hunter.io, SpyFu, SEMrush, or Moz. Just be sure to avoid linking to websites that have high spam scores.<\/p>\n No matter your link building strategy, you\u2019ll want to take advantage of opportunities to publish content on other sites. If you are writing a guest-contributed article for an external blog, the company publishing the post will typically send you guidelines to conform with its content style and structure preferences. If you have content that you want someone else to link to, you might consider sending an email that\u2019s structured around that link. After all, backlinks to your site will only increase your page ranking.<\/p>\n Link building can optimize your digital marketing goals by helping you gain more quality links and get more organic traffic to your site. The following tips will help you develop and manage a successful link building strategy:<\/p>\n Type the beginning of a search term into Google, and the search engine will display a number of keywords and phrases that relate to it.\u00a0Understanding which keyword terms are most relevant to your audience will allow you to determine which of those to target.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll be hard-pressed to find websites related to your keywords if you\u2019re relying on standard search engine queries, though. Use search operators to make your queries more precise, leading to more useful results. These operators range from basic (\"link building strategies\") to advanced (intitle: \"link building strategies\").<\/p>\n Build a list of link building opportunities using a tool like ScrapeBox, checking the domain scores of the websites on your list using tools like Moz or Ahrefs. Eliminate websites with low domain authority and high spam scores. Low-quality links to and from these sites can lower your domain score and, in some cases, hurt your rankings.<\/p>\n Likewise, stay away from \u201cblack hat\u201d methods \u2014 like keyword stuffing, cloaking, or using private link networks \u2014 that might temporarily give you an SEO edge. Google will eventually catch on and penalize you, and you\u2019ll have to start over from scratch.<\/p>\n After searching the web for link building opportunities and compiling your list of sites, you should have each site\u2019s domain name, email, domain authority, and spam ranking. This information will often appear on a site\u2019s \u201cAbout\u201d or \u201cContact\u201d pages, or you can find it using Google or a tool like Hunter.io.<\/p>\n Create a spreadsheet with the domain name, contact info, domain authority, and spam score as the headings. Then, organize your list based on domain authority rankings using the sorting mechanism in Excel or a similar spreadsheet tool.<\/p>\n Once you have the contact info of the sites, use an email outreach tool to send messages in bulk. Send a template email with the URL of the blog post you\u2019d like them to link, and politely ask them for a link share. You can do this using a tool like Yesware, which is relatively inexpensive and works well with Gmail.<\/p>\n Find something on the target website that you can comment on in order to personalize your message. Why? Personalized emails will always have a higher response rate than random email blasts. Emails with the recipient's name in the subject line, for example, can\u00a0increase open rates by as much as 20%<\/a>.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll probably only hear back from a small number of the site owners you contact, but those responses usually will be positive. Some might ask you for money in exchange for a link, but you shouldn\u2019t pay for links if you have high-quality content.<\/p>\n Executing a link building strategy takes a fair amount of time, money, and energy. As an easier \u2014 and cheaper \u2014 alternative to hiring internally, you can hire a virtual assistant from a company like Upwork to expedite the process.<\/p>\n Virtual assistants can visit each link in your database and recruit other people to help with data entry or any other tasks.\u00a0Just make sure that you provide virtual assistants with a step-by-step process and templates, if possible. Don\u2019t expect them to know exactly what to do without a little bit of training and context.<\/p>\n To find out how many backlinks your competition has for each term, you\u2019ll need to do some competitor research for each of your keywords. This will allow you to find other websites that are pointing to relevant content and help you uncover new link opportunities. You\u2019ll want to at least come close to your competitors' numbers while also striving to improve your outreach and contact techniques.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re trying to ensure that your site stacks up to the competition, that number of backlinks provides a great benchmark. You\u2019ll also want to make sure your content quality is on par or better than that of your competitors, so you should constantly look for ways to improve your offerings.<\/p>\n Keep in mind that it may take a few weeks for search engines to index your site and update your page rankings \u2014 and remember that some keywords can take years to rank for. Strive to be the best in your niche, and view your link building strategy as a long-term endeavor. It will pay off. As long as you\u2019re always improving, your results will continually improve with you.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nThinking ahead to strategize<\/h3>\n
![\"Better-linking-through-science.IMAGE-2\"](\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Better-linking-through-science.IMAGE-2.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe key to link building<\/h3>\n
1. Find related keywords and sites.<\/h4>\n
![\"Better-linking-through-science.IMAGE-1\"](\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Better-linking-through-science.IMAGE-1.jpg\")
<\/em><\/p>\n2. Consider domain authority.<\/h4>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n3. Organize your list of relevant sites.<\/h4>\n
4. Reach out to site owners.<\/h4>\n
5. Outsource link building when necessary.<\/h4>\n
6. Remember the long game.<\/h4>\n