11 Ways That Really Work To Get Backlinks via @sejournal, @rio_seo

If your business isn’t building quality backlinks, you’re not increasing prominence. If you’re not increasing prominence, you’re missing one of the fundamental criteria to rank higher in the search engine results pages (SERPs).

As Google shares, prominence is based on “information that Google has about a business, from across the web, like links, articles, and directories.”

The bottom line is that every business needs quality, white hat backlinks.

White hat backlinks essentially serve as a vote of confidence from a website and tell Google your web page is a trusted resource. The more votes of confidence your web page has, the more prominent it will be seen to be.

White hat backlinks are acquired through ethical means rather than leveraging spam tactics. Yet, obtaining quality backlinks is easier said than done.

If you’re looking to build your white hat backlink strategy, you’re in the right place. This post will share 11 proven strategies that work to get backlinks and boost your SEO strategy.

Let’s dive in and discover the techniques to get quality backlinks for your website.

1. Mine For Broken Links

Broken links negatively impact a user’s experience with a site.

Consider when a user eagerly searching for information clicks a broken link to a site. This likely causes frustration and potentially a lost customer.

Google also continues to prioritize the overall user experience with recent updates.

Broken link building entails finding links to pages that no longer exist and politely reaching out to the website with the broken outbound link to notify them and suggest replacing it with a link to your relevant, high-quality content.

It’s important to understand the difference between dofollow and nofollow links.

Dofollow links are the most valuable for SEO, as they pass link juice from the referring site to your website. These links are seen as endorsements by search engines, indicating that your content is trustworthy and relevant.

Nofollow links have a rel=”nofollow” attribute, which tells search engines not to follow the link or pass any authority. While nofollow links don’t directly impact your SEO, they can still drive traffic to your site and increase your online visibility.

It’s essential to have a healthy mix of both types of backlinks to create a well-rounded backlink profile.

Utilize backlink analysis tools like Ahrefs, Moz, and Semrush to discover broken inbound links to your closest competitors or broken outbound links from prominent industry publications and blogs.

Start with the dofollow links from sites with strong domain authority.

Broken link building takes time and effort, but it can be an easy way to build your backlink profile for sites that prioritize their users’ experiences.

2. Leverage Existing Relationships

Tap into your existing network of partners, suppliers, or satisfied customers.

Reach out to them and propose collaborative projects, testimonials, or case studies that showcase your products or services, providing opportunities for mutual backlinking.

Since you already provide a valuable service to a business, they’ll be more inclined to link back to you, as you’ve already developed a business relationship with them.

Additionally, many businesses already have a partner page to showcase who they do business with.

If they’re not linking to your site already, this should be an easy ask and a quick way to get a credible white hat backlink to your site.

3. Monitor Brand Mentions And Unlinked References

Sometimes, your business may be mentioned, but you aren’t receiving proper credit.

For example, a customer may write a glowing testimonial on a successful blog, or they reference a finding published by your business, but they aren’t linking to your site.

Ask for credit where credit is due. In both instances, you’ve provided a noteworthy service. Ask customers who reference your brand or websites that mention you in any capacity on their sites to provide a backlink.

Also, look for content published on sites that may list your competitors as resources but should have mentioned your relevant brand.

Utilize tools like Google Alerts or Mention to monitor mentions of your brand or your competitors. You’ll receive an email notification whenever a website mentions a designated brand name.

When you come across unlinked references to your website or content, reach out to the site owners and kindly request them to add a backlink for proper attribution or a pertinent inclusion that would benefit their audience.

4. Publish Original Research

Creating high-quality, valuable content is essential for attracting backlinks from authoritative websites. You can become a trusted content-sharing source by leveraging your expertise and original research.

When considering why and when people share content, you must consider the psychology of content sharing.

A recent study found that 94% of respondents said they carefully consider how the information they share will be useful to the recipient.

In the same study, nearly half of the respondents reported sharing content because it allows them to inform others of products they care about and potentially change opinions or encourage actions.

Develop comprehensive guides, research studies, infographics, or industry reports that serve as go-to resources within your niche.

These authoritative assets naturally attract backlinks from websites seeking to provide valuable information to their audience.

Every time a consumer, blog, or business mentions your research, you’ll receive a white hat backlink. The more informative your content is, the more likely it will be shared.

5. Create Engaging Visual Content

Visual content such as infographics, charts, or slideshows attracts attention and shares on social media platforms.

Why is visual content a top priority for marketers? Because it is easily digestible and shareable.

Nearly 41% of marketers said original graphics (e.g., infographics, illustrations) help them reach their marketing goals. And more than 50% of marketers said visual content is very important in their marketing strategy.

Whether you’re creating an infographic or any other type of visual, it’s an easy way to increase the likelihood of your content being shared.

When possible, embed your website’s link within visually appealing content to increase the likelihood of earning backlinks as it gets shared across the web.

6. Publish Ultimate And Step-by-Step Guides

As the name suggests, ultimate guides are the “ultimate” resource on a designated topic.

The word ultimate suggests you have the best, most in-depth current knowledge on the subject, drawing consumers to want to learn more.

A step-by-step guide, in theory, provides an easy way to learn how to do something. Consumers favor ease and simplicity, which a step-by-step guide aims to accomplish.

Both these types of guides can help a business build its backlink profile. For example, if you’ve written an ultimate guide to digital marketing, a writer may reference one of your points in a blog post about affiliate marketing.

Crafting content that offers unique insights, solves problems, or entertains your audience is essential for attracting natural backlinks.

7. Offer Free Valuable Tools Or Resources

Are you a technology company?

Building a free tool or a light version of your solution is an effective way to build quality white hat backlinks, and it can also drive potential leads.

For example, Adobe offers free or “lighter” versions of several of its tools, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader and Adobe Photoshop Express. These allow users to preview the tool’s capabilities and may encourage them to convert to paid users in the future to maximize its software.

Develop free tools, calculators, or templates that provide practical value to your target audience.

Websites and blogs within your industry may naturally link to these resources as references, establishing your website as a go-to destination and earning valuable backlinks in the process.

8. Use Data Aggregators For Citations

A data aggregator, as the name suggests, compiles information from multiple sources, including phone and utility bills, business registration records on government websites, chamber of commerce membership rosters, and other citations for the sole purpose of providing it to search engines.

Local citations help publish your business’s information across the vast search ecosystem.

While the greater majority of searches take place on Google and other popular search engines, these directories also receive traffic – and are another way for consumers to discover your business.

To start, ensure your business is listed on Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business), Yelp, Facebook, and Apple Maps.

Then, branch out to other general or industry-specific directories. Every directory you’re listed on provides you with a backlink to help you build your backlink profile.

Business owners can provide this information directly to the data aggregators so that they can submit it to other sources on their behalf. In turn, this helps businesses appear in online citations.

Citations may not be as prominent of a search ranking factor as they were in the past; however, their benefits are not completely obsolete, as they can provide hundreds of relevant backlinks to local landing pages.

9. Leverage Public Relations

A public relations plan is a great way to build prominence and authority in your industry. It’s also a surefire way to help build your backlink profile.

Consider content syndication for your press releases and editorial content, which is the process of republishing or distributing content from your website to multiple other news platforms or industry-related websites.

Content syndication often involves partnering with reputable vendors specializing in distributing content across various platforms, websites, and publishers. These vendors have established relationships with news publications and can help amplify your content’s reach.

Each press release or article is an opportunity to add at least one backlink to your content when publishers allow it.

It also establishes your brand as an expert in your industry. The more often you have useful and relevant information to share in your industry, the more you’ll establish yourself as a voice of authority.

Public relations extends to social media, too, where you can share links to content. If users find your content beneficial, they may reshare it, helping you build additional backlinks.

10. Create A Roundup Or “Ask The Experts” Blog Post

Organize expert roundups or interviews featuring prominent figures within your industry.

Ask potential contributors for a short contribution – maybe two to three sentences – to encourage participation.

The less burdensome the ask, the more likely they will want to participate. Asking others for insights around a certain topic can help strengthen your content and add valuable information you may not otherwise have had.

Creating a roundup or an ask-the-experts-style post increases your chances for shareability, too.

When these experts contribute their insights or opinions, they are more than likely to share the content piece with their networks, which will cause the content to reach a wider audience, generating valuable backlinks and exposure for your website.

11. Build Relationships With Influencers And Thought Leaders

Engage with influencers and thought leaders within your industry through social media, forums, or industry events.

Remember to choose influencers whose audience aligns with your target audience. Once you find the right blog niche or influencer to support your brand, send them your product or provide the service free of charge in exchange for a review.

Collaborating with influencers not only helps to generate backlinks but also exposes your brand to a wider audience. When an influencer promotes your content or mentions your brand, their followers are more likely to trust and engage with your website.

Or, if you have a larger budget, you can also pay macro-level influencers to give their honest feedback. Then, have the blog or influencer link back to your product or service.

Additionally, you may provide a blog or influencer with an affiliate link. Whenever a potential customer clicks their affiliate link, they’ll receive a commission.

The commission may come from simply clicking the affiliate link or if the consumer makes a purchase. This link-building endeavor requires more effort on your behalf; however, it also sends higher-quality traffic, which leads to higher conversion rates.

Concluding Thoughts

Cracking Google’s evolving search engine algorithm can be time-consuming and full of trials, tribulations, and errors.

Focusing on backlinks plays a significant role in improving the prominence and relevance of your website in the eyes of search engines.

Acquiring quality backlinks without resorting to paid placement methods is a long-term investment that requires dedication, creativity, and a commitment to providing value to your audience and industry.

By implementing the 12 actionable tactics outlined in this guide, marketing professionals can enhance their website’s authority, brand visibility, and organic search rankings, driving sustainable growth and success in the competitive digital landscape.

More resources: 

Featured Image: one photo/Shutterstock

Experts Vs. Influencers: Digital PR Alternatives To Link Building via @sejournal, @_kevinrowe

Key opinion leaders (KOLs) have emerged as influential figures, bridging the gap between experts and influencers to build a site’s reputation.

In this article, I will dive into the nuances of KOLs in digital PR for SEO, underscoring their importance in building a real-world reputation that can influence ranking factors, particularly in specialized fields.

I will use my expert evaluation model to analyze Michael E. Porter, a renowned authority in competitive strategy from Harvard Business School.

Porter’s case shows how internal KOLs can shape discourse, drive brand visibility, and influence SEO ranking factors through their expertise and reputation.

This is why you should use digital PR as an alternative to link building.

Key insights from the article:

• A key opinion leader is a hybrid expert-influencer: A KOL is an expert in a field with the influence of a social media influencer.
• Utilizing shareable content: Leverage KOLs and engaging content to earn backlinks and enhance SEO rankings.
• Earn links and brand search volume: KOLs can write guest articles to earn backlinks and increase brand search volume simultaneously.
• Valuable research studies: Disseminating breakthrough research through KOLs boosts their reputation and establishes them as industry thought leaders.

Let’s begin.

Subject Matter Experts Vs. Influencers

According to Merriam-Webster, an influencer is:

“a person who is able to generate interest in something (such as a consumer product) by posting about it on social media.”

An expert is defined differently as “having, involving, or displaying special skill or knowledge derived from training or experience.”

An influencer may not drive long-term buying decisions but might influence short-term actions or tests. In contrast, an expert influences decisions and actions of important or complex decisions.

The third option is a key opinion leader, which is a hybrid expert & influencer. A KOL has both influence and expert experience in a given field.

If these outcomes are your focus, then keep reading to understand more about KOLs.

What Is A Key Opinion Leader (KOL)?

A key opinion leader is an expert who influences complex and high-value decisions due to their expertise from real-world experiences in a given field.

A KOL typically has a senior role in a company or agency where they actively work in their field.

KOLs influence important decisions and actions in Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) or other complex purchasing decisions.

In my SEJ article, How To Uncover Your Expertise To Become A Journalist’s Source, I provide a not-so-simple expert-evaluation framework for identifying the degree to which an individual is an expert in a specific field.

My expert evaluation model has four key areas.

• Proven expert knowledge: Depth of knowledge from experience & practice with a demonstration of skill.
• Develop influential assets: Develop publications & research that lead to reputation & recognition of influencing other experts.
• Evolving with change: Adapting to feedback from continuous learning that leads to innovative contributions in their field.
• Improve by teaching: Demonstrating problem-solving and communication skills by teaching, mentorship, and consultation.

Use this model to pitch a KOL to the media as an expert source in a specific field.

The next section explains how to use KOLs in SEO and digital PR to impact Google search positively.

3 Ways To Use KOLs In Digital PR For SEO

KOLs are a digital PR alternative to link building. This alternative can help improve the reputation of a site, its content, and the individual or entity behind it.

Digital PR is an alternative to link building because, although certain attributes of backlinks are most certainly ranking factors, the site’s reputation is a broader list of factors.

How the audience engages with a site’s content contributes to this reputation. This engagement can include:

• Sharing and linking to content.
• Mentioning the brand or product and the individuals behind it.
• Searching brands or concepts on Google.
• Using insights from experts to make purchasing decisions (manifests in reviews or shares).
• Integrating insights from an expert’s content to influence writing.

Although an op-ed or guest contributor post from these experts doesn’t directly influence ranking, an expert who is clever can generate ranking signals due to the impact on an audience.

These signals can include the audience taking action like:

• Searching the brand’s name or concepts in Google.
• Linking to or mentioning the brand.
• Returning to a website or a specific article.
• Discussing the brand.

Generating these signals requires more than an article; it also needs an understanding of the audience’s and media’s trending interests.

From a trend analysis, use the article to share linkable and shareable content assets. An effective article could function as:

• A source of unique research.
• A way to distribute unique content assets in a relevant community.
• Explain research in op-eds or guest contributor articles.

Pro Tips

• With digital PR, you might not need any blog content as the reputation of the content can be separate from the reputation of the product or company.
• Sometimes, media trends don’t align with customer interests. This is, unfortunately, a frequent issue. Try to find trends that align with customer and media trends, not just the media.

Let’s examine a key opinion leader whose concepts have influenced my content creation and decision-making, Michael E. Porter.

The Case Of Michael E. Porter

Michael Porter is a leader in competitive strategy and professor emeritus at Harvard University. He’s an economist, researcher, author, advisor, speaker, and teacher.

Screenshot of search for [michael e porter], Google, January 2024

I created an expert evaluation model to identify the attributes and the degree to which a person is an expert. Porter has strong attributes in every aspect of my expert evaluation model.

Proven Expert Knowledge

He has deep knowledge of competitive strategy from extensive research.

His study on competitive strategy in the 1990s is foundational research that explains what constitutes competitive strategy.

Porter wrote about the study in a popular article in the Harvard Business Review called What is Strategy? in 1996.

He went on to perform research in cluster & competition about how competition clusters to a specific geographic region. This is just a sample of his research.

Porter built off his research to demonstrate experience & practice by founding Monitor Deloitte, a business strategy consultancy for senior management of large organizations and government bodies.

The next attribute to evaluate is building influential assets.

Develop Influential Assets

His research and books have driven the strategy for industry and nations. He has written books about competitive strategy based on his early and new research.

These assets have led him to receive numerous awards and honors, like the 2018 McKinsey Award for the best article in Harvard Business Review for How CEOs Manage Time.

Another piece by Porter called The Five Forces that Shape Strategy in Harvard Business Review became a competitive strategy model called Porter’s Five Forces, now a model taught in universities and frequently written about in business training.

50minutes.com even created a pocketbook that summarizes Porter’s Five Forces.

Evolving With Change

He has adapted to feedback from continuous learning that leads to innovative contributions in their field.

Although starting his research in the late 1970s, he has continued to contribute to more recent topics like augmented reality.

Improve By Teaching

Porter demonstrates problem-solving and communication skills through teaching, mentorship, and consultation.

Porter has taught others his research and has continually written about it, which clearly communicates his thought process.

These are the reasons why he’s become a powerful key opinion leader.

If Porter recommends your business or ideas, expect them to influence decisions and the results.

Let’s examine the value he has created for Harvard as a professor and contributor from an SEO perspective. I’ll use Semrush for this examination.

Image from Harvard Business School, January 2024

Brand Search

Porter’s faculty profile on the Harvard Business School appears for over 153 search variations of the name “Michael Porter” in January 2024.

Screenshot from Semrush, January 2024

Hbs.edu benefits from this brand search in several ways:

• Expert reputation with Google: The brand search contributes to the reputation of the domain in Google.
• Connection to “business strategy”: Search engines see the website as more relevant to education and business topics, so the course pages can rank more easily.
• Improve school brand search: Students will search the school with the brand name “Harvard Business School” at various stages of the customer journey – thus further improving the website’s reputation with the search engines.

Google representatives have consistently stated that the expertise and reputation of the individuals and entities behind the website are key factors in ranking.

A strong signal of a site’s reputation is the search for brand names of the individuals and entities behind it.

The keyword “Michael Porter” has 12,100 average monthly searches as of the date of this article.

Links And Traffic

Porter’s page and other faculty KOLs drive the site’s reputation with links and traffic.

561 unique referring domains link to Michael’s faculty page on hbs.edu.

Although this is a small fraction of the total 28,700 referring domains, many of the professors at Harvard Business School are KOLs and contribute to the reputation of the school’s reputation.

Furthermore, according to Semrush, Porter’s page has a highly relevant link profile with placements on Forbes, Semrush, and Alibaba referencing his work.

Overall, the SEO for hbs.edu is terrible since Harvard relies on brand over search for recruitment. But that’s another article.

Wrapping This Up

It’s clear that key opinion leaders like Michael E. Porter aren’t just experts in their fields – they’re game-changers.

Porter’s work at Harvard Business School is a great example of how a KOL can blend deep knowledge, research, and contribution with expert op-eds or guest articles to improve SEO.

This article is a call to action for anyone looking to make a real impact in their field and improve the value of search engines as a key marketing channel.

More resources:

Featured Image: Gearstd/Shutterstock