Backlinks are very important parameter based on which Google algorithm determines the authority of your website. Backlinks from reputed websites are an indicator for Google that your website contains content which worth a mention in sites already loved by people. This article is dedicated to developing a backlinking strategy to draw more organic traffic. So, first of all, the question arises…

What are Backlinks in SEO?

Backlinks are the hyperlinks given in any site which points back towards your site. It can be considered as a citation where one cites external relevant and significant content in their own article.  Like citations universally considered as a parameter to judge the usefulness of one article, in blogs backlinks play the same role.

Backlinks are the most important criteria Google has set to determine which site qualifies to rank higher in SERP. Even a few years back also it was the only criterion to judge the authority of any website. But as this algorithm starts getting abused by the Black Hat SEO technique creating false pages and links, Google has to improvise its page ranking criteria. Now Google’s page ranking algorithm is much more complex and gives less weightage on backlinks.

Any reader who is visiting any website page which contains something relevant with a link to your website and lands on your website through that link then it is called referral traffic. Such traffics are signals to Google that your website contains valuable information and hence needs to be ranked higher.

Further backlinks can be of two types as below:

Do-follow backlinks

These links navigate any reader to your website and thus contribute towards your website’s domain authority and reputation

whereas

No-follow backlinks

Do not direct readers to your website though it helps people to know about your website. Sometimes the websites where you get backlinks from do not want their readers to go away from their sites by clicking links, to avoid this they use nofollow links.

According to the stats obtained from the research conducted by website postmm.com almost 60% of total backlinks are usually do-follow links and the rest 40% are no-follow links.

How to create backlinks?

Getting backlinks is tricky, time-consuming and also takes hard work. For backlinks, quality is more important than its quantity. Try to acquire high-quality backlinks over time than getting more low-quality backlinks quickly. It is also true that not all backlinks will improve your ranking, some will have no effect whereas some backlinks will be of the kind affecting your site negatively, so choose backlinks wisely. 

Here some effective tips which will help you in this process.

Write content worth backlinking

This is a universal truth, if you write very useful content, your blog will automatically acquire backlinks. It is in the same way you link good content to your own blog. 

Commenting on other related blogs

This is a quick way you can create some backlinks. You visit some popular blogs related to your domain. Read the blogs thoroughly and leave some thoughtful comments, appreciation or relevant questions. In this process make sure to provide a link in the comment to your website. 

Guest posting and blogging

It is a very effective way to acquire quality backlinks. You need to find out reputed websites of your domain which accept guest blogs. Then you will write quality guest blogs for that website following their guidelines and submit for approval. In that guest blog, you must put a link somewhere which will direct readers to your website as the whole purpose of writing a guest blog is only to backlink your website to an established website.

This takes time but to me, the best way to get very high-quality backlinks.

Always keep in mind that the website you writing guest blogs must be related to your niche. Many websites generally accept guest blogs as they are getting free content for their website in exchange for backlinks.

Outsource link building

Link building can be outsourced too. But, always remember don’t compromise the quality of backlinks for a cheaper deal. It can lead to a penalty from Google on your site. Link building is a time taking process. Links grow gradually if your site gets 100 links within a week, Google senses foul play of unnatural link building process.

Locat references and social media

If you can manage to get mentioned in any of the social networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Yellowpages as business address listing then these citations also serve as backlinks. There are many more sites available and your target should be creating citation profiles at regular intervals.

Donations

If you have any popular NGO, charitable organization, club, school, etc. You can help them with cash or kind or providing any services and get a mention on their website as sponsors or donors. Which will also serve as backlinks and can attract good local traffic to your website.

Conclusion

To get your website rank in SERP, backlinks are more important than anything else. But, always keep in mind that link building is a time taking off-site SEO process. Only those links from websites with high domain authority count. Keep patience and don’t go for quick links from unrelated low rated websites. 

Don’t fall prey to offers for backlinks from websites in exchange for money.  This very common nowadays and webmasters get tons of such offers from various websites bidding for backlinks. Always keep in mind that you can not buy backlinks cheap and its just matter of time Google will punish such backlinks without fail. Google strives to provide content with true quality to its readers and any effort or Black Hat SEO to misguide Google algorithm can not bring sustainable benefits.

Most importantly, the basis of quality link building is creating quality content which really helps your audience to satisfy their queries. According to Paddy Moogan from Moz.com,

“All link building campaigns must start with something worth linking to”

If your content is of low value, it is highly unlikely that any authority website will show interest to link your content to theirs. If you are just beginning your blog journey, please first focus to create good content for the first few months and then go for its promotion and link building campaign.