In order to have a successful business or website, you will need web traffic. In the digital age, this can be achieved with the help of backlinks. Browsing on a website or blog, you may not even notice them, but they are instrumental in the ultimate goal of getting people to see your content. Backlinks are a widely popular digital marketing tool for content creators and site owners, but they can be extremely tricky to work and timely to produce. Research, website auditing, and creative execution in learning how to build backlinks is necessary in order to increase awareness around your website or blog. This article will break down what backlinks are, how they can help your business, and ultimately how you can acquire quality backlinks.
Definition of a Backlink
- 1 Definition of a Backlink
- 2 How Can Backlinking Help Your Business?
- 3 How SEO Affects Backlinks
- 4
- 5 How to Get Backlinks?
- 6 Frequently Asked Questions About How to Get Backlinks
- 6.1 1. Why should I avoid buying backlinks, and what are the consequences of doing so?
- 6.2 2. How long does it typically take to see results from backlink building efforts?
- 6.3 3. What’s the difference between high-quality and low-quality backlinks, and how do I identify them?
- 6.4 4. How many backlinks do I need to improve my search engine rankings?
- 6.5 5. Is broken link building ethical, and how should I approach website owners about broken links?
- 6.6 6. What tools should I use to research competitor backlinks and track my own link building progress?
- 6.7 7. How do I create content that naturally attracts backlinks without actively reaching out to other websites?
- 6.8 8. Should I focus on getting backlinks from websites in my exact industry, or can links from related industries be valuable too?
- 6.9
Let’s start with the basics. What is a backlink?
A backlink is a link from one website that directs the user to your website.
Example of a Backlink
An example of this would be if website A is writing a blog about the day of an elephant and your website, website B, had an article written about the diet of an elephant, then website A could insert a link as a reference to your website which will encourage readers to head to your website and view your content. It’s great to have backlinks from other websites, but keep in mind: not all backlinks are made equal. Google ranks websites on their quality, so in order for Google to recommend your content, the backlinks need to be from a high domain authority website or credible web page. We will get into how to get backlinks from quality websites, but for right now, remember: quality over quantity when it comes to backlinks.
How Can Backlinking Help Your Business?
The way to grow an online business is to reach a large number of people. If your business is a blog, you will want people to view your content because advertisers are more likely to choose your website over another one with less viewership; advertisers want a lot of eyes on their products, so if your website has that, it’s a match made in heaven. Now it might be tempting to buy backlinks, but don’t. It goes against Google’s backlink policy which, if caught, can result in your website being banned.
In the digital age, we assume word-of-mouth marketing is dead, but it isn’t. An example of digital word-of-mouth marketing is backlinking! When a website adds a link to your website, it is essentially a positive recommendation for your website (whether the content on the website is positive or not). It’s free to add a backlink to a website, so they are assisting in the promotion of your content. Guest blogging is a great example of building a business through collaboration. Through a guest post, backlinking can be done to direct a blog’s current viewership to your own website. This is just one way how to create backlinks. 
How SEO Affects Backlinks
Having great SEO when creating content is so important! You want people to be able to find your website on Google search, and developing words that people search for frequently is key. But how does this affect backlinks? Websites or blogs will search for other websites when trying to reference a piece of content. To make sure they will be able to find your content, you will need to make sure your website is using proper SEO strategies. One of Google’s ranking factors is the links to and from your site, particularly for excellent websites. Sometimes, creating great content isn’t enough and you need to institute a link building strategy.
Creating Skyscraper Content Through SEO Research
An example of using SEO research to product content that will build backlinks is skyscraper content. Skyscraper content is a marketing technique where a website or blog creator will research what topics are doing well on a search engine. They will then engineer a better version of a popular content piece. How to do this:
- Select your keyword
- Analyze what content is ranked first
- Create content that is superior to the leading content piece
- Reach out to websites and offer your content
- Check and review your backlinks
This may seem a bit obvious, but many people don’t think to research what is popular before creating content. Knowing who your competitors are, what content is frequently searched for, and how to build a better SEO is vital in building awareness around your content. If no one can find your website, how will they be able to backlink to it? Remember that these factors all work in conjunction to create a well-rounded digital marketing strategy.
How to Get Backlinks?
Backlink creation can be tricky. To generate backlinks, or “link building,” is the process of acquiring backlinks from other, credible websites. Having websites reference your content through the use of a backlink is valuable promotion and helpful in gaining new audiences. But how do you get backlinks? You used to be able to simply ask another site owner to add a link to your site in exchange for a return link, but this practice is frowned upon by Google now. Below are 10 effective strategies that will help you build backlinks and improve your digital marketing strategy.
Research Your Competitors
In order to create content that garners attention, you will need to know what works and what doesn’t. To do that, you will want to conduct a competitor backlink analysis. This can be done by typing, “Free backlink analysis” into Google. When you have chosen a backlink tool, you will need to type your competitor’s URL into the search bar. It will then show you how many backlinks are used in their content and how often it’s being used. This information is vital because it is showing you what readers want to see which will define what content you should create.
Use Infographics
Recently, websites have been using infographics as a way to display data which is popular when backlinking. Many readers want to know the information quickly and visual data tends to be easier to understand. Creating infographics, however, can be a bit time consuming, so take into account the research, the tool you will need to create the infographic, and how you want to display it. 
Check for Broken Links
There are many links on blogs and websites that are no longer active and the user might not even be aware of this. The technical term for this way of getting more backlinks is called, “Broken link building”. It can be a bit controversial to do this, but if it pays off, it’s very effective. In the competitor backlink analysis, the tool you choose to use for researching your competitor’s backlinks will also let you know what links they use. If you go through the links and find one that is either no longer active or doesn’t work, you can send a message to the moderator of the web page and let them know. This is an opportunity for you to promote your web page or content that they can use to replace their non-working link.
Create Relevant Content
In order to attract readers, you’ll need to create relevant content. Well, what content is relevant these days? A Buzzsumo study found that backlinks were most used when content appeared as list posts, quizzes, videos, “why” posts, how-to posts, and infographics. Following these popular searches can help inspire what your content should look like based on what readers want to see. Developing a content plan can help organize what you should be creating on your website.
Promote Your Content Correctly
Now that you know what content is popular, you need to know how to promote it. As we previously mentioned, good SEO is instrumental in the building of backlinks. If people are unable to find your content, they won’t be able to link to it.
Ultimate Guides
A great way to get a ton of backlinks is by creating ultimate guides. An ultimate guide is considered a comprehensive guide on a specific topic. Using the elephant example again, if your website were to create a blog piece on the ultimate guide to elephants, other websites and bloggers who are researching elephants are going to want to read your piece and reference your website because it’s packed full of the most information. Not to mention, ultimate guides tend to be longer than normal, which is SEO gold.
Reach Out To Resource Pages
Resource pages are a great place to reach out to in order to promote your website. Resource pages tend to be shorter and easier to read making them favorable for readers who want to get quick information fast. They will be able to scroll through the suggested article links and click on them for more information. Politely reaching out to these sites and requesting your article be mentioned can go a long way for promotion especially if the reference page is considered a high domain authority.
Company Relations
If partnered with a company or brand, ask them to reference your website on their social media, website, or blog. It’s always important to remember digital PR when trying to promote a digital business or website. 
Backlinks are a small, but important part of creating proper digital strategy for your business, blog, or website. SEO Design Chicago is here to help with your content creation in order to get you the best return. Visit our site and get started with a website audit to make sure your SEO and links are working effectively! Then, you can get started with our link building services.
Frequently Asked Questions About How to Get Backlinks
1. Why should I avoid buying backlinks, and what are the consequences of doing so?
Buying backlinks violates Google’s Webmaster Guidelines and can result in severe penalties, including having your website completely banned from search results. Google’s algorithms are sophisticated enough to detect paid link schemes, and the consequences can be devastating for your business. Instead of improving your rankings, purchased backlinks often come from low-quality, spammy websites that can actually harm your SEO. Focus on earning backlinks naturally through high-quality content, relationship building, and providing genuine value to other websites. The time and effort invested in legitimate link building strategies will provide sustainable, long-term results without the risk of penalties.
2. How long does it typically take to see results from backlink building efforts?
Backlink building is a long-term strategy that typically takes 3-6 months to show significant results, though some impact may be visible sooner. The timeline depends on factors like your website’s current authority, the quality of backlinks you’re earning, your content quality, and your overall SEO strategy. High-quality backlinks from authoritative websites will have faster and more substantial impact than numerous low-quality links. Remember that Google needs time to crawl and index new backlinks, then evaluate their impact on your site’s authority. Consistency is key – maintain regular content creation and outreach efforts rather than expecting immediate results from sporadic link building campaigns.
3. What’s the difference between high-quality and low-quality backlinks, and how do I identify them?
High-quality backlinks come from websites with high domain authority, relevant content to your niche, good user engagement, and trustworthy reputations. They’re contextually relevant, placed within valuable content, and come from sites that Google considers authoritative. Low-quality backlinks come from spammy websites, link farms, irrelevant sites, or pages with thin content. To identify quality, check the linking site’s domain authority using tools like Moz or Ahrefs, ensure the content is relevant to your niche, verify the site has real organic traffic, and confirm the link appears natural within the content rather than in a footer or sidebar link collection.
4. How many backlinks do I need to improve my search engine rankings?
Quality matters far more than quantity when it comes to backlinks. One high-authority backlink from a respected website in your industry can be more valuable than dozens of low-quality links. Focus on earning 5-10 high-quality backlinks per month rather than pursuing hundreds of mediocre ones. Your backlink needs also depend on your competition – analyze competitor backlink profiles using tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to understand the competitive landscape. Remember that Google evaluates the overall quality and relevance of your backlink profile, not just the total number. A small portfolio of excellent backlinks will outperform a large collection of poor-quality links every time.
5. Is broken link building ethical, and how should I approach website owners about broken links?
Broken link building is ethical when done respectfully and genuinely helpfully. You’re providing value by alerting website owners to broken links that hurt user experience and offering a relevant replacement. When reaching out, be polite and professional – start by genuinely pointing out the broken link without immediately pitching your content. Explain how the broken link affects their users, then suggest your content as a replacement only if it’s truly relevant and valuable. Don’t be pushy or persistent if they don’t respond. This strategy works best when your replacement content is genuinely superior to what was originally linked, making it a win-win situation for both parties.
6. What tools should I use to research competitor backlinks and track my own link building progress?
Popular backlink analysis tools include Ahrefs, SEMrush, Moz Link Explorer, and free options like Google Search Console and Ubersuggest. For competitor research, enter their URL into these tools to see their backlink sources, anchor text usage, and linking domain authority. Track your own progress by monitoring new backlinks, lost links, and changes in domain authority over time. Google Search Console provides free backlink data directly from Google, while paid tools offer more comprehensive analysis and competitive insights. Set up regular monitoring to track your link building campaigns’ effectiveness and identify new opportunities based on competitor strategies.
7. How do I create content that naturally attracts backlinks without actively reaching out to other websites?
Create “linkable assets” that provide exceptional value to your target audience. Ultimate guides, original research studies, comprehensive tutorials, industry reports with unique data, and high-quality infographics naturally attract backlinks because other content creators want to reference authoritative sources. Use the skyscraper technique – find popular content in your niche and create something significantly better, more comprehensive, or more current. Ensure your content is easily shareable with clear headings, good formatting, and valuable takeaways. Promote your content through social media, email newsletters, and industry forums to increase visibility and the likelihood that others will discover and link to it organically.
While backlinks from your exact industry carry the most weight because of topical relevance, links from related industries can also be valuable if they make logical sense. For example, if you run a fitness blog, backlinks from health, nutrition, or wellness websites are highly relevant. Even broader connections can work – a local business might benefit from links from community organizations, local news sites, or chamber of commerce pages. The key is ensuring the link placement feels natural and provides value to the linking site’s audience. Avoid completely unrelated industries, as these links may appear suspicious to Google and provide little SEO value. Focus on building a diverse but relevant backlink profile that demonstrates your expertise across related topic areas.
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