Best Link Building Strategies for SEO Success

Backlinks are links that lead to your site from other resources. For example, if the SEOnews site writes an article about SEO.IND and adds a link to the site’s main page, SEO.IND will receive a backlink from SEOnews.

Essentially, backlinks signal to search engines (Google in particular) that a site is an authoritative source of information.

A quality link profile can help improve a site’s position in search results for some queries. Although this cannot be guaranteed 100%, as other factors also influence it.

In general, backlinks are important for website promotion in Google. Especially for increasing positions for complex competitive queries.

In this article, we talk about methods for getting backlinks to a website. We analyze free, conditionally free, and paid methods.

The Importance of Backlinks for SEO

Google uses backlinks as one of the signals for ranking sites in search results. The more of them, the higher the chances of taking the top places.

Yandex previously cancelled taking links into account when ranking commercial queries.

For Google, backlinks are especially important for competitive topics. According to Ahrefs , sites that are linked to more by other resources get more visitors and are shown for more queries.

You need to collect links to your site in order to:

• Improve your search results. The more links you have, the higher your trust and authority.
• Speed ​​up indexing of new pages. Search engines scan popular projects more often.
• Get additional visitors. People follow links from other sites.

Types of Backlinks

There are several types of backlinks. Let’s look at them in more detail:

By placement method

Purchased links are those that can be bought on special exchanges like Sape or Miralinks. They are also called “SEO links” because they are intended specifically for promotion to the TOP. 

It works like this: you pay money to the site owner, he places a link on his site.

Advantages of purchased links:

• Speed ​​of receipt – after payment, links are usually posted within a day or several days. 
• You can select specific sites and pages for placement.
• Possibility to choose link packages of different volumes and prices. There are options for both small and large budgets.

The downside is that it’s not always good quality and there’s a risk of running into link farms.

Natural links appear organically in the texts and content of other sites. They are left free of charge and voluntarily as a recommendation.

Natural links are harder to get than to buy. But they look natural to search engines and readers. This is the most effective and safest type of links for SEO.

So the ideal option is to combine purchased and natural links for fast and high-quality website promotion to the top of search results.

By format

Anchor links are when the link text is organically inserted into the content.

Anchor links usually contain keywords in their text that help you understand what the other side of the link is about.

Types of anchor links:

• With direct entry of the keyword

The main keyword is used as an anchor that promotes the page being linked to.

• With imprecise keyword entry

This anchor also uses a keyword, but it can be slightly modified – the singular can be changed to plural, or the words in it can be rearranged. For example, “buy computer chairs cheap”. This is done so that the link fits smoothly into the text.

Also, in anchors with imprecise entry, synonyms or declinable words are often used.

• Commercial anchors

These are key phrases that SEOs use to improve their site’s position in search results. Examples of commercial anchors: “buy a Sber TV”, “realtor services in Sochi price”, “order cleaning in Voronezh”.

Because of the wording, these phrases look advertising and unnatural. It is better not to abuse such anchors, otherwise search engines will suspect that you are trying to manipulate in order to increase the rating and will ban these links.

Anchorless links are links that are not linked to keywords. For example:

Word forms: “here”, “here” and the like.

Demonstrative phrases: “Read more”, “Go to the website”, and the like.

Such links are considered more natural by search engines.

How to place them? The ideal option is to combine both of these link formats. The recommended ratio in the text is 70% non-anchor and 30% anchor.

By indexability

Open links for indexing – search robots can see them and take them into account when ranking pages and sites. Such links transfer “weight” and authority from one resource to another.

For example, if there is an open link to your site from a popular forum, this is a good recommendation for search engines, which will increase trust in your resource. And vice versa – open outgoing links “feed” other projects with your weight.

Links closed from indexing have a special attribute nofollow, due to which search robots ignore such links. Accordingly, they do not add weight to the pages they link to.

Such closed links can be used in moderation to support affiliate projects, but not to lose the site’s own weight due to outgoing links.

How to Place Backlinks Correctly

To get the benefit of backlinks for SEO, you need to follow certain rules when placing them:

• Quality is more important than quantity

One link from an authoritative resource is more valuable than dozens of links from little-known sites. Therefore, preference should be given to well-known and respected publications in their niche.

• Links from thematic resources

It is best to place links on sites that are devoted to similar topics. For example, if you have an online clothing store, fashion blogs, shopping sites, and fashion industry sites will do. This way, search engines will understand that your resource is authoritative in this niche.

• Quality is more important than quantity

One link from an authoritative resource is more valuable than dozens of links from little-known sites. Therefore, preference should be given to well-known and respected publications in their niche.

• nofollow and dofollow tags

It is better to use dofollow links, which robots follow and index the page. But nofollow links are also taken into account.

Don’t:

Take links from sites with a lot of advertising and little content.

Post links without surrounding text.

Conduct mass link exchanges with similar sites.

Such options are harmful to SEO and can lead to sanctions from search engines. For spam links, Google imposes the Penguin filter on sites , and Yandex imposes the Minusinsk filter .

Free Ways to Get Links

Company directories and directories

These are thematic sites where you can add information about your company – a description of your activities, contacts, a link to your site. Posting in industry directories helps you get links from niche resources.

Profiles and answers on thematic forums

Register and add a link to your site to your profile. Answer questions from participants in thematic threads, helping to solve problems. When answering, you can also add a link to useful material on your site.

Typically, such resources contain a link with the nofollow tag.

Over time, you can become a recognizable expert on this forum, and a link in your profile and responses will collect trust weight from users and bring in clicks.

Publishing articles on blogging platforms

This method works like this: you write a useful article and post it on a well-known blog in your field. 

As a result, thanks to such a publication, you get the following benefits:

• A link from a thematic resource to your site.
• Additional reader traffic.
• Increasing awareness among the target audience.

This means that it is beneficial both for SEO and for attracting potential customers to the site.

Comments on blogs

Another way is to leave comments under fresh posts by bloggers and media outlets in your topic. For example, add useful expert information with a link to your resource. The main thing is not to spam.

Question and Answer Services

These are popular platforms where people ask questions and experts answer. For example: Mail.ru Answers, Yandex Q, Big Question and the like. You can actively write useful answers on your topic and add links to your website in the answers as a pro in this field.

Adding information to Wikipedia

Here you can add an article about your company – history, achievements, area of ​​activity. And in the text, competently place a link to the official website. A link from such an authoritative resource as Wikipedia will help SEO.

An example of what a company description looks like on Wikipedia:

Please note that Wikipedia has high requirements for posting articles about companies:

• It will be necessary to support all significant facts about the company with links (at least 3) to authoritative sources (well-known media, books, etc.).
• The article should be written in a neutral, encyclopedic style. No advertising or embellishment of facts.
• The article goes through several stages of moderation check. At each stage it can be rejected.
• Even if an article is published, it can be edited or completely deleted at any time without explanation.

Answers in Pressfeed

Pressfeed is a way to find a place to place a link. It is a service for media and bloggers who are looking for expert comments. You can comment on news, articles and share figures from your company with a link to the site. This will increase brand awareness and bring quality backlinks from the media.

Paid ways to get links

Link exchanges

Link exchanges are resources where you can buy link placement with a small link text or without it.

Advantages:

• Rapid growth of link mass.
• Relatively inexpensive compared to other channels.
• You can select links by topic and region.

Disadvantages of purchased links:

• Quality not guaranteed.
• Risk of falling under sanctions and filters.

Outreach

Outreach is direct negotiations with webmasters of other sites regarding the placement of embedded links in content. 

Pros:

• High quality links (compared to exchanges).
• Natural integration into the text.

The downside is that this method is more labor-intensive and expensive.

Publications on paid platforms (blog platforms)

This is one of the most effective, but at the same time expensive methods. The point is that you buy the placement of your articles on such large blogging platforms

For example, you have a contextual advertising agency. You agree to publish the material “How to launch mobile app advertising” on the “Cossa” platform, where the text of the article will contain a link to your agency’s website.

The advantages of this type of publication:

• Links from a very authoritative and popular resource.
• An influx of additional visitors to your site.
• Brand recognition among the target audience.
• The downside is the high price. BUT links from there are worth it, as they seriously improve SEO and the company’s image in the industry.

Shareware method

Link exchange between sites

This is one of the common ways to get backlinks. The idea is that two or more resources agree to place cross-links to each other. 

For example, your online fishing store places a link with the words “Buy a spinning rod” on a fishing site. And this fishing site in response gives a link “Online spinning rod store” to your resource.

That is, a mutually beneficial exchange occurs – you increase your link mass and recognition at each other’s expense.

In this way, a mutual exchange of link mass occurs. This is beneficial for all participants.

Pros:

• Free or at a symbolic price.
• Increase in link mass and popularity of websites.

Minuses:

• You have to give up some of your weight by posting other people’s links.
• It is not always possible to find quality partners.
• Therefore, this option is considered “conditionally free”. All participants in the exchange increase their authority and SEO at the expense of each other.

Removing broken and inaccessible backlinks

Broken backlinks are a common problem for many websites. They occur when the page the link points to becomes unavailable. This can happen for a variety of reasons – content removal, hosting or DNS issues, and so on.

Broken links irritate users who expect that clicking on the link will take them to the intended content.

It also happens that the owner of the donor site deletes the link to your resource that they have posted. This can happen either intentionally (for example, they decided to refuse the link partnership) or accidentally (for example, due to carelessness, when editing the site pages).

Therefore, it is important to periodically check the functionality of backlinks and fix non-working ones. 

What services will help control the availability of backlinks on donor sites:

CheckTrust (Link Monitor tool) – Here you can upload links and monitor their availability in real time.

Ahrefs (Broken Backlinks tool) – the service shows all detected external links to your site and shows broken ones.

Google Search Console and Yandex.Webmaster — in the external links sections you can see all indexed backlinks. But there is less data and it works with a delay.

Regular monitoring of donors will allow you to quickly detect missing links and request their restoration.

Also, don’t forget to renew your hosting and pay for domains for the pages you link to on time. This will require planning and organization, but these simple steps will help you avoid many problems in the future.

Top Tips for Working with Backlinks

High-quality backlinks help improve search engine rankings, increase organic traffic, and increase trust from search engines.

What is especially important is that there should be a balance in the link mass. It is recommended to use a comprehensive approach:

• Get links from different sources: free directories, publications, profiles – in combination with paid options.
• Achieve not only quantity, but also quality of links. Better fewer, but from reliable niche resources.
• It is natural to embed links in context so that they look organic. Combine anchorless and anchor links.
• Check the availability of backlinks. CheckTrust, Ahrefs, Google Search Console and Webmaster services will help you with this.

Conclusion

In conclusion, securing high-quality backlinks is crucial for improving your site’s search engine rankings and gaining trust from search engines. The right mix of purchased and natural links, combined with a strategic approach to link placement, can significantly enhance your website’s authority. Among the numerous options, opting for the Best Link Building Services Agency ensures you receive expert assistance in crafting an effective link profile. This, in turn, supports better indexing, increased visibility, and a competitive edge in search results.