Link building is one of the many pillars of SEO and it essentially consists of placing a link to your site on another site so that you can rank higher on search engines.
To clarify, if a high authority site adds your hyperlink to their blog, you’ve essentially just been recommended by that site. It’s like the site is referring the crawlers to you, allowing your website to rank higher so that more people will see it. If you want to learn more about backlink basics, take a look at our previous article.
So now that you know a thing or two about backlinking, let’s dive into the next facet of link building — types of backlinks and how to get them. We’re going to start with the most basic forms of backlinks, ordered from least to most effort required.
1. Unlinked mentions
Unlinked mentions are arguably one of the easiest ways to secure backlinks. These consist, quite literally, of mentions to your company on another company’s site. In other words, you might find an article that mentions your business but doesn’t include a link back to your website.
This provides the perfect opportunity for you to do some simple outreach to secure a link to your site in that article. Oftentimes the link isn’t included due to laziness or forgetfulness, so if you ask nicely, many sites will happily add one in after the fact.
- Effort Level: 1
- Requirements: A simple email
2. Directories
Similar to unliked mentions, you can add your link to a directory. This is about as simple as it sounds. Simply find a directory that relates to your topic and contact the owner about adding your site to the list. It takes about 5 minutes and BOOM you’re now you’re off the bench and in the game.
- Effort Level: 1
- Requirements: Persuasion and an email
3. Internal Linking
Another easy way to secure a link is through internal linking. We’ve all googled “best doctors in *insert city*” and found a handy article that contained a list of doctors in that city. This would be crafted by one of the medical offices on that list (usually the first/best one), so they’re more biased than they are accurate.
Nonetheless, you too can participate in the resource page craze. Simply create an article centered around the 10 best *topic of your choosing* and insert your link as one of the best resources on that topic. This is a quick any easy way to place a link without seeming to “sales-y” since you’ve shared the spotlight by including other resources on the topic.
- Effort Level: 2
- Requirements: A list of resources and a few blurbs of text
4. Guest posts
Last but certainly not least, are guest posts! This is the OG way to obtain backlinks because everyone loves free articles! Say you own a bread shop and you want to secure a link on a baker’s blog. An easy way to do so is to write an article (e.g. 10 Reasons why your bread is crumby) and submit it to that blogger. Oftentimes they’ll recognize you as an expert in your area and someone who will provide valuable insight for their readers. And that’s how you secure a link on a site through guest posting.
- Effort Level: 3
- Requirements: Writing skills and a place to post the blog
Go Forth and LINK
Now that you know a thing or two about link building, types of backlinks, and how to get them, you can confidently go forth and link. With a good amount of tenacity and a heaping dose of patience your business will reap the benefits of backlinking.
