16 Ways to Build Organic Links for SEO
Building organic links is crucial for improving your website’s SEO. These links, also known as backlinks, are links from other websites to yours.
Search engines like Google use backlinks as a way to measure the authority and relevance of your site. The more high-quality backlinks you have, the better your site is likely to rank in search results. Here are 17 tips to help you start building organic links for SEO.
In this article:
- Create High-Quality Content
- Do Guest Blogging
- Leverage Social Media
- Build Relationships with Industry Influencers
- Use Broken Link Building
- Create Linkable Assets
- Participate in Industry Forums and Communities
- Use Resource Pages
- Conduct Original Research and Surveys
- Create and Share Infographics
- Write Testimonials and Reviews
- Use HARO (Help a Reporter Out)
- Collaborate with Other Bloggers
- Host Webinars and Podcasts
- Use Local SEO and Listings
- Publish Ebooks and Whitepapers
1. Create High-Quality Content
High-quality content is the foundation of effective link-building. When your content is valuable, informative, and engaging, other websites are more likely to link to it. Here’s how you can do it:
- Research Your Topics: Use tools like Google Trends, Ahrefs, or SEMrush to find topics that are popular and relevant in your industry.
- Provide Value: Ensure your content offers new insights, solves problems, or provides detailed information that isn’t readily available elsewhere.
- Use Multimedia: Include images, videos, infographics, and charts to make your content more engaging and shareable.
Consistently pumping out high-quality content with fresh and unique industry insights can position you as an authority site in your niche.
2. Do Guest Blogging
Guest blogging allows you to reach a broader audience and gain backlinks from reputable sites in your industry. Look for blogs in your niche that accept guest posts. Use search queries like “your niche + write for us” or “your niche + guest post.”
Reach out to the blog owners with a personalized email, proposing topics that would be valuable to their audience. Ensure your guest posts are well-written, informative, and relevant to the blog’s audience. Include a link back to your site in the author bio or within the content if allowed.
When creating pitches and researching for keywords, you should also consider click potential, which provides valuable insight into the search volume and competition level of your target keywords. By optimizing your content for keywords with a high click potential, you can attract more organic traffic to your site and the guest blog publisher’s site.
3. Leverage Social Media
Social media can help amplify your content, making it more likely to be noticed and linked to by others. Social traffic is a powerful tool for increasing the visibility of your content and acquiring organic links.
To leverage social media effectively:
- Share Your Content: Regularly share your blog posts and other content on social media platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
- Engage with Influencers: Connect with influencers in your industry by commenting on their posts, sharing their content, and tagging them in your posts. Building relationships with influencers can lead to them sharing and linking to your content.
- Use Hashtags: Use relevant hashtags to increase the visibility of your posts and reach a broader audience.
According to Authority Hacker’s report, link builders who use social media for outreach get 22% of extra links each month. This shows how powerful social platforms can be for off-page SEO.
4. Build Relationships with Industry Influencers
Building relationships with influencers can lead to natural backlinks as they share and link to your content. These are the steps to do so:
- Identify Influencers: Use tools like BuzzSumo or Followerwonk to find influencers in your niche.
- Engage with Their Content: Regularly comment on, share, and like their content to get noticed.
- Reach Out: Send personalized emails or messages to introduce yourself and your content. Offer to collaborate on projects or provide them with valuable information that might interest their audience.
5. Use Broken Link Building
Broken link building involves finding broken links on other websites and suggesting your content as a replacement. This helps the website owner fix their broken links and earns you a backlink.
Use tools like Ahrefs or Check My Links to find broken links on websites in your niche. Then, ensure you have high-quality content that matches or improves upon the broken link’s original content.
Contact the website owner or webmaster, pointing out the broken link and suggesting your content as a replacement. Be polite and helpful in your approach.
6. Create Linkable Assets
Linkable assets are pieces of content specifically designed to attract backlinks. These can be comprehensive guides, infographics, original research, or tools. Follow these steps:
- Identify What’s Link-Worthy: Research to see what types of content are commonly linked to in your industry.
- Create High-Quality Assets: Invest time and resources into creating detailed and valuable linkable assets.
- Promote Your Assets: Share your linkable assets on social media, reach out to bloggers and influencers, and use email marketing to promote them.
7. Participate in Industry Forums and Communities
Engaging in forums and communities related to your industry can help you build relationships and gain backlinks. Answer questions, participate in discussions, and share your expertise. Include links to your content where relevant and allowed.
Be active and consistent in your participation to build a reputation as an expert in your field. These platforms are also great places to find new industry insights, which you can use for your content.
8. Use Resource Pages
Resource pages are lists of valuable resources on a particular topic. Use search queries like “your niche + resource page” or “your niche + useful links” to find relevant resource pages. Getting your content listed on these pages can earn you high-quality backlinks.
9. Conduct Original Research and Surveys
Original research and surveys provide unique data that others are likely to cite and link to. Use surveys, interviews, and data analysis to gather information from your business to make it even more unique.
Create a detailed report or infographic presenting your findings. Share it on your website and promote it through social media and email marketing.
10. Create and Share Infographics
Infographics are visually appealing and easy to share, making them effective for earning backlinks. Use tools like Canva or Piktochart to create visually appealing and informative infographics. Share your infographics on social media, in blog posts, and with influencers in your industry.
11. Write Testimonials and Reviews
Writing testimonials and reviews for products and services you use can earn you backlinks from the company’s website. This is a particularly useful tactic to use with B2B software companies. Follow these steps when writing testimonials and reviews:
- Identify Relevant Products: Choose products or services in your industry that you genuinely use and like.
- Write Honest Reviews: Provide detailed and honest testimonials or reviews.
- Reach Out: Contact the company and offer your testimonial or review. Many companies will link back to your website as a thank you.
12. Use HARO (Help a Reporter Out)
HARO connects journalists with sources. You just have to create an account and monitor HARO emails for relevant queries.Then, respond with valuable information and include your website link. Journalists work on tight deadlines, so respond quickly and professionally to increase your chances of being featured.
13. Collaborate with Other Bloggers
Collaborating with other bloggers can help you reach new audiences and gain backlinks. Find bloggers in your niche who have a similar audience.
Suggest ideas for collaboration, such as co-writing a blog post, conducting an interview, or hosting a webinar. Share each other’s content on social media and link to each other’s blogs to build mutual backlinks.
14. Host Webinars and Podcasts
Webinars and podcasts can attract a wider audience and provide opportunities for backlinks from guest speakers and participants. Collaborate with industry experts to co-host your webinars or podcasts. Ensure your webinars and podcasts offer valuable insights and information that attendees will find useful.
15. Use Local SEO and Listings
Local SEO and listings can help you gain backlinks from local directories and business associations. Include your business name, address, and phone number on your website. Use local keywords in your content and meta descriptions.
Submit your website to local business directories, chambers of commerce, and industry-specific directories. This can also help you show up in Google’s local finder. Ask satisfied customers to leave reviews on your local listings. Positive reviews can improve your local SEO and attract more backlinks.
16. Publish Ebooks and Whitepapers
Just like original research and data, ebooks and whitepapers are in-depth resources that can attract backlinks from other websites citing your work. Provide comprehensive and well-researched information.
Share your ebooks and whitepapers on social media, through email marketing, and with industry influencers. Offer them as downloadable resources on your website.
Reach Out to Bring People In
Building organic links is essential for improving your SEO and increasing your website’s authority. By creating high-quality content, leveraging social media, engaging with influencers, and using strategic outreach methods, you can earn valuable backlinks that boost your search engine rankings.
Organic link-building is more than just creating valuable content. You must focus on building relationships, providing unique insights, and actively engaging with your industry both online and offline.
Make outreach easier with Link Genius, which helps you find backlink opportunities and streamlines the process of reaching out to them.
Book a demo today and elevate your SEO efforts with Link Genius.