Best and the Worst Link-Building Strategies: Important Tips and Tricks

One key point in every link-building specialist's job is strategy. It doesn't matter if you're an individual who works alone for different companies or a link-building team lead in a Digital Marketing organization: you will need a strategy either way. So, what is a Link-building strategy? 

It is commonly known that a strategy is a step-by-step plan that will help you achieve your goals. Consequently, a link-building strategy is an approach, or a plan, to get high-quality links. Your primary goal should be quality rather than quantity. 

The importance of a link-building strategy

After defining the link-building strategy, let's understand whether it is essential. In the context of Search Engine Optimization, it's not just important; it's necessary. 

Trying a link-building process without a strategy is technically possible, but it is very ineffective and unlikely to result in favorable outcomes. 

Firstly, you will get a low success rate in 90 percent of cases. Secondly, you will be unsure about your good results as they will be inconsistent. Thirdly, the lack of direction will demotivate you and your company. 

So, let's start understanding the best and worst link-building strategies.  

The Best Link-building Strategies

1. Guest blogging: A popular link-building strategy is writing blog posts for another company's blog. This practice is claimed to be one of the most effective ones. Many content writers are credited with their author byline for contributing to another website. Sometimes, they can have a backlink as well.  

For instance, we have a recently published guest post that has the statistics below:

‍

Let’s understand the process of link-building in this case. Firstly, we got acquainted with the guest blogging guidelines of the website and checked their blog. Then we made a direct outreach with the information about what we wanted to write about. It is always better to tell why you think it’s a good fit, especially for their blog. After the topic was accepted, we sent them the outline of the article and then the draft. 

2. ABC Link Exchange: The A-B-C exchange is when three websites agree to link to each other's websites. Link Exchange can be done both through a simple outreach and platforms like Slack and Ranking Raccoon. If done watchfully, link exchange can help to increase traffic and DA on both sides. On the other hand, direct exchanges can be too apparent for the Google algorithm, so avoid using that strategy.

3. Unlinked Mentions: When you have a popular tool, website, or brand, you can be mentioned in different blogs, websites, or articles. So all you have to do is reach out to them and request that they add a hyperlink. This approach is called link reclamation. This way, you can quickly turn the unlinked mention into a valuable backlink. The unlinked mention strategy is one of the most straightforward, but you must have a helpful website or a famous brand to utilize it.

4. HARO: Help a Reporter Out is a popular platform for reporters and journalists. It can be used to get high-quality backlinks as well. But the point is that You have to be patient if you choose this strategy. 

5. Listicles: Listicles are something that any auditory loves. It can be short "Top 5 lists" and "100+ tips and tricks," providing clear and straightforward information. Listicles are popular because they frequently appeal to readers looking for rapid, valuable insights. Correctly inserting products into listicles can contribute to link-building efforts, helping to improve a website's SEO and search engine rankings.

6. Image outreach: If you have high-ranked images, people will use them in their content. Then, you can reach out to them and ask them to give you a link credit. It can be a photo, an infographic, and even an illustration. For instance, you can tell them that they should give you a link if they want to continue using the image.

7. Broken link building: Broken link building is a tactic that uses broken or non-working web pages. The idea is to find these dead pages and then contact the people who manage the websites to replace the broken links with links that lead to valuable pages on your website. It's a way to improve your website's visibility and attract more visitors by fixing broken links on other sites.

The Worst Link-building Strategies

1. The brokers’ usage: One of the worst link-building strategies is using brokers for link building. This strategy has several drawbacks. Getting low-quality backlinks or links from irrelevant websites is likely possible.

2. Links from black niche websites: Although it is easier to get links from websites that operate in illegal or unethical niches, the links you will get are not high-quality. You can quickly spoil the positive perception of your website. Moreover, you can soon get penalties from Google and other search engines. 

3. Article spinning: Content spinning can harm your website's rankings and give you low-quality content. Besides, spinning articles could be against the law if the original content is copyrighted. So don't risk it and avoid one of the worst link-building strategies.

Important tips and tricks

1. Personalize your outreach email: While copying a template, you can easily forget to fill in the recipient's information. But when you customize the email, use keywords and phrases that are connected to their brand or website. You can find dozens of link building tools that will help you automate and personalize your outreach. This way you will surely get more replies by capturing the interest individually.

2. Use different link-building strategies at once: Even if your only link-building strategy works perfectly, your company will walk in the same place if you use only one strategy. Try different strategies and tips to understand which suits your company and which you should avoid.

3. Constantly do link reclamations: We have previously discussed unlinked mentions and link reclamations. But why should you do link reclamations regularly? Monitoring and recovering lost or broken backlinks constantly improves link equity, referral traffic, and SEO performance and gives a company a competitive advantage.

Each business should select its link-building strategy based on its goals, target market, industry, and available resources. What is successful for one company may produce different outcomes for another. By tailoring the link-building strategy, a company can concentrate on channels and strategies that complement its brand identity and product offers. 

Businesses can use their strengths and handle specific issues by tailoring their strategy, which results in more effective and efficient link-building initiatives. Additionally, a customized strategy helps businesses remain competitive and respond to changes in the digital market. Companies may make educated judgments and adopt a link-building strategy that yields immediate and lasting benefits by carefully evaluating their needs and capabilities. 

The most excellent option if you need a link-building professional is to outsource. Link building can be outsourced to a specialist team or agency, giving you access to professionals with knowledge and experience. They probably have a thorough understanding of link-building techniques, which can produce quicker and more successful outcomes.

Either way, the link-building strategy is one of the basics of any business. So avoid the worst link-building strategies, be careful, creative, and try new techniques when possible!