How To Create An Impeccable Backlink Portfolio

Over the past few months, we've been giving you some much-needed advice on making Google your best and most loyal friend. And yes, this time around, we will talk about the same.

After all, we are one of Dallas’ best search engine optimization agencies, so what else should we talk about… farming? We got a thing or two to say about farming. Not the animal or agricultural kind, though - we know nothing about those. So instead, we will talk about the good old backlink farming, and oh boy, do we have a lot to say about that.

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What Is Link Building

While Google is acting like a whiny little turd that changes its mind every five seconds, one constant remains relevant throughout its continuous mood swings - the links. No matter how much Google's algorithm changes, the links are always considered essential since they are the gateway for crawlers to find and map your website. Furthermore, they are the litmus for Google to determine whether you have quality content or not.

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There are two main kinds of links. 

Internal links are the ones that circulate your website. They are essential for Google’s crawlers since they determine the importance of your website pages. For example, if many internal links point to a specific page, Google will decide that this page is significant and rank it higher. 

With backlinks, it’s the same concept, except that you didn’t link your content. Instead, someone added the link to their article or website. They may do that because they might have found your page exciting and relevant, they want to quote your findings, they trust the information you provided, or they just have a crush on you and don't know how to express their true feelings, so they share backlinks to your website. Either way, it's a win for you. 

The most important backlinks you may get are from Authority websites. Those are the most trusted websites in a specific field or industry by both the audience and their peers. 

They usually cover relevant topics with high-quality content, including expert knowledge, case studies, references to research, etc. Getting backlinks from authority websites will increase your Google standing; it will also make you the proud owner of an authority website. It's like the vampire deal, only you won't be lusting for blood, and you won't come out only during the night - that's for another type of website.

How To Create A Healthy Backlink Profile

Creating your backlink portfolio might sound like an easy job, but it's almost as difficult as learning how to order a raw bat at a Wuhan market. In theory, it's all simple enough and there can be hardly any missteps. However, when it comes to action, you feel much like Dorthy in her home during the twister. Much like the little girl that indiscriminately killed a woman when parking her house, only to steal her shoes and afterwards murder her grieving sister, you will find what you are looking for if you simply follow the yellow-bricked road we've paved for you which consists of:

  • Authoritative links
  • Related sites links
  • Follow links
  • Anchor texts
  • Natural links

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Authoritative links are the rockstars of the SEO world. Unlike the real-life rockstars, they are less drugged and have earned their authority by being high-quality and not outrageous. Every authority link is a slingshot to becoming an authority website yourself. However, that's not all.

To get Google to ask you on a date, you'll need your backlinks to come from an authoritative website in the same industry as you are. For example, if you have a website reviewing children's toys with a primary audience of toddlers' parents, a backlink from the NRA will not be ideal. Furthermore, it may raise significant red flags and a potential FBI investigation, but not your SEO score and Google rankings.

Moreover, your backlinks should be natural. Google frowns upon paid backlinks, especially when that money could be spent on them, placing you directly on top (although this will decrease your CTR by 94% {place a link to the "Why Google should be your best friend article}). So to impress Google, you don't need to flash your money. All you need is to be exciting and relevant, so people would genuinely want to share your thoughts. 

The anchor text you will be linked under is also important. Google uses the anchor text to check the topic of the linked page. So if the anchor text is something along the lines of "that website," it's far less relevant than getting an anchor text like "This research on toy production regulation." 

Finally, your backlink should be primarily for extending your audience. Getting Google's blessing is just a bonus. So, whenever you score a backlink from an authoritative website, make sure that its audience will be interested in what you have to say. Otherwise, it's pointless. 

You are probably thinking, "All of that sounds great, but how do I make someone share a link to my content?" We are so glad you asked. There are several highly effective strategies to harvest some great backlinks.

Reclaiming Links

Let's start with the one equivalent to taking candy from a candy store run by babies with cute baby security guards and all that jazz. All you need to do is fix your existing backlinks. Firstly, go to your Google Search Console and check if all the backlinks are pointing to where they should be. You should also look if there are some broken links and if any of them need to be updated. 

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Your next step is to check if your brand name appears anywhere without a link pointing back to you. If you find such a place, it's time to bring out the big guns (your kindest words) and ask the website owner politely if they will be kind enough to put a backlink to your website. More often than not, they will be OK with it since they are already using your brand name in their content. 

The last part is a bit more tricky and needs some investment. Check if anyone else has used your content on their websites. Shocking or not, plagiarism is a massive plague in modern content writing, and tons of websites downright steal your content to use for themselves. The sad part is that even authoritative websites do it. There are many plagiarism detectors around the internet, and if you have a trusted app,  go ahead and use it. 

We like Copyscape, and for a minimal price of 10 USD, you will be able to check all of your content and show you which parts of your content were what Swiper the fox stole.

Instead of going into a legal battle, just ask the thieves to add a backlink to your website. This way, you win backlinks and don't waste time in pointless legal proceedings that may ultimately take years before it gets resolved.

Replacing Broken Links

We want to let you know: spending hours researching your competitors on the internet is neither creepy nor sad. It doesn't make you a creep, and it may be of enormous benefit to your backlink-building efforts. 

Whenever a competitor goes out of business or has his website refurbished, it's worth checking out where their backlinks are coming from. Chances are, the backlinks will be broken, and you will be there at the right place at the right time.

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Whenever you find such a link, see if you have any article that can replace it. If you don't, it's worth spending a few hours researching and writing one that will sound high-quality and correspond to the anchor text and the website providing the backlink's topic. But, of course, writing just something won't suffice, so if you want to have a crack at claiming that broken link, you better go the extra mile and write something worth reading. 

After your page is done, proofread, and published, it's time to bring out your good charms. Write to the website owner and offer him your article to substitute the broken link. Since having a broken link in a website is a huge Google no-no, the website owner will most likely agree. 

Who knows, this might even be the start of a beautiful partnership? However, if you are a good writer and know your stuff, there is an even easier way to get a backlink.

Write A Guest Blog Post

If you ever tried to keep posting a high-quality blog post once a week, you'd already know that this is as impossible as jumping through time while riding a DeLorean at 88 mph. Actually, the latter one might be true. 

On the other hand, who has ever seen a DeLorean speeding at 88mph for us to claim it is otherwise? Nonetheless, writing high-quality blog posts is time-consuming and hard to achieve when you’re trying to go for quantity - you’ll get sloppy. 

One solution is to hire freelancers to do it for you. This way, you can concentrate on actually running your business rather than wasting it on something you don't like and are probably not very good at. Or you can exchange blog posts for backlinks. The latter option is what you should be looking for.

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Finding authority websites and suggesting writing a free blog post for them in exchange for a backlink might be worth your time and efforts since it helps your SEO quest. It  is also a direct ad to your website, products, and services. Just pitch your idea and give it your all when it is accepted.

And while you are in the writing mood, why don't you leave a testimonial?

Writing Testimonials

Many business owners mistakenly think that writing a testimonial is a waste of time. If you don't need backlinks, good relations, and one more place to mention your name or brand, it really is. But suppose you are a rational thinking entrepreneur who would grab any chance to further their business goals and achieve as much popularity as possible. 

In that case, testimonials are as sweet a deal as buying Alaska from the Russians. You write a few nice words about an authority website and its services, and you get a backlink pointing to your website. 

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It's a win-win.

Unsurprisingly most websites will gladly upload your testimonial if it sounds good and if you have a good-looking website relevant to their business. Just write them a friendly mail, explaining how useful you found their product. Write a tremendous-sounding testimonial. 

Make sure to menton the line of business you share and what your business is in your testimony. Don't waste that opportunity to make a free ad for yourself. It's so much easier if you genuinely are honest about your opinion.

Crowdfunding

If you want to go a step further down the rabbit hole, you can always support a start-up in your industry through a crowdfunding website. This tactic is a bit counterintuitive. At first glance, you are helping your future competition, which is like shooting yourself in the foot while running a marathon. 

However, keep in mind that: 

1.) You have a good advantage over the start-up and 

2.) Reality check: around 90% of all start-ups fail. Chances are, you just invested a bit of cash in a project that will never see the light of day. At the same time, you paid some money to have a backlink from the start-up's and crowdfunding's websites.

Write Something Worth Reading

When push comes to shove, there is only one secure way to ensure people will freely share your content and that you will be given the well-deserved credit - write something worth reading. It's not that hard of a concept, now is it?

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Just pick up a topic from a long tail keyword {add a link to the Long tail keyword article}, do extensive research, lay down your findings, and make your conclusions. 

That's all it takes. Of course, you will use some links of authority websites yourself, who may one day return the favor. There's really nothing to it. All it takes is time, effort, and dedication.

TLDR

Backlinks are one of the backbones of your SEO efforts. Google loves them like the cookie monster loves being blue or cookies. Backlinks are other websites sharing your thoughts amidst their content to prove a point. Backlinks will represent you as an authority figure in their research, making you look good both in front of search engines and their audience.

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To have an outstanding backlink portfolio, your backlinks need to be:

  • Authoritative
  • Cited by related websites
  • Follow-worthy
  • with corresponding to your niche anchor text
  • and natural

There are several tactics you may use to get the backlinks you desire. You can start by recovering your existing backlinks. You can also take advantage of the broken backlinks of your competitors. 

Moreover, writing a guest post is always an option, as is writing testimonials or funding a start-up on a crowdfunding website. Nonetheless, it's all for nothing if you don't have some high-quality, sharable content that will interest both search engine crawlers and customers alike.

If all of this sounds easy enough, that’s because we’ve put in our hours to make it sound easy (hello, Bruce Lee!). 

Creating an impeccable backlink portfolio is anything but easy. First, you need to know and understand the tools. Next, you need to have the know-how to research your competitors and find authoritative websites. 

The art and science of backlinks take immense effort and a massive chunk of your time and dedication, which you may utilize elsewhere. That's why it's best to hire professionals like Locus Digital to do this  for you. 

It'll be much cheaper than wasting valuable resources on something you don't completely understand. With one of  Dallas’ leading search engine optimization agencies by your side, you will be relieved that all your SEO needs will be taken care of while dedicating your time and efforts to running and growing your business. 

Schedule a free consultation today!

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