SEO Link Building
A Dummies Guide
Muiz Thomas
Founder & Creator
18 min read
Published: 28th November 2023
You can write the greatest post — but if search engines can’t find it, you’ll struggle to get any visitors.
You need links from other websites, and the more links, the better.
But not all links are good. In fact, some links can hurt your site.
Here, I’ll talk about how to build links the right way and stuffs to watch out for.
Key Link Building Terms
Before we crack on, here are some key link building terms you should know about:
What’s a Link?
A link, or a hyperlink, is like a bridge between two pages on the internet.
It’s a way you can send people to a different page, picture, or anything else online.
Search engine bots also use links to find pages online. This is called crawling.
To get a bot to find your site, you need at least one link to it from another site that’s already been crawled.
Internal and External Links
Internal links are like paths on your website that connect your different pages.
External links, on the other hand, are links that other people put on their sites to send their users to your pages (or vice versa). These are called ‘backlinks’.
If other websites link to your pages, you’re getting backlinks from them.
And, if you link from your pages to theirs, you’re giving them backlinks.
In this post, I’ll only be focusing on how to get other websites to link to your pages.
Anchor Text
The anchor text is like a signpost that tells people what the linked page is all about.
A link with a good anchor text is great for two reasons:
- More people click on it, which means you get more direct traffic.
- You also get more traffic from search engines, since they understand your page.
P.S. You can’t control the anchor text when others link to your site. But you can use anchor text to make your own internal links better.
What’s SEO Link Building and Why Build Links?
SEO link building is when you try to get links from other websites to yours.
It’s seen as a GREAT way to rank higher in search engines.
Think about it..
If a page has a lot of good backlinks, it’s likely a quality page (and search engines tend to rank it higher).
But remember, links aren’t the only ranking signal Google looks at.
You also need to focus on other aspects to ensure a well-rounded SEO strategy.
What Makes a Good Backlink?
1. Authority
2. Relevance
3. Placement
4. Anchor Text
5. Nofollow vs. Follow
<a href=“https://example.com” rel=“nofollow”>Anchor Text</a>
<a href=“https://example.
com”>Anchor Text</a>
Types of SEO Link Building
1. Adding Links
This is when you add your link to a site that isn’t yours.
Common methods include:
- Social media profiles
- Business directories
- Forums, communities, Q&A sites (like Quora), etc.
You don’t need to list your site on every platform out there. Just focus on where it makes sense for your business.
Anything more than that would be a waste of time.
Infact, these links usually don’t carry much weight with Google, since your competitors can do the same.
2. Asking for Links
This is when you reach out to other website owners and ask for a link to your:
- Blog posts,
- Visual assets (like infographics),
- Case studies, etc.
But, just a heads-up, it’s incredibly HAAARD.
Imagine sending 150 emails and only getting 15 links.
Think about it…
Would you respond to a random email asking for a link? Probably not.
But if it’s from someone you know, you might.
A wise approach would be to start making friends in your industry, so it’ll be much easier to snag those links.
3. Earning Links
This is when other sites link to yours without you asking.
This usually happens only when you have something special that others want to talk about on their sites.
Here are a few things that can make your site worth linking to:
- Your company’s own data
- Results of big experiments
- Surveys in your industry
- Breaking news, etc.
But remember, you also need to get the word out. People can’t link to what they don’t know exist.
4. Buying Links
This is the easiest but most dangerous way to build links.
Google sees this as trying to trick its system and might even punish you by taking your site out of search results.
Plus, you could end up wasting money on bad links that don’t help.
So, just avoid this completely.
Top SEO Link Building Strategies
There are many SEO link building strategies you can use.
Some work really well. Others? Not anymore.
Here’s what I’ve noticed works really well these days:
1. Resource Page Link Building
This is when you get backlinks from webpages that curate and link out to useful industry resources.
There are two things I like most about it:
- It’s relatively easy.
- It’s scalable.
Here’s what a typical resource page looks like from Harvard:
Because these pages exist for the sole purpose of linking out, they make PERFECT SEO link building targets.
But… how do you find these kind of pages?
For example, if you’re looking for a resource page on (Digital Marketing), you’ll need to put that exact keyword followed by this search operator:
intitle:resources inurl:resources.html.
For example:
In this case, Google will only show results that have both the word “resources” in the title and “resources.html” in the URL.
This narrows down the search to pages that are likely to be resource pages linked to Digital marketing.
Then you can quickly size up the results and select pages with high authority.
Next up, you’ll need to find a content on your site that’ll fit that resource page.
Once you’ve ID’d that content, you’ll need to send the owner a message.
Here’s an example:
Subject: Loved Your Page on [Topic]
—
Hey [Name],
I stumbled upon your resource page on [Topic]: [URL] whilst I was browsing the web today. Just wanted to say, it was super helpful!
Funny enough, I actually wrote a guide on [Topic] recently. It’s about [Brief Description]. Here’s the link if you want to take a look: [URL].
I think it could be a good fit for your resource page.
Either way, thanks for the great resources. Have an awesome day!
Best,
[Your Name]
Heads up: You need to make them as personal as possible, so it doesn’t sound like a made-up script.
2. Create Linkable Assets
A linkable asset is a useful piece of content on your site that’s worth linking to.
This can be helpful, entertaining, or educational.
For example:
Helpful: If you own a plant nursery, you could create short videos or blogs on how to care for different kinds of plants. Most people looking for plant care tips would appreciate and link to it.
Entertainment: If you run a bookstore, you could share a series of fun stories on the weirdest books sold. People enjoy funny stories and would likely share them.
Educational: If you run a cooking school, you could interview a nutritionist or a famous chef. Most people will find it interesting and would want to link to it.
3. Broken Link Building
No one wants to send their visitors to broken pages.
If you can find these broken links and offer a relevant page from your own site as a replacement (WIN).
There are plenty of free tools online you can use to find these broken links.
Start by checking out your competitors’ websites or look for pages that have a lot of links leading out.
The more links a page has, the higher the chance one of them is broken.
Once you find a broken link, let the person running the page know about it.
Here’s a sample script:
Subject: Found a Glitch on [Their Site’s Name]
—
Hey [Name],
I was looking for info on [Topic] and found your page: [Page Title or URL].
Great content by the way.
Just a heads-up, I noticed a couple of links weren’t working:
[URLs of broken links]
By the way, I recently wrote [Brief Content Pitch]. It might be a good fit for the [Point Out a Specific Broken Link].
Either way, hope this helps you out.
Cheers,
[Your Name]
4. Gather Important Stats
Content creators need data to support their points.
If you can collect these stats in one spot, it saves them from having to hunt for it.
And you don’t have to be the one who originally found the data.
As long as you quote where you got it from, and it’s clear and to the point, all good.
Posts like these are super helpful for both searchers and content creators.
It’s a cycle of benefits!
SEO Link Building Tools to Use
From my experience, you don’t need a ton of SEO link-building tools. Just a few good ones will do.
Here are some recommendations:
SEMrush is an all-in-one SEO tool for link building, competitor analysis, and keyword research.
2. Hunter.io
3. Google Alerts
4. BuzzStream
5. BuzzSumo
6. Help a Reporter Out
Launch Your First Link Building Campaign
Spread the Word:
About the Author
Muiz Thomas
Professionally, I’ve got over 6 years of SEO, copywriting, and design experience. My job in a nutshell? Make your customers sit up, pay attention, and click (in that order).
