Link building is a long story: There is no reliable way to reach enough good links and become more authoritative for search engines fast. But backlinks remain an important part of any solid search engine optimization (SEO) campaign.

With link building, the ultimate aim is to generate more traffic and compel new users to stay longer on your page. In this post, we highlight five practices to improve your link building efforts. These will be useful for both junior and experienced SEO specialists who are looking for ways to improve their link building strategies. 

Double Down on Quality

It is a no-brainer that only good content can gain users’ attention and make them share it. While the number of links stopped playing a crucial role for SEO some time ago, the need for quality has stayed. So what does good content mean?

First, it should be able to address specific user queries. If it can solve problems, provide useful answers and call to mind creative ideas, there will be no shortage of demand for your content. Needless to say that only unique and authentic content is worth publishing and sharing. There’s no such thing as truly fresh content, but you can build upon existing ideas and add value to users by conducting in-depth research on the topic.

Don’t forget to update materials you have already created before. It makes them more valuable, too. 

Second, good content elicits strong messages and emotions. If it doesn’t inspire action, it won’t have fulfilled its goal. Nowadays, people are more likely to prefer emotional content over a simple rundown of the facts. Winning users’ hearts is easy if your content addresses their interest and location-specific needs. 

Be Selective

It’s okay to knock on as many doors and reach out to as many prospects as possible. But don’t forget about the first point: quality. It’s no secret that certain backlinks (spammy, poor-quality links) can damage your SEO ranking. So make a list of resources you would like to get backlinks from.

Tip: Take a look at your competitors. Ask to be included in industry-relevant digests and other top-ten articles, where you will look natural among other resources from that niche. Seek out non-linked mentions of your website and try to fix them. If the prospect knows your website, it won’t be a problem to persuade them to turn the mention into a link.

The best part is such an interaction can pave the way for long-term cooperation. How to proceed with this plan? Look at item 3.

Encourage Long-Term Collaboration

Guest blogging remains one of the most effective ways to get backlinks from another resource. However, a one-off post is less effective than a long-term partnership with a trusted source.

When you publish your content on other websites selectively, you have greater chances of earning a higher ranking and increasing your traffic. You will also engage qualified leads. Often, with featured posts, readers are wary of the commercial nature of the post. It comes across as just another ad that doesn’t deserve attention or trust.

Additionally, there’s no guarantee that a well-researched, relevant article or blog post will get traction just because you posted it in a trustworthy resource in your niche. That is why long-term collaboration matters.

Create Visuals

Our attention span has gotten significantly shorter, so the best way to draw somebody’s attention is to be clear in your messaging. For example, infographics can break down and explain complex ideas. For this reason, content with excellent visuals, especially when they manage to go viral, easily obtains a lot of high-quality backlinks even without soliciting for them.

Thanks to data analysis, it’s easier to figure out what specific audiences what to see or read. Since you have an opportunity to gather relevant information and transform it into eye-catching illustrations, you can’t ignore this tool for driving up your SEO ranking. 

Examples of visual content include videos, reports or studies, images and how-to guides. By combining education and entertainment, you will faster reach your audience and catch their attention. 

Build Your Brand

The ultimate goal of any link building strategy is not only to increase organic traffic but also to make your brand or website the first one people think of when it comes to a particular topic or question. And this often requires establishing your brand in your niche.

To achieve this goal, you should develop ongoing and productive relationships with other industry leaders. Even if some brands didn’t link you, they still would reach out to you later. Look for potential business partners and get in touch with people from the industry. 

Don’t forget to interact with your audience. You won’t get their love and support overnight. However, step by step, users will get to know you better and trust your content. Introduce yourself via email, offer useful advice where needed, answer the questions of your subscribers, leave genuine comments and don’t promote yourself just for the sake of promotion. 

Eventually, as you continue building your brand and name, you will build a large enough audience who goes to you for answers on specific topics.

Final Thoughts

The world of SEO is fast-changing, but one thing will remain: Link building requires time and strategy. You need to apply different tactics along the way, and your campaign’s success depends on many factors, such as the niche you are working in, keywords you plan to use and the competitors you are up against. The good news is that taking these factors into account helps you build a successful SEO strategy. 

Set the goals you want to reach and measure your targets. Work on your content to make it catchy, exciting and useful. Make sure it is authentic and meets users’ needs. Be selective when it comes to guest posts from other resources. And finally, strive for ongoing business relationships with websites, not just one-off guest posting.

To sum up, link building requires time, but the strategic steps described above can help boost your SEO ranking and get many qualified leads.