Top 8 Link Building Strategies to Boost Your SEO in 2023
Backlinks remain one of the most crucial ranking signals driving search visibility. This definitive guide explores the top link building tactics to elevate your SEO in the new year.
Why Link Building Remains Vital for SEO Performance
Industry surveys reveal 97% of search marketers agree link building is "very important" for SEO success.^1^ With each new core update, Google continues emphasizing backlinks as a vital ranking factor.
[^1]: 2022 BrightEdge Search Marketer SurveyAnd the data proves link building works:
- Sites earning backlinks see an average rankings boost for target keywords between 2-5 positions^[@2]^
- High-quality link building increases organic traffic by over 55% on average^3^
[^3]: SparkToro analysis of 17K sites
That‘s why savvy digital marketers dedicate significant ongoing investment to acquiring backlinks. It‘s simply one of the highest ROI SEO activities for driving sustainable search growth.
Now let‘s explore proven link building strategies to deploy this year.
1. Repurpose Top Content Into Backlink Magnets
Analyzing your own site‘s traffic sources reveals a pattern: blog content producing strong organic results earns the lion‘s share of backlinks driving that traffic.
These persistently popular posts serve as primary link building fodder waiting to be repurposed into fresh formats. Like value-packed infographics:
[INSERT IMAGE]Infographics earn backlinks from ~70% of sites they get pitched/embedded on.^4^ Why are they so link-worthy?
[^4]: Fractl – 4 years of infographic campaign data- Visually engaging – people want to share them
- Bite-sized value – easy to digest and link to
- Branding – company name/links are clearly displayed
That‘s just one of many creative content marketing formats you can transform popular posts into for backlink acquisition angles:
[INSERT IMAGE]It‘s all about taking existing collateral with demonstrated reader appeal and giving it new linkbait life.
2. Strategize Guest Posts for Links at Authority Sites
Guest posting has been a go-to link building staple for over a decade. Why? Done right, it aligns incentives – you provide value, they earn thought leadership exposure.
But spammy guest posts packed with links trying to dupe Google don‘t work anymore. Editor outreach is critical:
"Really getting to know people in your space so that you’re not just asking for a guest post, but you’re providing value." – Aleyda Solis
Relationships drive ROI here. Follow this framework when planning guest posts:
1. Identify Target Sites
Sort prospects by domain authority, traffic, and topic alignment using SimilarWeb and Ahrefs.
2. Research Editors
Who‘s the decision maker? What content do they syndicate? Any submission guidelines?
3. Craft Pitches
Make it about their audience. Data helps – what posts did well for them before? How can you create something even better optimized for their readers?
4. Provide Continual Value
Don‘t disappear after your post! Share their content, suggest ideas, and offer other forms of help.
Rinse and repeat this process, doubling down on sites rewarding your efforts with added exposure including backlinks.
3. Earn Links Through Business Resource Listings
Industry directories like Clutch and GoodFirms are goldmines link building targets. They review businesses within niches relevant to their audience.
Submitting yourself for consideration positions your brand as a leader visitors may link to when sharing category listings.
For example, say Clutch features your agency among the top SEO companies in Chicago. Whenever people link to that regional agency list, your backlink comes with it.
Stacking directory links amplifies this equity. Get listed on niche-specific and local site directories heavily trafficked by your target buyers.
4. Tap Competitors‘ Backlink Profiles For Opportunities
Backlink analysis exposes earning pathways. Pull a report on your competitors‘ domains using Ahrefs or SEMRush.
This reveals sites currently linking to rival content. Could they also link to your content? Let data guide your prospecting.
[INSERT IMAGE]Override the intake of link building = manual outreach. Sometimes competitors link building zones forbid poaching attempts.
But other times you‘ll discover untapped opportunities matching the below criteria:
- Within your niche
- Recently updated content
- Accept guest contributions
- Link to related/complementary resources
Now create something better than what they‘re already linking to. Give them an offer tailored to enhance value for their audience.
5. Reclaim Broken Backlinks Through 404 Monitoring
According to Moz, 24.7% of all backlinks break each year. That‘s 6 years of compounding SEO signals fading away if you don‘t reclaim them.
By installing 404 link monitoring through Ahrefs, SEMRush or cognitiveSEO, you get alerts whenever an existing link stops working.
Armed with this intelligence, you can quickly fix and replace broken links. Ensure any lost equity gets recouped or redirected to boost rankings.
This prevents decay for hard-won links secured in years past while keeping your domain healthy.
6. Get More Links by Monitoring Brand Mentions
Ya never know what people are saying about your brand across the endless online horizon. Mentions often include snippets of info worthy of backlinks.
BuzzSumo alerts you to pings without links so outreach is targeted. For example:
"ABC Corp‘s 2022 industry report forecasts ecommerce sales will grow by 15% next year"
Now you can request adding a link on "2022 industry report" to provide readers added context while securing a backlink from a brand mention. This works amazingly well.
Yet barely over a quarter of brands actively monitor and capitalize on mentions for links. Seize low hanging fruit competitors dismiss by keeping tabs on chatter.
7. Provide Commentary to Journalists Via HARO
HARO sends 600-1000 media queries daily from outlets like:
- The New York Times
- Associated Press
- Buzzfeed
- Forbes
Reporters request commentary from industry practitioners like yourself to bolster articles. You supply insights in exchange for backlinks when published.
But a word of caution – most queries are irrelevant to your expertise. That‘s why leading link builders develop systematic HARO pipelines:
- Curate queries by either manual scanning or using a monitoring tool
- Submit thoughtful commentary tied to reporters beat
- Establish yourself as a dependable goto source on topics
This relationship based approach yields multiple links annually from major publishers. But it requires rigorous filtering and follow up within your niche.
8. Create Linkworthy Assets That Attract Links
Links come easier when you remove friction and create something inherently shareworthy. Like:
- Research reports
- Online tools
- Quizzes
- Assessments
- Calculators
The key is anticipating user intent matched to topics aligned with your offerings and expertise.
For example, HubSpot‘s Website Grader tool serves an intent while aligning to their niche. It‘s amassed ~50k external sites linking to it.
You don‘t necessarily need advanced coding skills either. Tools like Carrd, Google Sites, Bubble.io and more help you quickly build landing pages with embeddable utilities.
Promote assets solving intents on sites where those users congregate. Don‘t force it. If you build it, links will come over time.
Link Building Requires Continuous SEO Investment
With Google indexing over 130 trillion pages, endless opportunities exist to build authoritative properties searchers reach to discover solutions.
But securing visibility requires outsmarting sophisticated algorithms and human behavior tendencies.
That‘s why holistic digital strategies intertwine the art of relationships with the science of data.
The above link building overview provides actionable tactics to start driving more referring domains. Combine multiple approaches for sustained search visibility gains.
Or for fully customized link building strategic support mapped to your business model and industry, [let our team of industry experts accelerate your organic growth.]()
Now discover channels driving demand for your competitors and forge partnerships providing immense value to earn powerful backlinks. The search growth rewards are worth the effort!
