Posted on June 21, 2019

6 Proven Link Building Strategies for Your Blog

Posted on June 21, 2019 by .BIBLE Registry Categories: Get Found

For blogs, links are a critical piece of the “get found” puzzle. One way to be recognized by web crawlers and rank higher on search engines is to have credible sites linking to your website. This process is called link building, and it’s not something you sit back and hope falls together. Apply these strategies and get noticed by credible websites, who will promote your blog by linking to your content.

Here are 6 proven link-building strategies for your blog.

1. Guest Post for Others

It’s not uncommon for bloggers to share content in the form of guest posting. Here’s how it works:

  1. Write an interesting article, reaching wide for a diverse audience.
  2. Edit and re-edit the article. (And then maybe edit once more.)
  3. Contact prospective blog managers and offer your article as a guest post.
  4. Get published on the prospective blog.
  5. Promote it on your social media channels.

Pro tip: Keep meticulous records of your communication with all of the prospects. Don’t damage your credibility by repeating yourself or pitching your article to the same blog manager twice.

2. Accept Guest Posts

Guest posting works both ways. It will save you time (writing can be a slow process) and money (free marketing), but it does need to be done thoughtfully. Associating with blogs that are low-ranking or penalized can harm your site’s reputation and optimization.

Once you’ve determined whether or not the guest poster is reputable, consider the content and how it might benefit your readers.

Take a look at Sergio Aicardi’s article on Search Engine Journal entitled 6 Things You Must Do Before You Ever Accept Guest Posts. Sergio hits all the main points of accepting guest posts: setting goals and guidelines and determining your plan.

Learn more about link building with 5 Link Building Myths and Facts.

3. Quote Roundup Post

Traditional roundup posts might be on the verge of overexposure, but there are creative ways to wisely use this link building technique.

Roundup posts are created when a blogger reaches out to an influencer and asks them to make a short statement about a particular topic or in reference to a question. Once the article is published, the blogger reaches out to the influencer and asks them to promote the article in which they’re quoted. Since the work can seem to fall on the shoulders of the influencer, this technique is sometimes be a put-off. Give the roundup method an update by doing your homework before approaching the influencer.

Here are the 3 steps to link building with an influencer:

  1. Find the content for yourself (research tools like BuzzSumo, Topsy, SEMRush can all help) by searching the public sphere of the web.
  2. Thoughtfully create your article, including the found quotations and data.
  3. Approach the influencer to let them know they’re included. As explained by Stephen Panico for BuzzStream, ask them:
    • Are you still good with this info or would you change or add anything?
    • How do you want to be attributed? Do you want a link to your Twitter profile, blog, or some other page?

This kind of approach shows the influencer that you’ve done the work and you’re going to publish the article and give them credit, and it’s up to them to contribute additional comments or promote it themselves.

4. Find Broken Links

This would be a great job for a summer intern.

  1. Identify credible sites on which you’d benefit from a link.
  2. Find broken links (404).
  3. Compile substitute links to suggest in place of the broken links.
  4. Approach the web manager and offer your work to them.

As explained by Kristen Hicks for HostGator:

“Broken link building is based on the idea that by alerting a website owner to a broken link on their website and suggesting a good replacement, you’re helping them out … For each relevant broken link you find, you can either contact the webmaster to recommend a piece of content you already have that makes a good replacement, or create a new piece of content if you don’t already have one.”

5. Facebook Groups

In an era of gathering, it’s no surprise that bloggers have flocked to Facebook to combine forces. Look for blogging groups or pages where writers solicit information from other bloggers in exchange for a link. You can comment with a link and a quote from a pertinent article from your blog in an effort to be recognized on their blog.

These opportunities fill up fast, so be prepared to act quickly when you see an opportunity.

Facebook is growing and changing. Learn how you might be impacted with The New Facebook Algorithm Demystified.

6. Give Out Awards

Find a reason to celebrate!

Another way to forge connections with other organizations and get inbound links from other websites is to honor others with your very own awards. Here’s how it could look:

  1. You create a Top 10 list for something you’re passionate about.
  2. Create a badge that you can send to the award recipients.
  3. Suggest they show off their accomplishment by adding the badge to their website and social media accounts.

Pro Tip: Make sure to include a link back to the awards page on your site in the embed code!

Are you a Bible church? Or a brick and mortar organization? Give awards to local vendors and show your gratitude. Or publish a product review of your favorite resources, sending badges to each recipient. The possibilities are endless.

In what ways have you have link building success? We’d love to hear from you. Leave us a comment and share your expertise.