27 Apr
When it comes to improving your SEO ranking, gaining backlinks to your website is surely a plus. The good news is, you don’t have to spend a lot to get link backs to your site. With the right strategy and a little elbow grease, you can get free backlinks from high-quality domains. Yup, you’ve read that right – free.
Intrigued yet? Read until the end to know marketers’ go-to strategies for getting backlinks and then some. We’ll also throw in a few tips on getting your money’s worth while carrying out your digital marketing strategy.
What are Backlinks?
Before we discuss the many ways you can get free backlinks, let’s make sure that we’re on the same boat. Technically, backlinks are links from a website leading to another website. They’re also called “incoming links,” “inbound links,” and “one-way links.”
This leads us to the next question – how are backlinks beneficial, and why are they integral in content strategy? Here are some of the benefits it brings:
- Improved ranking. Search engines, specifically Google, see backlinks as “upvotes” for a specific page. When other websites link to your blog, it tells Google that you offer value. As a result, it will give your website a better rank.
- Wider reach. Having backlinks means there are more materials online that direct to your website. That said, there are better chances of getting a good amount of traffic to your site.
- Enhanced brand reputation. Having websites linking to you makes your brand an industry leader. This leads to enhanced consumer trust and a better reputation.
Given the benefits above, it’s not surprising that many brands are willing to spend extra on the best backlink tools. Many ventures also see it worthy of getting professional services from a link building agency to get the backlinks they need.
Free Ways to Get Backlinks
If you don’t have the resources to hire an agency or to get backlink tool subscriptions, fret not! Here are some of the best ways to get backlinks without having to spend a dime.
1. Help a Reporter
Help a Reporter Out is a platform that connects bloggers or journalists with sources they are looking for.
For example, a reporter is doing a story on current baking trends and needs to interview an expert who’s in the know. If you’re in the bakeware or baking supplies industry and you have a good grasp of what people are buying these days, you can volunteer your expertise and knowledge in the subject.
By doing so, you’re saving the journalist a ton of time searching for an expert to interview for the project. And to thank you for your expertise, they will introduce you as the owner of your business and link back to your website.
2. Online Forums
Another way to get free backlinks is to answer questions in online forums. Let’s say you’re offering gardening materials. You can browse gardening forums and look for queries you can answer. Then, you can link back to an info page or a product page on your website.
PRO TIP: Never answer questions just for the sake of linking to your blog. After all, you’d want to offer value to the forum community. Otherwise, your answer will look spammy, and your tactic can backfire.
3. Blog Comments
Similar to forums, you can also use a blog’s comment section to get a link back. However, just like with forums, make sure that your comments are relevant and don’t look spammy.
Let’s say you’re selling silicone baking mats that are usually used for baking macarons. You can search for blogs or web pages that offer macaron recipes. After that, suggest the product in the comment section in a way that doesn’t sound too much like a sales pitch.
4. Guest Posting
Another way to get high-quality backlinks free of charge is to guest post. How does this work? First, you need to approach websites that offer guest posts. After that, create a blog pitch and send it to the webmaster.
Once they give you the go signal, create the blog and link to your website. There you have it – free backlinks from a collaboration.
PRO TIP: To up the chances of getting your pitch approved, make sure that it appeals to the audience of that website. That said, it’s vital to read what types of content they’ve published in the past. By doing so, you can design a pitch tailor-fit for the website and its audience.
5. Broken Links
There are websites that may have linked to websites that no longer exist. When this is the case, website visitors who click on that link will get a web page with a 404 error. This presents a great opportunity to get free backlinks.
Look for web pages with broken links. Then, reach out to the webmaster and suggest them linking to your website instead.
Here’s a simple letter template you can send the webmaster:
Hey, [insert webmaster’s name]!
I was browsing your website and found that this link directing to [insert name of the website with 404 error page] doesn’t work anymore:
[insert URL of the web page with broken link]
I thought this content would fit perfectly in your piece and give your visitors valuable info:
[insert your URL]
By the way, your content is awesome! Let me know how else I can help.
Thanks,
[insert your name]
The Bottom Line
As seen from the strategies above, there are many tactics to gain free backlinks without spending an arm and a leg. At the end of the day, the best way to get link-backs is to go back to its very foundation – reaching out to members of the community to achieve a win-win solution.
Whether it’s reporters or bloggers who are searching for info or website masters who need to update broken links, it’s all about helping others as you help yourself.
And speaking of members of the community working to help ventures gain ground, that’s what we do at Content Fuel. We offer unlimited content writing at a flat monthly rate.
Whether it’s SEO marketing or website copywriting, you can leave the writing tasks to us so you’ll have more time to build your network. Try our packages today and see how we can help you reach out better to your audience!
