SEO Link-Building Guide to Multiply Your Marketing Efforts

Even if you are far from in-depth SEO analytics and can’t see the difference between a meta tag and alt text, you still definitely have in your head the association of search engine optimization with link-building. And this is for a reason, as links play a big role in positioning your domain and attracting organic traffic. But how do you make your links get hosted by other sites? What tricks can you use to create link-worthy content? What tools will help in this? These questions and many more will be answered as we try to break down a guide to building an effective SEO link-building strategy right in this article. Capture the key points so that you can enrich your marketing strategy with high-quality links as soon as possible.

At the heart of the link-building process is the generation of hyperlinks, or so-called “backlinks”, from other sites to your own. In the eyes of search engines (and indeed regular users), mentioning you as an authoritative or relevant source serves as a kind of marker of the quality of your site and a brand as a whole. In essence, any link is a kind of “shout out” that will be seen as a vote of confidence, signalling to web algorithms to increase your search engine ranking. The correlation here is quite linear: the more high quality backlinks a site has, the more likely it is to rank higher in search engine results. And it won’t be long before organic traffic increases and your site becomes an authoritative resource in your niche. Looking at the industry of affiliate and digital marketing, we can say that today link-building has evolved from simple link exchange to a complex strategy. It includes getting links through high quality content, building relationships with influencers and using various methods of working with users. 

You probably have the Backstreet Boys “Tell me why” record playing in your head, because you want to understand the feasibility of investing in link-building strategy, we will now answer just that question. It’s all about the fact that search engines (you know, Google, Bing and their competitors), consider backlinks as one of the main ranking factors, because they indicate the primary pain points of users: reliability and relevance. That’s why a well-designed link-building strategy is one of the most important components of modern SEO. Link-building is essential for increasing domain authority, improving keyword rankings, and increasing organic traffic. Without an effective strategy, even the most mind-blowing content can go unnoticed. Also keep in mind the digital competition in which link-building will be your trump card, as it not only helps to boost SEO, but also helps to build credibility, helping the site to become a leader in its industry. 

In this block, we will try to form a sort of a guide for structuring your link-building strategy. This is not a strict ordered plan of action, where one point is not possible without fulfilling the previous one, but rather a set of useful tactics. Their combination will bring you closer to the ideal method of working with link-building in your SEO journey.

We can’t start our journey to success with an abstract understanding of the results, right? Before diving into the tactics of building up the link mass, it is necessary to set clear and precise goals. Recall your long-term SEO strategy and find the very parameters that you plan to improve with the help of link-building. Do you want to increase the authority of your site’s domain, improve the ranking for specific keywords, or attract more traffic to a specific page? There may be more than one goal, it is important to set priorities correctly — this will help shape your approach and focus your strategy on achieving tangible results towards global business goals.

Instead of vague aspirations like “get more backlinks”, choose specific, time-limited goals, for example, “purchase 50 high-quality backlinks in 3 months” — something like adapting the well-known SMART approach. This will not only make it easier to track progress, but also allow you to adjust your strategy as needed.

Most likely, at this stage you already have some kind of SEO strategy, and it is worth starting any actions towards link-building not from scratch, but from a specific starting point where you currently are. To determine it, you will need to initiate the analysis of your backlink profile using tools such as Ahrefs, Moz or SEMrush. This will give you valuable information about the types of websites that link to you, the pages that attract the most backlinks, and which parts of your strategy have gaps that need to be addressed. This kind of analysis serves as the basis for your next steps, allowing you to build on what works and fix what doesn’t work.

The key advice here is to focus on harmful or low-quality backlinks that can reduce the effectiveness of your SEO search. Removing these links is crucial to maintaining a healthy backlink profile. Also, look for opportunities to improve the content that already attracts links. By updating or expanding these successful pages, you can increase their value and attractiveness for future link-building efforts, which will help you strengthen your overall SEO presence.

Remember that you are not Columbus discovering America = far from being the first discoverer of link-building strategies. One of the smartest ways to improve your approach is to learn from your predecessors and competitors who consistently rank higher for your target keywords. By analyzing their backlink profiles, you’ll be able to find out which of their pages are attracting the most hyperlinks, who is linking to them and what the reasons for those links are. Understanding these patterns can reveal what types of content and outreach tactics are working well in your industry, offering you valuable insights to enhance your own efforts.

From a technical point of view, there are tools for support such as SimilarWeb or already mentioned Ahrefs, SEMrush and Moz with the functions for auditing the domains of leading competitors. Try to pick out trends in the types of sites linking to them and the specific content those links lead to. Repeat their success by creating similar but even more valuable content and linking back to the same sites. Hope there’s no need to clarify the ethical issues of plagiarism. Approach the process strategically — don’t just copy someone else’s efforts, but find a unique link profile formula that will make your content stand out and add new value to it.

Extra advice: Your technical savvy is important in all stages of SEO link-building strategy, not just in competitive analysis. To make it easier for you to navigate among the diverse offer of the link-building tools market, we have compiled a selection of the most effective options with their detailed analysis. Guided by our tips, you will definitely build the perfect SEO toolkit.

At the heart of any successful link-building strategy is high-quality content that attracts backlinks organically. Content creation is the primary tactic used by 90% of marketers to increase backlinks. To create such content, focus on the multi-formatting and value of your content units. Generate in-depth blog posts, comprehensive guides on the most pressing topics, cutting-edge research, infographics, or interactive tools that provide unique insights or solve real-world problems for your audience.

When developing link-worthy content, consider two powerful strategies. The skyscraper technique works on the principle of building up the value of content — you identify popular content in your niche and then create an even better and more comprehensive version of it. This usually means adding more in-depth knowledge, supplementing the evidence base with fresh data, updating outdated information, or improving the visual design.

On the other side, there is an alternative content strategy — gap filling. In this case, gaps are unresolved pain points for your target audience, i.e. topics that users are interested in, but no one in your niche has touched on them yet. A gap-filling involves creating units of content that will provide the most comprehensive coverage of a topic area. These can be: 

• topic gaps (issues that have been addressed for advanced users, avoiding newbies); 
• media gaps (lack of convenient video or audio adaptations of articles — users remember only 10% of the info delivered by text versus 95% viewed in video format);
• or even information gaps (outdated or incomplete data on the topic as a whole). 

This approach will not only improve your site’s positioning, but will also increase the chances of getting backlinks from sites looking to fill these gaps in their content.

Bonus tip: Keep an eye out for viral topics and occasionally experiment with content on the edge of hot button subjects. If your piece of content is kinda controversial and sparks a discussion in the comments section or on social media, you may notice that people start sharing their opinions about it. They almost always include a link-back to the original post.

Link-building is more than just blasting out cold emails; it’s about developing real relationships with influential people in your field, like bloggers, webmasters, and influencers. Effective outreach is based on mutual respect and trust; instead of just requesting a backlink, interact with these people by leaving thoughtful comments, sharing their posts on social media, and striking up conversations. This will help you establish a deeper, more meaningful relationship later on when you reach out with personalized messages.

When you approach outreach with the mindset of offering value, whether it’s through guest posts, collaborative projects, or exclusive content tailored to their audience, show how linking to your site can benefit them as well. Furthermore, you should feel free to advise them on the location of the backlink within your content; this is not being intrusive, but rather considerate. By providing value and building enduring relationships, you raise the likelihood that you will not only obtain high-quality backlinks but also establish mutually beneficial long-term partnerships.

Broken link-building is a highly effective tactic that not only helps improve your own backlink profile but also provides value to webmasters by helping them fix dead links on their sites. The process is simple: find broken or outdated links on relevant websites and offer your content as a replacement. This mutually beneficial approach allows you to earn quality backlinks while the site owner resolves an issue that could harm their user experience.

To get started, use services like Dr. Link Check, Dead Link Checker or SEO SpyGlass to identify broken links on relevant pages. Once you’ve found a dead link, reach out to the site’s webmaster with a helpful, personalized message suggesting your content as a replacement. Be sure to explain how your resource fits the context of the broken link, providing both a solution for them and an opportunity for you to gain a valuable backlink. If you haven’t thought of this insidious idea yourself yet, here’s a tip for you: start by looking for broken links that potentially direct to your competitors’ websites.

Social media platforms are powerful tools for amplifying your content and driving organic backlinks. While social media shares don’t directly impact SEO rankings, they significantly increase the visibility of your content, which can lead to more natural backlinks from users who find your content valuable. By engaging actively on social platforms, you can extend your reach, attract attention from influencers, and engage in discussions that ultimately bring more traffic — and links — back to your site.

To maximize the benefits, share your content across multiple social channels, tailor it to the preferences of each platform’s audience, and engage consistently with your followers. Encourage discussions around your content by asking questions, responding to comments, and joining relevant threads. The more attention your content receives, the greater the likelihood that other websites will link to it, strengthening your link-building strategy through natural, user-driven links.

We have covered only one piece of all useful tactics for creating an effective link-building strategy. You can add to the list the strategic use of guest blogging, recovering lost backlinks, tracking brand mentions, showcasing your experience through blog commenting, and even creating your own wiki page. Although there are many ways, remember that creating links is not a quick solution to a problem. It is a long-term strategy that, if executed correctly, will steadily increase your site’s ranking in search results, attract organic traffic and, ultimately, contribute to the overall growth of your business. Keep improving your tactics, building relationships, and adapting to changes in the SEO landscape to ensure long-term success.