7 Critical Link Building Methods to Look Out for in 2021

No matter how much SEO techniques evolve, link building remains the most effective way to top SERP. After all, the first ranked page on Google has almost 4X backlinks than the runner-up.

If you are unaware of the link building process, here is a short primer. Link building is the act of acquiring backlinks from as many websites as possible.

Why is it important? Search engines have no way of knowing the quality of what your website or blog contains. If more sites refer back to it, your site must be reliable and therefore should rank high on SEO.

It’s elementary logic. But implementing the practice is another matter altogether.

You not only need a lot of backlinks, but they have to be from sites that have high domain authority. Otherwise, it would be enough to get mentioned on Facebook or Twitter.

How to build backlinks in 2021 without breaking a sweat? We take a look at the latest practices.

The Best Link Building Strategies of 2021

Generate Superb Content

Producing exceptional content remains the most effective link building technique.

The tried and tested ways never fade away. If what you share is original, thought-provoking, and authoritative, others would like to cite your work.

Top content produces a link that is worth its weight in gold. Organic link creation is the hardest because of the effort involved in creating good content that satisfies the reader. It is also the most dependable and reliable.

When you write, do not aim at what search engines would like to see. Avoid keyword stuffing and all the outdated workaround that would get you penalized. Instead, focus on content that provides answers and comprehensive analysis.

It might take a little time for others to find it, but once they do, they will keep on returning and providing you backlinks.

Guest Blogging

If you want to build a reputation, write a guest post on a relatable blog. Your name would, of course, provide a backlink to your site.

Guest blogging remains a really popular method to earn high-quality backlinks. If you are good enough to contribute to a prominent blog, Google considers your work to be trustworthy and high-quality.

This prominence flows back to your site. Of course, all of this is easier said than done. It is tough to get published on TechCrunch or Business Insider.

All the reputable sites are buried under thousands of requests for publication. Even if you write a fabulous article, you might have to wait a couple of months for it to get published. But link building does not happen in a day and a gestation period of half a year is par for the course.

Perform Case Studies and Analyses

If you have perused the web, you would have seen that it is mostly filled with trash. The same useless listicles rehashed a hundred times.

It is hard to find a plethora of information neatly summarized in a readable article.

Sure there is a ton of such work available on Google Scholar. However, most of us are not scholars and don’t aspire to be one.

Easily presented statistics that make sense (without difficult concepts such as time-differing correlation) is a treat to read.

For example, if you author a blog on investing, try writing an article that draws on real-world examples. Your insights and case studies are bound to get plenty of attention.

A dull blog asking readers to buy oil futures is disinteresting.  Write instead about how nine traders working together made $500 million in a day when oil prices dropped to negative territory in April 2020.

Broken Link Building

This one is easy to do but needs a lot of elbow grease to make it work.

Narrow down the top websites in your domain. Analyze it in depth for deadlinks. Not a hard thing to do. Just let a link checker software do its thing and wait for the result.

Once you have found deadlinks, find if the article is suitable for inserting the URL of your site.

If so, send a mail to the webmaster showing the exact location of the dead link. Politely suggest inserting the name of the article on your site.

After this, it is largely a matter of hit or miss. Some would accept your request and insert a backlink, while others would ignore it.

There is nothing you can do except suggest. But look at it from the opposite perspective. There are at least a hundred best sites with high domain authority in the same field. If you can garner five mentions through little cajoling, that is wonderful.

Moreover, the site that provided you the backlink would probably do so again in the future.

Pursue Networking

You have to draw attention to yourself. It is as simple as that. But publicizing your knowledge does not mean tomtoming your abilities. Rather a gentle diffusion of your worth.

Go on LinkedIn and find the top experts in your field. Correspond with them and build a relationship.

Join Facebook Groups and network in earnest. Become someone easy to know and befriend. Have a clear opinion, and be known as someone who is a thought leader.

Soon enough, you would find that those who are part of your network would be happy to give you the required mention in their blogs and articles.

If you are introverted, you will find the going tough. But to market yourself and your website, there is no other way. Motivate yourself by thinking of all the backlinks you will obtain.

Answer On Quora

Quora is a world-renowned question and answer site. It is not unlike Reddit but quite different in some aspects.

Quora allows you to write long answers. Many responses are more than a thousand words long. It’s not that Reddit has a ban on long answers, but the site is filled with too many people making a quip.

Quora readers appreciate lengthy discussions. It is fantastic for establishing yourself as someone who grasps the finer points of the discussion.

Most of all, Quora has no ban on linking your site as long as you don’t shamelessly commercialize it.

It takes no more than an hour to write a top-rated answer. Of course, your suggestion has to be innovative and understandable to laypeople.

Quora is one of the rare avenues to legitimately provide yourself with a backlink. Make an effort and write an answer today.

Get Listed In Directories

Go ahead and sign up for Yelp, Tripadvisor, and Foursquare. Any business directory would do as long as it is online. If you look closely enough, there is one for every domain.

If nothing else, good old Craigslist would do. You not only get a link back to your site but also genuine customers. A growth in organic traffic means you get reviews and mentions on websites that matter.

One problem might be that the webmaster follows a “rel=nofollow” HTML attribute. This prevents your site from being indexed with the page on which the backlink is present.

One thing you have to remember in this context is that link building methods are not solely for SEO rank. Of course, that is the prime objective, but the other is to become reputed and respected.

Can It Be Done Easily?

If you are not a specialist, it can prove hard to get a lot of relevant backlinks.

Almost two-thirds of digital marketers feel that generating quality backlinks is the hardest part of SEO.

Fear not.

The process can be outsourced to an SEO firm that specializes in link building services. There is no magic to earning backlinks. It is a matter of investing adequate time and effort.

A top-notch link building agency such as Uplers can help you obtain high-quality backlinks at surprisingly affordable rates. They have rare know-how and draw upon a decade of experience.

By implementing the strategies presented above, you would be well on your way to rank high on Google. Be patient and consistent. Results will invariably follow.