These days, all you have to do is enter a search query into Google, and you’re immediately presented with a list of tens, hundreds, or even thousands of search results. You can buy a prime spot in these search results with Google Ads, but the costs can quickly skyrocket.
It’s often more beneficial to appear in search engines’ organic search results. One of the key strategies for appearing in organic search results is link building. With high-quality backlinks, you build your authority, increase brand awareness, and make your product or service easier to find in search engines.
If you rely solely on online advertising to secure that coveted spot on Google, you’ll quickly burn through your entire marketing budget. That’s why it’s worth pursuing high-quality backlinks to improve your rankings—and, in turn, generate free clicks.
High-quality backlinks drive more traffic to your website and help build your brand awareness and achieve your online goals. Here are the reasons why you should invest in acquiring high-quality backlinks:
When other websites link to your website, Google sees that as a recommendation. However, these backlinks must be of high quality to achieve the desired result.
Google only values backlinks from legitimate businesses that are relevant to your website. If you receive a link from a website in a completely different field, Google considers that link to be less valuable.
If the websites from which you obtain backlinks have high authority, you’ll benefit from that as well. This is because Google evaluates the reputation of the website on which your backlink appears. Backlinks from websites with lower authority, therefore, have little impact on your SEO.
In addition to the relevance and authority of the backlink, the anchor text associated with the backlink is also important for its quality. Google determines what the backlink represents based on the link’s anchor text. Irrelevant text such as “click here” detracts from the quality of the backlink, as does over-optimization of the anchor text.
Finally, the alt tag—the description accompanying an image or photo—is important. Whenever you include a link within an image, you should add an alt tag to it.
This helps search engines understand exactly what the image is about. You can include a keyword in the alt tag text, since Google treats alt tags for images as anchor text.
So, to obtain high-quality backlinks, build a backlink profile that looks as natural as possible. Make sure you get backlinks from sites with high authority and a good reputation; that way, you’ll ultimately create high-quality backlinks.
Building backlinks is an ongoing process. Take your time to build quality backlinks and create a plan in advance. There are several ways to build a backlink:
It’s really interesting to write guest posts for other websites. You share your knowledge and expertise, and you also gain some backlinks right away. Plus, you reach a new audience and build your brand. After all, your name—your brand—is in the spotlight somewhere else.
Of course, keep in mind the relevance of the website where you’re publishing your guest post. That’s important for the quality of the backlink.
You can use Google to find out which blog sites are available in your field or market, so set aside some time to look for websites where you can submit a guest post.
Ultimately, these websites will be happy with your content, so it’s a win-win situation for everyone!
A homepage can be an easy way to acquire backlinks. Relevance also plays an important role in choosing a homepage. Homepages with a large number of links are often not very effective for acquiring backlinks. Your backlink will then only carry a small amount of authority.
Although homepage links are old-school, they still have a little bit of value. Homepage links mainly serve as the foundation of your backlink profile. So be careful not to focus solely on getting homepage links, because that won’t help you build a high-quality backlink profile.
A press release isn’t just a good way to get backlinks; it also builds brand awareness. So this approach not only improves your search visibility but also strengthens your branding.
When writing press releases, it’s important to strike the right balance between providing people with valuable information and introducing them to your company or brand. If that balance is off, readers may quickly perceive your press release as spam.
An additional benefit of press releases is that, if the content is interesting and relevant enough, they are sometimes reposted on other news sites. And that way, you’ll get even more backlinks.
Social media is also a good place to get backlinks. Backlinks on social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn can make a substantial contribution to your ranking.
A good backlink structure from a social media channel includes multiple links from multiple posts. A single link from one social media post is not effective. So make sure you get multiple likes or retweets.
Google keeps a close eye on those backlinks on social media, so that presents opportunities for your backlink profile.
Need more tips? Read our tips and methods for acquiring high-quality backlinks here.
In 2012, Google launched the Penguin Update—one of its algorithm updates—to detect web spam and link spam, with the goal of displaying cleaner search results and, consequently, high-quality content.
It is therefore not recommended, for example, to engage in link exchanges or to quickly acquire a large number of links from directory sites that are not relevant to your business. Penguin will penalize you for this, and it will negatively impact your search visibility. The goal should be to acquire high-quality backlinks in a natural way.
See also: 17 reasons to outsource SEO.
You now know what to look for when it comes to the quality of your backlinks and how to acquire backlinks for your search engine optimization. Acquiring high-quality backlinks requires a strategic approach and patience.
Once you’ve acquired high-quality backlinks, you won’t immediately rank at number 1. Acquiring backlinks is a long-term and ongoing process, in which you must constantly stay one step ahead of your competitors. If you’re unable to acquire backlinks, outsourcing link building might be a good option for you.
With a passion for SEO and an unmatched drive for results, Jarik Oosting is the driving force behind SmartRanking. With over 15 years of experience in the field, he has built an extensive body of knowledge spanning technical SEO to complex site migrations. As the founder of SmartRanking, he has assembled a team of like-minded SEO specialists who help businesses achieve sustainable online growth.
His academic background in information science at the University of Groningen, with a specialization in natural language processing, gives him a unique perspective on the world of SEO. For Jarik, it’s not just about visibility in search engines, it’s about sharing knowledge and guiding businesses toward sustainable online success. That mission also led him to write a Dutch book about GEO.