Having other sites link back to yours is an excellent way to improve your reputation, especially when it comes to search engines. However, earning backlinks often means you need to provide quality content for other sites to link to, and this can take up a lot resources.
Thankfully, constantly churning out articles isn’t the only way to promote backlinks to your site, and there are many other techniques you can employ to earn them. Instead of focusing all your energy on writing and promoting the perfect blog post, you can utilize a more holistic strategy for link building success.
In this article, we will reveal four different methods to earn backlinks without having to create more content. Let’s get started!
Having your quote appear in an article, social media post, or other online publication form, may earn you a direct link to your site, as well as bring more attention to your company and the work you do. Additionally, quotes are often reused in other articles to bring credibility to claims. This could spur multiple backlinks to your site as others reference you as their source.
Simply put, having your quotes appear in articles builds your credibility, authority, and leadership, and often earns you reference links.
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There are several ways to go about getting your quotes out there, one way being to land some interviews. You could start by searching for relevant industry magazines, podcasts, TV shows, and radio shows. To begin your search, you might simply add your industry name in front of the appropriate word, for example “dentist podcast”. Just remember, whenever you pitch yourself as a potential interviewee, be sure to highlight what you can bring to the table for readers, listeners, or viewers.
Alternatively, a slightly more passive approach is to join programs like HARO, which connects researchers with experts like yourself. Of course, whatever method you use to get quoted, always prepare your information well and offer up quotable statements for the best results.
While physical directories may have been replaced by search engines, lots of online local directories still exist. These can be a trustworthy source to have your site listed in. If you’re struggling to find local directories, you can also try landing a spot on a top ten list (or similar) from a preferred partner. Both of these offer a way to get a backlink, and also the opportunity for others to find you and link back to you.
To find relevant directories, try using a search like “<your city, state> businesses inurl:directory”
You can investigate these results to find high-traffic up-to-date directories that are managed by real human beings. Of course, make sure they are related to your business somehow!
Some directories aren’t overly competitive and accept most non-spam requests. Others are a little more exclusive. If you’re concerned that they won’t accept your listing, try getting on the directory manager’s radar in other ways first. For example, you could interact on relevant industry social media pages and attend industry events.
Building links should never be the sole foundation of a partnership. If your only interaction is to swap links, you’re doing it wrong. Rather, reserve link trades for actual business affiliations—in which case, you can absolutely pursue link trades.
First, if you have any mutual partnerships, start by listing them on your own site first. It’s easier to ask for a link back from your friends when you’ve already taken the initiative to do the same for them.
Then, for each of your affiliations, don’t just reach out for a simple link back. Spend some time figuring out the most natural way for them to advertise your partnership on their own site. They may have a partners page, but you might be able to find more creative places for them to mention you, such as in a blog post or news section.
Finally, approach your partner and extend your request. With any luck, they’ll be happy to reciprocate and link to you in an appropriate place on their site.
When you actively involve your business in the community, you open the doors to being linked in the news, local blogs, and any number of other media channels.
For this to work, your approach has to be genuine. In other words, never prioritize link building over real relationships! Make sure to choose actions, activities, and events that represent your business and align with your goals.
Not sure where to begin? Use your local community websites and calendars to find opportunities for:
Also, if you’re already involved in the community, don’t be afraid to be more vocal about it. Aside from getting mentions and accompanying backlinks, promoting your participation strengthens your overall brand identity.
Again, don’t get involved just for the backlinks. Do it because it aligns with your company values!
Rather than getting customers to review your company, maybe it’s time you wrote testimonials for others! When a company lists your review, there’s a strong chance it will include a link back to your site. It makes sense for them as it proves the review comes from a real business, so it’s a win-win situation.
To find review-writing opportunities, list out all the products and services your company uses in its daily operations. This could be anything from your paper supplier to the agency who does your taxes.
Work through your list and mark down the products and services you fully endorse. These should be companies you would stake your reputation on. You don’t want to publicly push and associate your name with something of subpar quality. Put together a contact sheet for these product and service providers and reach out to let them know you’re interested in offering a testimonial.
From there, it’s a simple matter of sending them an honest, well-written review and including your business URL. If they don’t publish it within a few weeks, don’t be afraid to follow up!
There are many opportunities outside of constantly creating new content to earn quality backlinks to your site. This is especially important if you can only commit a small portion of your budget to regular content marketing.
In review, here are the five techniques you might want to try:
What other outside-the-box opportunities do you see for earning quality backlinks? Let us know in the comments section below!