Link Building Strategies: 56+ SEO Experts Reveal Their Secret Game Plans

Sam McRoberts

Question #1:

• Guest posts on other sites in that industry (paid if needs be).
• Reverse-engineering competitor links via Moz or Ahrefs and then going to the best sites to determine how to get a link there.
• Using a top-tier service like AudienceBloom to get links you couldn’t easily earn.
• Broken link building.
• Building an email list and straight up asking for links.
• Running contests or giveaways that require a blog post describing why they should win and linking to the contest page.
• Creating a list of email addresses of people who have linked to or mentioned your competitors and turn that list into a custom segment in Facebook and promote your content to them via social ads.
• Going out and getting your own contributor accounts on top-tier sites like Forbes or HuffPo and linking to your own content (easier than you might think).
• And on and on. 🙂

Question #2:
Same as above really. The same tactics tend to work well over time, because people don’t change much 🙂
As long as you’re careful, there’s a ton of wiggle room in the link building space.

Stuart Walker

The same as it’s always been and always will be…
High quality content that solves your READERS problems and not just keyword stuff.

It’s not hard to find out what they like and want using the “Skyscraper Technique”, looking at the questions they ask on forums and social groups or asking them.

Bonus points if you can make your content entertaining too.

Don’t just educate them and bombard them with facts and data, tell stories too. Stories sell. People remember stories but they don’t remember facts and figures. It also makes people bond and trust you more.

This is the sort of content you need to be putting out.

Then get your content out there in front of the influencers and authorities in your niche. Network with them, do cool things for them they will remember, help them. And then show them your content. If it’s something their audience will be interested in they WILL link to it.

It works far better and is sustainable than any short-term tricks or black-hat crap.

Zac Johnson

Q. #1:
Personally, I’m still focusing on guest blogging and contributing to other well-known news and media sites. This method works extremely well because it not only helps with link building and traffic to my sites, it also helps with branding and getting in front of new audiences as well.

This is something I’ve been stressing to site owners, brands and content creators for years. The concept of guest blogging is quite simple, yet so many people are still doing it wrong. Focus on high-quality content that provides real value, then the promotion of that content after it goes live.

Once you start writing for high profile sites and getting your name out there, it’s much easier to secure new opportunities and partners. This method also works if you are building out niche sites and not even using a personal brand, it just might take a little extra work and research to get it all up and running. Refer to this nice big list of sites accepting guest posts and see if any are a good fit for your niche.

Q. #2:
Expert roundup posts are something I’ve been playing around with for a bit lately, and they tend to still work very well. This method can also be used to juice up backlinks, traffic, social shares and branding for a niche site as well.

The concept is pretty simple… all you need to do is ask a quick question to a bunch of experts within an industry, then compile all of their responses in one big mega post.

You can see an example of a recent one I did here on how 65 entrepreneurs made their first dollar, while also seeing 17 other roundup examples here.

If you are going to run a roundup, make sure you focus on highlighting other sites and experts in your own niche, as this will help provide the most value and getting you the type of exposure and backlinks you want from other relevant sites.

Marko Saric

Q. #1:
Syndication of content can bring you some great links and traffic early on. Many large websites allow you to publish content directly (for example Medium.com and LinkedIn), some accept guest posts and contributors.

This is your opportunity to introduce yourself and the value you can create to their audience that’s relevant and interested in what you’re doing. And you get some great, high quality and targeted links in the process.

Q. #2:
The only long-term traffic that will stand the test of time is the creation of amazing content. Content that’s better, more entertaining, more educational, simpler to understand, more inspirational than all the other content that’s available out there.

People want content. They want to be entertained. They want to learn. They want to see unique studies and new researchs.

If you can create the best content that’s available in your niche, it will ensure that you also get social media mentions and quality links from other sites too.

Cyrus Shepard

Q. #1:
Gah – First of all I’m terrible link builder because I only practice one method of building links and it’s the hardest way that I know.

I’m a content guy, and I hate writing outreach emails, so my method is this: I try to create content that’s so good that when someone stumbles upon it in Google search, they want to link to it.

Now the problem is if I’m just getting started, then I have no search traffic and no built-in audience. So I have to promote my content through a combination of free channels like Reddit and paid channels like Facebook, Stumbleupon, etc. And if I’m really desperate, I’ll start writing outreach emails and guest posting.

So there you have it. A dumb, traditional approach to link building that’s way harder than it should be.

Russ Lobo

Q. #1:
For a website just starting out the best links to create are via press releases.

This doesn’t bring in any “dofollow” links nor does it boost your ranking but it shows Google that your website has been mentioned by a number of news websites (and if you have written a good unique copy, then maybe even big sites like Yahoo News, etc) and this adds to the overall trust of your website.

There are many good press release services out there which a new niche marketer can try. Make sure you get a good one and check the track record of the person providing the press release.

Q. #2:
An effective long-term tactic by far is networking in your niche. Websites don’t link to websites, people link to websites of people they like and respect. The more you network, the more long-term links you will get to your niche site.

So make a list of all the industry leaders in your niche. Then connect with them on social media, keep commenting on their posts and sharing them on your social profiles, join groups in your niche and participate and engage with other experts in your niche, once you have built a rapport, you will automatically start helping each other

Dave Schneider

Q. #1:
Targeted email outreach, whether to interview/feature relevant influencers in expert roundups (high probability of linking or sharing your expert roundup to their followers) or to apply to guest write for the top, high DA blogs in the space.

Writing massive and valuable how-to, list or resource type posts also worked well from my experience.

Erik Emanuelli

Q. #1:
Web 2.0 Sites. This is an effective method to earn powerful “dofollow” links.

Simply create a free account at one of the following places and create unique and relevant content.
Some of the most popular Web 2.0 platforms include:

• WordPress.com
• Blogger.com
• LiveJournal.com
• Xing.com
• Weebly.com
• Slashdot.org
• Typepad.com
• Tumblr.com
• Storify.com

Q. #2:
Build unique and interesting content for your audience. Solve problems, satisfy needs, create value so that your readers will naturally link to your website.

John Vandeerlan

Q. #1:
One of the best link-building strategies for a niche website that is just getting started is to use infographics.

Here’s how it works:

1. Go to a site like AwesomeInfographics.com and have them design a high quality professional infographic from one of your posts on your website.
2. Once you have the infographic, publish it in your post.
3. Now submit your infographic to as many infographic submission sites as you can find, both free and paid.

Here’s where the magic comes in…
Yes, you will get links from the infographic submission sites, but more importantly, people will find your high quality infographic and use it on their website and link back to your post!

I used this exact method to build backlinks for a very competitive keyword with over 1,000 monthly searches and took my post from page 4 to the top of page 1!

Here are the key takeaways:
Your infographic has to be really high quality. Spend a few bucks and have it professionally done. I used AwesomeInfographics.com and the cost was $175.

The post that you are trying to rank has to be high quality with good on page SEO.

That’s it, pretty simple and if you do it right, you can build a lot of high quality backlinks!

Q. #2:
In addition to using infographics, the best long-term tactic is to create high quality, helpful content that is worth sharing and linking to.

Think “Ultimate Guide to Choosing X”. I would also include a high quality infographic in the “Ultimate Guide” and I guarantee you will have people sharing and linking to your content.

Nick Eubanks

Q. #1:
My number one tip for building links for niche sites is building out large content resources, and then leveraging the bigfoot strategy to expand on the maximum number of keyword rankings for each piece of content.

This strategy, when employed for passive link building, often results in “ranking links”, which means you organically pick up links month after month simply because when people who are writing about the topics you rank for need a reference to justify their claim, opinion, or statistic – you’re it.

Codrut Turcanu

Q. #1:
Best link-building method is having great content, epic posts on your blog and searching for similar content.

Once you have a list with 10 potential leads/links, then take the outreach route: contact those 10 bloggers and propose them to take a look to your post and potentially link to it.

If it’s valuable to them, they will have no problems linking to your post.

Montgomery Peterson

#1 Being in the coloring books and artist industry, one of the best ways that I have found for growing backlinks and references to my site is reaching out to other activity and coloring sites and see how I can provide them with value.

Sometimes this can be through email outreach and offering a free cartoon drawing of the person behind the site, or offering a free guest post that might be of value for their audience. The most important thing here is to try and provide more value than anyone else, while also hopefully getting featured on the blog with a quick mention and backlink.

In these days where everyone is trying to get a quick backlink or mention, spending some extra time on originality and value is key.

Q. #2:
Something I’ve been focusing on a lot lately is creating a valuable resource for my audience that I can simply reference back to time and time again.

While I’m always trying to give the best user experience and value to my audience when it comes to coloring materials, prints and artwork, it’s also important to create something I can reference back to as well. Since I’m already active in the world of guest blogging and content creation, whenever I am writing about a particular topic and reference back to my work as an example, it’s always going to be positive.

So to summarize my answer, create something of value that will continue to work and grow for years to come. Just a handful of references or backlinks per month, and you could have several hundred new links in place over the course of a year.

Srish Agrawal

Q. #1:
Infographics are working extremely well for us right now. Most brands are doing this wrong, and it’s been a process that we’ve had to master and learn from as well. For example, even if you have the best infographic design around, without the necessary outreach and promotion, no one is going to find it.

The first thing you need to do is make sure you create an infographic based on current trends and data that other sites within your niche will want to share. Once this is completed, it’s then time to focus on the promotion and outreach.

This really comes down to a numbers game — the more sites you contact, the more chances you have to get your infographic picked up and shared on big media sites or even potentially go viral through social media.

Q. #2:
Being in the design industry, we are always working with brands of all sizes to help them reach new audiences and better brand themselves online.

In working with each of these companies, we get to see where some are lacking and excelling in reference to their online exposure. Some are doing great on social media, others with SEO and few are up to the standards when it comes to mobile maketing and optimization.

With all of this in mind, we started to focus on how to create better reference guides and resources for clients on how to promote and brand themselves online. Not only are these blog posts and references guides great for our site, they are also proving to be extremely useful for other sites and brands as well (as we are seeing a huge jump in references and traffic back to the site).

In short, provide real value through reference guides and data reports that others will also find value in.

Brandon Johnston

Q. #1:
Expert roundups are still one of the best ways to quickly and effectively create content and increase linkbacks and social shares. As someone who not only has created several roundups, I’ve also been featured in many as well.

The value here is two-fold. When creating content for my own sites, I get to bring in value for my audience and show off some authority experts in the process. At the same time, there is also a great opportunity for each of these experts to share my roundup with their audience as well.

In reference to niche marketing and gaining backlinks, simply make sure you ask your experts a question related to your niche or what you are trying to rank for. This will definitely help with the SEO process. Keep your featured experts happy and they will keep coming back should you do another roundup in the future.

James McAllister

Q. #1:
Manual outreach. Trying to get by on only “quality content” as many gurus preach is kind of a Catch-22 — you need traffic to get links, but you need links to get real organic traffic.

I’ve had huge success simply reaching out to other bloggers and asking for links to my articles within similar articles these bloggers have published on their own sites. This will be easier if you have something valuable (on top of your article) to offer in return, but even if you don’t you can still find success with this strategy.

The key is consistency and follow-up. Most people aren’t going to even respond to your emails, and most that do so will say no. Your response and acceptance rate goes way up if you follow up more than twice, and even if only 10% of emails end up with a link, that still adds up to a massive amount over time.

If you’re emailing only 5 bloggers a day, that’s 15 links a month and 183 links a year. I guarantee your competition isn’t throwing that much effort into manual outreach, so this is a great way to climb the rankings quickly, even in competitive industries.

Q. #2:
Build linkable assets. Build assets that can not be easily replicated by your competition, and assets that bloggers and other webmasters will not want to take the time or money to create themselves.

Most people think of building huge blog posts when they think about linkable assets. Building the end-all-be-all, most valuable post on the topic that covers everything you need to know.

While these are always a good choice, there are lots of other linkable assets most website owners have not considered using.
Tools, infographics, software, case studies, material you can license out, etc. are all great choices because they tend to provide more additional value than another article on the topic, especially when asking bloggers to link to it. They also tend to attract natural links more easily because they’re more rare and unique.

Jon Haver

Two strategies I have seen growing over the last little while is the use of editorial links and scholarship outreach. Both of these approaches help to get quality backlinks with high authority.

When using them on my own sites, I have noticed quite a bit of uptick in rankings for a lot of my keywords. Sometimes depending on the link I also get some traffic sent to the sites as well.

Venchito Tampon

Q. #1:

• 10x content creation and linker outreach: if you’re starting with content production, it’s imperative to invest your resources in creating big content pieces that are 10x better than your competitors.
  One reason is that it’d help you get your brand out there, especially in a competitive and noisy market. Plus, reaching out to potential linkers (bloggers/publishers) would require some value proposition on your end, which could be your content assets that are worthy of referencing to from those bloggers’ future articles.
• Broken link building: I’ve been using this link-acquisition tactic for several years now and it works for different types of websites, including niche blogs.
  You can target different linkable audiences (website curators of resource pages/links pages of non-commercial websites — .org., .edu, etc.) with your content.
  Linkable audiences include job seekers, parents, teenagers and people with disabilities. If you can create a content piece that will serve these linkable audiences, you’ll have chances of acquiring highly-valued links from targeted resource pages.

Q. #2:
I’ve covered some tactics above I’ve been using effectively for our clients. If you want to check more readings on getting backlinks for 2017 and beyond, here are some of them.

• How to Improve Link Building Processes in 2017 and Beyond
• 101 Actionable Link Building Tips

Alex Sol

Q. #1:
I am working on a new niche website right now and I’ve been seeing quite a bit of success from social media sharing. I am not talking about sharing your links on your own social media account but rather in relevant groups.

My niche is very passionate and there are a lot of Facebook groups related to that niche. So I’ve joined those groups and became an active member. Eventually I started sharing my new posts there.

Besides getting traffic and a lot of comments, I also ask people to share my links on their blogs and their own social media accounts which they love to do.

Some of these people disagree with my opinion so much that they end up talking about it on their blogs. They’ll write something like: “Alex from XYZ website (backlink to my site) says that this should be done like that which is completely stupid… blah blah blah”.

Now I don’t really care what they write but the fact is they’ve given me a backlink, WIN!

Q. #2:
I started my Extra Paycheck Podcast because I simply wanted to connect with successful entrepreneurs and have them share their stories with others.

At first I didn’t even realize that it would help me with SEO. When I interview guests on my show, many of them will not only share that interview all over social media but they will also send a link to their email list as well as add a link on their website, linking back to that interview.

Whenever I get someone very known or popular, their fans and followers will also link to my interview from their blogs which ads more and more backlinks to my site. Podcasting will definitely remain one of my long-term link building strategies.

Casandra Campbell

Q. #1:
When you’re just starting out, you need to lay a solid base of content. Once that’s done, you can add to it more slowly over the long term.

In the short term, you can work more efficiently by creating some content that doubles as link-bait and gets your website in front of other webmasters for the first time. Content like expert roundups, top lists and interviews work well here and are typically easy to produce.

Q. #2:
One thing that has really worked for me over the long term is growing the list of contributor accounts I have on different websites.

Contibutor accounts are a way of getting pre-approved to publish guest posts on other websites. They will likely still review the content to make sure it’s a good fit for their audience, but you won’t need to waste time on a pitch. When you have many contributor accounts, it’s easy to log in and add guest posts with the relevant backlinks as needed on an ad hoc basis.

Eli Seekins

All of my SEO is mostly organic. I do a little bit of keyword research sometimes (I should be doing more), but mostly I focus on creating good shareable content and building relationships.

So #1, make sure your content is super valuable and high quality.
#2, make it easy to share.
#3, build relationships with people and influencers in your niche who are likely to link back to you.

Blogger outreach, roundup posts and guest blogging have been some of my go-to strategies.

Chris Makara

Q. #1:
In order to get links, you’ll need content. So I would focus on creating a piece of content that would be worth someone linking to. An example would be to follow Brian Dean’s “Skyscraper Technique” and essentially build out a piece of content on a topic bigger and better than everything else.

Once you have it created, then I would look for sites currently linking to the other inferior content that shows up for your main keywords on that topic pitching your much better piece of content to either replace the other link or be added in addition to it.

Q. #2:
Best long-term link tactics will come from broken backlinks. Basically, you’ll always be able to find outdated links to content that you cover. And when you do, reach out to the site owner and mention the link they are using no longer works and suggest yours as a replacement.

Year after year, websites go defunct, expire, change URL patterns, etc. that cause previously working links to be broken. Identifying these opportunities make for a typically quick win in getting a link added to a page that already has some SEO equity.

Vishwajeet Kumar

Q. #1:
Link building is almost dead for years after Google announced its Penguin update in 2012. Now Penguin runs in real-time and Google can easily track your links. Link building is now becoming so hard webmasters and bloggers, especially for newbies.

Having said that, here are my best link building strategies:

• Content: Content is definitely going to play an important role in link building. People love fresh and unique content. Google also loves quality content. When you create informative and quality content, people will link back to your site as a reference to their articles. This way you’ll get some natural backlinks.
• Guest Posting: Some bloggers and webmasters think that guest posting is dead. But the fact is it’s far from it. Guest posting is one of the best ways to create quality backlinks from high authority websites by providing those websites with quality content.
• Web Directories: Some of you think that web directories are also dead by now. But in reality paid directories work great and help you get quality backlinks. Since they are paid directories it will help to prevent spam links from showing up, while free directories are full of junk and spam links.
• Forum Posting and Blog Commenting: Most of the forums and blog comment systems will get you “nofollow” links. Still it is one of the best ways to create backlinks and bring readers to your blog. When you engage in active discussions on blogs and forums that are relevant to your niche and bring some value to the table then you won’t have to worry about sharing a relevant link. Just make sure that you don’t do it by using commercial keywords in your anchor text.
• Blogger Outreach: Connecting with bloggers is a great way to get some quality backlinks. To get them you’ll have to create a good relationship with other bloggers and webmasters. You can start with niche-related blogs. Make your first step by providing relevant information, posts and comments. It will create a good bond and mutual understanding, which will later turn into a good relationship.

Q. #2:
Google is a dynamic search engine and it’s becoming smarter every day as it changes its algorithm frequently. I think that link building fundamentals will never change. You’ll just have to adopt new techniques to leverage your backlink score.

Basic tactics like Guest Posting, Blog Commenting, Content Marketing, etc will still work beyond 2017. But you have to be alert when creating backlinks. Don’t engage yourself in buying and selling backlinks because you will easily get caught by Google. I also recommend people never to use software or automated programs to create backlinks, most of them are totally junk and are of low quality.

Lloyd Hester

Q. #1:
There is so much written about link building and the latest techniques that will get your niche site ranked. A lot of it won’t work and some is downright dangerous to the health of your site.

The one thing that has to be said at the start is that “EFFECTIVE” link building is very hard work to get started but, if it is done right then it can take on a life of its own and can grow organically and exponentially for years to come.

This is achieved by gaining respect from your peers and becoming an authority in your niche and giving them something that they can see is worth linking to.

There is no easy push-button solution when getting started but you can save a lot of time if you don’t start out by trying to game the system, buying links or using dodgy private blog networks.

Do it properly, right from the start. The idea is to attract links not build them.

It is a simple concept but not easy.
On the other hand, it is not as difficult as some people imagine.

Pull Don’t Push

The best link-building strategy is to provide great quality content on your site that is worth linking to. Then share it with influencers who, if the content is good enough, will share it with their tribe and hopefully, in some cases, your content will go viral and the results can be explosive.

The truth and reason many fall is that they fail to provide anything worth linking to!

Some people dedicate so much time to creating crap posts on other related and non-related websites, set up bare-bones web 2.0 accounts, build virtually empty websites or put spun content on Weebly or Wix sites, or add their website link to loads of directories, forums and groups thinking it will help get them ranked.

It won’t. And, if in the unlikely event it does, will only have a short-term effect, it won’t last long.

If you concentrate that same energy and more on providing top-quality and unique content on your site that is valuable to the visitor then your link building gets a whole lot easier.

Why? Because people will naturally share it with their readers and followers. You can build an army of avid fans who are happy to spread the word about your site on every platform there is out there.

A Post Should Be as Long as Is Needed

So many blogs are full of regurgitated crap that is full of padding and fluff to hit their word target. Loads of words that say nothing!

They think because they read that an article should be 3,000 words long then that is what they need to produce. They hear that “it is what Google wants” and it will help you rank. Not a hope in my opinion.

When writing a post, don’t pad it out. Make it as short as you can to get the post across. That does not mean only writing 300 words. Make it interesting or amusing.

If you know a lot about a topic it can easily hit several thousand words of interesting and useful content that people will read to the end and probably comment on or share if you ask them.

I can tell you that Google will rank a 150-word blog post that has thousands of page views, loads of comments and interaction and that is shared and re-shared across multiple social media platforms over weeks or months, higher than a 5,000-word post that has had virtually no page visits and 20 backlinks from a range of low-quality web 2.0 sites, forum signatures, a .EDU site and a high PA and DA website.

Blood Sweat and Success

It is no secret that some of the top people who are really successful at ranking sites put a lot of work into their content and NOT so much into chasing links.

Matthew Woodward built his blog by producing great tutorials and epic posts about his methods. Describing in great detail his techniques, strategies and full step-by-step tutorials on the software he uses.

He does really well from affiliate sales from these tools. This is because usually his videos and tutorials are better and more in-depth than the actual product trainings.

His blog posts contain more valuable content for free than an awful lot of paid courses I have seen. He has built trust and respect in the industry in a very short space of time by working extremely hard. Check out his blog.

Stuart Walker is another one who has done really well without setting out to do any link building and yet his site ranks very high for a number of highly competitive keyword phrases.

He will be the first to tell you he does not do any form of conscious link building and yet his site has some very valuable links from some very high-ranking and influential websites which in turn has helped rank his Niche Hacks website.

His website is an absolute goldmine of useful and actionable content. He has a huge following and Stuart has become very well respected in the industry and his niche.

What You Should Create

Try to come up with a unique or interesting angle and it has to stand out from the other grey material that is out there.

It is not easy, in fact, if it was everyone would do it. This is why there is still an opportunity to make it big in most niches. Do more than others are prepared to do and you will certainly get more than others get.

Remember, you have to stand out from the crowd. When a lot of time and effort has gone into something it shines through. People can see and appreciate quality.

Content can be anything you like but here are a few ideas:

• A free or even paid software tool.
• Top tips in your niche.
• A list of resources. (That can be books, podcasts, other websites and blogs or software tools, for example.)
• A how-to guide. (Online and downloadable with links in it.)
• An epic post that educates and informs the reader.
• A roundup of tips or strategies from other experts in your niche. 🙂

Things to bear in mind if you are recommending a software tool: don’t make it one that everyone has already heard of or uses.

If it is a well-known software then you could create a video or written tutorial on how to get the best from the tool. Again make it different. Not just the same as the other videos on YouTube. Think outside the box.

Maybe “5 Things You Did Not Know About Using Google Keyword Tool” or “3 Little-known Secrets of Google Keyword Planner” (a numbered list always does well).

When writing an epic blog post or a how-to guide try to include the following:

• Create an index.
• Write an introduction detailing what they will learn.
• Create a video if you can.
• Create an audio from the video.
• Add share buttons.

Q. #2:
What to Do In 2017 and Beyond
They way that Google ranks a site is constantly evolving and its algorithms are changing to improve the search experience and adapting to close the loopholes that people use to game the system.

These loopholes and tactics come and go. However, I think that people who have been using the above strategy for a number of years are reaping the rewards now and will continue to do the same thing through 2017 and beyond and I don’t see it changing.

If you become known in your niche as an expert who provides quality information that is well worth reading and digesting then it is not that hard to find influencers that will either publish your content on their site or link to content that is on your site.

Start off by getting involved in forums, groups and communities in your niche. Interact with people, build rapport and help out where you can by answering questions and offering help and advice on topics you know about.

It won’t take long to discover who the influencers and professionals are in these groups. They stand out from the others by a mile.

The aim is for them to notice you too. If they run a blog and accept guest posting, then write an article that you think would interest their audience and send it to them. Tell them they can use it as they like with or without reference to you.

Rarely will they ever NOT add your details and a link.

Alternatively, ask them if they would like you to write a guest post and, if so, what they would like it written on.

If you have an article or post that you think is worth linking to on your site, then you can reach out to them and ask their opinion on it. If they like it they will usually post it for you.

If you are on a Facebook group then don’t just post a link to your site. Send a private message with a link to the owners and ask them if it is ok if you add it to their group or page. Message them even if other people have posted as they will appreciate the gesture and this can also begin a dialogue and a one-on-one relationship.

In summary, there are many ways to build links and the above method is just one, however, I believe it is by far the best way. It provides a diverse range of links, drives traffic to your website and is perfectly natural. All the ingredients that Google is looking for.

Dustin Montgomery

Q. #1:
The best link strategy for a new niche website is to reverse engineer your competition. Using tools like Moz or SEMrush you can get a look at what your competitors have in their link profile that is helping them rank.

Chances are some of those links will be something you can get as well, but if not you can take note of the type of link and look for something similar.

From there you can easily do more research to find out what types of content are popular in the niche and start planning how you can create something of value for the niche on your website. Once you have that value item, manual outreach via email and Twitter are going to be your best bets for getting people to link back to your website.

Q. #2:
Long-term tactics have changed a bit for 2017. No longer does cranking out blog posts make much of a difference, but it is rock solid authoratitive content that adds value for users that you should be focused on.

If there really is value to be had in your content, then you will not need to be sheepish in your outreach. I believe manual outreach to be the best way to go! Not spamming everyone with the same email copy, but creating it unique to whom is getting the message.

With that much going into it, you will obviously want to target the right people. Not too famous to read your email, but not so small that their links don’t really matter. With this seemingly “old school” approach, you’re building links and relationships in your niche that will last a lot longer than just this year.

Tor Refsland

Q. #1:
If I were to build links for a niche website that´s just getting started, I would use:

1. Huge roundup posts
2. List posts
3. Epic guides

The best way to stand out is to create such high quality content that people can´t ignore you.

You might be thinking, “Okay, Tor. That sounds great and all that. But seriously; does that really work?”

A good question, indeed!

You can judge for yourself.

When I created my first roundup post, it generated 20,231 page views in 6 days from a brand new blog. Which again resulted in me being the first person to win “The Most Epic Post” category on Jon Morrow´s blog.

Q. #2:
Long-term tactics would be to write awesome guest posts on high authority websites, and position you as an authority. This will again result in you being featured as an expert on high authority blogs.

This is what I did when I started out.

The result?

I got featured on 158 top blogs in 14 months, and now I get 3+ invitations each week to participate in roundup posts.

This again led to me being featured in a book with some of the best marketers in the world: Seth Godin, Chris Brogan, Brian Clark and Grand Cardone.

Gregor Blair

Q. #1:
This really depends on what way you are a niche website. Find out first how you are niche: Do you offer a service that is new or relatively unknown? Are you offering a service only belonging to that geographical location?

From there you can start to think of what you can offer that no one else has already provided in this field, normally this being a piece or series of content. It can’t just be something original, it has to be something valuable, and this can be judged based on many things such as search data, content listening programs, market research, audience research.

This sounds difficult, but there’s almost always some kind of original and valuable piece of content that you can provide.

Once you have your content idea, the actual link building process is easier, because you’ve already defined that the content is something valuable to others. This means you should already have an idea of the audience(s) you want to reach out to, and why they should link to you.

Q. #2:
For me, long-term tactics involve creating value for your website/business/organisation as a whole. If you have or do something valuable, links will come more easily. Some examples are:

• Building original, valuable content will always attract links from people in that particular niche.
• Improving your business offering leads to links from customers, potential customers or partners.
• Improving your activity with local businesses and communities leads to local links.

Tung Tran

Q. #1:
The 5 best link building tactics that I’m using are:

1. Blog Commenting: blog commenting works as a way for you to network and build relationship with other bloggers and webmasters. Blog comment links are usually “nofollow” but they can send good referral traffic.
2. Top Experts: You create a list of bloggers and influencers in your niche and let them know that they’re featured.
3. Guest Posting: Probably one of the the oldest tactics but still working very well.
4. Epic Content: Create really epic content with high quality content and unique design and then promote it.
5. Guestographics: Same as #4 but use an infographic as a form of epic content.

I’ve covered these tactics in a lot of detail in my guest post on NichePursuits — highly recommended to go check it out.

Glen Dimaandal

Q. #1:
I would go for the low-hanging fruit first. You can easily talk to contacts and get links from the following:

• Your local chamber of commerce.
• Manufacturers and suppliers (for ecommerce sites).
• Schools who are looking for program sponsors.
• Peers in the industry who are not direct competitors.
• For hotels, restaurants and other hospitality businesses, there’s bound to be a local association with a website that links to member sites.
• Speak in trade shows and conferences – bloggers tend to cover these events.
• Local blogger reviews and meetups – invite bloggers to review or write first impressions about your place of business. This is ideal for boutiques, restaurants, hotels, resorts and other similar establishments.

These links should give most niche businesses decent placements on page 1 for their target keywords as long as they’re in light or moderately competitive verticals.

Q. #2:
Personally, I still do a fair bit of outreach to really good websites with legitimate readerships and good social media presence. Developing comprehensive, long-form content around topics also helps.

Lately, I’ve been more focused on acquiring .edu and .gov links just because the payoff is bigger and quicker. I’m able to get opportunities for links in schools through appearances as a guest speaker, by being a resource person in online panels and by donating to worthwhile causes. The same goes for .gov link acquisition. People might be shocked with how many .gov links they can rack up just by getting involved in their local community’s projects.

Oluwatobi Asehinde

Q. #1:
Find a high-ranking forum, blog or Q&A website (like Quora) in your niche with good domain authority and then search for the keyword you want to rank for in the forum, blog or Q&A website. Based on the search results on those websites, you want to engage in the forum discussions with your link or give an insightful and useful comment with your link.

The key point here is that sites with good domain authority will increase your chances of ranking faster. Your engagement and comment should include the keyword you want to rank for and be relevant and enticing to drive click-through rate. Also, note that your backlinks are stronger with higher click-through rates.

Your goal is not just to get your link on websites but to ensure your links are being clicked on and used. That’s how you build strong links — links that are clicked on and found on high ranking sites with good domain authority.

Q. #2:
My recommendation for long-term tactics is for you to write quality and highly-detailed blog posts that people will link to for reference. To me this is still the very best method of building links.

Do the initial work of link building by getting your site’s link on websites with good domain authority and probably ranking on Google for related keywords in your niche. This will get your website ranking on the search engines and thereafter people will find you and link back to your content naturally. That’s what keeps you on the first page permanently.

Fervil Von Tripoli

Q. #1:
I couldn’t say that there’s a one-size-fits-all link-building strategy for all websites. The niche itself is a determining factor on how you are able to move forward. Budget for the link-building campaign is also essential.

To narrow down a link-building strategy that could work on the site, here are some questions that you’ll need some answers:

• Have you determine the main purpose why you are building links for your site?
• Are you doing guerilla marketing or do you have a standard budget on how to promote the site through link building?
• Is the niche/market in cut-throat competition?
• Does the site even have some linkable assets to begin with?

Every SEO guy would say prior to building links we must build up the branding and quality content materials first, then we follow.

You see, it’s not just a tagline. It’s the bread and butter of your site and how you’ll be able to survive in the niche that you have chosen heavily relies on the content of your site. So yeah, link building is a case-by-case basis that needs some constant testing.

If proven strategies is what we’re looking I’d push you should be religious in sending emails and start building relationships with people in your niche’s space. You can capitalize on those relationships without solely focusing on links. In fact, getting links from these networks are just a bonus.

Partner with influencers, do guest posting on their sites, become a regular contributor and have a voice in the niche you have picked. Literally, be everywhere.

Q. #2:
Always follow and observe how your #1 competitor site works. Understand how they did it (SEO, design, UX/UI, content, etc.) and identify the things that made them to be placed on top. Replicate. If you can, do better.

Nisha Pandey

Q. #1:
Social bookmarking is an effective strategy to build links for new niche websites. The more social activity you can build around your site, the more Google is likely to rank it higher. Another strategy is to create profiles and get back profile links. Social media sites and forums are excellent examples.

2. Guest posting is a proven strategy. When done well, it is a safe and positive strategy to get links to your niche website. Make sure to keep it relevant. Also ensure that the sites where you guest post are genuine, reputable and have been active for a long time.

Christopher Jan Benitez

Q. #1:
I would first develop link-bait content, whether it’s a comprehensively crafted content using the “Skyscraper Technique” (or any other content framework) or creating infographics from existing content which I could use as an asset for my blogger outreach.

Once building them, I would perform blog commenting, cold emails to target audiences, and contacting editors for a backlink to any of my pages (assuming that I have built a relationship with them).

Q. #2:
I think the ones I shared above can be considered long-term link-building strategies. When building links, it’s probably for the best that you implement sustainable, tried-and-tested link-building techniques that you can leverage not just at the moment, but also moving forward.

Evergreen content born from effective content frameworks are always link-worthy because they contain information that stands the test of time. Also, blogger outreach, when done correctly, allows you to build genuine connections with other editors and bloggers that you can leverage in the future.

Joe Elliot

Prior to anything else, when it comes to building links, I always make sure that my content is worthy of a link.

To begin with, I like to look at the low-hanging fruit: who do I know that has a website that is relevant to mine and in the same or similar niche? Those are the websites which I contact first.

Then I do a Google search for keywords related to my niche and run each of the top-10 sites through Ahrefs to see which of them have high enough authority to be worth it getting in touch with.

Finally, I do a little bit of good old blogger outreach.

Ann Smarty

Q. #1:
You definitely don’t want to rush it but here are the three I’ve seen work very well:

• Apply to participate in industry interviews, Q&A sessions, Tweet chats, etc. These always bring links and some initial traffic and when you start showing up in some of them, you’ll get invites to get featured in more. MyBlogU is a good community to create that initial momentum.
• Become a regular contributor on a couple of niche blogs (those with some community and traffic already built there). You’ll be able to refer to your own articles now and then from your articles there.
• Start using the ‘broken link’ link-building tactic. Blogs are full of broken links, so find them, create a better tool or resource than the one the broken link is pointing to and approach the blogger giving them an alternative to link to. This activity is also fixing the web and creates friendships with those thankful bloggers. Here’s the explanation of the process from Majestic.

Q. #2:
Build connections with peers, i.e. those active niche bloggers who haven’t yet become influencers but are certainly moving in the right direction. They are much more responsive than influencers, willing to engage and open to all kinds of collaboration opportunities.

Find those bloggers, start linking to them, create a list on Twitter and interact with them there, comment on their blogs. You’ll soon notice most of them doing the same.

The result: You’ll be growing together, as a group, and you’ll ultimately help each other to become influencers. My best links and opportunities have come from people, no industry authorities, who started at the same time I did. Takes time but it’s like building a solid foundation for a more successful future.

David Leonhardt

Q. #2:
The best link-building long-term strategies for a niche website are two-fold. Come up with the best content and get it in front of as many eyes as possible. Of course, that’s a loaded question. “Best” can mean a lot of things. Here is how I define “best”:

• Content that is of interest to the niche, so that it impresses those people who might buy/subscribe and be most likely to link.
• Content that is of interest to a wide population, so that lots of people will want to share it and link to it.
• Not all content you create will be of interest both specifically to your niche and to a wider population, but the best will be loved by both.
• Content that has visuals, because people in a rush love visuals and people who share on social media love visuals. People who might link to your content will see it better on social media if it has good visuals.
• Content that is complete and useful and fluff-free. In other words, good communication. Your content needs to be better or different than the 10,000 other websites in your niche.

The second strategy is to share your content widely. If you’ve created the best content, as I have already described it, your work is already half done.

The other half is getting in with influencers who will share your content. And there is no better way to do that than to start sharing theirs. Commenting on their blogs, assuming you have something constructive to say, can also get their attention.

And joining groups of like-minded folks on Facebook, Google Plus and Skype is another great way to build a “tribe” that will love your top-notch content and share it around.

Lukasz Zelezny

Q. #1:
First of all you need to create added value. Everytime you post something on the social media channels or your own blog that people find useful, there should be a lot of mentions around you, your brand and your personal brand. That is what I call step 1.

Step 2 is to proactively track mentions of your your name + surname, brand name or personal brand. You can use Brand24 or Talkwalker to achieve that. Once you find mentions on third-party websites, contact their owners.

You should thank them for the mention, first. Then you can ask if, by any chance, they would be ok in adding a link to your website next to mention of your name.

Q. #2:
Speaking at conferences can be considered difficult but at same time it is one of the easiest way to get links.

Each conference website has a “speakers” section where organizers place biographies of keynote speakers. This is your moment. You should send them your bio in HTML format including at least one link to your website’s homepage.

Most of organizers will accept your bio in HTML format and won’t change it in any way. Don’t forget to send over your logo (if you have one) and your photo.

After that, you should track your links using Majestic or Ahrefs. I know that speaking at conferences might not sound like the easiest way to get links, but it definitely works.

David Reimherr

The very best white-hat link-building tactics to execute in this day and age start with content. You must produce some very high-quality and applicable content to your target audience and then you must work to get it out there and found.

And to do this, you will need to put some ad dollars behind distributing this content as well as have a solid blogger outreach program in place where you reach out to publishers/bloggers looking for info in your/their niche asking them if they would like to utilize your content.

You can also utilize some tools that will alert you of any mentions of your company or content, and reach out to these people or companies asking them to attribute and link back to your site.

To add to this, for a local company, you should make sure you get all your listings/citations correctly set up. This is the lowest hanging fruit and is something you should do before you start down any other path.

And in addition to getting link backs from your content and getting your listings/citations in order, you should look to reach out to any and all relationships you have where it would make sense to link back to you.

For instance, if you have sponsored a non-profit, or if you have any awards or belong to any organizations, these links all count, maybe not as much as industry websites, but they still count and help with rankings.

Finally, make sure you have your Google Webmaster Tools all set up correctly as you need to make sure you are set up correctly in Google’s eyes before you can reap any benefits. And don’t forget to interlink to other high quality pages and other pieces of content within your site.

Janice Wald

There are many effective strategies for getting backlinks to your blogs and websites. These tips may sound trite, but they work.

• First, create quality content. This generally entails at least 2,000 words. People will want to link to you.
• Next, guest blog and link back to your site. A link coming from a bigger blog than yours will help your SEO.
• Participating in expert roundups will also get you a link to your site. Link back to your blog in your biography, offering one of your top articles to a top blogger who is conducting a weekly roundup.
• Often, forums and question and answer sites can help you get a link to your site. For example, Quora allows you to leave your link in your answer.

Getting quality links may take a little creativity on your part, but it is not difficult.

Mikhail Khorev

Q. #2:
In 2017 and beyond guest blogging with long form, evergreen content that brings value and includes actionable tips is the way to go. If your write amazing posts and publish them on the right websites, you are guaranteed to be successful at link building that withstands future Google algorithm updates.

1. Stop chasing quantity over quality
Don’t try to create a mediocre article of 300-500 words and post it on an article directory or buy a $10 placement on someone else’s blog.

That type of links don’t bring any value and won’t help you improve your rankings. Instead, try to research the topic, include your experience, stats, and analysis, add images and links to reputable sites and embed videos.

Go narrower and deeper rather than wider and shallower; there is so much fluff on the web and not too many in-depth articles.

Ask yourself, will my post bring unique value and teach something? If the answer is yes, there is a very high chance most of the popular blogs in your industry will accept and publish it under your name with the link to your site. The ideal post length for me is 1,000-2,000 words.

2. Post on the right websites
Have you ever found a cool blog on Twitter and wanted to be published there? Run a quick analysis before to make sure your work will not go down the drain. Check that website’s organic traffic and backlinks on SEMrush.

If the website you want to post on doesn’t have any organic traffic — that’s a red flag.

t’s either a new domain with no authority or it was blacklisted by Google. If Google does not trust the site due to low quality content, a spammy backlink profile or manual penalties it will not give it any rankings and you should also avoid it at all costs. Besides organic traffic, visit 3-5 pages to make sure it is a real website, not a content syndication blog.

Gary Evans

Q. #1:
I think one of the easiest ways to get backlinks for a new niche site and to establish your brand is by blog commenting. Yep, I know… but they do work, especially when your site is new and if they are niche specific blogs you comment on.

Social media can also play a big part with a new site. Spread some decent infographics and newsworthy posts around Facebook, Twitter and even Google+ to gets things flowing.

If you have a site that is not loaded with affiliate links there is always an opportunity for guest posting but make sure your content and outreach strategies are top notch.

Not many people will openly link to an affiliate site — especially if it looks like a basic Amazon affiliate site — so design your site in such a way that it looks like a real company first and then start your outreach.

Q. #2:
Tactics that are working for me at the moment:

• Guest posting on niche-relevant sites.
• Roundup posts from experts in your niche — sourced through research, or pick some influential people on each of the social media channels and outreach to them. If the content is good enough they will share it, link to it and other links follow from that.
• Research your competition — Pick you main competitors and study their link profiles. Weed out the rubbish and if applicable target these sites to get your own backlinks with either a guest post, broken link building or just ask them for a link.

Make sure your content is superb and link-worthy in the first place. Don’t just focus on creating pages on your site loaded with affiliate links otherwise you will struggle to get quality backlinks at all.

Build up informational posts and power pages (see Brian Dean’s Backlinko.com for more info on these).
They are great for acquiring links but keep the page informational and no affiliate links.

Allan Pollett

Q. #1:
The quickest way to get started with some really strong links is to leverage your existing social media accounts. Facebook business pages, Linkedin profile links, Twitter, Youtube videos, and Instagram are all good places to get strong free backlinks.

There are many such social platforms where within a few minutes you can build a profile and have it link to your business site.

However, be careful to create rich social accounts. Building fake accounts with little content or activity isn’t the best way. This is why established accounts work the best because Google is looking at the activity of these social profiles as a measure of quality.

Q. #2:
A long-term approach is to build blogging sites like: Blogger, Quora, Medium, Livejournal; where you post on a regular basis. Build real content on these sites which references content from your money site. Then you share new posts from these blog sites across your social media accounts.

The goal is to create social signals which make your blogging sites look active. Try to encourage people to comment on the posts as well. Google really likes activity.

This is new twist on an old strategy of pyramid link building, where you use social activity to power your micro sites which then power your main business site.

If you create quality content, and power it up like this you will find your main site will rank better and your blog sites might rank as well.

Evgeniy Garkaviy

Q. #1:
There are two sure fire ways to get quality links for a niche website that is just getting started: press releases and guest blogging.

Both traditional press and online press are always looking for news and new content. Write a good press release about your website; submit it with a nice picture to your local press and a strong, quality online press release site. You are guaranteed to get at least two or more strong links.

These days almost every blog accepts quality guest posts.
Think of topics some of the leading blogs in your niche have not covered adequately or at all.
Offer to write on that topic for them. Your guest post on that blog will get you another one or two backlinks.

Q. #2:
A long-term, Google safe link building strategy that I recommend is to build quality, relevant links steadily throughout the year.

You should set a target of say 2 links a month for yourself. Try to ensure the links are from your or a not too-unrelated niche.

Either encourage others to link to your content or guest blog to earn a link.

Infographics are a great way to get links. Perhaps every six months or so, create a very interesting infographic and publicise it well. You will find out that a few people will link to your infographic.

Sean Si

Q. #1:
Personally, the best link building strategy that I go with for any website, be it new or old, is making evergreen content. Content that can provide reliable information that stands the test of time is bound to get links from the right people.

Tools aren’t necessarily needed for this process but, if you want, you can use Buzzsumo to look for the most shared topic in your niche. After that, search for more resources on that specific topic and make it 10x better. Give people a reason to read your article more than anything else.

Q. #2:
Now to have something to go along with your evergreen content – link bait. A well presented resource that is both informative and share-worthy will naturally attract people to publish it on their own pages.

Do a little self-promotion, grab people’s attention and make it easy to share to keep the ball rolling.

Besides, what better way of promoting your content than letting it promote itself, right?

Minuca Elena

Q. #1:
If you have just built a new niche website, it will be very difficult for you to get backlinks. There’s not too much content and your brand isn’t strong enough yet and, most importantly, you don’t have connections with other bloggers. So what do you have to do? Get all of these: more content, stronger brand and connections in your niche.

This is a three-step strategy that many bloggers have tried recently.
Unfortunately they have executed only the first step and that is not enough to get the best results.

1. You have to create and publish an expert roundup on your blog. Immediately after you publish the post you will see a major increase in your blog’s traffic. If you don’t have enough experience in creating an influencer roundup, you can always hire a specialist. Hint: I am a freelance writer specialized in expert roundups. 😉
2. After you publish your roundup, interact with all the bloggers that were featured there. Reply to their comments on your blog, follow them on social media, thank them for every share, etc. A week later check each of their sites.
3. Most bloggers have a page where they mention the interviews and roundups they have been featured in. Some mention only the headlines of the articles, other use the logos, while others link only to the most famous sites where they have been featured. In any case, after you find this page, you have to reach out to them and ask if they could link to your roundup too. Even if they rarely update that page or do it only for famous sites they will include you too, if you ask them nicely.
   Not all the bloggers will have such a page, though.
   In that case, you have to search their blogs for older posts related to the topic of your roundup. Then you can reach out to them and ask if they can include a link to your roundup in that post.

If executed correctly this strategy will bring you some great results.

Q. #2:
Focus on building your brand. Contribute to expert roundups, reply to interviews, podcasts and start guest posting. That’s how you’ll get exposure, traffic, and backlinks. You should take every opportunity to be featured on other blogs.

If you are new to blogging ignore the site’s DA (Domain Authority). It might sound conterintuitive. I know; you want backlinks from high DA sites. But for a newbie it’s very difficult to reach out to famous sites. That is why it’s important to have realistic goals and climb the ladder to more important websites as you become more known.

Andrew Lowen

Q. #1:
Competitive Link Building is one of the strongest link building tactics for new websites. If you’re just getting started, a few quick Google searches will reveal websites that are the field leaders in your niche.

They all have established link profiles that are contributing to their ranking, so if you want to catch up quickly, find out what links they have and get links from those websites. Use a tool like Alexa or Ahrefs to figure out where their best links are coming from, and grab them for your site, too!

Q. #2:
Eventually, most legitimate link building tactics dry up – you just can’t add competitive links or directory listings forever. However, one tactic that will never dry up is what we call outreach link building.

You first find publishers in related niches and “pitch” them on an idea for a guest blog post that you believe would add value to their readers. If they’re receptive to the idea, they’ll ask for a draft. We have amazing success getting links from high-value websites this way.

Just make sure to do a little research so you can pitch relevant content, and make the emails as personal as possible (aka no mass spam e-mails)! Be sure to include your author bio with a link to your website.

Some of these blogs will even let you add a contextual link in the content itself if they find it relevant! Lastly, feel free to use a tool that will help you manage your e-mail outreach like Buzzstream, Ninja Outreach, or Buzzsumo.

Mark Verkhovski

Q. #1:
Relationship building in your niche is the best strategy you can use. Read the blog posts of your industry’s influencers and comment on them, share their posts on social media, interact with them on social media, build a relationship.

That way when they write a post and it is related to something you do, if they will remember your brand’s name/your name, they will link to you.

Also, it is easy to get backlinks via guest posts from their sites once you develop a relationship with them.

Q. #2:
Earned links are the best way you can get white-hat links for 2017 and beyond. Earned links means people linking to your post because of the high quality of your posts. The secret here is to go deep rather than go wide.

Your post should be such an in-depth one of a very, very, very small aspect that it becomes a go-to resource for that aspect. And then network and let the world know that this post exists so that they can link to it.

Eddie Gear

Q. #1:
This might come as a big surprise to many bloggers reading this section of the post. What matters the most in search rankings is got more to do with the content you create for your niche site. The more focused and rich your articles are the better they will rank on the search engines.

While both internal and external links have their value, it’s more about how you use them to your advantage than quality or content. Over the last few months, I’ve been rebranding and making some major changes on my site after some extensive research. It’s been found that a content-rich site that has good internal site architecture ranks way better than a site with thousands of links that does not have the same quality or the focus.

Niche sites have the upper hand when it comes to content focus and interlinking of articles while major sites struggle with this; even top ones in the industry just manage to get on by because of the reputation they have built over the years. But things are expected to change with future algorithm changes as Google focuses towards focused content*.

My recommendation to niche bloggers is to focus on writing focused articles on your site, have a few pillar posts and built just about a handful of very high-quality links from similar sites (almost-exact-match-content-sites) and see the rankings improve as new content is created.

* Focused content means content specific to one topic alone.

Oren Greenberg

Q. #1:
It’s not enough to publish content on your website and hope that it’ll gain traction and backlinks by itself. By developing a vested interest among influencers and stakeholders at the earliest stage, you maximise the chance of them linking and sharing what you publish. This gives your content extra bite, and immediately increases the audience to which it is visible and compelling.

On a practical level, this involves collaboration and retaining a humble approach which “shares the love”. Niche websites should feature other experts; seek comments from those who can offer another angle, and crowdsource contributions from influential figures in the industry. This not only makes your content juicier for external readers, it encourages those who are featured to provide a link from their own properties. This also kicks-off what could be a fruitful relationship in terms of guest blogging and future content opportunities, generating a win-win situation for everyone involved.

Q. #2:
I’d recommend building genuine long-term relationships with journalists, writers, and other content marketers. By maintaining your connection with these individuals, you place your organisation (or your clients) in the pole position to contribute and collaborate regularly over a period of months and years.

Furthermore, always consider how offline partnerships can be utilised for SEO benefit. Whilst networking, consider who may be interested in an interview or feature, and discuss the potential for guest blogging on other blogs and websites whose owners you meet in “real life”. People think of outreach as a methodical online activity, but I’ve seen some exceptional results from one-off meetings and chance encounters.

Marc Guberti

Q. #1:
Guest blogging works wonders because not only do you get quality links, but you also get to make new connections and force yourself to produce more content. Anyone with a blog is always looking for more content, so if you send a short pitch with three epic ideas, you’re more likely to get your guest post selected and eventually published.

Q. #2:
For the long-term, start building relationships with people who you would like to get links from. Meaningfully engage with their social media posts, share their content, and comment on their blog. You need to be a continuous presence that they will enjoy coming into contact with. After engaging with them long enough, then kindly ask for the backlink. When making my ask, I like to ask people if they are interested because this makes the choice entirely up to them. No “I need this” or anything of that nature is necessary.

David James

Q. #1:
We use an audience-driven strategy that focuses on micro-niches. We then look for the link opportunities that arise from them. Typically, the quick wins are where we can contribute content to those communities. It might be in the form of a guest blog, interview or sharing information that we’ve already published. We tend to find that the links gained are more credible and authoritative.

Q. #2:
We like to make our sites become an authority in the space, so we like to connect with authoritative sites. Reaching out to universities and educational institutions is one of our core tactics. However, we need to align our value proposition with the needs of the university’s students and administrative faculty. I published a video and a blog post that shows our approach.

The outcome leads to gaining highly authoritative links that can potentially be shared across several pages on the university’s website.

Nat Eliason

Q. #1:
Don’t focus on link building, focus on quality. It’ll be a waste of time to do tons of link building in the beginning before you have a reputation for amazing content, and if you don’t have amazing content, no amount of link building will help you.

Q. #2:
Write amazing content that’s worth linking to. Don’t be one of those annoying marketers going around asking for backlinks, earn them by producing the best content on the Internet. We don’t need more noise, we need more quality, so focus on that and the backlinks will come.

Shashank Gupta

Q. #1:
The most lucrative thing a new niche site has to offer is quality content. In my experience, niche bloggers are always on the lookout for well-researched and informative content. And this is what a new niche website can bank on.

Produce lots of quality content. Make Infographics, research reports, informative and well-formatted videos, create a quality podcast. Just go wild.

Create content in all forms and formats and then reach out to bloggers in your niche with this content. If your content is well-researched, and well-presented there is no way bloggers won’t lap it up.

This will help a niche website build quality links, which will not only bring in authority but also are relevant.

When designing content, its topic and presentation are crucial. Create content in your niche focusing on:

• How-to’s.
• Problem areas.
• Product comparison.
• Controversy subjects.
• Areas to improve upon.
• Research Quora to find actual questions audience in your niche is asking and write content to answer them.
• Present an old topic under a new light. (E.g.: there are tons of bread recipes out there. Try shooting a bread making video tutorial. Better still, make a real-time video, where you actually show how the bread looks after 2 hours, how it looks after 4 hours… make your video stand out from the crowd.)

Research, design and make your content worth it. Only then bloggers will reciprocate your efforts with links.

Ashley Faulkes

Q. #1:
The simplest way to get some links when you are just getting started is through guest posts. Even if you don’t have a name for yourself, there are always websites out there that are willing to accept content.

Don’t forget the golden rule of staying in your niche as much as possible (relevance is key with Google right now) and aiming for reputable sites. There is no point spending hours on getting the guest post and writing it if the target site is low quality, low DA (Domain Authority) and won’t move the needle for your new website. Of course, that also does not mean that you have to aim for the top, as that is often quite difficult when you have no reputation yourself yet.

Q. #2:
There seems to be a flood of outreach emails these days with people always asking for links. This is not something I saw a huge amount of years ago. And because this is happening, it is becoming harder and harder to get links no matter what strategy you are using.

That is why I always recommend building relationships in your niche for long term results. It can help you get links (and more links) far more easily. It can also help you get social shares, offers to collaborate and lots of other benefits (new friends anyone?).

Links are all about convincing people that what you are offering is worth it to them and their website/readers, and what better way to do that than get to know someone first?

Jeremy Rivera

Q. #2:
You’re reading a roundup right now. If you’ve been in the SEO space you’ve likely been emailed asking for your opinion on a relevant topic. I myself have organized a few of these over the years. However, I’ve found a way to tweak this formula just a little bit to generate even more links and participation! Take the contributors answers, and turn them into a beautiful graphic!

When you take that extra step, turning their text into a visual resource and return it to them they’re much more likely to then link to your roundup if they publish that image on a blog post or resource page. This works especially well in niches outside of SEO & digital marketing.

Michael McDougal

Q. #1:
Thinking creatively can net you some surprising paths to links. Talking to other business owners, they’ve disclosed that they turned to Fiverr for content for their site. I realized that if I myself setup a profile on Fiverr I could offer a gig to write a great guest post that’d include a topically relevant link to my own site, fulfil the gig requirements and actually get PAID to build links!

Scot Burner

Q. #2:
One of the best ways I’ve found links is by remembering that good websites don’t build themselves. There are always people who are responsible for generating fantastic sites. From digital marketers to small business owners, the people who work on websites are also generally looking to improve their skills. Going to local meetups and lunch ‘n learns has connected me with people who understand links already and look for opportunities to connect with other site owners. Those relationships have been and will continue to be the greatest way to create links for me.