Backlinks are still an important Google ranking factor, but now the impact of link building on search ranking depends more on the nature and quality of your backlinks, according to a 2019 study by Moz.
In other words, just building more backlinks isn’t enough in 2019. You need to get links from quality, relevant and authoritative sites. Low quality links trigger search engine penalty causing a loss in rankings.
Blogging could be a great way to create quality inbound links. In fact, companies that regularly blog are likely to get 434% more indexed pages and 97% more inbound links than companies that don’t do any blogging, according to a study by HubSpot. But there are many other ways to create backlinks in 2019. Here are three of them.
1. Leverage Guest blogging
For this strategy to work, you need to guest blog on sites that are already ranking high on your target keywords. The idea is to post your blog on popular sites in your niche. That way, you can reach out to your target audience and drive some of the traffic back to your website. Start by making a list of popular sites in your domain. Now narrow down your list based their social authority, domain authority and rules for accepting guest posts. You want to choose maximum 10 sites and focus on them.
2. Create and promote resource articles
These are articles that provide a collection of facts, resource materials on a specific topic or subject. For instance, if your target audience is new home buyers, you can create a resource article on the topic – 15 must-read blogs for new home buyers. Most authority sites in your niche will have resource articles like this. You simply need to create a more detailed article. Now contact all the bloggers you mentioned in your post via email and ask them to share your content. In your email pitch, tell them that you’ve created a resource article similar to the one created by an authority site. But your content is more detailed and informative. That way, you are more likely to win their trust and get backlinks from them.
3. Use Infographics
Most people don’t want to read a long blog post. They want to get the information fast. That’s exactly what an infographic offer them. Infographics are easy to read, eye-catching and persuasive. In fact, any form of visual content is great. It not only increases people’s willingness to spend time on a webpage, but also significantly boosts retention, says a study conducted by Saurage Marketing Research.
The good news is you can use infographics for link building as well. All you need is to hire a professional graphic designer and have them create an infographic for you. Once created, publish, share and promote your inforgraphic. Since people already like infographics, you are likely to win some quality backlinks in this way.
Another great way to build quality links is by getting active on social media. Focus on building more followers on your brand’s social accounts. Whenever you post a new blog or update an old post, announce the news on social media. That way, you can improve your audience engagement and have more people sharing your content. This eventually helps you in link building as well.