Link Building for SEO: A Guide to the Basics

Learn why you should heighten your hunt motor optimization (SEO) strategy pinch nexus building. And really to do it.

What Is Link Building successful SEO?

Link building is an SEO maneuver that involves getting different websites to nexus to your website. So hunt engines for illustration Google whitethorn position it arsenic much charismatic and rank it higher successful unpaid hunt results.

Basically, Google treats definite kinds of links from different sites (backlinks) for illustration endorsements. The higher nan value and amount of backlinks pointing to your site, nan much trustworthy it tin seem.

For example, Semrush’s Backlink Analytics instrumentality shows that bbc.co.uk has backlinks from complete 1 cardinal domains. Including reputable sites for illustration cdc.gov, microsoft.com, and britannica.com.

Google’s hunt algorithm takes this beardown backlink floor plan into relationship erstwhile determining whether and really precocious to see bbc.co.uk successful applicable hunt results. And it’s apt to rank nan tract good arsenic a result.

Of course, location are tons of different ranking factors that Google considers. But 8 of nan apical 20 subordinate to backlinks, according to our study.

It’s imaginable to get backlinks people complete time. But proactively building links tin thief you to summation aliases support a competitory separator successful search.

As agelong arsenic they’re nan correct kinds of links.

What Affects a Backlink’s Value?

Some backlinks are much valuable for your SEO than others. Some don’t person immoderate effect astatine all. And ones acquired utilizing spammy practices (sometimes known arsenic toxic backlinks) tin beryllium harmful. 

Here are nan main factors to see erstwhile backlink building:

Authority

Generally, nan much charismatic nan referring (linking) site, nan much valuable nan backlink.

For example, a backlink from bbc.co.uk will apt person a overmuch bigger effect connected your SEO than 1 from an chartless blogger.

Semrush measures tract authoritativeness pinch a metric called Authority Score—which is connected a standard retired of 100. It considers 3 main factors:

• Link power: The value and amount of backlinks to nan site
• Organic traffic: The estimated number of unpaid hunt motor visits nan tract gets each month
• Natural profile: How earthy (i.e., not spammy) nan site’s backlink floor plan appears to be

If you usage nan Link Building Tool to find sites that mightiness nexus to you erstwhile asked, you tin reappraisal their Authority Scores successful nan “AS” column.

But don’t interest astir accumulating backlinks from sites pinch little authority. Those fresh good wrong a balanced backlink profile. 

As nan BBC’s floor plan shows, it’s normal to person much backlinks from low-authority sites and less from high-authority sites.

Relevance

It’s usually amended to build SEO links from sites that are highly related to your own. Because it suggests you’re well-respected by experts successful nan field.

It’s besides amended if a backlink appears wrong highly applicable content. 

Let’s opportunity you person 3 backlinks to your hoops shoes range:

• Backlink 1 appears connected a farming website successful an article astir increasing plants. It’s improbable to transportation overmuch SEO weight (if any), because nan tract and taxable are truthful unrelated to you. 
• Backlink 2 appears connected a sports blog successful a station astir cardiovascular exercise. This could transportation immoderate SEO weight because nan tract shares your niche.
• Backlink 3 appears connected a sports blog successful a hoops shoes buying guide. This could transportation a bully magnitude of SEO weight, because it suggests your page is highly applicable to nan taxable astatine hand. And that nan nexus is genuinely useful to readers.

Link Placement

The much salient nan backlink is connected nan page, nan much valuable it tin beryllium for SEO.

This is because Google whitethorn see nan likelihood that a scholar will click connected a nexus based connected wherever it’s located. This is called nan “reasonable surfer model,” and it’s described successful this patent.

For example, links that are successful sidebars, successful footers, and debased connected a page’s contented whitethorn not beryllium worthy arsenic overmuch arsenic those higher successful nan page’s body. 

Generally, it’s champion if your backlink appears early connected successful nan main assemblage content.

Like this:

Anchor Text

Backlinks pinch descriptive anchor text (the clickable, linked text) tin beryllium amended for SEO.

That’s because hunt engines usage anchor matter to amended understand what nan linked page is about. And by extension:

• How nan linked page relates to nan referring page
• What kinds of keywords (search terms) nan linked page should perchance rank for

For example, a backlink pinch nan anchor matter “basketball shoes” intelligibly indicates what nan linked page is about. Whereas generic anchor matter for illustration “click here” gives nary useful context.

That said, it’s important that anchor matter sounds naturally.

If you attraction excessively overmuch connected optimizing anchor matter for hunt engines—not users—Google whitethorn see your tract to beryllium engaging successful spammy nexus building practices. 

And that tin lead to a Google penalty that harms your hunt performance.

You tin cheque your backlink anchor matter pinch nan Backlink Analytics tool.

Just participate your domain and spell to nan “Anchors” report.

Nofollow, Sponsored, and UGC Attributes 

Some links incorporate a nofollow attribute (or different attribute) that tells Google not to walk ranking spot to nan linked page. 

Here’s a speedy overview of those attributes:

While they whitethorn thrust marque consciousness and referral traffic, these kinds of backlinks are improbable to thief your rankings.

In HTML, a nexus pinch nan nofollow property (a “nofollow link”) looks thing for illustration this:

<a href="https://example.com" rel="nofollow">Anchor Text</a>

But nan nexus looks normal connected nan page.

Standard links that don’t incorporate a nofollow, sponsored, aliases UGC property are sometimes called follow links aliases dofollow links. These are nan ones you want erstwhile building links for SEO.

You tin spot immoderate site’s ratio of nofollow to travel links pinch nan Backlink Analytics tool.

Just scroll to nan “Link Attributes” floor plan successful nan “Overview” report:

How to Build Links (and How Not to)

Below, you’ll study astir nan 4 basal ways to build links. Some of which activity overmuch amended than others.

After that, we’ll stock 9 circumstantial strategies you tin usage successful your strategy.

Earn Links 

When you gain links, different websites nexus to yours without you asking them to. 

This tin beryllium highly cost-effective. Plus, you don’t request to interest astir nan links violating Google’s nexus spam guidelines because you aren’t responsible for creating them.

The champion measurement to gain links is to create high-quality contented that group want to nexus to—i.e., link bait.

Here are a fewer different types of contented group thin to nexus to:

• Visual assets (infographics, charts, diagrams, etc.)
• Original investigation and information (industry studies, surveys, proprietary research, etc.)
• Online devices and calculators
• In-depth guides and tutorials

To spot which pages get nan astir backlinks connected your ain aliases a competitor’s site, participate nan domain into nan Backlink Analytics tool.

Then, caput to nan “Indexed Pages” report.

The “Domains” file shows really galore different sites nexus to nan page successful nan corresponding row.

You tin click nan icon successful nan “Title and URL” file to spot nan contented for yourself.

And click nan nexus successful nan “Domains” file to spot wherever each nan page’s backlinks travel from.

Ask for Links

Asking for links is erstwhile you actively interaction a personification (or team) and seduce them to nexus from their website to yours.

There are 2 main reasons why they mightiness nexus to you:

• There’s thing connected your website that their assemblage will beryllium willing in
• To in installments you wherever you’re mentioned successful their content

Semrush’s Link Building Tool finds high-quality prospects (sites that mightiness nexus to you) by looking astatine your competitors and nan keywords you want to rank for.

After mounting up your project, caput to nan “Prospects” study to spot a database of suggested websites.

You tin past take which opportunities to pursue. And usage nan instrumentality to negociate nan full process of value nexus building.

Add Links

Going to different website and manually adding your nexus location isn’t a bully measurement to build backlinks. Because Google doesn’t want to count links that you person (or mightiness have) placed yourself. 

That includes links added to:

• Social media profiles
• Business directories
• Forums, communities, and Q&A sites (like Quora)
• Blog comments
• User floor plan pages

You tin still adhd links successful these places. To thief thrust referral postulation to your website.

But only see them wherever they create genuine worth for users. And not successful an effort to make SEO value.

Otherwise, you whitethorn beryllium engaging successful nexus spam and harming your marque image.

Buy Links

You should not bargain SEO links that are intended to power your rankings.

In different words, you should only salary for backlinks if they’re qualified pinch nan rel=”sponsored” aliases rel=”nofollow” attribute. (Which tells hunt engines to disregard them.)

If a paid nexus is not qualified:

• The nexus violates Google’s nexus spam guidelines and some sites consequence being penalized
• Google is apt to admit that nan nexus is paid for and disregard it anyway

To clarify, you tin salary for link building services from a freelancer aliases agency. But nan sites hosting your backlinks shouldn’t person immoderate shape of payment. This includes money, products, services, etc.

9 Best Backlink Building Tactics

There are galore strategies for building links. But present are 9 of nan astir effective options. 

1. Conduct Email Outreach

Email outreach is nan process of reaching retired to a website (or website representative) to seduce them to springiness you a backlink.

It’s important because group can’t nexus to your contented without discovering it. Even nan champion assets request to beryllium promoted to pull links. 

To find prospects to scope retired to, usage Semrush’s Link Building Tool. 

Open nan instrumentality and click “+ Create project.”

Then, participate your domain, springiness your task a name, and click “Create project.”

Next, adhd nan keywords you want to rank higher. These keywords should beryllium related to nan page(s) you’re trying to build links for. 

After you’ve added your keywords, click connected “Competitors” astatine nan bottommost of nan pop-up.

Now, adhd nan competitors you want to outperform. 

And erstwhile you’re done, click “Start Link Building.” 

After nan instrumentality has analyzed nan data, click connected “View prospects” to spot everyone you tin scope retired to for backlinks. 

You tin cull nan prospects you don’t want to scope retired to from this screen. Like if nan tract isn’t relevant. Or you don’t want a nexus from that website.

To cull a prospect, click connected nan trash tin icon. 

Like so:

For prospects you do want to scope retired to, click nan “To In Progress” button, and they’ll beryllium added to nan “In Progress” tab. 

From nan “In Progress” tab, you tin interaction immoderate imaginable via a connected email account. 

Simply click connected nan “Contact” button. 

The surface will grow to show an email template pinch default information. 

Like this:

Now, customize your emails to make your transportation circumstantial to nan prospect. 

After you’ve sent your emails, nan “Status” file shows whether your email was sent, received, opened, aliases replied to. 

And you tin click nan cheque people successful nan “Actions” file aft you person a backlink. 

2. Become a Source

If you activity pinch reporters to supply accusation aliases assets, you whitethorn person a backlink by measurement of attribution.

You tin find these requests done services for illustration Connectively (formerly known arsenic HARO/Help a Reporter Out). They look thing for illustration this:

Just hunt for requests that are applicable to your expertise. Then, nonstop a transportation to nan newsman done nan platform.

You tin besides find requests by browsing hashtags for illustration #JournoRequest connected X (formerly Twitter).

That tin thief you extremity up pinch backlinks for illustration this one:

3. Try Broken Link Building

Broken nexus building is nan process of uncovering backlinks that nary longer activity and persuading nan publishers to switch them pinch moving links to your site.

It’s an effective maneuver because nary 1 wants to nonstop visitors to surgery pages. And you’re offering a convenient solution. 

You tin find competitors’ surgery backlinks pinch Semrush’s Backlink Analytics tool.

Enter a competitor’s domain and click “Analyze.” 

Then, caput complete to nan “Indexed Pages” study and cheque nan container adjacent to “Broken Pages.”

Like this:

You’ll spot a database of surgery pages connected nan competitor’s site. Sorted by nan number of “Domains” (how galore different sites nexus to them). 

Starting astatine nan top, look for a surgery page that you person a bully replacement for.

(You whitethorn request to put nan URL into nan Wayback Machine to spot what it utilized to look like.)

When you find one, click nan number successful nan “Backlinks” file to spot each nan page’s backlinks.

These are nan backlinks you whitethorn beryllium capable to inherit. Sorted according to “Page AS” (the page’s authority score).

Starting astatine nan top, look for backlinks you want to effort to inherit. 

You tin click nan icon alongside nan URL to position nan backlink successful context. And spot if it’ll beryllium a bully fresh for your projected link.

If you want to prosecute an opportunity, find nan email address for nan due contact. And nonstop them your proposal.

Then, repetition this process arsenic galore times arsenic you’d like.

4. Create Linkable Assets

A linkable plus is simply a portion of contented that has bully imaginable to gain backlinks naturally. Such arsenic a tool, investigation report, aliases in-depth guide.

For example, Semrush’s blog station connected content trading statistics has backlinks from complete 2.5K domains.

This is because it’s a useful root to mention erstwhile penning astir nan value of contented marketing.

Here’s what our backlink from Adobe to that station looks for illustration successful context:

5. Find Unlinked Brand Mentions 

An unlinked marque mention is erstwhile a website mentions you aliases your business without linking to you. 

Like this:

With a gentle nudge, galore tract owners are happy to move your unlinked mention into a link. 

To quickly find unlinked mentions, usage nan Brand Monitoring app.

After signing up, create a “New query.”

Then, take “Brand.”

You’ll spot a pop-up for illustration nan 1 below. And for nan champion results, you should capable retired each nan sections.

Pay peculiar attraction to:

• Monitor this brand: This is wherever you should adhd your marque sanction and immoderate variants. So nan instrumentality knows what matter to look retired for.
• Track backlinks: This is wherever you should adhd your domain. So nan instrumentality knows whether you received a backlink.

When you’re done, click “Create query.”

You tin past spot a database of each nan mentions found.

In nan left-hand menu, spell to “Mention details” > “Backlinks” and prime nan circle adjacent to “Without backlinks” to attraction connected your unlinked marque mentions.

For each unlinked mention you find, see reaching retired to nan page’s proprietor aliases writer to kindly petition a backlink. 

6. Analyze Competitor Backlinks

Analyzing competitor backlinks helps you to replicate nexus building strategies that activity for your rivals. 

And it tin show you:

• Which types of contented thin to gain nan astir backlinks
• Who’s linking to others successful your niche

To start, spell to Semrush’s Backlink Analytics tool. 

Enter a competitor’s domain. Then, spell to nan “Indexed Pages” tab. 

This study shows a array pinch each of your competitor’s pages sorted by number of referring domains.

Click done to nan top-performing pages. And look for patterns successful topics, style, length, and format. 

For example, let’s opportunity your competitor’s most-linked pages each incorporate videos.

You mightiness past determine to incorporated video into your content trading strategy. And stress nan value of your videos erstwhile reaching retired to backlink prospects.

7. Reclaim Lost Backlinks

Recovering backlinks that you mislaid (which tin hap if nan linking tract updated nan content, deleted nan page, aliases redirected nan page) is often easier than building links from scratch. Because nan tract was already consenting to nexus to you successful nan first place.

To easy find mislaid links, caput complete to Semrush’s Backlink Audit tool.

And aft mounting it up, spell to nan “Lost & Found” tab. 

This study shows really galore referring domains person been acquired, broken, aliases mislaid complete nan past 90 days. 

In this case, we’re only willing successful mislaid backlinks. 

So, scroll down and click connected nan “Lost” container astatine nan apical of nan list. 

These are each nan domains you’ve mislaid backlinks from wrong nan past 3 months. 

To thief prioritize, select nan database to show travel links pinch debased toxicity scores (these thin to beryllium high-authority sites). 

Like so:

Next, sojourn each URL and effort to activity retired why you mislaid nan backlink.

• If nan page was removed, hunt nan tract to spot if they published a replacement
• If nan page was redirected, spot whether there’s a bully spot for your nexus connected nan caller page
• If nan page was updated, spot whether there’s still a bully spot for your link

If you’re capable to find a applicable spot for your link, see reaching out.

Politely inquire if there’s a circumstantial logic that they removed your nexus (this is simply a awesome ice-breaker). Then, explicate why you deliberation nan nexus would still beryllium a useful summation to their content.

Hopefully, you’ll extremity up recovering your link. Or getting immoderate useful feedback.

8. Do a Backlink Gap Analysis

A backlink spread study reveals websites linking to your competitors but not to you. 

If a tract links to a competitor, they mightiness beryllium consenting to nexus to you, too. Especially if you create superior content.

To start, unfastened up Semrush’s Backlink Gap tool. 

Add your domain and your competitors’ domains. And click “Find prospects.”

The “Best” tab shows domains that nexus to each your competitors but not to you.

So, these are nan strongest backlink prospects.

The file nether each competitor’s domain shows really galore backlinks they person connected each site.

Click nan arrow adjacent to 1 of those numbers to spot specifications astir nan backlinks from a peculiar domain. Including nan anchor matter and target URL.

Check nan boxes adjacent to each nan domains you want to contact.

Then, click “+ Start Outreach” to nonstop them to nan Link Building Tool.

From there, you tin negociate nan remainder of nan nexus building process.

9. Digital PR

Digital PR is nan process of gaining online sum for your brand. While becoming a root tin autumn nether this tactic, it much typically involves creating an absorbing communicative and past sharing it pinch applicable reporters via a press release.

Reporters who screen your communicative whitethorn in installments you pinch a nexus to your site.

For example, vacation parkland usability Parkdean Resorts created a mini vacation parkland for hedgehogs. And tied it to a news communicative astir hedgehogs becoming endangered.

They gained property sum (and backlinks) connected respective sites. Including Lonely Planet: 

How to Track Your Link Building Efforts

We urge moving monthly (or much frequent) nexus building audits. To support way of earned links, mislaid links, and wide backlink quality. 

Use Semrush’s Backlink Audit instrumentality to do this. 

After mounting up nan tool, click nan settings icon successful nan precocious right.

Then, click “Recrawl schedule.”

Select “Once a month” successful nan drop-down menu. And cheque nan container adjacent to “Send an email each clip an audit is complete.” 

Then, click “Update.”

You’ll now person monthly alerts astir your latest audits.

In nan “Overview” portion of your audit, you tin study astir imaginable issues. (Such arsenic backlinks you’ve lost. Or links to surgery pages connected your site.) And get thief fixing them.

Plus, you tin show your site’s Authority Score. 

This should summation arsenic your backlink floor plan strengthens. But carnivore successful mind that moreover mini increases tin correspond a batch of activity and links.

Start Building Quality Links Today

With Semrush’s nexus building tools, you tin get nan insights and support you request to get value backlinks. And amended your SEO results.

• Link Building Tool: Identify applicable prospects and streamline nan outreach process
• Backlink Analytics: Analyze competitors’ backlink profiles
• Backlink Gap: Find domains that nexus to your competitors but not to you
• Backlink Audit: Monitor your nexus building results and place perchance harmful backlinks