Let’s agree, if it was all about the number of backlinks, every article on every poor-quality website would be filled with unrelated links. The first SERP (search engine results page) wouldn’t make any sense, as well as the ranking algorithm overall.
Thus, the quality of backlinks matters a lot. The more organic they are, the more credible your website is in the eyes of the mighty Google. If you want to build organic links even with basic SEO skills, the following steps will help you avoid the most common mistakes that cost money, effort, and website reputation.
Search engines detect unnatural links better and better every year. Let’s make sure your website doesn’t end up in such a situation.
Step 1: Use Various Anchors
Natural link building implies various anchors and near-anchor works. It should seem that the website mentions you because its admin discovered your source and loved it. Logically, not every site will have the same words in mind when linking to you.
So, to diversify, use various anchors. They may contain the same words, though. For example, if you promote a flower shop, use anchors like:
- Online flower shop;
- Flower shop online;
- Flower delivery online;
- *the name of your shop* flower delivery, etc.
It’s also wise to use straight links to your main page. Not every source will agree to use anchors, so it’s a great idea to get your website mentioned. Many users even choose images and state their site as a source. It’s another diversifying tactic that will show Google that other sources mention you in a variety of ways because your website is so good.
Step 2: Don’t Forget About Inner Pages of the Website
If you decide to create a campaign, make sure the whole website benefits from it. Most people, especially beginners, tend to promote only the main page. It’s great, but a better decision is to choose several key pages.
Such an approach brings several benefits:
- More people will find out about your website due to the content on those pages;
- Google will see that your whole site is catching users’ attention; as a result, your ranking will improve;
- Visitors will be encouraged to surf the website to find out more.
Organic links to pages like Contact Us, About Us, Blog, any blog post, policy pages, etc. will distribute the traffic. The results of your PR campaign will be more effective.
Consider adding calls to action on the pages you will promote to motivate users to continue surfing through the website.
Step 3: Balance Page Rankings, Don’t Chase Only High-Ranking Sites
When trying organic link building, you may read a lot about page rankings you should focus on to get the most result. However, in reality, it doesn’t seem truthful when only high-ranking websites backlink to your site.
Google algorithms may easily find out you’re buying links or building a system manually using such signs. Combine all kinds of ratings in your campaign, except for sources of obviously poor quality.
All the pages you choose to promote have to be decent and indexed. However, don’t chase the highest ranks. Instead, look for various backlinking opportunities.
Step 4: Avoid All Kinds of Linking Schemes
Natural link building has nothing to do with automated programs where they ask you to “Add URL” and see “magic” happen. While you may really get a lot of backlinks, think about their quality. Such a mistake may lower your website in the Google ranking because it’s easy to make an error and lose your honestly built-up reputation.
Search engines will see your website on such sources and understand you’re looking for ways to improve the website’s authority in shady ways. Their algorithms are more clever than you may think.
Recovering from such a mistake will be difficult and require weeks of organic link building.
To avoid such situations, there are two tips:
- Never use methods that anyone else can use without much effort (getting links “wherever” like on “submit site” sources). Make sure you can show anyone all the natural links you have without shame or explanations;
- Only cooperate with services where your link will be suitable. Otherwise, the readers won’t be your target audience, which may still provide a lot of traffic but not genuine interest in what you do.
Step 5: Don’t Focus Only on Editorial Style Backlinks
Editorial style backlinks are the most effective, but again, just like with high-ranking pages, a profile that is too perfect won’t make sense to Google. Try getting other types of organic links with proper SEO qualities as well. These include:
- Blogrolls;
- Sidebars;
- Awards;
- Sponsorships;
- SNS (social media);
- Resource-type pages, etc.
Any mention is good, it doesn’t have to be a fully natural link in a blog post. Diversify the goals of your campaign, make it look organic. And Google will see it, moving your website to the first results page.
The golden rule is that your link has to make sense on the source it’s posted at. If it’s on a page with hundreds of other links (unless it’s a “Thank You” type of page), such a mention doesn’t really seem like organic link building. But if it’s in a “Related Pages” section or a similar one, the results won’t be long to wait.
Step 6: Keep the Promotion Slow and Stable
To make sure you follow all the rules of natural link building, make the process slow and steady. It doesn’t look organic when a regular website goes so high up in the rankings overnight.
Of course, if you were mentioned by a large source like CNN or by Beyonce on her Instagram, it’s OK if the mentions of your source make it famous in several hours. Such a rare yet possible situation will shoot natural backlinking for you.
However, in most cases, it’s best to build one backlink by another, focusing not on the quantity but the quality of sources that refer to you. Think about an optimal number of links every week, and build your reputation slowly. Such an approach will ensure the durability and reliability of your promotional campaign.
Bonus Step: Turn to Professionals
If these steps sound confusing yet you want perfectly natural links to your website, maybe it’s time to ask for help. Using innovative techniques, the link-building service LinksManagement will create a completely natural profile for your website.
Without a doubt, turning to organic links and SEO professionals will improve your results at least by 20% (if you’re experienced as well) and more than 50% if you’re a beginner. Choose a reliable company, read reviews about them, see cases, and choose whatever resonates with your project.