- There are over 150 different link building strategies and tactics that can be used to build high-quality backlinks and improve SEO rankings. The most effective strategies focus on building contextually relevant links from authoritative sites.
- Content marketing, email outreach, broken link building, unlinked brand mentions, guest posting, and visual assets like infographics tend to be among the most productive link building techniques.
- Link building plays a critical role in SEO success, with over 90% of marketers utilizing content to generate links. Backlinks and content are cited as two of the most important ranking factors.
- Key 2024 trends include a shift away from low-quality links and cold outreach emails, toward high-authority site links, digital PR, and original research content.
However, they generally fall into several broad categories:
Asking for Links
- Email outreach campaigns to relevant sites
- Guest posting opportunities
- Link reclamation from brand mentions without links
- Getting interviewed on podcasts
Creating Linkable Assets
- Content marketing (ultimate guides, data studies, etc.)
- Visual assets like infographics and images
- Tools and calculators
Technical Link Building
- Broken link building
- Building relationships via forums, comments, etc
- Local SEO listings
Link Opportunities
- HARO source requests
- Wikipedia citations
- Curating content roundups
Most Effective Link Building Strategies
The most productive link building strategies tend to focus on creating awesome content that sites naturally want to link to. Specifically, content marketing is utilized by over 90% of marketers and is regarded as one of the best ways to build organic links. Types of content that attract lots of links include:
- In-depth guides and ultimate resources (e.g. 4,000+ word posts)
- Data studies and original research
- List posts and roundups (especially 100+ lists)
- Tools and calculators
- Infographics and visual assets When it comes to outreach, the most effective way to get links is to reach out to relevant sites and influencers rather than blasting out mass emails. Personalized pitches focused on high-authority sites in your niche lead to the best results.
- Some of the most productive outreach strategies include:
- Guest posting articles on relevant sites
- Getting interviewed on podcasts within your industry
- Reclaiming brand mentions without links
- Fixing broken links with relevant replacement content
Link Building Trends for 2024
Industry surveys have highlighted several notable link building trends for 2024:
- Shift away from low-quality links and paid links
- Decreased effectiveness of cold outreach mass emails
- More focus on contextual relevance between sites
- More value given to links from high-authority domains
- Rise in digital PR and online brand awareness
- Original research and studies attracting more links Essentially there is an increased emphasis on building genuine links between sites through useful, engaging content rather than artificial links. Relevance and quality are becoming more important metrics.
Conclusion
There are over 150 potential link building strategies, but the most effective ones create awesome content that sites naturally want to reference and link to. Content, outreach, and assets should focus on relevance in topic, quality, and authority to attract valuable links. 2024 trends highlight the growing importance of contextual relevance in link building.