Are you looking for organic ways to boost referral traffic to your website and reinforce your online presence? Do you want to reinforce your brand’s authority and trustworthiness? Wouldn’t it be great if this would also put you in the good books of leading search engines?

Have you nodded your head in affirmation to any of the above questions? Then it’s high time you start leveraging the right link-building strategies. Whether you’re promoting an e-commerce store or portfolio website, effective link building can be instrumental in positioning your brand as an industry authority.

Also, when your website attracts numerous high-quality backlinks from credible and authoritative domains, it tells search engines that your brand is perceived as a trusted source of information. This, in turn, improves your website’s search engine ranking and helps amplify organic website traffic.

Link Building: The Real Picture

Despite realizing its significance, most SEO specialists and marketers resort to conventional methods, such as guest posting and blogger outreach, for link building. While these techniques are effective, they can take a while to yield results. Also, you should be prepared to face stiff competition because every other webmaster is using the same techniques.

But here’s some good news for you - 94% of online content doesn’t have any external links yet. It means there are a plethora of link-building opportunities that you can leverage for your website. From niche edits and broken links to email signatures and business listings - there are numerous ways to build backlinks in 2021.

In this blog, we’ve handpicked the most effective link-building strategies. Let’s take a look.

1. Create Content That Attracts Backlinks

High-quality content is the driving force behind every digital marketing campaign. It can also be a goldmine for link building. Instead of reaching out to webmasters and bloggers for link-building opportunities, you should focus on creating content that they’d want to link to.

Of course, publishing regular blog posts won’t make the cut. Instead, you need to focus on developing valuable and thought-provoking content, including original research and case studies. Or you could experiment with other content formats, such as infographics, videos, and podcasts.

Once you’ve published the content, make sure you promote it across the right channels. Use social media and email marketing to create a buzz. Also, optimize the content using relevant keywords, so that it makes it to the topmost listings in relevant search engine results pages (SERPs).

2. Leverage Niche Edits

Unlike guest posting, niche edits involve adding backlinks to already published content on relevant authoritative blogs. In most cases, the content is already indexed by search engines and garners a decent amount of traffic. Thus, it offers a faster and more cost-effective way of reaping the benefits of link building.

It is, however, essential to select blogs that are relevant to your niche and target keyword. As with guest blogging, you need to connect with the blog admin or author with an impressive pitch. Also, make sure the link is added as organically as possible into the existing content. Don’t forget to craft a natural anchor text as well.

3. Be Active on Q&A Forums

First things first - most Q&A forums, such as Quora and Reddit, only support no-follow links to web pages. Thus, sharing links to your blog posts/website on these forums won’t directly impact search engine ranking.

But it’ll increase your website’s online visibility and attract more organic traffic. And if these visitors find your content to be valuable and resourceful, they could use it as a reference in their own blog posts. This, in turn, will skyrocket your website’s search engine ranking.

Of course, you shouldn’t go around spamming random discussion threads with unnecessary links. Instead, you should identify popular threads that are relevant to your target audience. Analyze the question and craft an insightful answer. Include the link to a relevant blog post (from your website) at the end of your answer.

You could take this step further by joining Facebook (News - Alert) groups related to your niche/product. Participate in relevant discussions and position yourself as an industry leader. Share links to your blog posts only when necessary.

4. Don’t Forget Your Email Signature

If you’re running a business, chances are you’re sending a plethora of emails every day. An easy way to boost traffic is to include your website URL in your email signature. While it’s going to a no-follow link, it’ll help drive visitors to your website. If they like your content, they’ll share it on their websites, ultimately helping you attract more backlinks.

Are you planning to use any other link-building strategies in 2021? Share your recommendations in the comments section below.