Backlinks are the beating heart of your website. When you amass a significant amount of high-quality backlinks, the world is effectively your oyster; you’ve been judged to be a high-quality source of information and other content. This results in higher search rankings and authority, thus, users will, in theory, flock to you thanks to the links that other websites send your way.
Unlike one-way link building, some might try to obtain reciprocal backlinks – i.e. asking a site to link to you in return for a link or for some other benefit – that’s arguably not the most natural or effective way to get backlinks. Instead, you should consider one-way link building, which refers to getting backlinks from sites without needing to reciprocate.
So, how can you do this? Well, there’s no “magic bullet” that can instantly win you a ton of quality backlinks from trustworthy websites. However, by following certain rules, you can make sure that your chances of getting quality backlinks from other sites are as high as they can be. Here’s our step-by-step guide to earning great backlinks.
Create high-quality content
This really is the number one rule across the whole of the internet, but it applies equally to one-way link building practices. There’s no way other sites are going to link to you if you don’t create high-quality content. That means following strict SEO rules; don’t keyword-stuff your content, don’t create clickbait, and don’t step outside your site’s remit just because you see a keyword that you want to target. First and foremost, you should ensure that you’re providing great content that’s informative and helpful.
Identify underserved niches
If you want high-quality backlinks, then one of the best ways to get them is to create content for a niche that doesn’t really have anywhere else to go. That niche will, of course, vary depending on your website type, but let’s say you’re creating a gaming website. Focusing on a niche genre, like visual novels or simulations, will get you better backlinks than trying a generalist approach, provided that you’ve got the writers to back that approach up, of course. Writing for a niche, and doing it well, will hopefully make you an authority to that niche.
Do your own research
Rather than citing other people’s work, it’s a good idea to try doing your own research when it comes to statistics and infographics. The more original research you can put out there into the world, the more value you’re theoretically injecting into your industry; high-quality research is something other people will regularly cite when they’re creating articles of their own, thus earning you one-way links without needing to reciprocate in any way. This will almost certainly apply to your industry in some way, so start thinking about how you can build your own research into your content!
Blogger outreach
Blogger outreach, also known as influencer outreach, is the process of reaching out to bloggers, influencers, or industry experts who have established credibility and an audience in your niche. The objective of this approach is to get these individuals to endorse your product, service, or content, leveraging their influence to increase your visibility and credibility. This might involve them mentioning your brand in their blogs, reviewing your product, or linking back to your website. The fundamental goal is to leverage their existing audience for exposure. This approach is effective and natural, however, it can be time consuming, so using a service or hiring a professional might be the best route for you.
Guest posting
Similar to blogger outreach, but slightly more of a risky approach. Guest blogging, also known as guest posting, is a potent strategy used in content marketing and SEO. This technique involves writing and publishing a blog post on a website other than your own, offering quality content to the host site’s audience while gaining visibility for your own brand. An essential part of guest blogging is the provision for one-way backlinks, which are hyperlinks that direct back to your own website.
Use original images
Stock images might be a good way to illustrate a point for an article, but you’ll gain all the more backlinks if you use high-quality original images. Manipulating existing images via Photoshop (provided you have the rights to do so) is an excellent way to achieve this, but if you can’t quite stretch that far, then even adding text or logos to images can be a good way of creating something original. Just make sure that you’re not simply regurgitating other images (where possible), because if you can create an image others will want to use, that could gain you backlinks as they credit back to you as the source.
Press Releases
Press releases are a good way for acquiring quality one-way links due to their potential for high visibility and wide distribution across various channels. When distributed through news websites, industry publications, and online PR platforms, press releases increase the likelihood of being picked up and linked to by other websites, thereby generating one-way links back to your website. Having an eye-catching title for your press release is also important. This enhanced visibility also establishes authority and credibility for your brand, as press releases are commonly associated with reputable sources.
The inclusion of natural anchor text in press releases further enhances the relevance and SEO value of linked pages, contributing to improved search engine rankings. Additionally, press releases have a longer lifespan compared to other forms of content, allowing them to continuously generate one-way links over time as they remain accessible on news platforms and can be discovered by new readers, bloggers, and journalists.
List your website in directories
Web directories might seem like a thing of the past, some elite directories have come and gone, such as Dmoz, for example. However, there are still directories out there edited by human beings, and even the ones that are presided over by algorithms are often worth being on. Just avoid the spammy ones. It’s a good idea to think about submitting your site to a directory if you want to generate high-quality one-way backlinks and feature other details such as a business address. NAP data is submitted to such directories, which allow Google to understand the locality of your business – local citations are a great method for building overall website authority. There are many tools to help you build local citations.
Infographics
Infographics serve as a highly effective means of acquiring one-way backlinks for several reasons. Firstly, infographics possess a unique ability to condense vast amounts of information into a visually appealing and easily digestible format. This makes them highly shareable and attractive to bloggers, journalists, and content creators looking for engaging and informative content to enhance their articles or posts. As a result, when others find value in your infographic, they are more likely to link back to it as a reference or resource, generating one-way backlinks to your website. Additionally, infographics have a higher potential for virality and social media sharing, increasing their exposure and the likelihood of attracting backlinks from various online sources. Furthermore, infographics allow you to showcase original data and insights, positioning you as an authority in your field and increasing the likelihood of reputable websites linking back to your infographic for reference.
Below is an example of an info-graphic, visually showcasing information relating to one-way link-building.
Identify common problems and create guides
Some industries will benefit more from this tip than others, but in almost every industry in the world, people will need guides to help them figure out how to do certain things. Creating these guides will stand you in excellent stead for high-quality backlinks. Think about it: if another site within your industry is writing a news post or a feature, then if you’ve created what is effectively the definitive guide that fits within that subject, they’ll probably link to you. This can be tricky, because spotting the areas in which guides are most needed requires a little bit of luck and a lot of observation, but it’s potentially hugely rewarding.
Talk to your community
High-quality backlinks won’t come overnight; you’ll need to put the work in. One of the ways you can do that is to head out there and talk to your industry’s community. Doing this over social media is, of course, a good idea, but you can also use forums (including, but not limited to, Reddit) in order to put your name out there. As you start building authority and people start thinking of you as a reputable and worthwhile source of original information, they’ll start linking to your site, thus creating another high-quality one-way backlink strategy for you.
When it comes to link-building, one-way links are the most effective method. Understanding how you can obtain one-way links is the first step before developing an overall strategy. We hope you have found plenty of ideas in this one-way link-building guide.
