So, you want to play the link-building game, eh? In this glorious year of 2024, it’s a jungle out there, where shady tactics lurk behind every pixel and Google’s ever-watchful eyes are judging your every backlink. If you’ve been reading our annual link-building articles over the years, a lot of what you see here is going to look familiar. The fact is that the same strategies and tactics that we’ve been recommending for the past few years or so have been demonstrated to be increasingly effective in today’s SEO world. But even if you’ve read it all before, it’s worth reminding yourself what works and what doesn’t with the link building in 2024 so you can put your best backlinking foot forward.
What to Do: The Road to Link-Building Glory
- The EGC Strategy (Earned Guest Content)
Forget churning out mediocre blog posts on your own site. You’ll get much more bang for your backlinking buck by sharing your expertise in someone else’s domain. So, offer to write insightful, truly valuable guest content for high-quality, relevant websites. You get a backlink, they get great content – it’s a win-win, and Google approves.
- Resource Pages: Your New Goldmine
We all love a good resource, right? Websites often include pages dedicated to linking to all the best tools and information. Get yourself on those lists! Find sites in your niche that have resource pages, then gently persuade them that your tool, content, or service is absolutely essential and deserves a spot in their resource collection.
- Testimonials & Reviews: Subtle Yet Powerful
Sometimes, the simplest links are the most effective. Did a client rave about your services? Offer them a testimonial to put on their website – most will happily reciprocate with a backlink to your site. The same concept applies to reviewing products or services in your industry. Those little links add up, and since they’re on site’s related to what you offer, Google will consider them gold.
- HARO: The Reporter’s Best Friend (And Yours, Too)
HARO (Help a Reporter Out): https://www.helpareporter.com/ connects journalists with sources. Sign up, monitor queries relevant to your expertise, and offer yourself up as a quotable expert. Score a mention in an article, and boom! You’ve got yourself a high-quality backlink.
- Broken Link Building: Cleaning Up the Web, One Link at a Time
Play internet detective and find broken links on reputable websites in your niche. Then, offer your own awesome content as a replacement. Tools like Ahrefs’ Broken Link Checker: https://ahrefs.com/broken-link-checker will make this a breeze. Think of it as backlink philanthropy that can pay huge dividends for your brand and site.
What NOT To Do: Shortcuts to Search Engine Purgatory
- Link Farms: Where Backlinks Go to Die
Remember those spammy sites circa 2005 that existed solely for the purpose of exchanging links? They’re still out there, and they’re still a terrible idea. Google is wise to these tricks, and those dodgy links will drag you down faster than an anchor in the ocean.
- PBNs (Private Blog Networks): Not-So-Sneaky Shenanigans
Building your own network of sites to link back to yourself sounds clever, right? Wrong. Google hates PBNs with a fiery passion. Get caught, and it’s an express ticket to the search engine hinterlands.
- Forum & Comment Spam: The Web’s Equivalent of Junk Mail
Dropping irrelevant links with zero value in forums and blog comments is the digital equivalent of littering. It annoys everyone, and Google will penalize you for it. But if you, or someone you hire, has the time to add something valuable to the conversation, by all means, go for it!
- Paid Links That Scream ‘UNNATURAL!’
Buying links on a large scale might seem tempting, but trust me, Google’s algorithms are trained to spot this stuff. Focus on earning those links organically, or you’ll pay for it (literally and figuratively) in the long run.
- Reciprocal Linking Gone Wild
Exchanging links with one or two partners is fine. Going on a link-swapping frenzy with everyone in your industry is a red flag. Google wants to see those links earned, not traded like baseball cards.
Google’s Algorithm: The Almighty Link-Liking (or Disliking) Overlord
If you’ve been in the SEO game for any length of time, you know that Google is always tinkering with their algorithms on a non-stop quest to increase the relevancy of their search results. It’s a royal pain for us SEO experts, but it also constantly keeps us busy, so it’s not all bad. Here’s the gist in 2024:
- Relevance is KING: Links from sites unrelated to your niche are about as useful as a chocolate teapot. Don’t waste your time, or you’ll end up with a swarm of irrelevant links that Google ignores and that adds nothing to your backlinking profile.
- Authority Matters: A link from the New York Times is link-building gold, one from your cousin’s pet hamster blog…not so much. Use those guideposts as you pursue backlink acquisition.
- User Experience is Key: Google rewards sites that provide value, so those links should come from pages that are genuinely useful to visitors.
Link Building in 2024: The Bottom Line
Think of your backlinks like a stellar reputation. Building that reputation takes time, effort, and a focus on quality over quantity. Ditch the shady shenanigans and focus on these guiding principles in your link-building odyssey:
- Be a Value-Adding Beast: Create content so insanely useful, insightful, and shareworthy that people want to link to it.
- Relationships Matter: Forge genuine connections in your industry. Networking can lead to natural backlinking opportunities.
- Patience, Young Padawan: High-quality links don’t sprout overnight. Consistent effort is the name of the game.
- Think Like Google: Would you genuinely trust the sites linking to you? If not, steer clear.
Link building in 2024 isn’t about tricks or shortcuts; it’s about proving that your website is a credible, valuable asset in the vast online landscape. Embrace the challenge, get creative, and let those high-quality backlinks roll in. It’s a long game, but oh so worth it when you see your site rise in the ranks.
Do It Yourself, or Have Someone Who Knows The Deal Do It For You
This is the age-old question faced by brands across the web when it comes to backlinking. There’s no doubt that a savvy webmaster can take on the challenge of link-building in 2024. That is, if they have the time. Because this is more a marathon than a sprint, working to build your backlink profile should be something you focus on every day. If you can afford to give it the dedication it deserves, then the above insight should help you succeed.
If, on the other hand, you don’t have the time or resources that this pursuit requires, a reputable backlinking agency can take a lot off your plate and allow you to focus on doing what you do best. Forgive us for tooting our own horn, but ArticleHub is one such agency. We’ve been at this for a long time by today’s standards, and we’ve continued to modify our agile approach based on Google’s latest zigs and zags as it optimizes its algorithms. We’re not fooled by fads, and we work tirelessly to bolster our clients’ backlink profiles in ways that won’t get them penalized by Google but will work to send their search engine ranking skyward.
How can we help you? Contact Us Today!
