How Do I Get High Quality Backlinks in 2023?

Link building has come a long way since the early days.

Successful offsite SEO and link building is no longer a matter of quantity (though, quantity and regularly still play a role) so much as it is a matter of quality.

In order to build the authority of your own site, you must leverage the domain authority of existing sites, and construct high quality links that are meaningful in the eyes of users as well as search engines.

Actually, building links on major news sites isn’t as difficult as you might imagine.

But it takes work! 

Try any or all of these three significant ways you can earn valuable backlinks from major sites:

Write High Quality (Link Worthy) Content

Writing high quality content is one of the most effective ways to increase the likelihood that you will attain high quality links from larger websites. In short, writing high quality content increases the perception that you are a professional and leads other website owners to believe that you are the type of individual with whom a business relationship could be mutually profitable.

There are a variety of things you can do to ensure that the content you produce is high quality:

1. Make your text is “scannable.” To ensure that your readers can quickly scan through your content to find the information they want, make a point to include things such as headers, bullets, and numbered lists. Use shorter paragraphs, shorter sentences, and more line breaks. It helps people scan/skim the content which is how most people consume text content these. If it isn’t skimmable then I think people will just click that back button and look for something that is. Be very focused and targeted when using h2 and h3 tags to segment content into sections that make sense, so readers can easily get to the info they want.
2. Become a source for research. Be a source for first-person research and data in the form of industry surveys, direct market research and unbiased reporting. Report your findings via graphs and charts and promote them heavily. You are likely to get natural, quality links this way. Lists of statistics work VERY well for becoming a link-worthy, linkable source.
3. Don’t focus on word count. It’s really more about post quality. In fact, most of post updates have involved cutting a lot of content that I just felt was too fluffy. Cut the fluff wherever you can and get to the point. People have short attention spans these days and just want answers.
4. Move the “meat” of your articles as close to the top as possible. No more long-winded intros or background stories. I also cut out stuff that I think should be obvious to my readers, and I just try to get right to the good stuff.
5. Listicles are big-time winners, especially for acquiring links.
6. Make sure every post has a target keyword. Use Yoast to make sure you are optimizing each post for its target keyword, and after publishing the post I always make sure to build at least three internal links to it from other pages on your blog, using the keyword as anchor text, when possible.
7. Keep your opening paragraphs as short as possible, while including the target keyword as close to the top as I can. It’s all part of my effort to cut out fluff and just provide dense content. I think people are just tired of fluff in general.

Become a Source & Thought Leader

If you’re serious about getting links from larger websites, you should know that becoming a thought leader in your area of business can help you accomplish your objective.

This is the case for several reasons, one of which is that your website gains credibility (and subsequently, visibility) when people believe that you have extensive education and experience in your chosen field.

So, how do you become a thought leader in your area of business?

1. Write and publish a book & then promote it.
2. Continually publish thought leadership articles on your website that are sharable, include research findings
3. Attend lectures and conferences where you can network with other thought leaders
4. In the remote working era, you can even connect with other thought leaders on social channels. Linkedin is my personal favorite for this

Becoming a source also means using channels that can connect you with high-profile journalists where you can acquire quality links for your website.

For more information on this strategy, please visit our HARO link building services guide.

Add A Blog

Adding a blog to your website is a fun and effective way to get more links from larger websites. Like several of the other link building strategies outlined here, adding a blog is a viable link building strategy because it can increase the visibility of your website and thereby catch the attention of larger websites who will then view linking you in to be a mutually profitable decision. To make the most of each blog post, be sure that the content you publish there is interesting and informative. Also make a point to try to guest post on the blogs of other people.

This is a good networking strategy that also increases the likelihood that you can reach more people within your target audience.

Implement Proven Social Media Optimization (SMO) Strategies.

One of the many effective strategies that can help you get links from larger websites is to simply increase your visibility in the online world. In short, a large website cannot link you if they do not hear about you somehow. With this idea in mind, take note of the fact that social media channels are an incredibly useful (and cost effective) way to share information about your business’s goods and services with other people. There are a variety of social media optimization (SMO) strategies you can implement to increase your business’s online visibility. For example, tweeting at peak times (5 pm) will increase the likelihood that a large number of people learn about the goods and services you offer.

Ask! (But Be Willing to Give)

Asking can be an incredibly effective way to get links from larger websites. To make the most of this opportunity, write a very professional yet personal e-mail in which you discuss a bit about your work background as well as your own interests.

Talk about the purpose and function of your website and explain why you’d be interested in having the web owner link you in.

Be sure that your e-mail includes substantive information indicating that you are thoroughly familiar with the web owner’s site. This will likely flatter him or her. The best part about asking to get linked to a larger website is that you may get a yes, and the worst thing that can happen is that the website owner says no.

In today’s world, so many SEOs are asking for links (often through direct outreach or broken link building campaigns) that in order to differentiate yourself, you may need to first expect to “give” before you “get” when it comes to links. Here’s one typical example for a guest post request (similar examples could be provided for those looking for broken links), but where is the “give”?

What are you going to give them that is of value before you expect to receive a high quality backlink?

Get Professional Help.

Although you and your staff may be somewhat effective in creating and maintaining the type of website that will garner interest from larger websites, professionals can probably do a much better job than you.

With this thought in mind, give consideration to hiring a professional web design or internet marketing company to help your business gain the online visibility and popularity that you want.

These professionals will typically have years of experience in the industry, thus enabling them to quickly and effectively develop and implement the type of web design and marketing strategies that will leave larger website owners wondering about you.

Once they become curious, the likelihood of you getting linked increases exponentially.

This is where SEO.co’s quality link building services come into play.

Have a Link-Worthy Brand

Last but certainly not least on this list of strategies to help you attain links from large websites is the implementation of a high quality branding campaign.

Although defined broadly, branding is basically the process of using graphics, icons, text, mottos and other forms of visual or textual media to create a unique and meaningful image for a business and the goods and services it sells.

Branding is important for many reasons, including the fact that it increases the likelihood that prospective customers will remember specific information regarding your products and subsequently make purchases.

When this happens, your brand will gain visibility and credibility, the two primary factors which can cause larger websites to link you.

Take Advantage of Google News.

Your first option is one of the easiest. In order to get a link on a major news site, you have to get noticed. And getting noticed isn’t just a matter of making an introduction. In order to get seen and appreciated by a major news site, you have to have information that is truly newsworthy; these outlets have a reputation because they’re committed to publishing only the most significant material.

Google News is a publication outlet that can help you achieve that visibility and credibility. If you’re new to Google News, think of it as a gigantic, constantly updated database with news stories from around the world. Google takes this aggregated cache of news and then displays it to users using sophisticated algorithms that show content appropriate for each user’s interests, history, and geographic location.

Google News allows almost anyone to post credible news articles for consideration to be included in this database. If you have a “news” or “press” section of your website (and you actually use it to publish newsworthy information), this option is perfect for you. You can set your site up within the Publisher Center, and submit content regularly for consideration. You can also submit individual articles or press releases.

If you’re lucky, another major news publication will take notice of your Google-published news entries, and will either reference it in a link out to your site, or follow up with you for more information. It’s a roundabout way of getting attention from news sites, but if your content is worth their attention, they will take notice.

The worst-case scenario here is that no major news sites pick up your link—if that’s the case, you can still enjoy the benefits of having your articles listed on Google News. It may not increase your domain authority as much as a pack of high-authority links, but it will send a significant flow of new traffic to your site.

Distribute Your Own Press Releases.

The principle behind this tactic is the same as the previous entry: in order to earn a link on a major news site, you have to get their attention with a major news article. Google News is incredibly useful for sites with regular news releases, but it only increases the visibility of content in one channel: Google search results. If you’re interested in submitting your article to major news sites directly for consideration, you can distribute your own individual press releases with a service like PRWeb.

Through PRWeb, you’ll be able to publish your press release and syndicate it—depending on the service you use, you should be able to submit it to tens of thousands of different news outlets, differentiating them according to their geographic location or industry niche. This distribution usually includes some of the biggest names in national news, but you will have a higher chance of getting picked up in low- to medium-authority news sites.

If your press release is highly significant, well-written, and timely, you do stand a decent chance of getting picked up by a major news outlet, featuring a link pointing back to your site as a reward for your efforts. However, even if your article falls through the cracks of the highest-tier publications, the links you earn on lesser-known publications will still be highly valuable. This is especially true for local news sites, which will earn you backlinks anchored with a specific location, enhancing your relevance in local SEO.

Temper your expectations by remembering that submitting a press release is no guarantee of publication on a major news channel, but distributed press releases are still one of the best shots you have. Submit newsworthy press releases regularly for the best SEO benefit.

Get Involved in the Community with Comments.

Comments are always a decent option for manual link building, and major news sites are no exception. You’ll certainly get more visibility and credibility if a news site publishes one of your articles, but if you’re looking to get some high-authority link juice, posting something relevant in the comments section is a great alternative.

Your best bet is to find an article that has something to do with your industry. For example, if you work with new technology, find something in the “Technology” section that is related to a product you’ve produced. If you work in financial services, something in the “Money” section might be better. You can also use a search function to find a highly specific article, but do your best to select articles with a recent publication date in order to stay relevant.

As with any link building exercise, take caution to ensure your links are natural.

Any indication that could give a webmaster the impression that you are only posting a link for the page rank boost will immediately get your comment flagged as spam and removed. Make sure your link is to a specific, relevant page on your site, and introduce the link by explaining why you’re posting it and why it’s relevant to the article. Get involved with the discussion, and you might earn a handful of new web visitors in addition to improving your SEO.

Getting free backlinks from major news sources is neither stable nor easy enough to be a reliable, independent link building strategy. However, when executed as part of a broader, multifaceted offsite SEO service campaign, news-related link building can be an enormous assist to your efforts. Be patient with news sites and stay consistent in your efforts even if you don’t get a bite right away. Emphasize the quality and relevance of your news items, and diversify your strategy whenever possible to cover the most ground. Eventually, you’ll find a rhythm for your news, and your SEO strategy will succeed because of it.

Don’t Be A One-Trick Link-Building Pony!

If your goal is to ensure that you get links from larger websites, you should know that the strategies outlined above can help you accomplish this goal.

To make the most of the information listed here, be sure to use all of the techniques synergistically to increase your online reputation as quickly as possible.

Once this happens, you will likely find that a variety of large, authoritative websites are interested in linking you.

Want to understand your existing backlink profile?

Use our backlink checker now to find out!

If you need help to build high quality backlinks, we’re a full service SEO company. Our SEO services can be a great assistance. Contact us today!

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Sam Edwards

Chief Marketing Officer at SEO.co

In his 9+ years as a digital marketer, Sam has worked with countless small businesses and enterprise Fortune 500 companies and organizations including NASDAQ OMX, eBay, Duncan Hines, Drew Barrymore, Washington, DC based law firm Price Benowitz LLP and human rights organization Amnesty International.

He is a recurring speaker at the Search Marketing Expo conference series and a TEDx Talker. Today he works directly with high-end clients across all verticals to maximize on and off-site SEO ROI through content marketing and link building. Connect with Sam on Linkedin.

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