Supercharge Your SEO Strategy in 2024 with Link Building

Understanding The Power of Links

Link building is a tried-and-tested strategy for SEO that effectively demonstrates your website’s authority to search engines and users. Savvy businesses can use link building to generate more traffic, increase their search engine rankings, and position their website as the go-to for their niche. 

What is Link Building?

We can define link building as the effort to obtain links on other websites that point back to yours. On a basic level, this helps users organically find your content while browsing a related topic, but there’s a lot more under the hood that makes link building in 2024 a must-have for your SEO strategy. Here’s why you should pay attention:

• Relevance: Search engines have always attempted to parse through irrelevant links when ranking websites, but they’re about to be an even more significant factor in the coming years. AI-generated content is swarming the internet en masse, and big search engines like Google and Bing are cracking down on irrelevant content and links in response.
  
  For SEO, link building will play a pivotal role in determining the relevance of your content. Search engine crawlers use links to decide which topics are relevant to your pages and how important those pages are in terms of those topics. This relevancy is why businesses using spammy link building strategies get filtered and blacklisted by search engines.
  
• Boosted Metrics: In 2024, link building is one of the best ways to improve your website’s overall metrics, whether that’s your Domain Authority or PageRank. Marketers familiar with the E-A-T (Expertise-Authority-Trustworthiness) guidelines know that websites demonstrating these qualities have a much better chance of consistently ranking high on search engine results pages. Search engines treat backlinks from high-DA websites as a vote of confidence in a page’s content. This sanctioning is why experts believe link building is the 3rd most crucial factor for SEO, right behind content and keywords.
  
• More Exposure, More Sales: The result of demonstrating your website’s relevance and authority to search engines is higher organic traffic that can be converted into higher sales if you have a plan in place. For smaller businesses, the upfront cost of link building is more than worth it in the long run, making it an appealing choice for those targeting higher ROI. 

Types of Links

Learn the different ways to build links for SEO to find out which ones suit your strategy.

• Natural Editorial Links: Just like earlier, these links are some of the most coveted when it comes to link building in 2024. Natural editorial links are built from authentic content that adds value for readers. This content could be anything from an informative long-form blog incorporating well-researched statistics to a smaller single-page infographic about a popular topic.
  
  Some marketers consider targeting natural editorial links risky as there is no guarantee that a bigger domain like The Guardian or Forbes will link back to their content. That said, the possibility of your content getting picked up by a massive audience makes this avenue more than worth it.
  
• Outreach Links: Natural links and outreach links occupy the two extreme ends of the link building spectrum in 2024. As opposed to natural links, outreach links are created by contacting other websites and asking them to link back to your content. The most popular example of this type of link is a guest post.
  

  

  
  Thousands of cheap link-farming websites let just about anybody buy links in bulk, which alone should be a red flag that this is not a viable tactic. It is advised to stay away from spammy or black-hat shortcuts, and instead be patient investing the time to land a valuable backlink on a high-DA website with a bit of persuasion and a budget. For instance, popular websites like Forbes will let domain experts engage in link building for SEO by contributing valuable articles.
• Social Media Links: Social media will be more relevant than ever for link building in 2024. A social media link can originate from a caption, comment, or user’s profile.
  
  It’s worth pointing out that social media links are no-follow links. Search engine crawlers essentially ignore these links and do not affect a page’s search engine rankings on a surface level. However, social media links can still create a lot of value by pulling in a massive new audience. A well-placed link or citation in a viral TikTok or Instagram reel can bring in thousands of potential new customers overnight and boost your search engine rankings. 

Crafting a Winning Link Building Strategy for 2024

• Identify Relevant Opportunities: All link building for SEO starts with research. What is your target audience searching for? How are they searching for it? Would a listicle or long-form blog attract more links for that topic?
  
  Long-form articles are a popular choice for link building strategies as they offer many opportunities for users to add bookmarks and links. In fact, a survey revealed that 60% of polled experts believe white papers are the best type of content for attracting links. On the other hand, shorter listicles have been rising in popularity as they cut the fluff and are dense with valuable content.
  
  This principle also applies to outreach link building in 2024. Known as the ‘Moving Man,’ this method involves finding competitors that have changed names or closed for business. Chances are that their websites will have tons of backlinks that have become redundant or broken – you can use tools like Ahrefs to find these links. Reach out to the owners of the sites hosting these links and offer your high-quality content as a replacement.
  
• Create Link-Worthy Content: Every type of link building for SEO, whether outreach, natural, or social media links, requires a solid foundation of link-worthy content. Find out what appeals the most to users in your niche and build towards them. For instance, Web3 companies building links in 2024 will likely continue posting dense white papers guaranteed to attract citations and links for years after publication.
  
• Outreach and Relationship Building: The right approach matters when conducting outreach for links. Craft a personalized message to the site owners highlighting how a link to your content can create value for their target audience. You can mention original research or a unique perspective your content can provide for their readers.
  

Building powerful connections is about persistence. Don’t be afraid to politely follow up with a reminder if your original outreach doesn’t get a reply. Link building for SEO gets a lot easier once you get that first post up and start building a rapport with the host.

• Guest Blogging and Content Collaboration: In 2024, link builders won’t have to look far to find a great host for their guest posts. Use strings like ‘Accepting Contributors’ or ‘Write for us’ to find websites in your niche that are accepting guest posts. Remember that these hosts will also be open to contributions from your competitors, so you’ll need to show them how your content stands out. Some websites require you to follow a few guidelines when crafting your posts, from simple limits to restrictions on what you can and cannot write about. Respect the guidelines to ensure you can continue working with their website in the future. 

• Anchor Texts and Internal Link Building in 2024: Anchor texts help search engines understand what type of page is being linked. Many types of anchor texts include exact, branded, partial matches, and image anchors. Exact anchor text will consist of a keyword that reflects the page it links to, while branded anchor text highlights the name of a business.
  
  Make sure to switch up the types of anchor text you use when link building for SEO to ensure your content doesn’t sound unnatural or repetitive. Each form of anchor text has its own value. For instance, branded anchor text can help build authority, while selecting a priority keyword of yours as the anchor text to link back to an important landing page on your site can support that keyword phrase’s ranking potential.
  
• Monitor and Analyze Results: No bonafide link building strategy works for every business, so you must monitor the results to know if your plan is working. Track metrics like domain and page authority, backlink numbers, and search visibility to know if you’re on the right track. Tools like Google Search Console’s backlink report make it easy for marketers to course-correct at a glance. 

Data Collection Methods for Link Building

Competitor Analysis

Data-driven analysis should be the ethos behind your link building efforts in 2024. Use a tool like Ahrefs or SEMrush to discover how your high-ranking competitors are building backlinks and opportunities they may have missed. For instance, you can look for a broken backlink and create high-quality content that could be a suitable replacement.

Surveying

82% of marketing experts believe there is no better way to build links for SEO than to be the data source. High-authority websites and reputable authors are always looking for verified data to use in their content, and your website can attract many backlinks over time by providing that data. Businesses can conduct consumer surveys and use their internal sources for their content pieces. 

Increase Your Rankings with Link Building in 2024

A rock-solid link building strategy can supercharge your web traffic and conversions in 2024. Use our tested tips and avoid black-hat link building methods to ensure your content gets the attention it deserves. 

If you’d like assistance with link building for SEO, contact Coalition Technologies today for a free strategy review! We’ve helped thousands of businesses grow their e-commerce revenue with tailored SEO plans that get results.