Link building is an essential element of search engine optimization (SEO). It makes your website more discoverable and helps it achieve higher rankings on popular search engines like Google.

Gaining free backlinks requires creating and sharing content that provides genuine value to others. Examples include how-to guides, infographics, and more.

1. HARO

HARO, or Help A Reporter Out, is an online platform that connects journalists with experts in their field. By doing so, both parties save time and money as they can quickly connect with the right individuals.

Experts or journalists, HARO is an invaluable tool for getting their name out there and building high-quality backlinks. Additionally, journalists have the chance to credit their sources, improving their credibility and expanding their audience.

To create a free HARO account, visit the website and fill in your name, email address, and some basic information about yourself and your expertise. Afterward, select which preferences you would like to receive queries at and how often.

Once registered, you’ll receive daily emails from HARO with source requests on various topics such as biotech, business, finance, high tech, lifestyle/fitness and travel.

The best way to use HARO effectively is to dedicate 30 minutes to an hour each day filtering through requests and looking for ones that require your expertise. At First Page, for instance, we responded to inquiries on SEO, inbound marketing, and similar topics.

When responding to a query, make sure to express your appreciation for the reporter’s time and request they share it on social media. You may even provide them with an embed code or custom copy in order to make sharing as effortless as possible.

It’s essential to let them know that you will not use their content without their consent and that they may remove it at any time. Doing this will help avoid legal issues in the future and safeguard your brand.

HARO backlinks can be either DoFollow or no-follow, but they still provide valuable referral traffic. Not only do they increase domain authority and position your website higher on SERPs, but it’s important to remember that HARO link building isn’t a one-size-fits all solution – it takes time and consistency to land quality links so don’t rely solely on them as your only source of backlinks.

2. Guest posting

To attract backlinks, you need to craft quality content that resonates with readers. Your content should be informative, useful and pertinent for the audience. Furthermore, include a link back to your website which establishes that you are an authority in your field and suggests people can trust what you have to say.

Guest posting is an effective way to gain free backlinks for your site, but it should be noted that results take time. To begin, research the best sites to post on, identify their posting requirements for each one, and then submit your content accordingly.

After your post is published, it’s essential to follow up with the blog owner and editor to gauge how well it’s doing. Doing this demonstrates your enthusiasm for the site and helps build a stronger bond between both of you.

By consistently guest posting on trusted sites, you can build brand authority and establish yourself as a reliable source of information. This will improve SEO for your content so it appears higher up in searches on Google.

When creating guest posts, be sure to select quality sites with a high domain authority and plenty of links. These will be more likely to share your link juice.

Your goal when guest posting on another blog is to produce quality content that appeals to your target audience and leaves them with a favorable impression of your business. In order to do this, research the topic thoroughly and identify ways in which you can add value for the readers of that blog.

Once you’ve identified the ideal websites to submit your content, be sure to read their guest posting guidelines thoroughly and adhere to them strictly. Some guest posting sites accept full posts while others require pitch ideas or submit short articles. Furthermore, check out their monetization strategy in order to decide if working with them in the future is beneficial for both of you.

Finally, don’t forget to promote your guest post after it has been posted on the blog. You can do this by mentioning it on social media profiles or sending an email to customers and potential clients with a link that encourages them to click through and learn more about your business or products.

3. Asking for a mention

Of all the ways to obtain backlinks, one of the most reliable and successful is asking for a mention. Unlinked brand mentions are easy to locate and can provide your website with valuable free links that promote your services or products.

Receiving a mention is an effective way to increase your site’s authority and boost its search engine ranking. Furthermore, it may generate referral traffic for you as well.

You can request a mention for your brand by emailing content writers who have previously mentioned it positively. But remember, these individuals receive many contact requests and emails so be sincere when making your request.

When sending an email, strive to use succinct and straightforward language that emphasizes how your brand can benefit their readership. Doing this will make the recipient feel appreciated and likely more willing to accept your link request.

For optimal success with this method, use Ahrefs’ content explorer feature to identify potential mentions on other websites. Doing so can help focus your outreach efforts and guarantee that only quality sources will link back to your website.

The next step is to approach the owner of a website or blog and explain how your company, product, or service can add value to their audience. Once they accept it, you can ask if they can include a link to your company’s site or blog.

Another popular method of building backlinks is through guest posts on established online platforms. These sites typically boast high domain authority and plenty of organic traffic.

Once you have a list of sites where a guest post could be submitted, contact the site owner and inquire if they would be willing to include your link in their content. In some cases, this might be an easy request; in others however, more effort may be necessary on your part.

When submitting a guest post, make sure you create unique content that stands out from other posts on the site. For instance, have a higher word count, include more images, and compose an engaging title tag and meta description.

4. Checking for broken links

One of the most essential elements of an SEO strategy is checking your website for broken links. Broken links can have a detrimental effect on your ranking, website usability and visitor experience.

There are various tools that can help identify broken links on your website. These range from basic checkers that alert you of any broken links to more sophisticated ones which detect issues with HTML coding.

Many of these tools offer free reports that show which pages have broken links and where they are situated. These reports can assist in recognizing potential opportunities for link building that could boost your rankings and bring in more traffic to your website.

Another way to detect broken links on your website is through Sitebulb, a software tool. This program lets you create an project for the website you wish to examine and then crawl it page by page in order to report back with any broken internal links.

Once you have this data, you can use it to identify broken internal links on a page-by-page basis and fix them. Doing so will enhance your website’s user experience which in turn has an advantage for search engine rankings as well as overall traffic.

Additionally, you can utilize this data to create a redirect for any pages with broken links. Doing so will prevent visitors from clicking the incorrect link and abandoning your website altogether.

Furthermore, you can utilize this data to ensure all new pages on your site have no broken internal links before they go live. Doing so will guarantee visitors are able to locate content quickly and efficiently on your website, helping avoid a negative experience that could potentially damage your reputation.

A 404 error can be incredibly irritating for users, particularly if they are searching for specific information. It also leads to a lower website rating so it’s essential that any broken links on your website be repaired promptly.