How to Get Inbound Links to Your Website (and Networking Opportunities)
Reading Time: 9 minutes 
Back in the day, websites used to link to other websites like crazy. It was fun to share what we found or thought was interesting or valuable. Or, in some cases, even content we disagreed with.
This was also when website owners didn’t consider Google rankings in everything they did or didn’t do. It was all about sharing what we found. Now, most sites are run under the guise of what’s best for Google (and, sadly, not for site visitors).
Linking out then became a big concern. What if my site visitor leaves and doesn’t come back? The thing is, you can always open any off-site links in a new window, keeping your website visible. So that’s taken care of.
Let’s take a different approach to gaining inbound links rather than simply asking for links to your site. Instead, let’s discuss how we can create networking opportunities that enhance your chances of getting inbound links to your site.
Start by Linking Out
Adding links to your site helps to qualify a point or add relevancy. Say, for example, you are talking about some stats or surveys. Linking to the stats or surveys you reference adds legitimacy to your content. (Be sure that the sites you are linking to are quality and authoritative resources.)
You linked out because you found that information valuable, which backed up what you are writing in your post. You just basically gave a “Kudos!” to that other article by linking to it. And you’ve brought that information to your readers.
That’s the power of inbound links and why they are the Holy Grail of gaining more favor with Google. The theory is that if your site and content are that good, other sites can’t help but link to you when mentioning you on their sites.
The fact that they are so challenging to acquire makes them valuable for rankings. But challenging is an understatement. Most website owners just are not linking out like they used to.
That’s where guest posting became a thing. More on that later…
How do you garner inbound links?
That’s the million-dollar question. For something so difficult to achieve, what should you do — exactly? Here are some ideas for gaining and attracting more inbound links.
Creating Great Content
I talk about the type of content you must create to build trust, your brand, and rankings. I know — a broken record (because your content is truly at the core of your rankings). But you cannot rely on content alone.
Consistency is vital, as that is the only way to build credibility over time. Post good stuff once a week to start. If anyone is going to link off their site, it will be to a regularly updated, well-maintained site. Your site needs to project expertise, authority, and trust to attract inbound links.
Resource lists are the most-linked post types. You’ve seen them yourself. “50 Ways to…” “15 of the Best…” “101 Tips for…” You get the idea.
I use lists primarily because lists are a great way to give tips in short snippets. Lists are often viewed as easy to read and easy to implement.
Do your homework, research, and write quality resource posts that fit your niche. Then, use this format to create helpful lists your site visitors can use—and link to. Do your best to take it up a notch from what is already available and “out there.”
Sharing Content
Specific Quality Directories
If there are any industry-specific directories, add your link there. See if you can find out if the links are dofollow or nofollow. The latter, while possibly providing more exposure to your site among directory users, generally offers no SEO benefit with search engines. That’s okay; the exposure is still worth creating a listing.
But things are about to get trickier regarding NoFollow. NoFollow was primarily created to fight comment spam and flag affiliate links. Search engines know that linking can be abused, so things changed again.
For crawling and indexing purposes, nofollow will become a hint as of March 1, 2020.
Google’s Webmaster Blog
As things have evolved, Google added two new tags for these purposes in addition to nofollow.
Knowing which of the above are implemented can provide insight into the impact of links from their site to yours, and vice versa.
Commenting
Comment on other blogs and forums. Remember that most are nofollow (or UGC), which means your participation is to gain exposure for yourself and your website, not to impact rankings.
Don’t be spammy. Join the conversation by helping or offering your opinion — let that speak about you. If folks are impressed or curious, they’ll follow the link in your profile to your site to learn more.
This approach will garner more exposure for your site, leading to more people who are interested in your content and may link to you. Commenting is a solid strategy for building awareness and networking opportunities. Potential partners could read your post and reach out.
Focus on Experts
Are there experts in your field or niche that your site visitors want to know more about? Consider doing profiles or reviews of their sites, books, products, or blogs.
Then email them to let them know you wrote about them and include the link. They may link from their site to your kind words about them. Of course, only do this with sincerity.
Guest Blogging
Guest Blogging is an option. How it works is that you write a post for another site that includes a link to yours — dofollow, of course. Sadly, I believe guest blogging has imploded—all for the sake of inbound links.
I receive several weekly guest post offers from marketing companies on behalf of their clients for each of my sites. They want to post on one of my websites, with links to their clients, for inbound links.
They inquire with compliments and ego-stroking just to get an article posted on your website. I’m not saying this isn’t a practical option — just that it’s only practical when done correctly.
Accepting guest posts takes extreme discretion. Offering guest posts requires strong writing and persuasion skills.
Guest post content is specific, unique, and valuable to the website on which it will be posted, rather than merely serving as a link for the guest author. When done correctly, it is well-crafted content that accomplishes both.
Linking Out to Prospective Partners
Most website owners track their inbound links. I do so every quarter. For more, check out my article about Inbound referral links.
When website owners see that you have linked to them, they will probably visit your site and reach out. When you link to other websites, drop a note through their contact form to let them know you linked to them and that you’d be open to future collaborations.
You show your trust and value in their content by linking to prospective partners or websites where there could be synergy. And they may return the favor.
Watch the News
If something happens “in the News” that you can write about that fits your site’s purpose, jump on that. Search engines prioritize freshness for news-related issues.
Be one of the first to write an in-depth, informative, or opinionated post, and you can boost its rankings and traffic. Watch your website stats to see if you get some traction or inbound links.
Comprehensive Positive Reviews
Online reviewers seek out reviews that they can trust. So, it makes sense that writing detailed, genuine reviews you are enthusiastic about can not only inform but also encourage inbound links from those you review.
Write reviews about your clients, products you love, or services you use. Often, those folks will proudly link to your website from their sites. The key is to write comprehensive, detailed reviews you believe in. You want to tick all the boxes for the concerns review seekers have.
Doesn’t Hurt to Ask
Poke around other authority sites. If you see a resource article or post that could benefit from linking to an article or resource on your site, ask.
Ensure your email details the benefit to them to link to your post. Then, thank them for their time.
If you don’t hear back, at least you’ve made them aware of your website. Refrain from ongoing follow-ups if you don’t hear back. The last thing you want to do is become annoying.
Track Your Brand
You can see when you are mentioned on other sites and platforms by tracking your name, company, product, or service names. Once you discover it, you can take the opportunity to ask whether they’d be willing to link to your website or collaborate.
You can start with Google Alerts, which is free. Several other paid services can also help you track mentions.
Taking Advantage of the Links You Get
Now, you have some ideas for encouraging inbound links. Yes, they are more challenging than ever. But that’s why they are golden; you should take advantage of every single one you receive.
When you discover an unexpected link pointing to your site, that’s a networking opportunity, and you would be remiss not to take advantage of it.
How do you discover inbound links?
There are many sites and tools to help you discover inbound links. Here are a few to get you started:
When I have time to play with statistics and discover a website that found enough value in any of my sites to link to me, I always stop by their website and thank them. If the mention and link are in a blog post, I’ll contribute to the conversation in the comments and again thank them for their support.
This little effort on your part can be the beginning of some great partnerships. You can then take the conversation further, get to know each other, and consider how you might work together for your mutual benefit.
Inbound Links are Worth the Effort
Search engines put relevancy on one-way inbound links. It’s a complicated process with many variables that determine the value of each inbound link.
I bet you will be surprised at the results if you consistently implement all the strategies in this post. One thing is clear about succeeding online: it takes action to create action—rinse and repeat.
At your service,
