How to Generate Backlinks Without Dabbling in the Dark Arts

This is guest post by Lisa-Anne Redwood on how to generate backlinks without using blackhat method

There’s been a lot of buzz lately regarding Google’s rankings and the SEO changes that ‘big G’ has been putting in place. Many private backlink networks have now be almost entirely de-indexed by Google. That means that countless websites that were enjoying the heady heights of search rankings are now almost completely invisible to search users. These developments have understandably unnerved legitimate website owners, many of whom may not have kept track of how their backlinks were generated.

But in fact, these changes may actually be a positive thing for these webmasters. Google tends to target those people who use blackhat SEO techniques (read: spammers), but there are still plenty of ways you can generate backlinks whilst keeping your hat very much white in colour. Let’s take a look at a few ways you can create some legitimate backlinks to your blog or website, even since Google’s hammer has come down.

Guest posting on other blogs It’s an old method, but still arguably the best. Guest blogging on relevant websites and blogs is a fantastic way to get your link out there on the web in a very organic and whitehat way. Whilst the more unscrupulous SEO practitioners may focus their attention on the spamming the comments section of blogs, you can rise above all this by actually being the one writing the articles. All you have to do is contact the owners of blogs or sites like yours and offer to write an article for them – just be sure that it’s good enough and genuinely offers the reader something of value (and of course make sure your link is in context).

Video backlinks You may have noticed that Google very often gives precedence to videos in the search results. What this means for bloggers and site owners is that, provided they can come up with compelling content for a video, they can enjoy a new way to create backlinks. When you upload a video to one of the many video streaming sites, you’re often invited to insert a URL either in the video details or description. Very often these links are FOLLOW, which means they’re a legitimate backlink. If your niche allows it, making a video (instructional or informational) can be a great way boost the links back to your site – and if others like it, you may get even more.

Contributing to online communitiesForum posting is another area where blackhatters focus their attention, so you do need to be careful here. One effective method is to spend some time getting to know a community, contributing to the conversation, and then slowly introducing links back to your site. When this is done in a natural way, it can be a fantastic way to create quality backlinks. Just be sure that you are really contributing – and that you’re an authority on the topic – and your blog or site will really benefit.

Getting involved with social mediaOne of the most valuable ways to reach an audience right now is via social media. That means Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and so on. While the links you’ll get from these sites are NOFOLLOW, posting your content there can help in a number of ways. First, if your social media profiles become reconginised as an authority on your niche, you can use them to share links which others will then link to. When other people choose to link to your content from their site, you’re getting the very best possible backlink – and the ones that truly fit the definition of ‘legitimate’. Social bookmarking sites like Reddit and Digg can also be helpful in this regard, but be careful not to ‘spam’ them because the users on those sites are very particular about what they like and what gets promoted to their respective ‘front pages’.

With Google getting smarter all the time, blog owners and webmasters too have to adapt in terms of their promotion strategy. If you’re still using black or greyhat techniques, it may be time to focus more on whitehat methods that generate quality backlinks – otherwise you’re risking being removed from Google’s index altogether, and for many sites that’s nothing more than a death sentence.

About guest bloggerLisa-Anne Redwood is a freelance writer from England who specialises in helping businesses explore their online marketing strategies.