Since Google changed its algorithm for ranking, digital marketers and SEO experts have had a hard time with link earning. Authoritative links are still a big ranking factor for search engines, especially if they are natural links. But these natural links are not so easy to earn.
Earning links has now become a tedious process that requires efforts to obtain links naturally. To earn links naturally, your content must be so unique and valuable. Journalists and bloggers will feel the need to mention your site to give credit to well-written content.
Quick Links:
But first, let’s compare link earning with link building:
Link Earning vs. Link Building
Link earning and link building are essentially the same – they bring backlinks to your site. However, there are fundamental differences between the two. Let me be clear that link-building is not a bad strategy at all. Earning links naturally is just better.
Link Building
Surely, you’ve heard about link building, so I’ll keep this short. This traditional SEO approach targets the number of backlinks by earlier SEO standards. But with the release of the Google Penguin 4.0 Update in 2016, Penguin devalued the links themselves.
Link Earning
Since the links have been devalued, digital marketers are now focusing on the quality of the links they are getting. This is where link earning comes into play.
Natural links are backlinks that automatically come to your site without you asking for them. This happens if a blogger sees your content as reliable information and chooses to link to it. The link that you get are links that you get naturally.
But remember that it’s not just making content and waiting for it to earn links on its own. You have to work for it. To earn links, you have to ask yourself two questions:
- How can I earn coverage for my stories?
- How can I turn that coverage into links?
With these in mind, we should discuss the benefits you will get if you earn links the right way.
Link Earning Benefits
The benefits of earning links are almost the same as the benefits of link building. But since these links come naturally, they’re a lot more valuable than ordinary backlinks.
Here are the benefits you can get for your website:
Valuable Content
To earn links, you have to make valuable content that’s irresistible to link to. But with or without earning a link, high-quality content is still valuable for your website.
Valuable content will be crawled by search engines, and you can rank high on SERPs for this. And since you’ve made a valuable resource, you’ll get more organic traffic and a larger pool of audience. Who knows, maybe they’ll link to your page too!
Brand Awareness
Let’s say you produce newsworthy content and a highly reputable news website links to your content. Your brand will automatically be seen by a lot of readers from all walks of life. You’ll expand your audience pool, and they’ll be aware of your brand.
If you earn a link from a small niche blog, you will only get a small exposure. But if your brand is gaining exposure from a valuable niche audience, you’re making a good investment through your content.
Increase Authority
Search engines are particularly drawn toward high-quality backlinks. It signals the web crawlers that your site is trustworthy. The more quality links you have on your webpage, the more the authority of the webpage increases.
Increase Organic Traffic
Think of a backlink as a new pathway to your website. For every backlink that you have, more paths lead to your site. And the wider your network is, the more organic traffic you’ll receive.
And imagine if you get mentioned by a trusted brand on one of their blogs. If a trusted brand trusts you enough to link to your site, its audience will trust you as well.
Make sure that there’s relevance between your link and the backlink. You’ll double the value of the organic traffic you receive because you can easily convert it to leads.
Effective Link EARNING Strategies
1. Unique and Viral Content
Having irresistible content is the foundation for earning high-value links. And for others to cite your content as a reference, you will need to recheck the quality of your content. A good content strategy can bring you a long way when it comes to creating unique and viral content.
A good strategy is to include original data and research on your content. The value of the data you will offer is only as good as its importance and uniqueness. If anyone was to use your data as a resource, they’ll have to link back to it to give credit to the research.
For bloggers to link back to your website, your content must be:
- Informational
- Educational
- Inspirational
- Entertaining
Your content must also be engaging to make a connection with your audience. Explore new ideas like using infographics, GIFs, memes, and other techniques to keep your audience engaged.
2. Social Media Marketing
Social media has proven to be a reliable network to advertise your business. Facebook even has a Marketplace that’s dedicated to small businesses and traders.
Viral content gets shared like crazy on social media platforms. Relatable and humorous content will get shared more easily on these platforms than a bland one. And to reach the right audience, you’ll need a good social media marketing strategy.
Social media is also a good avenue to build relationships within your niche. It’s a great way to engage and communicate with other bloggers and site owners in your community.
3. Online Contests
Online contests are normally held on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. And to no surprise, a lot of people join these kinds of contests. If it’s as easy as sharing a post and tagging some friends, I wouldn’t think twice about joining as well.
Contests boost your online reach on social media platforms. The contest will also increase your engagement with your followers and potential customers. And when these followers do a mass sharing of your contest event, you’ll gain massive traffic and possible backlinks.
4. Reach Out to Press
Getting a link from press releases and exclusive news covers is a massive boost to your site’s authority. The challenge for you is to make newsworthy content to get published on major news websites.
If you’re planning to get a press release out, plan it more carefully. Don’t release news updates every time your company takes a minor step. Instead, focus on newsworthy happenings and write a detailed news release that’s been researched well.
Use the press as a medium to release relevant research and breakthroughs in your niche. You’ll get brand mentions and quotations, which will make your site more authoritative.
5. Blogger Outreach
After reaching out to the press, you should also reach out to the bloggers within your niche. It’s important to get links from these sites because they have audiences who trust their sites.
You can’t just leave your content and wait for it to earn links. You also have to do your part in promoting your content.
Reach out to blogs that allow guest posts and offer them high-quality content. In exchange, you can place a link on the guest post. Thus, you have to prepare a competitive pitch and use your charm in the process.
Reaching out to bloggers is a very tedious process. But when your efforts come to fruition, it’s a very rewarding and satisfying way to earn links. If you can’t spare the time, you can always hire blogger outreach services to help you with your needs.
6. HARO Outreach
HARO (Help A Reporter Out) is a platform for reporters and content creators alike. Journalists and publishers get advice and resources from sources and experts around the world.
By providing credible resources for reporters, they will reference your work as a source in their publications. However, if they sense that you’re only using the platform to gain links, they won’t link to you.
7. Breaking News and Exclusive Content
For example, a company release was intercepted by a credible resource, and you created a blog post about it. This content will be so valuable because you’re the only one (or one of the few) who has this information.
These kinds of exclusive content are hard to get but very valuable in the eyes of bloggers. It’s almost impossible for them not to link back to you if you create irresistible content like this.
8. Quora and Reddit
Quora and Reddit are two sites that can earn you links just by answering queries. Their audience pool is massive, so you don’t have to worry if you’ll reach the audience that you want.
Since digital marketers often use these platforms for SEO purposes, Redditors and Quora users know your intentions when they see your answers. If your answers are filled with backlinks and surface-level answers, users will not bother looking at your link.
The key here is to provide valuable answers using your expertise in your niche. Answer questions based on your expertise and experience. You’ll be able to attract natural links this way than promoting your site on your answers.
A Word of Caution
Not all natural backlinks are relevant to your site. Some might even damage your SEO or cause you to get penalized by Google. You have to screen which sites are good and which are not and disavow these links.
Practice Sustainable Link Earning!
To earn links, you have to build healthy relationships with your partners. For it to be sustainable, you have to:
- Reach out to bloggers personally to let them know that you mean well for their business.
- Make visual content, like infographics, for influencers and bloggers to share.
- Make a thorough research before creating content.
- Build on topics being talked about in your niche and make content about those topics.
By doing these, bloggers will be happy to link to your content without even asking for it. That means that the phrase “content is king” is still effective today – even more effective than it was yesterday.
FAQs
What is the purpose of earning links?
Link-earning practices help Google understand that your site is worthy to be cited when required. Getting links to your site increases your site’s visibility and presence in SERPs.
What is Link Juice?
Link Juice or Link Equity is a factor that Search Engines consider as the authority or value that is passed on from one page to another. This is dependent on various factors such as
1. Content relevancy
2. Anchor text
3. HTML of the link
4. Authority of the website
5. Follow status and more
What are external links?
External links are the links that lead to external sites that are relevant to your content. These are more valuable than internal links since they translate authority, value, and credibility to your site.
Online earning through blogging is a popular avenue for many individuals. One often overlooked aspect of this strategy is blog comments. While they might seem like a minor detail, effective blog comments can significantly impact your online presence and earnings.