How to Get High-Quality Backlinks in 2019

Every SEO strategy will include a plan for building backlinks. Backlinks (also referred to as inbound or external links) have been the backbone of every top Google ranking in the search results and will continue to be a valuable and highly sought-after commodity by SEO experts for many years to come.

The more backlinks you can secure for your site, the better your Google ranking will be, but there should also be a significant focus on ensuring every backlink is of high caliber. Google will take issue with your site if it's apparent that you are creating backlinks to artificially inflate your position in the search results.

Here's how to build and maintain a high-quality backlink profile in 2019 without the risk of running afoul of a Google penalty.

1. Create an Evergreen Link Magnet

While the term "link magnet" sounds a lot like a buzz word, it is nothing more than a piece of high-quality content on your site which other site owners will want to share with their readers via an outgoing link.

Evergreen is another SEO industry buzzword which is used to describe a topic which never goes out of season. Evergreen topics include articles around subjects like weight loss, business management, marketing strategies - basically any subject which doesn't have a use by date.

It doesn't have to be an article, as your link magnet could also be a video or an infographic or could include many different types of media formats in the one post. The primary goal is to create the content to such a high standard that it continuously attracts high-quality backlinks to your website with minimal work.

Other criteria for your evergreen content to keep in mind are to make sure that it is longer and more detailed than your competition, that it is easy to read, includes lots of actionable tips, and satisfies the users intent by providing tons of value.

2. Spy on the Competition

Your evergreen content won't start to attract backlinks without a little work on your part, so part of your strategy will include reaching out to other bloggers operating in your industry. One of the best ways to find them is to do a little spying on your competition.

Research your keywords and record the top results which show up in the Google rankings. Once you have the results, you will need to enter the URLs into a backlink analysis tool to reveal the sites which are linking to these sites.

Ahrefs, Moz, and Majestic provide excellent tools for doing all sorts of research on domains and backlinks but most importantly they will help you determine which sites are high-quality. It's important to note here that links from low-quality sites can hurt your content's ability to achieve high Google rankings.

Once you have a few high-quality sites you would like a link from, it's time to reach out to the site owners via an email. Let them know about your article and mention how their readers might benefit from your more up-to-date and in-depth content. Of course, this is a numbers game, so the more emails you send out and the better your content, the more links you are likely to acquire.

3. Link Roundups

A growing content strategy for blog owners to provide their readers with the latest, most relevant information is to create a post called a link roundup. A link roundup focuses on a particular topic and provides links with a brief description of each article and the content the reader can expect to find after they follow the link.

Finding bloggers who regularly create link roundups is the first step in the process. Use a simple Google search to unearth link roundups in your niche such as:

• "keyword" + "link roundup"
• "keyword" + "monthly roundup"
• "keyword" + "weekly roundup"

Once you have few in your list you will then need to reach out to these bloggers with a professionally worded email which promotes your evergreen content as a good fit for their next roundup.

4. Find Broken Links

Finding broken links is perhaps one of the most straightforward strategies for creating high-quality backlinks in 2019 - although it has been growing in popularity for some years.

It works so well because you are helping other bloggers improve their sites by alerting them to broken links. Plus, you are also providing them with the opportunity to link out to an excellent replacement - your content.

“Check My Links” is a free Chrome extension which will allow you to quickly find broken links on any page. Naturally, link roundups are a good target for this strategy, but so too are resource pages.

A resource page is like a link roundup as it lists useful links and resources a reader might find helpful for researching a topic further.

First, you will need a list of pages to research. Use a Google search with your keywords such as:

• "Keyword" + "useful resources"
• "Keyword" + "useful links"

You could also find link roundup pages for this method using the suggested searches listed in the link roundup section. Check each page for broken links and then find pages on your site which would make a suitable replacement.

Once you have a few, reach out to the bloggers with the broken links and include a suggestion that they can repair it with a link to your high-quality content, which is a much better solution than deleting it altogether.

3. Guest Posting

Guest posting has been around for a while now but many bloggers - especially beginners - get it wrong. Quality is of the utmost importance with guest posting - in both the site and the quality of the guest post. Get it wrong and Google will notice your efforts to manipulate your Google ranking and penalize your site accordingly.

A Google search is once again the first step to implementing this strategy. Searches such as "write for us" + your niche, or "guest post" + your niche, will unearth relevant sites on which to submit your guest post.

You are looking for quality links so use your favorite tool to determine if the site is worthy of your writing skills. If they are, then send off an email stating your intentions to create high-quality content for their readers in return for a link back to your site.

In Conclusion

The above strategies may seem like a lot of work, but now that low-quality backlinks can negatively impact your site, acquiring high-quality links is of paramount importance if you are to maintain your site's authority and relevance in today's crowded web space.

If you are serious about building a long-term online asset, then the extra effort will be well worth the results.