Strategies are higher level in that they outline the scope of the plans, whereas tactics are more micro and often focused on smaller steps. So the strategy sets you in the right direction, and the tactics kind of define how you get there. When it comes to link building, there are three main strategies to get backlinks. There are
- Create them
- Buy them
- Earn them
CREATING BACKLINKS
The first method to get backlinks is to create them. Creating backlinks means manually adding links on one domain back to yours. You can create links by adding your website to directories, leaving comments on blog posts, or adding your website URL to your social media profile. Anyone can do this with minimal effort. So like almost all easy things in life, they are generally not that effective from an SEO and ranking perspective.
BUYING BACKLINKS
The second method to get backlinks is to buy them. Buying backlinks go just as it sounds. Here, You pay web admins or author’s a fee, and they will link back to a page on your site in return. Note, this is against Google’s Webmaster Guidelines and can potentially result in a penalty. That might be anything from losing ranking positions or, even worse, getting your pages removed from Google’s search index. Also, buying links isn’t exactly cheap. According to research done by Ahrefs, the average cost of buying a link is about $361.44.
According to outreachmonks.com, the cost of buying links in 2022 is between $100 – $20,000 per month, based on the quality and volume you are looking for.
In terms of the level of ease, if you have the money, buying backlinks is super easy to do because it’s just a transaction. In terms of the effectiveness, I will think that they are highly effective unless or until you get caught. And in my opinion, the risk isn’t worth the reward, especially if you want to build a business that will stand the taste of time.
EARNING BACKLINKS
The final way to get backlinks is to earn them, and there are three common ways you can do this.
- Through email outreach: This is the most common way of getting backlinks. Here you email other website owners and editors and ask them to link to you.
- By becoming a source for an online publication or media outlet: For example, if a journalist references’ you in an article, they will often link to you and/or your social media profiles.
- Earn backlinks organically. For example, if someone visits your page from a link on social media, organic search, word of mouth, or wherever and decides to link to you, then that’s an earned link.
Even though 100% organic links may sound like the best way to get them, I don’t want you to bank on that. These kinds of a link are typically less consistent unless you are an exceptionally well-known brand with exceptionally well-crafted content and you are already getting significant exposure. It takes time to build a reputation that is well trusted and for those organic links to be coming on a regular basis. And if you are hoping and waiting, you will likely fall behind because your competitors will be busy building links by reaching out to other website owners.
Generally speaking, the harder it is to obtain a link, the more valuable it will be, and for that reason, you should be focusing on streamlined tactics so that you can build a steady stream of backlinks to your page and get more traffic from SEO. Not all links are created equal; some will propel your pages to the top of Google, while others can hurt your site.
The question now is, “what makes a link suitable?
