White hat link building has always been one of the vital SEO strategies. In fact, backlinks are among the top ranking factors that Google uses to rank websites on search results. So you cannot afford to go slack with the quality of your link profile. No wonder, marketers get desperate for every quality link that has the potential to add some juice to their profile. But is it worth going beyond the legitimate practices to just get a backlink or two? What you really need to understand in this context is that there exists a fine line between right and wrong link building practices.
Welcome to the world of black, white and gray in link building because these strategies are segregated between black hat, white hat, and gray hat strategies. The kind of approach you take can have a far-reaching impact on your results because if you are dishonest, Google will detect and penalize you sooner or later. Essentially, you should be concerned about white hat link building because this is what you must do for successful and sustainable results. Let us explain everything that you need to know about white hat link building.
What exactly is the white hat link building?
As the name suggests, white hat link building is all about using legitimate measures to build backlinks to your website. You need to focus on creating natural backlinks with high authority websites so that your link profile becomes stronger. At the same time, steering clear of malpractices such as creating irrelevant links, buying them or exchanging them is important. If you follow the link building rules and techniques stated by Google, you are sticking to white hat strategies.
Why should you adhere to white hat link building?
There are certain unspoken link-building rules that Google has built over the years. Any practice that flouts these rules is illegitimate and can get you in trouble sooner or later. Though such black hat tactics may sound tempting, they can be fatal for your website. This reason is that it may not be able to align with the algorithmic updates in the future (even if it does not cause a problem today). Your website may subsequently face a penalty that can set you back months or even years.
White hat tactics, on the other hand, keep you completely safe from such penalties. If you stick to earning authoritative, high-quality backlinks naturally, you are doing it the white hat way. You need not worry about rankings, even if there are algorithmic updates. These techniques are sustainable and time-tested, so results will keep coming year after year. Hence, these reasons are good enough to highlight the significance of adhering to white hat link building and avoiding black hat practices altogether.
What are the proven white hat link building techniques?
Now that enough has been said about the importance of white hat link building, you would want to know its basics. As a starter, you should not trade backlinks, and neither should you build ones to irrelevant websites. Besides avoiding these tactics, there are some techniques that you need to stick to. Here are the white hat link- building techniques that have been tried and tested for proven results.
Use a blog for content promotion
First things first, you must promote your content naturally through a blog. This article from SEOJet lays out the major link building myths that so many SEOs both believe and teach. One of these myths is that building links to promotional pages can drive results. This is completely wrong because Google prefers natural links rather than unnatural ones. Any backlink that aspires to sell or promote falls in the category of unnatural links. Blog links do just the opposite as they aim to provide rich and valuable information to the user. So Google loves these links and considers the as authoritative ones.
Invest in guest posting
Guest posting is another effective white hat strategy that earns you valuable backlinks. It is the technique of getting your content published on high-authority, niche-relevant websites. Though you may need to do a lot of work for prospecting and pitching such influencer blogs, the links you get in return of the guest post can do wonders for your profile. Additionally, you get exposure to a qualified audience and can win trust and authority through quality content.
Social media has emerged as one of the best channels to reach out to your target audience and promote your brand subtly. As a part of your link building plan, post amazing content on these channels to encourage social media shares from the audience. This creates high-quality backlinks and also propagates your brand. Besides posting great content, engaging with the audience on social media gets you more views and shares.
Leverage testimonials
Another unconventional yet brilliant technique to earn legitimate backlinks for your website is by leveraging testimonials. While you can request your customers to share positive testimonials, those from industry influencers can have an incredible impact. If you are dealing with B2B clients, ask them to link the testimonial with your site. Such backlinks strengthen your profile and reputation as well.
Reclaim unlinked brand mentions
Brand often gets mentions from bloggers, influencers and other brands. However, you may not be able to keep track of all these mentions. Identifying the unlinked ones and reclaiming them is a great idea. All you need to do is approach the publishing source and request them to link these mentions with your site. They can definitely make your profile stronger and push more traffic to your website.
Apart from these techniques, you should focus on creating linkable assets that people would want to link with nature. Case studies, infographics and list posts are some examples of such content pieces. Remember that content quality has a far-reaching influence on the link quality. Together with relevance, this is the factor that decides how Google manifests your backlinks. Following these white hat link building techniques brings immense benefits that last long and drive results over time. So you must not stick to them and stay away from black hat techniques as well.
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