Introduction

If you’ve been attempting to have your site appear higher in search results, you’ve likely heard of backlinks. Backlinks are essentially links from other sites that direct to your site. They can be thought of as votes of confidence. The more reputable sites that direct to yours, the more search engines such as Google will trust your website.

But obtaining these coveted backlinks does not always come easily. Numerous site owners find backlink submission difficult and have no idea where to begin. The good news is that effective backlink-building methods exist that are easy to do and do not demand technical expertise or an enormous budget.

In this blog article, we will discuss simple methods on how to acquire backlinks to your site. We will discuss everything in plain language so that you could start optimizing your site’s exposure immediately.

What Are Backlinks and Why Do They Matter?

Let’s learn what backlinks are and why they matter before we proceed with how to acquire them.

A backlink is when another site links to your site. For instance, if a food blog posts about your bakery supply shop and has a link to your site, that’s a backlink.

Backlinks are important for three reasons:

• They assist search engines in finding your site: When search engines such as Google crawl the web, they use links to locate new pages.
• They establish trustworthiness: If numerous authentic websites link to your site, search engines interpret this as a mark that your content is worth reading and is trustworthy.
• They generate traffic: Individuals visiting backlinks from other websites will reach your site, boosting your visitors.

SEO backlink submission is the act of attempting to get other sites to link to yours. It’s an important aspect of search engine optimization (SEO), which is all about getting your site seen more in search results.

Simple Ways to Get Backlinks

Now, let’s examine some simple ways you can begin to build backlinks to your site.

1. Create Share-Worthy Content

The most natural way to earn backlinks is to create content that people want to share. This could be:

• Helpful guides or tutorials
• Interesting research or statistics
• Infographics that explain complex topics
• Free tools or resources

When your content provides value, other website owners will naturally want to link to it as a resource for their readers.

For instance, if you have a gardening blog, you could write a comprehensive guide on how to grow tomatoes. If it’s excellent, other gardening blogs may link to it when they discuss tomatoes.

2. Guest Blogging

Guest blogging involves writing posts for other sites in your niche. As a reward for giving them free content, you typically get to insert a link back to your site.

Here’s how to do it:

• Find websites within your niche that allow guest posts
• Pitch them with topic ideas that will appeal to their audience
• Write a high-quality post
• Add a link back to your website in your author bio or somewhere in the content (if permitted)

Guest blogging is a two-way street: the other site gets free content, and you gain a backlink.

3. List Your Business in Online Directories

Online directories are sites that categorize businesses into various categories. Listing in these directories can provide you with simple backlinks.

Some of the well-known directories are:

• Google Business Profile
• Yelp
• Yellow Pages
• Better Business Bureau
• Industry-specific directories

When you list your business in these directories, you normally have the opportunity to add your website link. This is an easy form of backlink submission.

4. Create Profiles on Social Media Platforms

Social media sites usually enable you to add a link to your site. Although these links may not be as strong as links from other websites, they’re still worth having and are easy to obtain.

Establish profiles on sites such as:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• YouTube

Make sure to fully fill out your profile details and add your website link.

5. Join Forums and Online Communities

Participating in discussions on forums and online communities within your niche can assist you in acquiring backlinks. Platforms such as Reddit, Quora, and niche forums enable you to add links to your profile and sometimes to your responses.

The trick is to make useful contributions to the community. Don’t simply link to your site without providing value, as this will be perceived as spammy.

6. Comment on Blogs

Many blogs allow commenters to include a website link when they leave a comment. This can be an easy way to get backlinks.

However, it’s important to:

• Only comment on blogs related to your industry
• Write thoughtful comments that add to the discussion
• Avoid spam comments like “Great post!” or “Thanks for sharing!”

Remember, the goal is to build quality backlinks, not just any backlinks.

Technical SEO and Backlinks

Though getting backlinks is crucial, they perform best when paired with quality technical SEO. Technical SEO means making your website search engine friendly, crawlable, and easily understandable.

The following are some fundamental technical SEO factors that make your backlinks perform better:

1. Fast Loading Speed

Search engines like websites that load fast. If your website loads slowly, despite having quality backlinks, it may not rank well.

You can make your site faster by:

• Optimizing images (compressing them to be smaller in file size)
• Having a quality web hosting company
• Reducing usage of resource-heavy scripts
• Turning on browser caching

2. Mobile-Friendly Design

The majority of internet users now access the web on their mobile phones. Google favors mobile-friendly sites in search rankings.

Ensure your website:

• Appears well on smartphones and tablets
• Features readable text without zooming
• Features easily clickable buttons on small screens

3. Clear Site Structure

An organized website helps search engines better comprehend your content.

Organize your website logically with:

• A clear main menu
• Reasonable categories and subcategories
• A sitemap that assists search engines in identifying all your pages

When you pair good technical SEO with solid backlink submission, you’ll get improved results in search rankings.

The Do’s and Don’ts of Backlink Submission

Not all backlinks are equal. Here are some key do’s and don’ts for backlink submission:

Do’s:

• Prioritize quality over quantity: A few links from high-quality sites are more valuable than many links from low-quality sites.
• Target relevant links: Links from sites in your niche or industry are more valuable.
• Seek “dofollow” links: These links transfer SEO value to your site (most links are “dofollow” by default).
• Use varying anchor text: This is the link text of a link. Vary the words instead of using the same phrase each time.
• Build links slowly: A natural link profile develops over time, not overnight.

Don’ts:

• Don’t purchase links: Buying links is against Google’s policy and can lead to penalties.
• Avoid link exchanges: Exchanging links with other sites can appear unnatural if done too much.
• Don’t use automated backlink submission software: These tend to produce low-quality links that can damage your site.
• Don’t link to irrelevant sites: Links from irrelevant sites don’t count for much and could appear suspicious.
• Don’t spam: Placing links in comments, forums, or social media without contributing value is spam.

Free vs. Paid Backlink Building

You may be asking yourself whether you should pay for backlink building services. The reality is that you can create a solid backlink profile without spending a dime.

Free Backlink Building Strategies:

• Developing quality content that naturally attracts links
• Guest blogging
• Free directory listings
• Social media profiles
• Engaging in online communities
• Reaching out to sites that have mentioned your brand but failed to link

Paid Backlink Building Strategies:

• Employing an SEO agency
• Sponsored content
• Paying for listings in high-end directories
• Content creation services
• Tools to discover backlink opportunities

If you’re new to online marketing or on a tight budget, try the free approaches first. Once your business is more established, you may want to spend some money on paid solutions to build your backlink portfolio.

How to Track Your Backlinks

When you begin creating backlinks, it’s useful to monitor them. It’s the best way to know what’s working for you and what isn’t.

Some free and paid tools can assist you in tracking your backlinks:

• Google Search Console: Free from Google, displays some of your backlinks
• Ahrefs: All-around paid tool with extensive backlink analysis
• SEMrush: Paid tool with decent backlink tracking features
• Moz Link Explorer: Both free (limited) and paid versions available
• Ubersuggest: Gives some backlink data with free and paid plans

These can display to you:

• How many backlinks you have
• Which sites are linking to you
• The quality of those linking sites
• Shifts in your backlink profile over time

Keeping an eye on it regularly allows you to capitalize on opportunities and solve any issues immediately.

How Long Does It Take to See Results?

Creation of a backlink seldom happens immediately, and the effects of your SEO backlink submission strategy do not appear instantly.

After three or six months of backlink building, you should see some improvement in search rankings. On the other hand, drastic outcomes take from six months to a year, as well as more, particularly in highly competitive niches.

The bottom line is having patience and consistency. Treat backlinking as an investment for your long-term success.

Combine Backlinks With Other SEO Techniques 

Backlinks become more effective when used together with other SEO techniques. Link submission contributes to SEO but is just one ingredient among many.

To get the best results, also concentrate on:

• Starting with on-page SEO: Making your content keyword-related, writing good headings, and writing good meta-descriptions. 
• Content quality: Creating useful and thorough content that would answer users’ questions. 
• User experience: Making it easy and pleasant for users to get around the site. 
• Local SEO: If you have a brick-and-mortar business, you optimize for local searches. 
• Technical SEO: Getting your site to technically work, as discussed above.

By doing this holistically, your backlinks will be more effective at influencing your search rankings.

Common Backlink Mistakes to Avoid

Despite the best of intentions, site owners occasionally get it wrong with backlinking. Here are a few things to watch out for:

• Only being concerned with quantity: Having hundreds of low-value links will do less good than having a few high-value links.
• Not considering anchor text: The text contained in links makes a difference. Having all of your links share the same anchor text appears artificial.
• Oversights in internal linking: Internal linking between pages on your site is also critical and must not be ignored.
• Patience: Good backlinks don’t develop overnight. Avoid trying shortcuts that may hurt your site in the long term.
• Failure to disavow spam links: If you find that you have spam sites linking to you, you can instruct Google to overlook such links with the disavow tool.
• Forgetting to redirect old backlinks: When you alter your website structure or URLs, ensure old backlinks are properly redirected.

By not making these errors, you’ll develop a stronger, more natural backlink profile that will make your website rank higher.

Conclusion:

Don’t panic: link building can be easy. Create useful content about your industry, participate in your network, and submit according to best practices for how to submit backlinks, and in no time at all your website authority and search rankings will increase.

Remember, it is always better to have quality over quantity in terms of backlinks. 2-3 links from relevant quality sites will surely help your SEO more effectively than dozens of random search engines.

Combine your backlink strategy with good technical SEO practices, and you will create a strong foundation for your website’s visibility in search results.

If you are in need of an expert link submission and SEO assistance, consider Xplore Intellects because their support team can work with you in building a sustainable backlink profile to generate real business results.