Backlinks do not grow on trees.
Yet most bloggers believe that they do.
Carefully observe the average backlink building strategy.
Bloggers believe that asking a stranger for a link makes sense.
Why would a pro link to a stranger? Why would any established blogger put their credibility on the line for someone they don’t know?
I’ve blogged since 2008. I only link to highly trusted bloggers who pass my stringent credibility test. If your blog appears here you earned it like I had to earn it.
Making matters worse, most strangers offer little. I don’t mean in terms of trading a guest post for a link. I mean expecting a pro blogger to link to low quality content.
Bloggers push their business links on me. Some offer a few lackluster blog posts; if I click through to their blog.
Some backlink builders do not own a blog. Red Flag City. How do you earn credibility through manipulation alone? Content builds trust. Other tactics masquerade as trust builders. Think smoke and mirrors.
Uncovering one secret reverses your backlink-building course.
What you do to drive organic traffic is basically what you do to score quality backlinks.
Getting quality backlinks involves steps other than doing what it takes to drive organic traffic. Yet the fundamentals are highly similar, largely.
Organic Traffic and Organic Backlinks Flow from a Similar Strategy
Detailed content is a prime driver behind landing organic backlinks as it generates organic traffic.
Bonding with readers and niche bloggers spawns organic backlinks and organic traffic.
Content convinces seasoned bloggers. Publish prolifically. Be consistent. Build relationships with readers. Bond with successful bloggers.
Blogging is the ultimate backlink-building asset.
Strategies for driving organic traffic and organic backlinks are similar.
I never pitch strangers to visit my blog. I never use such inorganic methods because trading time and work for anything robs me of freedom from time and location. I never pitch strangers to link to my blog for the same reasons.
Few bloggers know this.
Most pitch strangers.
Most try to manipulate strangers.
This makes no sense. Why would you chase someone you don’t know? Why would this common hack earn trust? Do you hand the keys of your house to a stranger?
Successful backlink builders do it the old fashioned way.
Wise bloggers publish helpful content. Leaders cover one niche to develop topical authority. Savvy backlinks builders bond with readers and fellow bloggers.
Quality backlinks passively flow to creators and connectors.
Why This Seems to Be a Secret
Going into “getting” mode programs bloggers to chase people.
Spammers try to get by giving as little as possible.
Bloggers who score high level backlinks gain trust. Cold pitching strangers erodes trust. Yet most try to convince credible bloggers to give them trusted backlinks.
Stop Believing It Takes More
Credible bloggers link to trusted content.
Scoring links is nothing more than that; minus a few extra details.
Landing links does not involve convincing strangers to trust your content. If anything, chasing strangers convinces them not to trust your content.
Stop being desperate. Stop trading time for backlinks. Build content-assets. Build strong relationships. Drive quality backlinks organically.
Gain trusted links by doing nothing more than that.
But It Is Nothing Less
Here lies the challenge.
Driving credible backlinks is nothing less than publishing detailed content consistently for years while following a diligent blogger outreach campaign. Doing both things for an extraordinary time frame is tough.
Most bloggers come up short in this department; struggling scares ’em into chasing strangers for backlinks.
The big secret eludes the blogging masses.
Good things take time plus consistent effort.
I scored quality links after publishing detailed blog posts for a long time. I also stuck to a disciplined blogger outreach strategy.
Top bloggers pointed links to Blogging From Paradise Dot Com years after I consistently published targeted blog posts.
No one showed up to read my blog for a while. Successful bloggers certainly didn’t link to my blog for at least a few years. I had not earned the privilege of scoring quality backlinks from trusted pros.
I persisted. Sometimes I felt like quitting. But my love for freedom won over my fear of failure.
Successful bloggers passed the persistence test to go pro. Follow their strategy to land backlinks from successful pros.
Conclusion
Publish detailed content.
Bond with readers. Build connections with bloggers from your niche.
Gain organic traffic and quality backlinks by following these fundamentals.
Ryan Biddulph is the owner and creator of Blogging From Paradise Dot Com.
Just had an attractive offer to link to a place that would fit my Day Trips from Madrid post… it meets all the criteria, bar 1… I didn’t go there… so linking to such a place would ruin my credibility… they have to ear their links… and that doesn’t mean paying me…
i removed many links I gave to other bloggers.. I only link out to trusted sources and proper blogs…
I went through this process too Trevor.
I got clear. Knowing what I wanted through my blog motivated me to link to the best only. Everything else had to go.
Nothing is worth trading even a shred of credibility for; the dollar amount doesn’t make up for what you can achieve by having a pristine blogging reputation. The sky is the limit at that point.