A Twitter poll created by Brodie Clark in 2021 confirmed this.
A Twitter poll created by Brodie Clark in 2021 confirmed that link acquisition is the hardest thing to do](image11.png)
This is not a new problem for SEOs, and many have long struggled to earn high authority backlinks from relevant websites and publications in their industry.
A quick look at the popular SEO forum WebmasterWorld shows threads discussing saudi arabia rich man contact number whatsapp number how to do link building as far back as 2000.
Thread on WebmasterWorld discussing whether directory links can be crawled and help SEO efforts] ( Thread on WebmasterWorld discussing whether directory links can be crawled and help SEO efforts).
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This article discusses what link building is, why people struggle with acquiring quality backlinks, how SEO link building has evolved over the years, and what link building strategies are effective and working in 2022.
What is link building
What is link building? SERP](image12.png)
In SEO, link building is the process of acquiring new backlinks with the goal of increasing and/or positively influencing your website's search engine rankings.
The “building” part of the phrase comes from the fact that historically SEOs manually built links to their website(s) in a variety of ways.
Sometimes an SEO company would use automation tools like ScrapeBox to build links on a larger scale.
ScrapeBox Tool](image5.png) (Image source: ScrapeBox )
Nowadays many SEOs prefer to use the term "earning links", especially if they only employ whitehat link building techniques and strategies .
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The difference is that link earning focuses on creating content that attracts the attention of journalists and websites in the sector, who then decide to link to the website that published it, instead of paying or creating the backlink directly.
These strategies remain within Google's guidelines to avoid Google penalties or crashes following algorithm updates .
Why People Struggle To Acquire Backlinks
Why do people fight backlink acquisition? SERP](image4.png)
SEOs struggle to acquire backlinks for a wide range of reasons, including having limited time and resources available for link building efforts or a lack of creativity in their approach to acquiring high-quality links from relevant websites.
You often hear Google employees and SEO experts say that most SEOs would be better off focusing on publishing the highest quality content possible and letting their websites collect links naturally over time.
The problem with this approach is that with so much content published online every day, journalists and websites that might be interested in and appreciate your content are unlikely to ever find it.
Therefore, letting others know about your great content is not against Google's guidelines per se and forms a vital part of any link building strategy.
Problems only arise when you start paying users to link to your content, or if you start using other strategies that go beyond Google's guidelines and are intended to manipulate search results.
How SEO Link Building Has Evolved Over the Years
Over the years, SEO link building has greatly evolved as Google and its algorithms have evolved.
Years ago, SEOs in the know would see great success using more manipulative and spammy link building strategies like:
Blog Comment Links
Links on the web 2.0
Article Syndication
Private or public blog networks
Backlink exchange
Sponsorship Links
Widget/Theme Backlinks
Sponsorship Links
While you may occasionally see a website rank well with links earned through some of these methods (or, more likely, despite having them), for the most part Google is good at detecting them and ignoring or penalizing them.
Google Search Central - Link Schemes
To get a better idea of the types of link building methods you should avoid, take a look at Google's written documentation on the topic.
The best link building campaigns now (or perhaps always have) focus on creating content and websites that are truly worth linking to.
Broken link building was perhaps a first step towards this approach, as it requires link builders to first detect broken links on other people's websites before creating better content than what the link previously pointed to.
(Quick example of what a very basic broken link building email could look like) (image15.png) (Quick example of what a very basic broken link building email could look like).
Other popular link building methods, such as guest blogging and/or sponsored links, fall somewhere between old-school SEO tricks and more modern, sustainable strategies, depending on how they are implemented.
For example, guest posts on high authority, niche-relevant websites can provide valuable exchange of ideas as well as many benefits outside of SEO. Often, these guest posts include a link back to the author’s website.
However, if done excessively, this type of link building can quickly become a clear strategy to manipulate search results and risk landing your website in hot water.
Therefore, today's link building strategies need to be adapted to work in an increasingly competitive organic landscape.
Journalists’ inboxes have never been busier, with almost every website owner trying to get a link from the most authoritative websites. To stand out and get the highest quality links in 2022, you need to focus on publishing unique, trending, and attention-grabbing content.
Effective Link Building Strategies for 2022
As Google and its algorithms have become increasingly sophisticated, our link building strategies must also adapt and catch up to remain effective.
One of the easiest ways to acquire quality links without increasing the risks of Google penalties and ranking drops is to stay within Google's guidelines and create content that is truly link-worthy.
For those who have long relied on paid link opportunities or even spam campaigns, this may seem ineffective or even impossible. However, link building is a skill like any other. A skill that can be practiced and perfected.
What old-school link builders often overlook is the exponential nature of link building campaigns. If one of your campaigns goes viral, you can potentially earn 30, 40, 50+ links from the most authoritative and trusted websites or publications.
Buying a similar amount of links with the same quality would easily cost you over $20,000 (if you can find someone to buy the links from).
Below I have touched on some ways you can earn quality links in 2022 without putting your website at risk .
Digital PR
What is digital public relations?
Digital PR is a marketing strategy used to increase the online awareness of a brand, company or website.
It can include more traditional PR activities like sponsorships and advertorials, but for the most part it focuses on gaining links from top-tier press and websites through creative, data-driven content marketing campaigns.