How to Build High Quality Backlinks in a Scalable Way

Link building used to be simple: you would write a bunch of articles, submit them to an article submission site, and get an external link back to your site.

That doesn’t work in the post-Penguin era. While the right backlinks can grow your Google rankings, revenue, and brand, the wrong ones can get your site penalized. You need to learn how to build a high-quality backlink portfolio the right way if you want to see success.

In this in-depth post, I will show you a strategic link building technique that works. It is scalable, and when you apply it to your site, your rankings should improve. You may even improve your conversion rate because you are working as the high authority on the topic to search engines.

In this post I’m going to cover:

Understanding what Google wants
How to scale your link building efforts
Keyword research and targeting
How to earn editorial links

Why is an Effective Backlink Portfolio Important?

Backlinks remain a vital Google ranking factor. These days, an effective link building strategy is about trust and popularity.

According to Quick Sprout, domain trust/authority represents 30% of Google’s ranking algorithm.

backlinks are 30% of google's ranking factors

About half of all SEOs spend $10,000 or more per month on getting backlinks.

If you’re making that kind of investment, you need to have accurate information on how to build links that Google will trust.

Step #1: Understanding What Google Wants Helps You Get Backlinks

When it comes to search engine optimization (SEO) and marketing, Google dictates what works. By creating content that aligns with Google’s mission, you’re more likely to rank higher in the SERPs.

understanding what google wants to get backlinks

Google also believes that there’s always more information out there. With external link building, organizing information (to help your reader) becomes your mission, too. When you pay close attention to what your readers and ideal buyers want, you don’t have to use hype to sell your products.

If you want to get backlinks without getting penalized, you must understand and work closely with Google’s mission statement. If you fail to do that, the technique won’t work.

Before you start building a website link to your web page, ask yourself these questions relating to Google’s mission:

Is my content well-organized?
Do I provide useful information to the sites that will link to mine?

Let’s talk about the first question because for effective link building, site organization matters.

When people come to your site, do you leave them wondering what else to do (especially the first timers)? Make sure that your site is easy to navigate. Here’s a great example: