Link building isn’t easy, but not all quality backlinks have to be hard-earned.
A website’s backlink profile is one of the most important ranking factors that will help you reach Google’s first page. And, although link quality is more important than quantity, most of your top competitors probably have thousands of high-quality backlinks pointing to their websites.
To beat their backlink profile, you can’t rely on manual methods that take days or weeks to yield a single link.
It would be best to generate backlinks passively on top of your active link-building efforts.
A surefire way to do this is by publishing link magnets. These are content pieces so valuable that authoritative sites can’t help but link to your website.
Here are the steps to do this:
1. Compile Statistics into Listicles
Create listicles that contain relevant statistics in your industry to get backlinks from bloggers, online publications, and other website owners.
Remember, one of the content writing golden rules is to link to relevant data to back up your claims. This will make any piece more authoritative and impactful.
Professional bloggers, journalists, and content marketers know this, so they always cite a source when citing data.
You can generate backlinks from these content creators by compiling and promoting a statistics listicle. To make your content more link-worthy, organize the data into categories and clearly describe the implications of each data piece.
2. Conduct Original Backlinks Research
Although compiling statistics into a listicle can get backlinks, some content creators prefer linking to the original data source.
Capture all links by publishing original research packed with original, conclusive data.
Original research, like case studies, customer success stories, and surveys, all count as link magnets that will naturally earn backlinks. They can also be used as lead magnets, offered in exchange for your audience’s email address.
Below are the most straightforward instructions for creating a case study:
- Step 1: Identify your “case” or something that can be proved with data.
- Step 2: Collect data by reaching out to existing customers who already got positive results or start your own campaign while documenting your progress.
- Step 3: Highlight how a product, service, or strategy was used to achieve the results.
- Step 4: Package it as a case study with a headline like “How we reached 50,000 monthly visitors in 6 months.”
For customer success stories, reach out to your best customers or clients and schedule an interview. Ask them to describe their situation before finding your brand, during the time your products or services are used, and where they are now.
Lastly, conduct surveys using free tools like Google Forms or paid platforms like SurveyMonkey. Use close-ended questions to make it easier to tally and present the results upon publishing your link magnet.
3. Visualize Data
To make your link magnet more compelling and link-worthy by visualizing data-driven information.
Use tools like Canva or Piktochart to whip up charts, timelines, and other visualizations that make data more readable.
Alternatively, you can hire freelance graphic designers to provide professional-looking visuals for your link magnet.
With visual content, you can expand to other link magnets like eBooks, white papers, and industry reports. Like case studies, customer success stories, and surveys, these link magnets can also be used as opt-in offers to spur lead generation.
4. Outsource SEO articles
Outsourcing content creators is an effective way to get passive backlinks if you have the budget for link magnets but not the time or a well-planned strategy.
You can buy SEO content from proven individual contractors and agencies. Request specifically for link magnets, like case studies, statistics listicles, etc.
If you don’t know where to find qualified content creators, check out freelance marketplaces like Fiverr and Upwork. You can also look at reviews on websites like GoodFirms and G2 to find top-rated service providers.
5. Spread Your Link Magnet on Social Media
Promoting link magnets on social media not only draws readers to your website. It also makes posts discoverable by other brands who might draw inspiration from your content.
Use various social media content types to attract audiences with different content preferences.
Specific social media content, like short-form videos, also have tools that natively boost their discoverability.
For example, TikTok and Instagram Reels trending hashtags, effects, and challenges will make your post visible to users who want to use the same features.
To promote your link magnet via short-form videos, mention what it is, describe its benefits, and tell viewers how to access it.
6. Schedule Your Social Media Posts
Maximize the visibility of your link magnet on social media with proper scheduling.
Use software like Monday.com to schedule your social media posts and land on your audience’s news feeds at their most active times. You can also explore Monday.com alternatives if you need extra features like automated reporting, hashtag suggestions, and reputation management.
Below are some of the best-known posting times for specific social media networks:
- Facebook: Mondays-Fridays, 3 AM to 10 AM-12 PM.
- Instagram: Mondays at 11 AM, Tuesdays-Wednesdays at 10 AM-1 PM, Thursdays-Fridays at 10 AM-11 AM.
- TikTok: Tuesdays, 2 PM-3 PM; Wednesdays- Thursdays, 1 PM-3 PM.
- Twitter: Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at around 9 AM.
7. Measure Results
Leverage content marketing analytics to identify your link magnet strategies and content distribution channels that impact your website’s traffic most.
Higher traffic means more eyes on your content, which could lead to higher social media shares and backlinks. These, in turn, will maximize your link magnet’s exposure to potential backlink sources.
The good news is some content marketing analytics software like Google Analytics is free and comprehensive. It will give you a 360-degree view of your website’s performance, including your top-performing posts and audience demographics.
Conclusion
Link building is hard enough as it is. Don’t get devoured by the competition by missing out on passive strategies that can generate quality backlinks while you sleep.
Use the strategies above to get your passive link-building off to a running start. These strategies and ongoing link-building campaigns will help you attain higher search engine rankings and get heaps of organic traffic.
