Rising Creators Forum

I know backlinks are important for SEO but I have no idea how to actually get other websites to link to me. my blog is new and has basically zero backlinks

What strategies actually work for building backlinks? i don't have money to buy links and i've heard that's bad anyway

Backlinks are crucial but getting them takes time and effort. Here's what's actually worked for me:

strategies that got me 150+ backlinks in 12 months:

1. guest posting

• write articles for other blogs in your niche
• include 1-2 links back to relevant posts on your blog
• start with small blogs, work up to bigger ones
• i got 40 backlinks this way

2. create linkable assets

• original research/surveys
• comprehensive guides
• free tools or templates
• infographics
• data visualizations

people naturally link to valuable resources

3. broken link building

• find broken links on sites in your niche
• reach out and suggest your content as replacement
• this worked better than i expected

4. engage in communities

• reddit, quora, forums in your niche
• provide genuinely helpful answers
• occasionally link to your relevant content
• don't spam or you'll get banned

5. reach out to people you mention

• if you mention someone in your post, email them
• "hey i featured you in this article, thought you'd want to know"
• some will share/link to it

what doesn't work:

• buying links (google will penalize you)
• reciprocal link exchanges (low value)
• spammy blog comments
• automated outreach

realistic expectations: getting 10-20 quality backlinks in your first 6 months is good. don't expect hundreds immediately

stop obsessing over backlinks and focus on creating amazing content

I built my blog to 5,000 visitors per day without actively building links. I focused entirely on content quality and backlinks came naturally

why chasing backlinks is often a waste of time:

• takes hours of outreach for a few mediocre links
• distracts from content creation
• most "link building strategies" create low-quality links anyway

what i did instead:

1. created the absolute best content in my niche
2. included original data, research, examples
3. made posts so good people naturally linked to them
4. focused on promotion (social media, pinterest, email)

result: over time, earned 200+ backlinks without asking for a single one

types of content that naturally attract backlinks:

• original research with data
• ultimate guides (10,000+ word comprehensive resources)
• controversial takes that spark discussion
• free tools or calculators

one piece of truly remarkable content will get you more backlinks than 50 mediocre guest posts

spend 80% of your time on content, 20% on promotion. let backlinks come naturally as a result of quality