GuruMonetizer asks – can you describe how did you get backlinks for problogger over the time?
Thanks for the question GuruMonetizer. There’s no real secret to this one – I simply went about my business of blogging in a way that I felt would provide the most useful information and community for those exploring my topic – making money online via blogging.
Some of the things I’ve not done (or at least not done for quite a few years) include:
- link exchanges
- buying links (I’ve run a couple of small AdWords and BlogAds campaigns but no text links)
- begging for blogroll links
I think if someone did some analysis on the type of links that are pointing at ProBlogger that they’d find that the majority of them are the result of someone commenting upon, disagreeing with or recommending something that I’ve written.
What type of posts have brought in the most incoming links?
I’d be guessing here – but I think there’d be a few:
- Scoops – breaking big news is probably the best way to get incoming links because the majority of bloggers who report on the news will also include a link to you as it’s source. Some blogs have perfected the scoop post to the point that they’ve really launched themselves into the A-list as a result of them.
- How To Posts – I always find that these posts generate a lot of incoming links. Once you help one person work out how to do something – they often like to keep a record of it for themselves but also to pass it on.
- Opinion Pieces – arguing a point strongly is great for getting people to comment and link up to your posts as you generally find that two camps rise up as a result – firstly those who agree with you and want to write about why – and secondly those who disagree with you and want to state their case.
- Group Projects – while I don’t force participants to link back to my blog I do ask them to consider it. Even if only 50% do this can result in a hundred or more backlinks per project.
- Humor Posts – one of the frustrating things of having a serious blog is that quite often the heavier and serious posts (that you put hours and hours into writing) get ignored and it can be the lighter and humorous ones that you post off the cuff without thinking about them that get all the attention.
These are the type of posts that seem to generate links here on ProBlogger. On other blogs that I own there are similarities but I’ve found that each blog seems to have it’s own type of post that works best.
Lastly – Keep in mind that links are not everything. While they definitely help, concentrate on producing great content and keeping a holistic perspective and you’ll find the links will come in time.
I have found that my site seems to follow the same comment structure that yours does, in that the ones that get the most comments are the ones i wrote quickly and without much thought. People like my others, but they just don’t get the attention (I think) the deserve.
getting back links is a great step.. i should work on making back links..
But its rare to get back links from medical sites..
Very interesting post Darren. I do believe you’re right in relations to how you get the backlinks. I am personally not fond of begging for blogrolls either, and the ones that I have added, are the sites that I find interesting and follow.
Regards.
[…] Darren Rowse also mentions this in his article “How to get Backlinks” […]
Darren,
You can get lots of links to your “light” posts because you’ve people reading your blog thanks to your serious posts.
It’s easier for one of your reader to link to one of your funny post because it’s easier that the readers of your readers will like it… it’s harder to link to a serious post because they’re more niche-targeted.
But I think that those links are indirectly caused by the serious posts, so don’t be sad about that ;)
f.
Hello Darren,
I like this post, I think it makes an important point about focusing on content first. Nonetheless, I do have one thought/question – how much benefit can one get out of quality content before they have some links and traffic coming to the site. In other words, your quality content gets you links (and thus traffic and better search engine rankings) because people are already aware of your site. What would you recommend to someone starting out who doesn’t yet have that recognition? What else can they do besides produce good content to get links and traffic?
All the best,
Moshe
I find it’s very difficult to get backlinks because most of my readers do not have blogs. I am sure there are other people in a similar situation. I’d love to read a future post about how to build community among people who are not really into the Internet.
now that i am almost into my third week of blogging i have found that the amount of incoming links has started to die down as far as technorati is concerned but is still steadily climbing as far as yahoo and msn are concerned
technorati links=80ish
yahoo=581
msn=887
i also noticed that in the beginning my msn number was a great deal lower than my yahoo number and now that has almost been reversed
why is this?
Great stuff for a relatively new blogger like me. Thanks! Because of time constraints I often have to choose between posting and commenting. I wish you would tell us your thoughts about the following: Is it better over the long-haul to focus on creating a blog with good content and let the traffic grow steadily, but perhaps more slowly, or is it better to pursue quick growth. I find I can’t do both at the same time. Again, thanks!
It’s strange that my “humor posts” have negative effects. Either the RSS subscribers drop or fewer return visitors or no comment at all. As for linkback, it’s totally inexistent.
I rarely post humor posts, only started recently once fortnightly or even longer, and the outcome is not as good as my other “colleagues” of similar niche who have great success. I’m not sure it’s due to the condition effect I’ve built overtime as most of them are kinda serious how-to posts.
It’s so sad that some people can’t take a break or what! :-(
Great post, How To’s always attract links!
Those were some cool tips. Now if only I could learn to write and think like you ;)
Thanks darren, another informative post from you, that why you can get rich! Why don’t you publish a book about blogging? Then you can maximizing you revenue. Just my random sense.
I used blogcarnival.com and it wokred great on getting alot of backlinks
Thanks for the post. I’m a big fan. I think my blog has a good variety of posts, but it’s over two years old and I’ve gotten very little attention, despite following the usual protocol (submitting to directories, commenting on other blogs, posting (semi-)regularly, attaching my URL to email signatures and social network profiles, and cross-posting. So I’ve given up on seeking out backlinks. I just gave my blog sort of a makeover, and am trying hard to figure out what I did wrong.
As always the general view is create it and they will come! I love the fact that the web has evolved to the point that we have almost gone back to the middle ages when it comes to advertising and marketing. No longer do we need to rely on massive ad campaigns and budgets. Just create something unique, entertaining, usefull and crucially something everyone wants and the word of mouth link marketing does the rest. Thank goodness the search engines have become so sophisticated that they can put a value on human reccomendations!
Seth Godin says the new rule of marketing is “create extraordinary products that people will seek out.” Works perfectly for blogs!
Cheers
Steve Robson
[…] Darren Rowse of Problogger.net (and .com now too), has answered a reader question about getting backlinks. This is something that many bloggers really struggle with as getting discovered and then linked to can be quite difficult. […]
I am amazed and impressed by what you wrote for this post, especially when you mention that you never did any link exchange.
Yes, I believe in great content, because that is what attracts your reader, but for a new blog to get started, it needs to borrow traffic from othe blog, and that is where link exchange come in. I am impressed that you can achieve traffic without any link exchange.
Darren and Community:
An offshoot of scoops that drive links for us are blogging member events. I serve on several local boards (Better Business Burueau, Chamber, etc) and sit on event organizing committees with each board. The low profile events (which are some of the most impactful) rarely get any in coverage in the press or within internal publications.
When this happens I take it upon myself to use our company blog to recap the event. Without fail, we get a stream of traffic and links from board members, oranization members, sponsors and all of the peripheral groups tied to these people. I really enjoy doing this because everyone wins.
Below is a link to a recent example,
http://tinyurl.com/24vjt3
John
umm.. this definitly is a problem, specially whit the bloggers who wants to live whit the blog, for me is a fine article, a few things are useful to me, thanks for sharing!!
Thanks for this question/answer post. While I’m less interested in backlinks, I am very interested in writing content readers would enjoy.
My take away today is to write more “how to…” posts. I’m not sure who my readers are, but figure some of my topics could be universally applied with a little creativity. I’ll try one today on finding volunteer leaders.
Thanks, Neil McDonnell
[…] This determined honesty is exemplified by his recent post on how to get backlinks, where he clearly states that he will not buy, beg or exchange links. Gotta say I really agree with him there, because these practices tend to wreck the accuracy of search results. PLEASE read the post. […]
As always the general view is create it and they will come! I love the fact that the web has evolved to the point that we have almost gone back to the middle ages when it comes to advertising and marketing. No longer do we need to rely on massive ad campaigns and budgets. Just create something unique, entertaining, usefull and crucially something everyone wants and the word of mouth link marketing does the rest. Thank goodness the search engines have become so sophisticated that they can put a value on human reccomendations!
It would be very helpful if there’s a detailed info on how to get backlinks.
Thank you for your answer Problogger, i see that Google have new “rules” about buying links…
hi
i want page rank 6, if i get 10 backlinks with page rank 6 after that can i get page rank 6 ?
Well, I liked what you have suggested , but its really now harder to get backlinks. I tried link exchanges , linking programs. Also buying links are so expensive? what do you think is the best way to get FREE links?
I had 19 backlinks last month. But now i see only 4 backlinks for my site. why is the sudden change in backlinks? what may be the possible reasons
Sometimes your back links changes when the search engine is doing an update. Wait couple of days and it be back again.
hello and good day,
i would just like to inquire the good folks here to how long does it take your websites to be indexed by yahoo? mine is about 3 weeks old now this coming friday aug 17, but still yahoo has no plans on putting me on their search. why is this so? i have read people having their sites indexed right away, is yahoo that slow?
you can all check my site, it’s a humorous way of helping out to the romantics out there
htt://reallovedoc.blogspot.com
wow yahoo took 3 full weeks to index my site, but still I get a love from Yahoo now, I would suggest people to go on yahoo answers, It’s a very good place to start and promote link backs to your site
my site:
http://reallovedoc.blogspot.com
What about if a blog is fairly recent? My blog just came out a -1 out of 10 on Google. How is this possible?
paul,
I’ve done that with both of my blogs.One is on cancer and the other is stocks.So far I’e gotten very little traffic from there.
Yes i agree… first get the good content the rest will come with time
We are looking to start a informational blog about our site http://www.shopflipflops.com .
Do you know of many good ebooks or articels including yours which might help us get started and which format to use. I see wordpress and many others and would lile to start “right” and selfishly “skip” the lessons many have certainly learned along-the-way.
Your site is top notch and I have bookmarked it aswell.
Interesting read. A real eye-opener. I agree that if you focus on coming out with quality content keeping in mind the end user then it should people would automatically link to your site.
cheers,
Avinash
http://www.photoswift.com
I really like your article….but as I had link backs with several sites with good pr…my site having PR 3. I try to use your tips for better ranking for my website. Thanks ;)
This is interesting post Darren. Getting back links to your site is not easy job. http://www.apartmani-vrtlici.com With quality content sometimes people would automatically link to your site “but that is in case 1 on 1000”.
I find backlinks are almost impossible to get.
In fact I think my credit card debt solutions site over at http://creditcard-debtsolutions.blogspot.com doesn’t have any backlinks.
Does anyone know if there is any software out there to automate the backlink process or at least find out who is willing to give reciprocal links?
Let me know.
Thanks
Ted
Now I know, i just started out my blogs this year and I want to know more. Your site is really giving me ideas. Thank you so much.
I find backlinks are almost impossible to get.
In fact I think my credit card debt solutions site over at doesn’t have any backlinks.
Does anyone know if there is any software out there to automate the backlink process or at least find out who is willing to give reciprocal links?
Let me know.
Thanks
i find it’s hard to get backlinks for my site:http://webhostingsky.com,i try many way,but i get only a few!
any one have the best way to get back links!
i’ll thank you!
Cool post Darren. I’m trying to implement everything you say. Blogrolls are pretty hard though. Noone wants to swap with me.
The advice you give is great, but can a small web site realistically build up enough links to get some serious traffic or is offline more effective?
Tom
http://www.Itjobfeed.com
This is a very informative post. I like the ideas expressed in your article for getting attention of viewers. The first idea of breaking big news is really very good. Also strongly arguing an idea or view also invites others attention as you rightly said. Normally people become immediately attentive to any fresh and startling news. Whether it is right or wrong comes later. Similarly, when two people are strongly arguing with each other, they get most of the viewers. Indeed very good ideas.
Recently Google has blocked chances of comments being given on blogs by other than bloggers or anonymous persons. Will it harm bloggers?
Back links will happen naturally if you have something that people want to hear. People always link to USEFUL information, that helps people learn.
Apart from “breaking news” thinking about useful utilities
I have tried many different things however i can’t find anything to get back links to my site. Do you have any suggestion for me?
very interesting, I’ll definitely use these in my next few blogs to try to get more attention towards my site.
Thanks,
Tal
http://www.cashrichmoney.com
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