Have you heard about backlinks…but aren’t quite sure what they are? A backlink is simply a link on someone else’s website that takes the reader directly to your website. 

Backlinks are a very important part of Google’s scorecard for how authoritative your website is…So. How can you get easy backlinks? Let’s dive in. 

One of the easiest ways to get easy backlinks with less effort is to write high quality content that will earn your blog posts a spot on the first page of Google. Other people writing about that topic will find your article and may reference it as a source for their own articles by linking back to your article. Each time someone links back to your website, they’re creating a backlink – yay!  

The issue is that it can be very difficult to get an article to rank on the first page of search results without any backlinks to your website…It’s a catch 22! 

That’s why I recommend actively working on getting links to your site. 

But before we get to that, you might still be wondering why exactly we need to get backlinks to your site?

Backlinks are an important part of what Google uses to determine what sites to show in search results. A link from one site to another tells Google that the site is trustworthy (because you wouldn’t cite an untrustworthy source, right?). 

So backlinks are VERY important, although not talked about as much as other SEO factors like using keywords. Here’s some more info about the importance of links if you’re curious.

In this article, I’ll go through some of the most common ways to get easy backlinks to your site, plus one thing you might be doing that could be putting your site at risk.

Guest Posting 

High effort, high reward

A guest post is when you write a blog post that is published on someone else’s website. Generally this is unpaid and is used to get in front of other audiences and build your website authority by getting a backlink.

This is the best way to get a high quality link to a related blog post of yours (the most powerful kind of links) but also takes more time and effort than the other link building methods. 

Check out some websites you’d be interested in guest posting on and see if they accept guest posts. It’s becoming less and less common over time as bloggers’ email lists get spammed by unsolicited guest posting requests. 

That’s why I don’t recommend cold email outreach for guest posting. 

Instead, use their website search bar for “guest post” and follow their guest posting guidelines if listed. You can see my guest posting guidelines as an example and feel free to submit a request if your niche is relevant to my readers.

Freelance Writing

High effort, low-medium reward

If you’re already doing freelance writing, it may be fairly easy to get a backlink to your homepage in your bio on the articles you write. These types of links are OK. It’s unlikely you’ll be allowed to include a link from the article you’re paid to write to an article on your own website, but do it if it’s allowed.

I wouldn’t pursue freelance writing solely as a way to get backlinks because they’re not guaranteed and they aren’t usually the best links for the amount of effort it takes to write an article. 

If a website accepts both guest posts and paid article submissions, check into what links are included with each option and consider this as part of your decision. 

Get interviewed on podcasts or other websites  

Medium effort, medium reward

Podcasts usually publish show notes where you can include a link to your website and possibly to any blog posts or products you mention in the interview. 

There are many RD sites and general business sites that interview entrepreneurs or people in specific niches so keep an eye out for those opportunities. 

It does take some effort to do an interview, but usually not as much as writing a full post as in guest posting or freelance writing. 

Register your business for online business listings 

Low effort, low reward

Links from business directories in your niche, Dietitian-specific directories, and local business directories go to your home page and aren’t as powerful as other types of links, but are still useful to get. They add diversity to the types of links you’re getting, plus add some credibility to your business.

Participate in roundups 

low effort, moderate reward

This is where someone is asking for articles about a specific topic, such as recipes. You submit a link to your article that matches what they’re looking for and then they make a “roundup” post. For example, they “round up” the top 10 crockpot chili recipes. All 10 recipes will be included in their article. They’ll include a link to each recipe for the reader to click to.

Get quoted in articles

low effort, low-high reward

This is similar to above, but instead of sending them a link to an article of yours, you just answer their question and they quote you in their article.

These types of links can range from just okay to excellent, depending on the topic of the article and the website you’re being quoted in and how closely it matches your website.

To find these opportunities you can connect directly with journalists and other bloggers and find Facebook groups specifically dedicated to these kinds of opportunities. 

Link-for-link exchanges: skip!

low effort, low reward, potentially high-risk

You might have seen link-for-link threads in blogging groups where everyone links to everyone else on the thread (or some other reciprocal linking rules). 

Or maybe someone asked you to link to their site and said they’ll link to yours too.

While it’s probably totally fine for you and a blogging friend to link to each other’s sites from time to time, doing link exchanges en masse is viewed as a spammy activity by Google. Skip this one: don’t mess around with Google!

At best, the links will just cancel each other out and result in no net benefit to you. At worst, Google could penalize you for trying to artificially hack the system!

Instead, focus on any of the other ways to build backlinks to your site which help build the authority of your website and get your name in front of more people without risk.

Key Takeaways: get easy backlinks

Each way of getting easy backlinks has its pros and cons. The best way is to create a variety of links from different websites using different methods. Not only does it appear more natural, you’re going to come across different opportunities and may as well take advantage of them when you have the chance!

Now that you know these ways to get more backlinks with the least amount of effort, what will you take action on first? 

If you’d like more tips and information on these backlinking methods, including a list of places to get backlinks and step-by-step instructions on how to do it, check out my ebook, Best Ways to Get Backlinks as a Dietitian.

Author Bio: 

Bri Bell is a Registered Dietitian and SEO Expert at SEO for Dietitians. Connect with her for SEO information & services or check out her blog, Frugal Minimalist Kitchen, where she helps people simplify & save money in the kitchen.