Navigating any SEO forum, you’ll inevitably come across a post from a perplexed, link-building novice asking, “How do I create amazing backlinks?” The frustrated individual typically explains that they’ve exhausted all avenues to build quality backlinks, resorting to free directories, profile links, article submissions, comment spamming, and more. Yet, their efforts prove futile. Despite their low-value tactics, they struggle to surpass competitors in search engine results, prompting them to desperately seek guidance on building extraordinary backlinks. The reality is, those secrets are nonexistent. There are no magical solutions or clandestine insider tricks to effortlessly acquiring quality links. Building amazing backlinks requires effort. However, this is the last thing these forum dwellers want to hear. They crave a quick fix, and creating something valuable far surpasses the ease of spamming forum signatures. Consequently, the message often goes unheeded. But, if you’re willing to put in the work, I’m happy to share my process for building amazing backlinks. It’s neither simple nor easy. In fact, it demands creativity, persistence, dedication, and hard work. Unlike low-value link spamming, adhering to these steps can help you build exceptional backlinks. 5 Steps to Creating Amazing Backlinks

1. Finding links
2. Link prospecting
3. Content linkworthiness
4. Linkbait
5. Link outreach

Step One: Discover What People are Linking to

The initial step in acquiring amazing backlinks is to identify websites already boasting fantastic backlinks and analyze their link profiles. The underlying principle is that excellent content naturally attracts links, compelling site owners to share it with their audience. Therefore, in this first step, focus on pages with numerous links, as they have already demonstrated their link-worthy content. To pinpoint which blog posts have garnered the most inbound links, follow these steps. Note: for this entire blog post, we’ll use a hypothetical example of Jim’s Pet Shop, an online pet store aiming to attract links, traffic, and attention for its dog toy collection.

1. Install the SEO for Firefox Toolbar (it’s free!)
2. Conduct a Google search (in this case, a query for “dog toys”), choose the “show options” button (located below the search box, on the left), and select “blogs” from the categories.
3. Click the “100” option (just below the search box, on the right) to display the Top 100 search results.
4. Once loaded, click the “CSV” link (just below the search box, on the right) to export the results file. While Firefox for SEO provides extensive information, for this exercise, focus solely on the “Y! Page Links” column, and feel free to delete the rest.
5. Sort the list by “Y! Page Links” from “largest to smallest.” Your CSV results should resemble this: This provides a compilation of all blog posts about “dog toys” that have attracted the most links. The next step in building quality backlinks is identifying the websites linking to these posts.

Step Two: Identify Who’s Linking

Knowing which content pieces act as link magnets, let’s uncover the entities responsible for linking to them. The “who” holds significance because these website owners have already demonstrated their willingness to link to a specific type of content, which, in this example, is content about “dog toys.” Therefore, there’s a higher probability that they might link to our dog toy content. To determine the “who,” access the CSV dashboard created earlier, select each of the top linking posts, and delve into their link profiles. This can be achieved using the “Yahoo Page Links” button on the SEO for Firefox Toolbar or by utilizing the Yahoo link command: link:http://www.pawnation.com/2010/03/16/wacky-pet-product-squeaky-squigglers-dog-toys/ -site:pawnation.com This generates a search results page listing all links pointing to this page, excluding any internal site links from the root domain, resembling this:

Analyzing link prospects reveals two recurring websites within the link profiles of these top dog toy posts: Doggies.com and Funstufffordogs.wordpress.com. Given their inclination to link to dog toy-related content, they emerge as strong candidates for an outreach campaign (discussed in step five). The objective of this step is to compile a list of qualified outreach prospects, which can be easily managed in a simple spreadsheet with multiple data columns. For my outreach lists, I prefer gathering data on:

• Target website URL: This includes the website name and the specific deep page I’ve identified that’s linking out.
• Toolbar PageRank: I leverage TBPR to loosely sort by relative value.
• Contact name: Personalizing outreach letters is crucial; addressing an email “To Whom It May Concern” is unprofessional and ineffective.
• Personal email: Avoid sending emails to generic inboxes (e.g., info@) or contact forms, unless you prefer your emails being disregarded. For insights on obtaining elusive personal emails, refer to this article outlining 12 advanced tactics for finding someone’s email address.
• Social media profile(s): Identifying their Twitter or LinkedIn handle, if available, can be beneficial.
• Notes: Including additional information about the blogger or website facilitates further personalization of outreach letters. Remember, numerous blogs employ a team of bloggers. It’s recommended to research and identify those who frequently link to your type of content and note this in the notes section.

Step Three: Understand Why People are Linking

Creating linkable content necessitates understanding why specific content pieces attract links. Let’s examine the aforementioned blog posts and try to discern why these five blog posts about dog toys have accumulated over 11K total links. Is there a shared element or common thread contributing to their link-worthiness? Coincidentally, the clues are quite evident in this case: the highest link performers are all articles featuring unusual, peculiar, or amusing dog toys.

This isn’t entirely unexpected; people seek amusement and respite from the mundane. That’s why creating odd or funny posts or videos is often a sure fire way to attract links. Dog Mustache Toy

Michael Vick Dog Chew Toy

The irresistible urge to share or link to that Michael Vick dog chew toy photo speaks for itself. Therefore, as the owner of our hypothetical Jim’s Pet Shop, if you’re seeking content ideas that will attract links, writing about unusual dog toys seems like an excellent strategy. This leads us to our next step.

Step Four: Craft the Bait

Attracting links like the top-performing posts requires creating content of comparable value. This doesn’t imply outright copying or reinventing the wheel. You can certainly draw inspiration and put your own spin on it. If it’s a useful widget, create a widget. If it’s an unconventional list, create an unconventional list. The essence is to create content that resonates with your target market by being valuable and engaging. For instance, consider the premise that people are drawn to content about unusual dog toys. This insight can be translated into an effective content strategy in numerous ways. Here are a few article ideas, graded based on the level of effort and complexity involved:

• Easy: Publish a blog post about an unconventional dog toy. While not entirely original, it’s likely to attract a few links.
• Harder: Create an article titled “10 Weird Dog Toys Your Dog Will Adore.” This requires more effort but presents a greater opportunity for link acquisition.
• Wicked Hard!!: Unleash your creativity by launching a contest on your pet shop website. Encourage people to submit and vote for pictures of their dogs with bizarre dog toys, offering prizes for the top entries. Create a dedicated contest page (with contest details, photo galleries, and a voting component), write a blog post announcing the contest, and publish another one showcasing the winners, including the winning pictures, dog names, and owner names. Now, which idea sparks the most interest? Which one is likely to attract the most links? The key takeaway is that effort correlates with results, hence why each idea is categorized by the level of work involved. Experience suggests that the more effort invested in content creation, the more links it attracts. This is not groundbreaking but worth emphasizing.

Step Five: Promote Your Content

It’s time to market your content through blog marketing. After all, Authority Hacker revealed that content creation is the most effective link-building tactic.

Reach out to site owners, key influencers, and bloggers from the websites listed in the backlink profiles gathered in your pitch list from step two. However, avoid directly asking them to link to your page about X. That approach is too forward and transparent. Instead, opt for a more subtle approach by informing them about your content and inquiring if they’d be willing to “share it” with their audience, as they have done with similar content types. To illustrate, here’s a sample letter based on the “Whacky Dog Toy Photo Contest” idea for Jim’s Pet Shop. Note: this email template is inspired by successful outreach letters I’ve used previously.