Generating backlinks is difficult. But the good news is, it is also difficult for your competitors. If you could generate one high-quality link from each of these methods, you will be light years ahead of most of your competitors.

Search Google

Search Google for the keywords you are targeting. Are there any paid directories or guest blogs on the first three pages? Contact them. For example when you search “Plumber Ottawa” in Google, 5 of the first 8 listings are for directories. If you’re a plumber you should get listed in these directories and some will even provide a link.

People Seeking Guest Bloggers

A guest blog is when you write a blog for someone else. This benefits them with fresh content on their website and in return, they should link back to your website. Guest blogging is great because it is win-win, you get access to a new audience, and you start or enhance a relationship.

Here are a couple searches that will help you find guest blogging opportunities. Search “your city” + “guest bloggers needed” or “your niche” + “guest posts” or variations of this.

Review Bloggers

When you’re doing research for a large purchase, you may have come across a blog or review site comparing different services/products. Often these bloggers/reviewers are paid by the companies they review. Google’s quality guidelines state that webmasters should avoid “participating in link schemes” and “participating in affiliate programs without adding sufficient value.” So be careful if using this tactic.

How it works is, you reach out to bloggers/influencers using a service. You propose an exchange to the influencers where they promote your product/service in exchange for payment or discounted services.

We use these services primarily for e-commerce stores that we work with and influencer campaigns can be done for as little as $50 on Famebit.

Unlinked Mentions

An unlinked mention is a mention of your brand without a link back to your website. Often journalists and content writers mention businesses without linking to them. If you can find mentions of your business, the likelihood of getting this converted into a link is very high because there is already a relationship or connection. Search Google for mentions of your business with no link using this search “your brand” –site:yoursite

Directory Listing Service

In the early years of SEO, it was common to list your website with hundreds or even thousands of free directories. As the search engines have become more sophisticated, links from random websites have lost their effectiveness. However, there are still directories that are relevant for your industry and location. You can find them by searching terms related to your business and searching the search results for free directories or you can use a paid service.