Let’s be honest; backlinks are pretty much like striking oil for business owners. What’s more valuable than having a big site link to your own and raise your DA as well as increase your site traffic in the process?

It’s kind of like the cool kid at school hushing down the laughing crowd and being like, “Nahh, man. This dude’s legit.”

However, just like you wouldn’t want to go up to the cool kid and beg for them to say that so you look ‘legit’, you also wouldn’t want to beg for a backlink from a reputable site. Instead, you want to find a way to make the cool kid trust and respect you so this statement is far more genuine and also not just some kind of one-off situation. So what do I mean by that? Well, it’s simple; backlink viable sites aren’t stupid and they also can spot a link building strategy from a mile away.

With this said, the best way to acquire that ‘cool kids seal of approval’ is to determine a way to give them something just as valuable in return and to create a relationship that leads to multiple backlinks in the process.

The ‘Birds of a Feather’ Backlink Analogy

As a professional link builder with a portfolio to match, I have a lot of insight to give pertaining to link building and acquiring backlinks for your site. However, I’m not gonna lie and tell you that this insight didn’t take months of hard work and dedication.

In all honesty, link building is a serious pain in the ass—but it’s definitely worth it. Whether your current domain authority (DA) is 1 or 100 (which is highly unlikely, but you get the point), having backlinks is the key to gaining the trust of Google’s algorithm and ranking higher because of it.

P.S. If you don’t know how to check out your site’s DA, try this free DA checker tool by Small SEO Tools:

Free Domain Authority Checker by Small SEO Tools

When thinking about the power of link building, I always like to tell my clients that, in Google’s eyes, ‘birds of a feather flock together’. With this analogy in mind, when a high-ranking and trustworthy site links to your site, it’s basically a digital endorsement of you not only as a site but also as a business—and a viable recommendation for those searching for sites in your industry or genre.

Because backlinks are so important to a business’ success online, it may be time to start implementing some of the organic backlink acquisition methods below in your own company. I guarantee you’ll see a serious site traffic and ranking boost in no time through these five tips alone.

Five Ways to Organically Acquire Backlinks From a big Site

These five organic backlink acquisition methods have been carefully constructed from years of link building on my end. Instead of learning on your own as I did, perhaps these tips will help you to get started the right way.

After all, time is money for a business owner. I get that. So, instead of wasting your time doing research and pulling your hair out, follow these steps. Work hard, do it right, and, in a matter of months, you’ll begin to see serious results from your efforts.

1. Use Site Scraping to Find Relevant Sites

I want to tell you a little secret: Although you can’t always get on the biggest sites you want to be on from day one, there’s more than likely thousands of sites that are similar with tons of traffic and a high DA as well.

Now, I’m going to tell you another secret because I legitimately don’t care if you choose to do your link building without me as long as you’re successful. There are actually site scraping tools that I use frequently for my clients which make this step of the link acquisition process a complete and total cake walk.

However, for me personally, the best one will always be Buzzstream. Why? Because Buzzstream doesn’t just find sites for you when being given keywords to prospect for but also gives you an outreach platform, templates to build off of, and a super nifty chrome tool likewise.

I’ll go deeper into this topic in my future article on Buzzstream but, for now, if you are wanting to site scrape for your link building, I strongly recommend using this platform. For those that want to know more about this awesome tool, check out this video by Buzzstream themselves:

Using Buzzstream is honestly as easy as putting in relevant keywords, going through your results, picking your targets, and sending them emails for a chance to either be featured or guest post on the site! Sounds pretty great, right?

2. Choose Between Guest Posts and Features

There are two types of link building campaigns: guest posts and features. Guest post campaigns are where you reach out to sites in order to write for them. Features, on the other hand, are campaigns in which you ask to be featured on a site in an upcoming article.

For me, I am all about guest post campaigns for a myriad of reasons. Number one is that you can control the content you are in and how your link is represented. Number two is that you can create a connection with a site owner that lasts far beyond a single link.

However, if you decide to go this route, you should also be capable of creating valuable content. Remember when I said in the beginning of this article that you should determine a way to give a high-profile site something just as valuable in return? This is what I meant.

How to Find Your Value Point for Outreach

When outreaching a big site, quality content simply isn’t enough. You have to remember that you are far from the only person trying to get a backlink from this site. With that in mind, what makes you different? Do you have a unique approach at something? Are you an expert in a topic they haven’t written about before? Do you have a hack or a trick that is highly valuable to your industry and their demographic?

These are the things you should focus on when outreaching a big site. Instead of telling this site how they will help you and your business, tell them how you can help them.

Similarly, if you do choose to do the features campaign format, what is so special about your brand? How does it tie into their audience? Why are you the company they should highlight in your industry?

Don’t rely on a big site to get to know you. Give them what you want them to know from the start by creating a pitch that works for every genre and is sure to attract them no matter what your campaign format is.

3. Create a Pitch That Works for Every Genre

I’m going to tell you a little story about the beginning of my pitch creations.

When I first started out pitching sites for guest post opportunities, despite my background in sales and my overall charisma, I sucked. I couldn’t get a response for the life of me and I also didn’t understand why. Then, I realized something whilst searching and searching for new templates online.

What I realized is this: If I received one of the emails I was sending out as an editor or owner of a site, I’d absolutely laugh for a moment and then mark it as spam. Why? Well, the truth is that no one likes a clear template message.

So, what changed? How did I get hundreds of responses by just restructuring my outreach campaign to be less generic? Well, let me show you two examples that will clearly prove the difference and the reason for the increase in engagement.

Here is my original and highly generic outreach template:

So, let’s go over the problems with this train wreck of a template. For starters, the subject line of this email is so generic most big sites won’t even click on it. Secondly, it’s far too long. Most big sites are simply not going to read that big of an email, man. Lastly, it reads like a template and that’s the opposite effect of what you want.

And, now, here is my current template that gains the most responses:

So, what makes this template better? For starters, the subject line is short and intriguing. What does that mean? Although it does summarize what I’m talking about, it doesn’t give a site any context that will detract them from opening up the email. Next, it is succinct and gives them all the information they could possibly want from relevant articles (these can be from your site even) all the way to my content specializations. Lastly, it’s professional and reads as though you’ve done this before and you’re not going to bullshit them with ‘favorite articles’ or the old ‘I read your site every day’ line.

With a pitch like this, you are guaranteed to get results and, the more personalized it gets, the better you sound. Now, it’s all about whether you want a quality approach or a quantity approach to your outreach campaign.

4. Decide Between Quality or Quantity

This is quite possibly the hardest decision you will need to make when it comes to backlink acquisition. When you start outreaching the sites you’ve scraped, you will need to decide whether to batch or to take your time.

What does this mean? Well, it’s simple: you can either send the same template to a hundred sites with no originality and ‘cast a larger net that may catch a few fish at a time’ or focus on more personalized outreach methods and ‘cast a smaller net that is guaranteed to catch fish but not as quickly’.

For me, quality always prevails. Why have your site on ten sites with mid-range DA’s when you can get your site on one or two extremely high DA sites and, in turn, be on any site you want after that?

You will have to consider this thoroughly before outreaching can begin. The decision you make will effectively determine your link building strategy’s success rate. Therefore, it should absolutely be taken seriously from day one.

With a clear decision in mind, all that’s left is to start outreaching and getting those highly valuable backlinks for your hard work and dedication. Sounds like a walk in the park, doesn’t it?

5. Hire a Link Builder to do all of This for You

If it doesn’t sound as easy as you previously thought, this is where a link builder such as myself comes into play. Link builders take the stress out of acquiring backlinks. They write the content, get the posts on high-profile sites, and measure your success rates. This is where the stress can be lifted off your shoulders for good. This is also where better backlinks can be granted.

Through years of link building and guest posting, I have connections. Because I practice what I preach, I make relationships with sites. These relationships are why I never fail to get links for my clients. After all, even with these methods, it will take months to get viable backlink options.

Why focus on something you just learned each and every day when you can delegate it to a pro? I always say this and I’ll say it again. What separates a successful business from a failing one is their ability to delegate effectively.

If this sounds like a better solution for your business, feel free to check out my Link Building Package today! Also, don’t hesitate to reach out for more information! I’m always available for any and all of your marketing questions and concerns! Seriously!

After all, backlinks can either make or break a business. So, why worry about their efficacy each and every day when you can put them into the capable hands of a link building professional?