In this article, I will show you how to rank your website rank without backlinks.
Many SEO experts say it’s impossible to rank without link building. So, let me explain how to get your site to Google’s page one.
For people who didn’t know, let me show you very briefly about backlinks and link building.
A backlink points to your content. It happens when an article includes a link to your blog post.
As far as Google is concerned, backlinks are votes of confidence. They mean that other experts vouch for your content.
Therefore, blog posts with many links pointing to them are authoritative and trustworthy.
Backlinks accumulate by themselves. As you release high-value content, people start to link to them. But that takes time. Sometimes, years.
On the other hand, link building is proactively reaching out to other website owners and asking them to link to your content. Because these links are collected much faster than the natural ones, building links boost a site’s ranking in a very short time.
It requires a smart strategy plus some cash, which is why many new business owners don’t feel like they are ready to start link building.
If you’re one of those, don’t panic. I’ve got all the information you need to rank your websites on Google.
Personally, I recommend link building. Okay? Ranking your website without backlinks is like using your tongue to touch the tip of your nose. Eww! You just tried that, didn’t you?
Ranking your site without link building is difficult. But, it can be done. So hold on to that as we continue with this blog.
Ready? Sit back. ‘Cos I’m about to load you with some highly valuable info.
Let’s go!
Step #1: Create High-Value and SEO-Optimized Content
Right now, you want to increase your website authority and get it to page one. The very first step is to create outstanding content.
Awesome content is two things at once – high-value and optimized for SEO.
High-value content
High-value content matches search intent and is well-formatted.
Look at this phrase, “Protein powder benefits.” Obviously, it means searchers want info on the benefits of protein powders.
If you create a blog post optimized with the keyphrase “protein powder benefits”, yet talk about the best types of protein powders on Amazon, any visitor landing on that page will leave quickly because that’s not what they’re looking for.
When you create content aligned with search intent, visitors are more likely to comment and share the post on social media. And since Google loves engagement, the ranking for that blog post will increase.
Engaging in blog posts reduce bounce rates. High bounce rates usually mean your post is either not what the reader is looking for or not interesting.
To create engaging blog posts, write content aligned with the main keyword you want to target.
We have a whole video on keyword research. Check it out here.
Now you know the search intent, your blog post must be presented in an easy-to-understand format. People particularly love lists and how-to posts.
Your articles should have relevant and intriguing headlines. For instance: Top 7 Benefits of Protein Powders (plus the Best Ways to Use Them). Use top-ranking posts as inspiration.
Searchers are more likely to click on interesting headlines. Nobody wants to read something boring. At least, I don’t. Haha.
Google loves high CTRs. The higher the CTR, the higher your post ranks.
Once the searcher is on your page, keep them there with an intriguing introduction, many headings, short paragraphs, and simple sentences. Understood?
Now, I know what I’m about to say sounds basic, but you’ll be surprised to see the number of sites that break this rule:
Ensure your writing is grammatically correct! Even though Google doesn’t directly penalize wrong grammar, readers judge!
People don’t stick around when there are many grammar blunders, because you sound untrustworthy. This guy doesn’t know basic grammar, don’t see how I can trust him with protein powders. See?
SEO-optimized content
Okay. What if you create a super-valuable blog post on the benefits of protein powders, and nobody finds it?
What is it with me and protein powders today? Anyways, the point is, there’s no need to write a knockout post that nobody will read.
You need to optimize your article for SEO by finding the right keywords and using them in the right places and you have to include the best links too.
It doesn’t stop there. There is the metadata to think about and the anchor texts.
So, here’s an entire video on Content Writing for SEO. Go check it out to become an expert on writing content for money-making websites.
Remember, the main goal when creating content is to make them super relevant for both searchers and Google’s algorithm so that it cannot be ignored.
Ensure your blog posts are interesting and match search intent. Google favors long-form content. Also, optimize for on-page SEO.
Are the blog posts on your site properly formatted and optimized for rankings? Comment on whether SEO is something you do already. I want to know.
Step #2: Publish Content Regularly
It’s not about creating one piece of great content. It’s about publishing many of those regularly.
Google loves authority sites. The best way to prove your website is an authority is to release high-value content often so that every time Google crawls your site, there’s something new to index.
Regularly publishing content boosts your domain and page authority, and that increases your chances of ranking.
How do you do this? Before you launch your site, create an editorial calendar and include all the keywords you want to rank for.
Step #3: Drive Traffic from Social Media
Still here, bud? Great. The next step is social media marketing.
Social Media drives valuable traffic to websites. It promotes instant traffic and branded searches on Google.
Promote your blog posts on all social media pages and point people to your blog posts. The key here is to share very interesting headlines. Interesting enough to get them to click through and see the blog.
If you’re a new business with no social media presence yet, use ads to drive engagement and point people to your website.
Forum sites like Quora and Reddit are super valuable when building your website’s authority. The key is to avoid being super sales and gently encourage viewers to look at your website.
When Google notices that people coming from social media are spending time with your content, and leisurely exploring your website, they are likely to increase your website rankings and get you to page one.
So, promote every piece of content you create on social media.
Step #4: Ask for Customer Reviews
Get people to talk about you by encouraging customers to review your business, especially if you sell online products.
Of course, you gotta be sure that you provide top-notch products and are sure to get lots of positive reviews.
The goal is to get people talking about your products and your website.
Google loves to see positive mentions of a product somewhere. It increases your authority.
Step #5: Create News Updates Content
Remember that at this point, your website is new. Has little to no backlinks. You’re not planning on any proactive link building. What you need is content that cannot be found anywhere else.
The best way to achieve this is to release news content pieces. Publish them a few hours after the news breaks and be one of the few websites talking about them.
For instance, you sell protein powders, and there’s news about some mergers between manufacturers. Or some updates by the FDA.
Posting content like that to attract the right audience increases your website rankings. Try to move them from that piece to other blog posts on your website.
You get instant results with news and can push the traffic to other content you’ve produced. Plus, other content creators are likely to link to your piece when they write theirs.
How do you keep up with news events?
Social media hashtags. Preferably Twitter. And the Google News tab. Try to publish your news content within hours of a story breaking.
Cool. We’re now ready to move on to the next step.
Step #6: Create Pillar Posts and Topic Clusters
This part requires a carefully planned internal linking strategy.
There’s a major difference between internal and external linking, and they’re used in different ways to boost rankings. I can’t go into all of that right now because, you know, that’s not what this video is about.
However, we have a full-scale tutorial on internal vs external linking right here.
Check it out later for all the gist on linking strategy.
Right now, let’s focus on step number 6. Create pillar posts and topic clusters.
Topic clusters are a group of content about a central topic while pillar posts are used to connect topic clusters. Both are strategies to keep people longer on your site.
Google uses topic clusters as factors for measuring the authority of a website.
If you are a protein powder affiliate marketer, and you have several topics on your website on adding protein powders in meals, you’re an expert on that.
You can have one pillar post on the use of protein powders in meals and then several articles on the different meals prepared with protein powders. All of them link to the pillar post.
Pillar posts and topic clusters make your website an authority on those topics and move the needle faster to get you to page one rankings.
Also, more people will explore a topic cluster than random blog posts with no close connection to each other.
Do you want to become an expert on topic clusters and use them to rank your website? Join my FB group where I constantly drop content strategy and link building tips.
Step #7: Audit your Site Regularly and Improve On-Site SEO
Audit your site for on-page SEO metrics like site speed, load time, meta data, and uptime.
Even though it seems like it’s not so important, websites consistently ranking in the top 3 have great on-site SEO.
Take site speed for instance. According to a study by Unbounce in 2019, average website load time is 15 seconds. Yet, top ranking Google results have an average load time of less than 3 seconds.
Check the description for the link to that study.
Having a great on-pae SEO in place shows Google that visitors are likely to have a seamless experience. And since Google is all for the searcher, your website rankings get boosted. For the sake of the customer.
On-site SEO accounted for over 568% increase in traffic to my web page with no link building.
Ensure you carry out regular site audits to discover what to improve on.
Finally…
Have you survived all this talk about protein powders? Well-done!
Remember everything we’ve talked about. Create high-value and SEO-optimized content. Promote them on social media. Release news pieces and encourage people to review your products and services. Create topic clusters. And have great on-site SEO.
If you follow all the steps I’ve mentioned to the tee, your website can rank on Google without any link building.
However, it is difficult. Without backlinks, authority building becomes a slow process. When your site doesn’t have a high enough authority, it is nearly impossible to rank.
Aaaand… drumroll pleeease… we’re done!
Okay. Let me tell you something not so secret. I specialize in whitehat link building. Our agency acquires really good backlinks for websites, to boost their authority and get them ranking on Google’s page one.
For instance, a client of ours went from 0 to 145,000 visitors per month, and is currently ranking for 12,000 keywords. In fact, one of their backlinks is from Forbes.
We know our stuff and we can help you.
So, schedule a free consultation call at Julian Goldie dot com. Let’s talk!
