What is white hat link building? How do you get white hat backlinks?
And how can you use whitehat link building to rank higher on Google?
If you want to protect your website, build links that actually increase your rankings, and generate that sweet Google love, read on…
What Is White Hat Link Building?
Here’s the short answer:
White hat link building is any type of link building that conforms with Google’s webmaster guidelines.
Google setup these guidelines to stop people gaming the system:
Because it wants its users to find the best possible search results.
White hat link building techniques help improve the quality of websites showing up on Google.
When we talk about “what is white hat link building,” we’re discussing a crucial aspect of SEO that focuses on obtaining high-quality, organic links to your website.
It’s all about creating valuable content, promoting it, and building relationships within your niche, ultimately earning the trust of both search engines and users alike.
Unlike its shady counterpart, black-hat link building, white-hat methods play by the rules, ensuring long-term success and a better user experience.
Quality Backlinks
Let’s put it this way:
Only high quality websites can use white link building techniques.
If you had a spammy/low quality site, no one would link to you:
So you’d have to resort to blackhat link building techniques instead.
This means that you’re actually trying to build links that are ethical and you’re not trying to game or manipulate the system.
How do you know if your backlinks are white hat?
There’s 1 easy way to do this.
Ask yourself this question:
“Would you feel comfortable explaining how you build links to an employee of Google or even to one of your competitors?”
If the answer is no, then you’re probably doing something a bit dodgy.
What Does “White-Hat” Mean?
So, you’ve heard the term “white-hat” thrown around a lot lately, but what does it actually mean? In the world of SEO, white-hat refers to the ethical techniques and strategies that are used to improve a website’s search engine rankings.
These practices are in line with search engine guidelines, such as those laid out by Google, and they prioritize providing value to users over tricking the algorithm.
Why Should You Engage Only in White-Hat Link Building?
There are several compelling reasons to focus solely on white-hat link building. By choosing to engage in ethical SEO practices, you’re setting your website up for long-term success while maintaining a positive online reputation. Here are a few key benefits of sticking to white-hat link building strategies:
- Long-Term Results: As mentioned earlier, white-hat link building techniques are in line with search engine guidelines. This means that your website is less likely to be penalized by search engines for using manipulative tactics, ensuring that your hard work doesn’t go to waste.
- Better User Experience: When you focus on providing valuable content and building organic relationships with other websites, you’re ultimately creating a better experience for your users. They’ll appreciate the high-quality content and be more likely to share it, further boosting your website’s visibility.
- Stronger Online Reputation: When you engage in white-hat link building, you build a positive reputation within your industry. This can lead to more collaboration opportunities, increased trust from users, and a higher likelihood of being recommended by peers.
- Sustainability: Black-hat link building techniques may provide short-term gains, but they’re ultimately unsustainable. Search engine algorithms are constantly evolving, and websites that rely on manipulative tactics risk being penalized and losing their rankings. By focusing on ethical practices, your website can maintain its visibility and continue to grow.
16 White Hat Link Building Techniques You Can Try
1: Link Inserts:
What’s more natural than an editorially edited link within an article?
That’s how websites would get backlinks naturally.
So how can you implement this for your website?
- Find articles in your niche with lots of links already
- Create a similar piece of content
- Ask those sites to link to your article too
2: Audio Link Building:
Audio link building is one the most unique white hat link building methods you can use:
You just create an audio version of someone’s blog – and then ask for a credit link back to your site.
How can you implement this?
- Reach out to the websites saying you’ve created an audio version of their blog and ask where you should send it
- Once they reply, send them the audio file with the code to embed (including a link back to your site)
- Chase it up until your backlink is published
Here’s my full tutorial on audio link building.
3: Video Link Building
If you’re creating videos anyway, here’s an easy way to get more white hat backlinks:
- Reach out to sites who’ve published content similar to the video you’ve created.
- Ask them to embed your video within their article
- Then reach back out 1 month later and ask them to link back to you as a credit
By doing this, you get the 3X effect:
- You get more traffic to your videos.
- You’ll get more PR by your video being featured in their articles.
- And you get a backlink too.
4: HARO:
This is the exact same technique we’ve used to get DR90 backlinks within minutes:
- Sign up to helpareporter.com
- Pitch to journalists every day (takes just 10 minutes)
- Within a month or so, you’ll start seeing backlinks come in
We’ve landed backlinks on Yahoo, Forbes and AOL all with this simple technique.
HARO has thousands of journalists looking for interesting stories from website owners.
So you can swoop in, pitch a great story and you’ll see the links come in.
NOTE: Check your backlink profile as most journalists won’t tell you they’ve featured you.
5: Guest Blogging:
Websites always need more content.
But they don’t always have the time or resources to write it themselves.
That’s where you come in:
- Pitch the website offering them a free guest blog
- When they say yes, you write the guest blog
- And when your guest blog is written, include a couple of links back to your website
Then the site will publish your guest blog with your backlinks.
Plus you get to reach new audiences with your guest blogging content.
And the guest blog you’ve written will rank on Google too.
6: Podcasts:
When you get featured on podcasts, in the show notes you’ll usually get a backlink to your site too.
So how do you get started?
- Make a list of the top 10% of podcasts in your industry:
- Reach out and pitch to them.
- Then after you’re featured on the podcast, ask for a link back to your website
This is an awesome way to get PR, links and even more customers at the same time.
Plus podcasts demonstrate your expertise and people get to know, like and trust you:
Which means more leads and sales for your business.
Most podcast owners are looking for world class experts like you to speak on their show:
So by doing this outreach, you’re doing them a favour too because booking new guests is time consuming.
7: SourceBottle:
Sourcebottle is VERY similar to HARO:
So it’s free, easy to use and you can get tons of PR and backlinks from this site.
Just sign up, start pitching and you’ll see the links come in.
8: Guest Posting
Guest posting is an effective white-hat link building strategy that involves creating high-quality content for other websites in your niche. By offering valuable insights and unique perspectives, you can earn a link back to your site, typically within the author bio or the content itself. This approach not only helps to build relationships within your industry but also exposes your content to a broader audience.
9: Utility Link Building
Utility link building is the process of creating useful tools or resources that are relevant to your target audience, encouraging them to share and link back to your site. By providing valuable tools or resources, you position yourself as an expert in your niche, making it more likely that other websites will want to reference your content.
10: Link Reclamation
Link reclamation involves identifying and reclaiming lost or broken backlinks to your site. This could be due to changes in URLs, content updates, or other factors that cause a link to become broken. By reaching out to site owners and politely requesting that they update their links, you can recover valuable backlinks and improve your site’s overall SEO.
11: Content Contribution
Content contribution is similar to guest posting but focuses on contributing content to community-driven platforms, such as forums or industry-specific websites. By sharing your expertise and engaging with others in your niche, you can organically earn backlinks and increase your online visibility.
12: Create Unique and Original Data
Creating unique and original data, such as research studies or in-depth reports, is a powerful way to attract backlinks. By providing new insights or information that isn’t readily available elsewhere, you become a valuable resource for others in your industry, making it more likely that they’ll want to link to your content.
13: High-Volume Cold Outreach
High-volume cold outreach is a proactive approach to white-hat link building that involves reaching out to a large number of potential link partners with personalized, targeted messages. The key to success with this strategy is to focus on building relationships and offering value, rather than simply asking for a link.
14: Broken Link Building
Broken link building involves finding broken links on other websites within your niche and suggesting your content as a replacement. This not only helps the site owner by providing a solution to their broken link issue but also earns you a valuable backlink in the process.
15: Unlinked Brand Mentions
Unlinked brand mentions occur when another website mentions your brand or content without linking back to your site. By reaching out to the site owner and requesting a link, you can turn these mentions into valuable backlinks.
16: Press Outreach
Press outreach is the process of connecting with journalists, bloggers, or influencers in your industry to share your content or news stories. By providing newsworthy information or exclusive insights, you can earn high-quality backlinks from reputable sources, boosting your site’s credibility and visibility.
White Hat Link Building Services and Companies
When it comes to white hat link building services, look no further than Goldie Agency.
As a reputable and experienced agency, Goldie Agency specializes in ethical link building strategies that help improve your website’s search engine rankings while maintaining a positive online reputation.
Book in a free SEO Link Building Strategy Session here.
White Hat Vs. Black Hat Vs. Grey Hat Link Building
White hat link building focuses on ethical, search engine-approved strategies, while black hat link building relies on manipulative tactics that can result in penalties. Grey hat link building falls somewhere in between, using methods that may not be explicitly against the rules, but still carry some risk.
The Dangers of Black Hat Link Building
Black hat link building is risky because it can lead to penalties from search engines, damage your online reputation, and ultimately hurt your website’s long-term success. It’s always better to focus on ethical, white hat link building strategies to ensure sustainable growth.
FAQs
What is the white hat link building method?
White hat link building refers to ethical, search engine-approved strategies for obtaining high-quality, organic backlinks to your website. Examples include guest posting, resource link building, and creating valuable content that others want to share.
What is black hat link building?
Black hat link building involves manipulative tactics that aim to trick search engines into giving a website higher rankings. These methods often go against search engine guidelines and can lead to penalties, harming your website’s long-term success.
What are the three types of link building?
The three types of link building are white hat, black hat, and grey hat. White hat focuses on ethical strategies, black hat involves manipulative tactics, and grey hat uses methods that fall somewhere in between.
What are your top 3 white hat link building methods?
Our top three white hat link building methods include guest posting, resource link building, and creating unique, high-quality content that naturally attracts backlinks.
What is a white hat system?
A white hat system refers to an approach or technique that prioritizes ethical, search engine-approved practices to improve a website’s search engine rankings.
What is white hat design?
White hat design focuses on creating websites that provide a positive user experience and adhere to search engine guidelines. This approach prioritizes valuable content and organic growth over manipulative tactics.
What are the white hat strategies?
White hat strategies include ethical SEO techniques, such as guest posting, resource link building, and creating high-quality content that attracts backlinks naturally.
What is the best link building approach?
The best link building approach is to focus on white hat strategies that prioritize ethical techniques, relationship building, and providing valuable content to users and other websites in your niche.
How do you get white hat backlinks?
To get white hat backlinks, create high-quality, unique content, engage in guest posting, build relationships within your niche, and promote your content to relevant websites and influencers.
What is an example of white hat optimization?
An example of white hat optimization is guest posting on reputable websites in your niche, providing valuable content that includes a link back to your own site.
What is link building technique?
Link building techniques are strategies used to acquire backlinks from other websites, ultimately improving a site’s search engine rankings and visibility.
What is the purpose of link building?
The purpose of link building is to improve a website’s search engine rankings, increase visibility, drive traffic, and establish credibility within its niche.
What are some examples of link building strategies?
Examples of link building strategies include guest posting, resource link building, broken link building, and creating high-quality content that naturally attracts backlinks.
How Does Google Define White Hat Link Building?
If you check their Google webmaster guidelines, you can see that they’ve purposely left this definition open to interpretation.
You can see keywords like “may/could be penalized”.
It’s very subjective and there’s no hard or fast rule.
Why is that?
Well it’s the same situation as Facebook Ads:
Guidelines have to be vague.
Because then Google has the ability to penalise any sites it feels may be in the grey area of building blackhat backlinks.
But is SEO actually whitehat anyway?
Some people would say that if you’re building links, then you’re trying to manipulate your rankings.
The whole concept of SEO isn’t natural:
And therefore there’s no such thing as white hat link building.
But without getting too philsophical:
You just have to conform to Google’s webmaster guidelines.
If you’re building links that conform to these guidelines, then you’re building white hat links.
What else should you be wary of?
Google specifically states if you’re building links with automated software:
Then what you’re doing is black hat and it goes against Google’s webmaster guidelines.
Why Does Google Prefer White Hat Backlinks?
The whole goal of Google is to keep users using the platform:
The bigger their audience, the more successful the business is.
So white hat link building is about creating great content that people actually want to link to.
You should be building links that improve the usability and user experience of Google:
Rather than trying to game or manipulate the system.
Here’s some examples of white hat link building techniques…
What Are Black Hat Links?
Now we’ve looked at what white hat link building is, it’s time to learn about what isn’t.
It’s called the black hat.
If you’re trying to manipulate, cheat, or trick Google and the system:
Then what you’re doing is black hat.
Some examples of this include:
- Buying PBNs
- Using software like GSA to build backlinks
- Spamming forums and blogs with links back to your site
Are you building links ethically?
Or are you trying to game the system?
If you’re trying to game the system, then you’re on the black hat side.
Protect Your Site with White Hat Link Building
White hat link building is more difficult to do because it takes more time and effort:
But that’s perfect for you.
Why?
Because you have to do what others won’t:
Most of your competitors will take shortcuts and cut corners to save time.
But that only works until 1 Google algorithm update comes along and wipes them out.
White hat SEO is a long term, sustainable strategy.
If you’re not building white hat backlinks, then you’re risking a harsh algorithmic and even manual action penalty from Google.
You may even get de-indexed from Google.
And all these things can easily wipe out your website overnight.
Ideally you want to protect your website:
This is your company’s biggest asset.
So you don’t want to be lying awake at night wondering if your website’s gonna tank.
Keep your website protected and focus on long term gratification.
FAQs About White Hat Link Building
What is white hat link building?
Any type of link building that falls within Google’s webmaster guidelines.
Ethical, natural backlinks designed to promote amazing content using SEO.
How do you make a white hat backlink?
The best white hat link building techniques include podcasting, link inserts, pitching to journalists on HARO/Sourcebottle and video link link building.
What is black hat link building?
Black hat link building is any type of SEO that falls outside of Google’s link scheme guidelines.
If the backlinks you’re building are remotely spammy, unethical or just there to manipulate Google’s algorithm, you’re using black hat link building.
What is white hat outreach?
White hat outreach is when you reach out to websites to promote your content:
And getting editorially added, natural backlinks.
The outreach could be via social media, cold email etc – it’s just a form of reaching out to other sites and asking for a backlink.
What is black hat and white hat SEO?
Black is an unethical form of SEO that falls outside of Google’s guidelines and is designed to trick Google’s algorithm into ranking a website higher. Usually it’s for low quality websites. This includes spamming, blog commenting and PBNs.
White hat SEO is the opposite – it’s the strategy of organizing and promoting your website’s content to rank higher and improve the user experience of people who use search engines like Google.
Conclusion:
So a white hat backlink is any type of link that aligns with Google’s webmaster guidelines.
It’s a long term, sustainable strategy that protects your site.
Never try building backlinks that cheat the system.
Instead, build links to promote amazing content that Google users will love.
Ready to start building white hat backlinks? Book in your free SEO strategy session here.
