A natural link is a backlink that originates organically from one website to another without involving any form of payment, link exchange, or request.
The link is placed purely based on the quality of the content, signalling genuine endorsement and trust from the linking site.
Natural links do not occur because of any specific link building technique.
The linking website simply places the backlink because they like the content and want to share it with their audience.
These types of links are classed as tier 1 links.
Why?
Natural links are considered the most valuable because they come from high-authority websites directly linking to your site.
These links significantly boost your site’s credibility and rankings.
But that’s not all…
Google only wants you to acquire natural links that are earned organically. They look down on building inbound links manually.
What does that really mean?
Short answer – Natural backlinks are more likely to give you the biggest SEO boost and improve your keyword rankings.
And the best part is – you don’t have to do anything to build them!
They come organically to your website, meaning no outreach or payment is involved in acquiring the link.
What Will I Learn?
Good natural links have 4 key characteristics:
While you can’t control who links to you naturally, the quality of your website and content can determine the types of sites willing to link to you.
The better your content and the more credible your site, the higher quality natural links you will attract.
It’s as simple as that!
Imagine you run a blog about organic gardening.
You write a detailed guide on how to start a compost pile.
The owner of a website of an established home improvement site finds your compost pile guide when researching an article they are writing about gardening.
They like your guide so much that they decided to link to your guide.
This is an example of a natural link.
The owner of the home improvement website links to your guide because of the quality of the content. They don’t ask for anything in return.
The link is also highly relevant and authoritative, boosting your own guides’ rankings in the SERPs.
The best way to get natural links is to create informative, comprehensive and high-quality content.
This increases the chances of earning high-quality backlinks that are acquired organically. But there are some things you can do to increase the likelihood of receiving a natural link.
Follow these 3 steps to get more natural links organically:
Focus on producing content that is valuable, user-focussed and comprehensive.
Ensure you clearly cover topics and answer any key questions people have. Use Images and videos to illustrate key points.
This will make your content more engaging overall and increase the chances of acquiring a natural link.
But that’s not all…
The truth is that some types of content attract more natural links than others.
We call these “linkable assets”.
This type of content includes:
Linkable assets are valuable resources that others want to naturally link to.
It’s a good idea to have a range of linkable assets as part of your overall content strategy.
This is a mistake that most website owners make…
They spend all their time creating content but don’t promote it to their audience. Don’t fall into this trap.
Your goal should be to get your content in front of as many people as possible.
That means promoting it through:
And more! The more people who see and value your content, the more likely it is to attract natural links.
Don’t underestimate the value of relationships.
Here’s why:
Website owners link to other sites they know, like, and trust.
Network with other bloggers and influencers in your niche. Engage with their content by commenting, sharing, and providing value.
Over time, you will build a relationship with them.
When they need a source, you will be at the top of their minds! This is a great way to acquire natural links from relevant websites in your niche.
Or, if you want to outsource backlinks, check out my review of the top link building services.
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