Evergreen Link Building Strategies That Are Effective in 2024

Link building has come a long way since the early days of SEO. 

As Google’s algorithms evolve to understand high-quality vs. manipulative links, the link building tactics that work today may not work as well tomorrow. 

While the approaches to build links may change, one thing will remain constant in the near future: we’ll need high-quality backlinks to perform well in organic searches. Google still considers links a ranking factor, and that is not likely to change soon.  

According to Google’s Matt Cutts, “Links are the backbone of the web. They’re our means of navigation, the way we vote and share, the very currency of the web.” As they play a huge role in passing a “vote of trustworthiness” from one trusted site to another, they are likely to become even more important in a world inundated with a lot of content. 

In this guide, we have compiled a list of evergreen link-building strategies that will continue to be effective in 2024 despite all the recent core updates to the algorithms. These strategies also take into account changing trends in search. 

Modern Link Building Strategies That Still Work

Here are some of the top link-building strategies to help you get better SEO rankings in 2024: 

1. Prioritize Guest Post Quality Over Quantity

A lot of people approach guest posts wrong and frankly unethically. Churning out many mediocre or low-effort guest posts may get links in the short term, but if those posts don’t add any value to the readers — it will do little for your SEO. 

Think of guest posts as high-quality content that demonstrates your expertise in the industry that you’d otherwise post on your site. Poor quality content here can reduce trust in your brand and do little to drive referral traffic to your website. 

This content should also provide genuine value to the host site and fit what its end-audience is looking for. This is part of how Google also identifies what backlinks are “relevant” vs “forced.” For example, a website that focuses on home renovation specifically will be much more relevant as the source of the backlink for a remodeling company than one that focuses on home services in general.  

How to approach it: A good tip for deciding whether a guest post website is worth pursuing is to consider if it can actually also send qualified target traffic to your website. 

Some other strategies to consider: 

• Research high authority sites: Thoroughly research the top websites in your industry or niche to identify those seen as leaders or trendsetters. These sites will provide the most link equity.
• Assess content needs: Review what topics the potential host site regularly covers to understand their coverage gaps and audience pain points you can address. Tailor your pitch accordingly.
• Incorporate internal and external links in your guest posts: Within the body of the content, include several relevant internal links to other site pages and external links to credible sources. They enhance the user experience and inform the reader. Some guest post sites may have rules regarding how many links they allow in their posts, so check with them first. 
• Proofread and polish submissions: Before pitching, have your draft content rigorously edited, proofread, and formatted to publishable standards. Presenting polished work shows a commitment to quality.
• Promote posts on social media: After publication, drive traffic back to the host site through promotion on your social networks. Nurturing the relationship can open doors to future opportunities.

2. Build Strategic Content Partnerships

Partnering with complementary businesses or influencers in your industry is a highly effective link-building strategy that allows you to create valuable, cross-channel content that benefits multiple audiences.

For example, if you run a blog about gardening, you could partner with a landscape design business to publish a collaborative post that shares tips for designing sustainable and pollinator-friendly gardens.

This collaboration would not only help both of your target readers, but it would also allow you to link to each other’s sites and gain recognition. The best types of guest posts are typically how-to guides, case studies, interviews, or roundups that highlight both your and your host site’s expertise.

When identifying potential partners, you can also consider websites or social profiles with an already engaged audience that’s different to yours. Maybe their target audience is the younger generation while you cater more to families. Publishing content that helps both types of audiences can allow each of your websites to benefit from new exposure to audiences they would otherwise not attract. 

How to approach it: Reach out and pitch the idea of a partnership by highlighting how you can create winning content for both parties. Once on board, work to establish rapport and find an equitable balance of contributing and promoting each other.

3. Earn Links Through Original Research

By conducting original research or studies and sharing the results, you position yourself as a thought leader in your industry. People want to link to and cite credible sources to support their own opinions in blog posts, and can link to you naturally. 

One prime example is the “State of Marketing Report” by HubSpot, which annually releases comprehensive research on marketing trends. It gets many high-quality backlinks from industry publications and blogs without trying very hard because marketers need to cite this report to create their own content. For instance, if someone wants to create an article on “Current Marketing Trends,” it’s quite likely that they will cite this report. 

This attracted dozens of links from significant publications looking to discuss remote work insights from experts.

How to approach it: Use the Plan, Execute, and Promote strategy to put together a fantastic report from your original research and attract backlinks from authoritative sources: 

• Plan: Define your research objectives, target audience, methodology, and timeline. Ensure your research addresses a knowledge gap or provides fresh perspectives.
• Execute: Collect data through surveys, interviews, or data analysis. Maintain accuracy and transparency throughout the process to build credibility.
• Promote: Create visually appealing reports or infographics to present your findings: contact industry influencers, journalists, and bloggers to share your research. Utilize social media, email outreach, and press releases to amplify your reach.

4. Use Social Proof

Social proof is a powerful psychological phenomenon. If other people do something, we subconsciously want to do it. 

Social proof works to your advantage in link building too. You can strategically include its elements on your site as a subtle way to attract links from influential sources.

Here are some of those elements: 

Testimonials

Strategically place testimonials from satisfied customers or industry experts on your site.

Nobody wants to cite a company that is not trusted by their customers. Including testimonials and your average ratings can help other journalists, bloggers, and website owners judge your reputation in your market more effectively. This increases the likelihood of linking to you with less hesitation. 

Case Studies

Develop case studies that showcase accurate results of what your business has helped others achieve. 

Case studies are powerful social proof that other sites will want to link to and share to make their own case. For example, if you achieved 100k organic followers in 6 months using a particular SEO strategy, an agency may cite your study to sell their own clients on its advantages. 

Optimize your case studies with keyword-rich headings and make them scannable with visual elements like images, charts, and testimonial excerpts for the best results. 

Social Shares

Actively share and promote your best evergreen content on social media. This will encourage your followers to also share your content more actively. 

The more social shares and followers your pages and articles receive organically, the more potential they have to attract backlinks from sites looking to tap into already proven popular content. 

5. Optimize for Brand Mentions 

Optimizing for brand mentions should be a top priority in every link-building strategy. It builds domain authority, which increases the overall trust search engines have in pages on your domain. 

The mention of your brand across the web also has massive potential as an indirect ranking signal for Google.

When other sites are talking about your company, products, or services, it’s a sign of trust and authority that search engines take note of.

Here are some tips to help you monitor your brand mentions.

• Monitor brand mentions regularly across forums, social profiles, and articles using tools like Google Alerts. This allows you to find opportunities quickly.
• Thank users who positively mention your brand and engage with them. Respond to questions and continue the discussion. These advocates become potential links and new customers.
• Reach out to sites with unlinked brand mentions and suggest doing a related post together. You can offer valuable content that they can then publish with a link back to your site.
• Use brand mentions in social profiles and comments as a natural way to build backlinks over time. Interact regularly so people start mentioning your brand organically.

6. Dedicate a Corner of Your Website for Industry Resources 

Creating a dedicated resources page or hub is a great way to position yourself as an expert and build natural backlinks over time.

The goal is to curate definitive guides, research reports, case studies, data visualizations, and infographics—anything that provides genuine value to your audience and others in the industry. As a single source of all this important information, it’s likely to get a lot of backlinks naturally. 

Some strategies for stocking your resources page include;

• Conduct surveys to identify a gap in the information people need. Build your resources based on those needs. 
• Aggregate the best third-party content on a topic. If you link to other reputable resources, they may link to you too. 
• Compile statistics and news stories into roundups to offer unique value. 
• Publish long-form evergreen content pieces regularly that actually help the readers. The trust you build in your content will go a long way. 

How to approach it:  To enhance readability and shareability, the content should always be extensively formatted with headings, bold text, images, etc. Promote new additions on social media and relevant industry forums.

Over months and years, your resources hub can snowball as other websites and publications discover valuable material to cite and embed.

7. Use Infographics

Visual content is a proven way to build effective links and capture the audience’s attention. 

Infographics, in particular, can be a great way to break up text-heavy pages and help your content stand out from competitors. By leveraging graphs, charts, illustrations, and other visual elements to tell a story or convey information in a digestible format — infographics make complex topics easier to understand at a glance. Unique infographics can naturally attract backlinks. 

How to approach it: Create infographics that are not just visually appealing but packed with valuable & shareable content. Thoroughly research your topic to include only the most relevant and interesting facts, insights, and data in a clear, scannable layout.

Give readers a useful takeaway they’ll want to share with others in their network. To extend the shelf life of each piece of content, consider developing a series of infographics on related topics.

8. Strategic Broken Link Building 

While chasing down every dead link on the web may seem daunting, targeting the correct broken links can pay off handsomely in meaningful backlinks. 

Broken link building involves identifying pages with outdated or missing information and proactively contacting web admins with helpful replacement content.

How to approach it: An excellent place to start is to search for standard query terms in your industry paired with keywords like “broken link” or “page not found.” Analyze the authority and relevance of the linking pages, then browse the Wayback machine for cached versions or do keyword research to craft a thoughtful replacement. Reach out and politely offer high-quality, updated content as an ideal substitute, with a backlink included.

This diplomatic outreach shows web admins you’ve done the homework that will also help visitors who encounter dead ends. With time, you can generate valuable links from broken pages on notable industry sites and directories. Focus on sites with relevant authority rather than casting too broad of a net. 

Broken link building is a long-game strategy but can deliver real results strategically.

Conclusion

While link-building trends come and go, the strategies we covered remain evergreen for acquiring links. Focusing on quality over quantity and ensuring your content provides real value to readers will make your links more trustworthy and carry more weight with search engines over time. 

If expanding your natural, evergreen links is a priority in 2024, let the SEO experts at Unframed Digital help develop your strategy. As a full-service digital marketing agency, we can audit your existing link profile, identify gaps and opportunities, and create a customized long-form content plan to strategically build relevant, high-quality links for years to come.

Contact us today to learn how our comprehensive approach to SEO can boost your organic search rankings and visibility.