When Google was born, it mainly judged a website based on how many other websites had linked to it. They figured companies would only link to information they knew to be accurate.

Today, sites with many links from other sites signal trustworthiness and therefore receive better search placement.

But you’ve already got a full-time job. How can you get backlinks without much effort? 

Here are a few places to start:

Beginner: You’re already donating to 3 little league teams; ask for a backlink: 

Inevitably your company donates to a charity or two, like the local high school fundraiser and a bunch of 5K runs.

Because these charity sites tend to be trustworthy, a backlink tells Google you’re trustworthy too.

Here’s exactly how I ask for a backlink:

“I’m happy to donate to the Rotary Club fundraiser. Would you be able to link my logo from your site to mine? This would be great for my business. I’ve attached a JPG of my logo to this email. The website I’d love you to link to is….”

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Intermediate:  Write compelling content

Often you’ll get backlinks without asking if your content is original and something another writer finds online and needs to reference.

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Advanced: Join HARO

HARO, or “Help A Reporter Out,” is a free email you can receive 3x a day. In it, reporters from all sorts of websites are looking for experts in different fields for quotes and opinions. 

This method isn’t easy, and reporters will not always pick up your quote.

But when they do, 99% of the time, they will link your quote on their website back to your website.

I’ve received tons of backlinks linking my painting website to trustworthy sites like Sherwin Williams, BobVila.com, and Apartment Therapy.

Here’s my exact email template for responding to HARO requests.

But I love to write, and I also love a challenge, so helping reporters is fun for me. You don’t have to go this far if it’s not fun for you.

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