Despite what sensationalized headlines want you to believe, link building continues to hold ground as an effective SEO strategy.

After all, it fits perfectly in the E-A-T model being pushed by major search engines like Google.

The only fine print is that you need to aim for high-quality backlinks to make it work. High authority backlinks act as the vote of confidence that your website is useful, valuable, and credible – traits that will help your website climb its way up the SERP ladder.

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As someone who has spent a chunk of his time learning and perfecting the art of link building, allow me to walk you through the process of earning high authority backlinks.

What is a High Authority Backlink?

As a link-building expert, if I were to summarize all my learnings and experiences in limited sentences, it would be this – Not all links are created equally. Some links carry more weight than others.

Here’s where the concept of high authority backlinks steps into the picture.

As the name suggests, high authority backlinks are inbound links from external high authority websites.

Typically, websites having a domain authority or DA (for the Moz fans) or domain rating or DR (for the Ahrefs fans) scores exceeding 70 would count as a credible source of a high authority backlink. 

However, that’s just a generalized rule of thumb used as a standard and can change from business to business. Niche sectors may consider a DA score of 55 as high, while even 80 may not cut it for the mainstream ones.

On the other hand, some industries may venture beyond DA/DR while computing authority and can factor in metrics like Industry Niche, Traffic Fluctuations, Whether or Not into “Link Farming”, Citation Flow, Trust Flow, etc., to establish website authority.

Why Should You Aim to Get High Authority Backlinks?

To understand why high domain authority backlinks matter, let’s take an example from our everyday lives. Say someone you have never met before recommends a product to you or makes a claim. You may grant them an audience but will accept what they say with a grain of salt.

On the other hand, if a trusted friend or family member were to make the same statement or validate the one being made by the stranger, you would be far more receptive and trusting!

The same principle applies to search engines. 

With this background, here’s a quick overview of the importance of high authority backlinks.

• They instill trust: High-domain authority websites have already established themselves as credible sources by earning a proportionately high DA, or DR. Their standing acts as a trusted currency that transfers to other websites through authority links.
• They improve ranking on SERPs: High DA backlinks feature as one of the many factors that come to play while determining the search engine ranking of a website. Do note that when it comes to high page rank backlinks, quality trumps quantity.
• They attract referral traffic: Authority links allow websites to capture an unutilized segment of organic traffic – third-party referrals. High DA websites already enjoy a loyal audience base, which can even trickle down to your website.
• They create brand awareness: Whether it is by pushing you up the SERPs or through referral traffic, there is no contesting the fact that links from high domain authority websites get you seen. Moreover, there is a stronger possibility that it will get you noticed by your target audience, which means higher conversions!

9 Underrated Techniques to Build High Authority Backlinks

Now that I’ve made a case for high quality backlinks, it would be a crime to just leave things at it! On that note, here are a few underrated techniques to build high authority backlinks:

1. Participate in Industry-Focused Podcasts

Believe it or not, podcasts are the new guest blogs. That’s not to say that guest blogging is dead. It’s just that they have currently reached a saturation point where you have to truly stand out to get noticed.

On the other hand, podcasts are still in their nascency. Not to forget that starting a podcast hardly requires any specialized equipment; all you need is a blend of quality content and charisma, and you can get talking.

Then, it is all about marketing your podcasts to the right audience.

Moreover, you don’t necessarily have to build your own podcast from scratch. You can collaborate with creators or feature as guests in industry-specific podcasts to get your foot in the door.

Platforms like ChartMogul (DA = 75) often host Open Mics, where you can contribute and earn high authority backlinks in lieu of your content. This episode by Miguel Fernández of Capchase landed them a juicy high quality backlink right in the above-the-fold content!

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2. Join a Link Exchange Community

Link exchange partnerships are not unheard of. These are symbiotic relationships where you give a link, and you get a link. That sounds like a low-effort, win-win situation, right? 

Unfortunately, Google started cracking down on websites and identifying link exchange as a Black Hat SEO strategy. 

As worrying as it sounds, the problem wasn’t the reciprocal backlinks. The issue lay with the misuse of link exchanges. Websites started link farming and building inorganic backlinks with no context. As such, you only have to be smarter with your link exchange program – just like the 43.7% of the top-ranking pages on Google! 

Joining a link exchange community like the one hosted by uSERP is a great way to establish genuine link exchange partnerships. Find websites relevant to your industry and network your way through catchy pitches, and you will be set for a good while.

Here are some outreach templates for you to set up mutual link exchange partnerships:

Template 1:

Template 2:

And don’t just stop at joining link exchange communities and discovering opportunities. In fact, go a step ahead and track those mutual exchanges to measure how well (or poorly) this strategy is working for you.

Here’s an overview of how I keep a tab on the various high quality link building opportunities that I have unlocked using this technique:

3. Become a Broken Link Hunter

Broken links on high domain authority websites are basically open (and free!) opportunities in the wild. Think of all those links that redirect to the dreaded 404 page or to resources that have been taken down by websites (more on that later) – they are all up for grabs.

There’s immense potential in using the broken link strategy, considering that about 66.5% of links to sites have rotted away in just the last decade!

Of course, you don’t have to manually scour through different websites and click on every link.

You get a broken link-checking tool to automate this job. Use it to scan your target website and identify ripe opportunities.

Then, reach out to the site admin and pitch a relevant webpage as a fitting candidate to replace the broken URL. And that’s it; you will win yourself high page rank backlinks.

4. Impress the Press

If you have the skills, the time, and the resources, then a PR outreach campaign can do wonders.

Sure, it will be laborious and, to some extent, even costly, but the returns on it would be multifold as you can earn not one, not two, but several high authority backlinks. They don’t call it the Skyscraper Technique for nothing – it can very much take your website to lofty new heights!

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To achieve desired results, you will need to craft a compelling content asset – a heavily researched blog piece, an actionable case study, a comprehensive survey, a detailed market trend analysis, a controversial take on a hot topic; you name it. The content should drip with value, so much so that other bloggers and editors would like to feature your content.

Once the asset is published and has started to gain some traction, you can write concise but captivating snippets or press releases that you can publish on different websites. Soon enough, you will find several publications citing your work and giving you backlinks to your website.

5. Replicate Competitors’ Backlinking Strategy

Who can be a better teacher than a formidable competitor? 

The fact that they have become a Goliath in their respective industry indicates that they have played their cards right to get to the top. The best part about it is that their backlinking strategy is not shielded in a black box.

In fact, with the right set of tools (Psst! Ahrefs’ Backlink Checker!) you can get a detailed breakdown of the authority links that they use. You can then pitch to the same or similar websites with the hopes of earning a backlink and replicating their success – why reinvent the wheel, right?

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And if you wish to take this hack one step ahead, you can also track the brand mentions of your competition (Once again, Ahrefs to the rescue) on different platforms and intervene to dominate the conversation.

By doing so, you might even stay a step ahead of your competition!

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6. Leverage “HARO Alternatives”

Help A Reporter Out (or HARO) is a platform for journalists to connect with brands or news sources – and vice versa. 

Those writing for reputed publications like NY Times, Washington Post, CNN, etc., take to HARO platform to talk about their work in progress. While doing so, they might use the publicity to reach out to experts, researchers, and other authoritative sources and seek insights or different takes on the topic of interest.

Those interested in contributing to the piece can respond to the HARO emails to get in touch with the author. If a news bite or quote gets featured in the article, the contributor gets a backlink in return.

As such, HARO offers a passive way to gain high domain authority backlinks. 

The unfortunate part is that HARO has become increasingly mainstream.

As such, you can check out HARO alternatives like Terkel, ProfNet, SourceBottle, Muck Rack, etc., which also get the job done. They follow a Q&A model that is similar to HARO, and I have found them to be a treasure trove of opportunities to acquire high authority backlinks.

Let’s take an example of “Terkel”:

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You can check out how I am making the most with this platform by actively participating in domains where I have subject matter expertise:

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Also, industry-specific forums and Q&A websites like Quora, Reddit, etc., can also be a great platform to warm up before you move on to the heavier, more serious stuff.

7. Get Moving With the Moving Man Method

As if the Skyscraper Technique wasn’t enough, SEO Marketer Extraordinaire Brian Dean also formulated the Moving Man Method to help businesses bag high authority backlinks.

Once again, the process is quite intensive, but the pay-off makes it totally worth it.

Start by identifying businesses in your industry that might have rebranded, re-platformed to a different domain, stopped a service, fallen behind on updating their website, taken down published content, merged with a related business, or simply shut down.

Then, use a backlink-checking tool to find all the websites that are still linking to outdated resources. Finally, identify any existing assets or create fresh ones to replace the dead links.

Then you can reach out to the webmasters to highlight the deficiency, along with the suitable solution, and earn high page rank backlinks for your efforts.

For instance, think about the time when SEOMoz took on the new avatar of Moz and went from SEOmoz.org to Moz.com. 

Clearly, those who missed the memo would still be linking to the older website. And when you think of it, a tool for checking broken links will not really identify this error – after all, the SEOmoz.org is still up and working fine even though it does so through redirects. 

Here’s where you swoop in and use the opportunity to earn high authority backlinks.

8. Pitch to Authority Resource Pages

What Yellow Pages were for telephones, Authority Resource Pages are for the internet. As the name indicates, these websites exist solely for the purpose of handing out links to external websites. They are quite literally asking users to add to their list and gain backlinks in return. 

While the strategy is almost effortless, the catch lies in the fact that finding a high authority resource page. For you see, some websites won’t actually name their resource page as a resource page.

The nomenclature would vary from helpful resources to further reading. So, look these up while searching your keywords.

Some may even embed detailed guides and blogs with resources (like the below mentioned one) where relevant assets have the potential to earn high DA backlinks.

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The next part is easy – simply (and politely) ask the administrator of the website for a link to the relevant webpage.

If all goes well, you will have a few more high authority backlinks in your kitty!

9. Send “Feeler” Emails

While some people would prefer to directly woo and serenade high authority website owners, others would like to take things slow. Different people, different strategies, different outcomes. That being said, if you are looking to leverage the latter, then you will have to learn the craft of “feeler” emails.

Feeler emails basically warm up the email recipient before you push for a link. You can share feedback on their content or strike up a casual (but value-focused) conversation to see how receptive they might be to your pitch.

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Once you get a response, then you can work your way into asking for a link. In some cases, such an approach might actually work in your favor rather than coming off as spammy with your cold pitch loaded with links and infographics.

How NOT to Build High Authority Backlinks?

Until now, I have talked about the best practices to earn high domain authority backlinks. And while knowing what to do is crucial, knowing what you shouldn’t do is equally vital to driving results.

On that note, here are a few don’ts of high authority backlink building:

• Nobody wants to get associated with spam – especially when it occurs in high volume. As such, keep reviewing the backlinks to your website. If you notice hoards of sketchy or spammy websites linking to you, contact them and request link removal. Then, use a tool like Google Search Console Disavow to get rid of the spammy links.
• Just like spammy links, link mills are equally detrimental to your website. As mentioned already, link farming is a black hat SEO technique that will only land you in hot waters, so avoid it like the plague.
• Speaking of black hat SEO, never ever, ever should you pay for backlinks – doesn’t matter how desperate you are. It will only be the death of your website.
• Backlinks from unrelated websites are a classic example of “just because you can, doesn’t mean that you should.” Building unrelated backlinks, no matter how high the DA/DR of the website may be, just creates an environment of mistrust. Not to mention that it will confuse search engines.
• Avoid sending a bunch of emails to random authors with unsolicited advice on the content published and request a backlink for editing their work.

In case you fail to understand the importance of strictly avoiding such malpractices, let me share a few examples of the deadly implications of failing to abide by the best practices of backlink building.

Buzzstream emerged as a popular link-building and outreach platform that accepted almost all contributor accounts. However, the articles were set to ‘noindex.’ As a result, even though the content carries do follow links, Google will just skip past them, thereby crushing all your hopes and dreams of getting noticed!

Similarly, SelfGrowth.com was yet another website with a high DA score. But it hosted tons of user-generated content with an inordinate number of outbound links. Google saw through this ploy and simply decided to curtail its visibility. Once again, your efforts would amount to nothing.

In short, when it comes to building high quality backlinks, knowing what to avoid is as crucial as knowing what to do.

Conclusion

Earning high authority backlinks involves walking the fine line between coming off as pushy and putting yourself out there. One wrong move, and your website will plummet down the SERPs rather than climb it.

In that case, it would be best to involve a professional link-building expert to take charge as you reap the benefits of their efforts. Let’s get in touch and chalk out a plan!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the best domain authority backlink?

High domain authority websites that have a DA score greater than or equal to 70 offer the best domain authority backlinks.

Do backlinks increase traffic?

Yes! High authority backlinks increase traffic in two ways. First, they help websites top the SERPs, which helps attract organic traffic from search engines.

Second, backlinks act as a funnel that redirects traffic from external websites.

What is a Tier 1 backlink?

As the name suggests, Tier 1 backlinks are the most powerful and impactful authority links that point directly to your website. They carry the highest weight and authority as they transfer the highest link equity for SEO.

Does domain authority affect SEO?

Although a high DA doesn’t directly affect SEO, it plays a role in your ranking factor and nudges your website in the upward direction.