How to get Do Follow Backlinks - Actionable Tips and Examples

First, let’s take a closer look at what we mean by “dofollow backlinks.”

A backlink is any link from one website to another, but not all backlinks are created equal. Some links include specific attributes like nofollow, ugc (user-generated content), or sponsored, which tell search engines not to count them toward the linked site’s ranking.

In contrast, a dofollow backlink doesn’t have these attributes, allowing search engines to crawl and count the link as a signal of your site’s credibility and authority.

In plain terms: if a website links to yours with a dofollow backlink, it’s like an open recommendation visible to search engines. This, in turn, can improve your search rankings over time.

Studies have consistently demonstrated a strong correlation between high-quality dofollow backlinks and improved search engine rankings.

For instance, a comprehensive analysis by Backlinko, which examined 11.8 million Google search results, found that pages with a higher number of referring domains tend to rank better on the SERPs.

Specifically, the study revealed that the #1 result on Google has 3.8 times more backlinks than positions #2 to #10. This underscores the significant impact that backlinks from unique domains can have on a page's search visibility.

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Why dofollow backlinks matter?

Search engines consider both the quantity and quality of your backlinks when assessing your relevance for keyword rankings. High-quality dofollow backlinks act as endorsements, increasing the likelihood of your site ranking higher in searches.

In fact, backlinks remain one of Google's most powerful ranking factors, as confirmed by Google's Andrey Lipattsev in 2016. And there's no indication that this has changed in recent years.

Links from reputable and authoritative websites in your industry can greatly enhance your website’s credibility. For example, being linked by an industry giant or respected publication establishes trust—not just with algorithms, but also with your audience. This has been demonstrated repeatedly by numerous link-building case studies.

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doFollow vs noFollow

I know, I know… you’re focused on getting dofollow backlinks—but have you thought about incorporating nofollow backlinks into your strategy as well?

When we create a new website, one of the first steps we take is setting up social media profiles and adding our website link to the bio or description. We also repost blog articles on platforms like LinkedIn and Pinterest driving some traffic but also generating nofollow backlinks.

Why bother with nofollow links?

While Google officially states that it doesn’t fully “count” nofollow links the same way as dofollow links, they’ve clarified that they treat the "nofollow" tag as a hint rather than a strict rule. This means nofollow links can still play a role in how your site is evaluated. There’s some ambiguity around their exact impact, but they aren’t outright ignored.

In fact a study by Authorityhaker as shown that 90% of link builders agree that nofollow links can contribute to your rankings, and often recommend having nofollow backlinks as part of your strategy to create a more natural and diversified backlink profile.

So, while you focus on building those valuable dofollow backlinks, don’t overlook nofollow links. They’re often easy to obtain, low-hanging fruit, and can still offer tangible benefits for your site’s overall performance.

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Proven Techniques to Earn Dofollow Backlinks

Before we delve into some dofollow backlink building techniques, there's something you need to consider. We won't sugarcoat it: link building can be labor-intensive and may require a significant budget or a a dedicated team.

If you're a small business or a solopreneur, many traditional link building techniques may not be practical for you.

If that's the case, you should probably focus on more efficient techniques that won't break the bank. We recommend reading this article on efficient link building techniques that we have found effective.

If you are confident that you have the time and resources for more traditional link building techniques, keep on reading.

1. Create High-Quality Content - Organic backlinks

You've probably heard it said over and over that the best way to earn backlinks is by creating valuable content. Even Google champions this approach as the only legitimate strategy for earning backlinks.

Yet, not every type of content has the potential to attract links—simple guides, listicles, and general opinion pieces don't work anymore. Anyone can create these sorts of resources themselves.

So, what type of content actually attracts backlinks? The hard truth is... it's the kind that’s labor-intensive and takes real effort to create.

And even with high-quality, linkable assets, you can’t just publish and cross your fingers. The chances of your content ranking at the top of search results and earning backlinks organically are pretty slim. You need to treat your linkable asset like a product and market it as if you’re selling it but instead of earning money, you’ll be earning backlinks.

Crafting the Right Kind of Linkable content

Successful linkable assets often include original research, comprehensive guides, and resources that provide substantial value or insight beyond the commonplace.

Ahrefs highlights that research and data-driven pieces tend to attract links prolifically, especially within niche markets where unique insights are highly prized. They've mentioned that four of the five most linked-to pages on their blog are studies.

Compreensive courses are another popular type of linkable content. Semrush leveraged its extensive database to create in-depth courses that offer genuine value, turning them into a magnet for backlinks. Similarly, Moz’s "Beginner's Guide to SEO" has continued to garner links years after its publication due to its evergreen, authoritative content.

But creating great content is just part of the equation. Promoting your content plays a critical role in the visibility and success of your linkable assets.

For example, Ahrefs runs Facebook Ads to promote their linkable assets and earn backlinks. This targeted strategy ensures their content reaches an audience that’s most likely to engage with it, share it, and link back to it.

2. Guest Blogging

According to Authorityhacker, guest posting is the most common link-building technique used by link builders.

If you have the budget, it is certainly worth considering.

What's great about guest posting is that it allows you to delve deeper into a subject that is relevant to both your backlink and the host site. And this is an opportunity to secure a contextually relevant backlink, with a strategic anchor text.

However, the challenge lies in the outreach process.

We once ran a guest post hunting campaign, reaching out to dozens of websites in our niche for guest post exchanges. Using Apollo.io for outreach, we achieved a success rate of around 2-3%, meaning we secured 2-3 guest posts for every 100 websites contacted.

A typical message template would be:

Hi [Recipient’s Name],

My name is [Your Name], and I’m [Your Position] at [Your Website/Company Name].

I’m reaching out to explore a potential guest post collaboration with you. I’d love to contribute a high-quality, original article tailored to your audience. Some potential topics I had in mind include:

[Topic Idea 1]

[Topic Idea 2]

[Topic Idea 3]

Please let me know if this is something you’d be interested in or if you have any specific guidelines for guest contributions. I’d be happy to provide writing samples or discuss further.

Looking forward to your thoughts!

Best regards,

[Your Full Name]

[Your Contact Information]

While we opted for guest post exchanges, which do not involve payment to the host site, the average cost for paid guest posts is typically around $220 per post​.

Alternatively, instead of manual outreach, you could explore guest post marketplaces like Collaborator. They often offer affordable prices, though the websites may not always be as relevant to your niche.

Creating a high-quality guest post also demands significant time and effort—typically around 3-5 hours per post, not including possible revisions. This can make the endeavor quite costly, but it remains a valuable strategy if you can secure guest spots on high-value, niche-relevant websites.

3. Broken Link Building

Broken link building is a strategic SEO technique that focuses on finding links that no longer work (leading to a 404 error) on other websites and offering a functional link from your own content as a replacement.

The first step in broken link building is to identify broken links on websites relevant to your niche and repectable DR, and the easiest method to find these links is to use a tool such as ahrefs broken link finder.

This tool is excellent because it identifies both inbound and outbound broken links. This means it can detect links on the website you're examining that point to external pages which no longer exist, as well as broken links on external pages that lead back to non-existent pages on the website you're analyzing.

When you're searching for websites in your niche, identifying both inbound and outbound broken links can uncover valuable opportunities for link replacements.

These broken links often reference content that overlaps with your own, providing a chance to suggest your content as a suitable replacement.

For example, here you can see there's an inbound link from Wikipedia pointing to a broken page in the website we are examining descript.com that could potentially be replaced with your own content.

Once you find a broken link, look at the content it was originally pointing to. You'll need to create content that is a suitable replacement for the missing page.

This should be high-quality, informative, and relevant to the topic that was originally linked providing value to the reader and fit seamlessly into the linking site's existing content structure.

Reaching Out to Webmasters

With your replacement content ready, the next step is outreach. Contact the owner of the website hosting the broken link. Inform them about the broken link and propose your content as an alternative.

Your outreach should be concise and professional and highlight how replacing the broken link with your link will benefit their site’s user experience and offer additional value to their readers.

Here's a simple message template you can copy:

Hi [Recipient's Name],

I was reading through your article, "[Article Title]," and noticed a couple of links that aren't working anymore:

• [URL of the first broken link] (404 error)
• [URL of the second broken link] (seems outdated)

I thought I'd point them out since updating them could enhance the reader experience and boost your SEO.

I’ve written a well researched piece on [Your Topic, e.g., "the latest trends in keyword research"] that might be the perfect replacement for one of those broken links. You can check it out here: [Your Content URL].

Thanks for the fantastic content and considering my article as a replacement for your broken links.

Best,

[Your Name]

4. Buying Backlinks

Now you've probably noticed that building dofollow backlinks involves a lot of time and trial and error. All the methods mention above are low converting and will require literaly hundreds of outreach emails to secure a handful backlinks.

Hopefuly those backlinks will be high quality and will be worthwhile, however if you want to streamline the process and bypass the outreach you can opt to use link building tools like link marketplaces.

These marketplaces connect you with websites where you can purchase backlinks to enhance your site's authority and search rankings.

Lemonet simplifies the process by offering a network of over 9000 publishers. You can filter by domain authority, traffic, and niche relevance, and Lemonet handles everything from content creation to link placement. Pricing starts at $95 per backlink, but most fall between $200 to $400.

Linkbroker also offers a vast network, featuring access to over 50,000 vetted publishers. It uses AI to help find the best backlink opportunities tailored to your needs, with prices starting at $100 per backlink.

Both services provide a way to scale your SEO efforts saving you some time, though the quality and relevance of the backlinks are crucial to ensure they genuinely benefit your SEO strategy.

5. Link Exchanges

Link exchanges or reciprocal linking, is a classic SEO strategy that involves two websites agreeing to link to each other. This method is still relevant today as a way to build connections within your niche, enhance domain authority, and drive targeted traffic to your site.

Reciprocal linking can often be misunderstood, sometimes associated with outdated, spammy practices. Yet, when executed correctly and ethically, reciprocal links can be a powerful tool.

For example, by networking with peers in our industry, we were able to secure high-quality, niche-relevant backlinks with high Domain Ratings, significantly boosting our website's presence on Google.

The key to effective reciprocal linking is to focus on quality over quantity. The beauty of link exchanges is that you can secure some of the best links available because you are partnering with websites that are highly relevant to your niche.

These backlinks provide strong context and convey authority to Google.

This means that just a few high-quality link exchanges can make a significant impact on your SEO while maintaining a balanced share of your overall link-building strategy.

How do you find the right partners?

Many of the link exchanges we secured came from attending conferences and meetups. For instance, we attended the Podcast London Show, Podfest Berlin, and Websummit to engage with others in the podcasting industry and explore partnership opportunities in person.

The truth is, when you connect with someone face-to-face, the conversion rates for partnerships are much better than with digital outreach.

If you are managing the process online, there are still a few tricks you can use to optimize this process. For instance, you can use the Niche Site Finder to search for websites in your niche and filter them by Domain Rating (DR).

This approach will generate a list of websites that are relevant to yours and share a similar Domain Rating (DR), identifying them as potential candidates for link exchanges.

However, it's still advisable to further investigate these websites' traffic and the keywords they are ranking for using tools like Spyfu.

This step is important to ensure that the website is legitimate and holds genuine authority in your niche.

Ideally, a high-quality website should be ranking for keywords that align closely with your own content themes and niche, confirming their relevance and authority. This is actually a step you should consider for any backlink opportunity, including when buying backlinks.

Then comes the outreach.

We've observed a conversion rate of 3%, which means you'd typically need to send around 30 outreach messages to secure a valuable link exchange. Start by gathering contact details from relevant websites and propose a straightforward link exchange or guest post swap.

To further streamline this process, you might consider using a service like Rankchase.

This platform automatically matches you with relevant websites in your industry that have a comparable Domain Rating (DR), facilitating meaningful link exchanges.

The way it works is simple:

Here’s how it works:

• Submit Your Domain: Simply enter your website details.
• Analyze Niche, DR, and Spam Score: RankChase evaluates your site’s niche, Domain Rating (DR), and Spam Score to ensure compatibility.
• Match with Relevant Websites: It then connects you with other legitimate and relevant websites in your industry that are open to collaborating on link building, content exchanges, and cross-promotion.

While reciprocal linking can be an effective part of your overall SEO strategy, it should be handled with care to avoid potential pitfalls.

Focus on building genuine relationships with relevant, high-quality sites, and always prioritize the value these links bring to your users.

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In conclusion

If there’s one thing every link builder knows, it’s that building dofollow backlinks takes time, effort, and a lot of trial and error.

Whether it’s crafting high-value content, sending out guest post pitches, or finding the perfect link exchange partners, nothing about this process is fast or easy. But when done right, it can completely transform your site’s authority and visibility.

The strategies we’ve covered—creating linkable assets, guest posting, broken link building, buying backlinks—are all tools in the link builder’s toolbox.

Each has its own challenges, and not every approach will work for every site. For example, guest posting can be tough, especially with outreach conversion rates hovering around 2-3%. But if you land a spot on a niche-relevant, high-DR site, the payoff is worth the hustle.

And let’s not forget link exchanges. Some of the best links We’ve ever secured came from conversations at meetups and industry events. When you connect with someone face-to-face, the chances of collaboration skyrocket. Of course, if you’re working online, tools like Rankchase can make finding relevant partners and managing outreach so much easier.

For those who want to bypass the heavy lifting, platforms like Lemonet and Linkbroker are a good option. They let you buy high-quality backlinks without spending weeks on outreach. Just make sure to vet the sites carefully to ensure they’re legitimate and relevant to your niche.

No matter which strategy you lean on, consistency is key. Keep testing, keep reaching out, and keep refining your approach. With enough persistence, the results will come.