Billions of websites are continuously battling against each other just to get ranked on Google.

But, only a handful of them have made it there!

WHY?

Because Google prefers those with quality backlinks—contextual links, to be more specific.

When executed the right way, contextual backlinks are extremely valuable to make your site rank at the top of the SERPs. 

Hello everyone!

Welcome to today’s blog, where you will be learning about:

✔️What is contextual link-building?

✔️Benefits of contextual links

✔️The importance of contextual backlinks for SEO

✔️How to find the best link-building opportunities

✔️Best contextual link-building practices

✔️Strategies to implement

✔️Common link-building mistakes to avoid

✔️The future of contextual link building

So, without any further delay, let’s get deeper into the concept of contextual link-building. 

What Are Contextual Links?

Contextual links are the visible hyperlinks within your web page content that are contextually related to the surrounding texts. These types of ‘editorial backlinks’ are considered highly valuable for the SEO health of your website. 

🔹Integrated seamlessly into your content

🔹Highly relevant to the content topic

🔹Provides users with real value

🔹Signals your site’s credibility & reliability to Google

Not only do the readers get an idea of the content beforehand that is just a click away, but also the search engine considers the links powerful indicators of your website’s authority and relevance.

Now, the question is: what sets contextual backlinks apart from other types of non-contextual links?

Non-contextual backlinks are generally located outside of the main webpage content and lack topical relevance.

Here is a table that highlights the real differences between contextual and non-contextual backlinks. 

Since contextual links are topically relevant to the main content of your blogs & articles, the link placement seems natural, and the readers also get curious to know what’s ahead of the link.

However, non-contextual links often sound promotional because the linked content or webpage is not topically relevant to the main context. 

To make it simple for you, here is an example of a contextual and non-contextual link.

The hyperlink that you can find in the above content is a good example of a contextual backlink because here we talk about the benefits of high-authority backlinks, and the page linked with this content takes you to one of our service pages—High-authority link-building services.

Chances are higher that the users looking for the benefits of high-authority link-building might be interested in acquiring a few for their own sites. So, letting them know about a reliable service expert is definitely a good idea!

The links visible in the footer section of our webpage (highlighted with green lines) are good examples of non-contextual links, because their contexts are not directly linked with the main content of the webpage. 

Types of Contextual Links

Contextual links can be categorized into different types based on the two criteria mentioned below. 

Based on The Pattern/Source

External Links

When you add a link in your webpage content that takes you to an external resource, it is considered an external link. 

Internal Links

It suggests the process of linking the internal webpages on your own website. 

Inbound Links

These are backlinks from other external resources to your own website.

Based on The Source

Now, contextual links are categorized into three different sections based on the strategies used for link acquisition.

Natural Links

These are organically acquired links when an external website naturally links to your webpage content.

Link Insertion

When you ask a website owner to add a link back to your site in an existing external webpage content, these are called link insertions. 

Collaborative Linking

When you and one of your industry partners link to each other’s web content, this is called collaborative linking.

Benefits of Contextual Links

Why Contextual Link Building Matters for SEO

Contextual link-building is important for SEO because it not only improves your search engine rankings but also builds trust and authority with it and the local audience. The contextual backlinks enhance reader experience by providing them with relevant links within a specific content, resulting in higher click-through rates and user engagement. 

👉Boosts domain authority

👉Improved Page Authority

👉Better User Experience

👉Drives relevant traffic

👉Increased brand awareness

👉Builds brand credibility

👉Long-term ranking improvements

The search engine always prefers contextual links within the content that seem natural and relevant to the main content. So, acquiring contextual links contributes to a healthy backlink profile.

Time for The Best Practices!

Do you know the golden rule of contextual link-building?

It’s prioritizing quality over quantity…

Natural link placement or acquisition is only beneficial when it is of high quality that signals trust and authority to the search engine. So, it is always a good idea to diversify the link sources by targeting multiple high-authority websites.  

✔️Acquire links from relevant sites only for enhanced user experience & targeted inbound traffic.

✔️Target high-quality resources for link acquisition to boost site credibility & higher conversion rates. 

Contextual links acquired from relevant and high-authority sources provide your website with more ‘link equity’ that signals Google that your site is a trustworthy and valuable information resource for your target users. 

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Contextual Link Building

When it comes to contextual link building, website owners often make deadly mistakes that cost them severe search engine penalties. Avoiding these will help you acquire relevant backlinks from authoritative resources more easily.

✔️over-Optimized Anchor Text

Using exact match keywords as anchor texts might signal manipulation on your part, triggering penalties. 

Anchor texts are clickable texts within a content with a hyperlink providing you with the context of the linked page’s content.

Here are some tips to diversify your anchor text selection:

🔷Branded anchor texts

🔷Partial match texts

🔷Naked anchor texts

🔷An image with descriptive alt text

🔷Generic anchor texts

🔷Long-tail keywords

As you can see, the anchor texts sound repetitive and are not much clickable. Instead, try to add links to partial match anchor texts such as “high-authority link-building” or branded anchor texts such as “FastLinky’s managed link building services”, etc., to increase click-through rates. 

✔️buying Spammy Contextual Links

Backlinks from spammy resources lead to search engine penalties, such as poor rankings on the SERPs and a de-indexed website. Since Google algorithms detect manipulative link-building schemes and identify links acquired from low-quality websites,  try to acquire backlinks from quality resources.

✔️Ignoring Link Diversity

Acquiring multiple links from the same resources seems unnatural to the search engine. Not only does it negatively impact your site’s authority score, but it also triggers search engine penalties that limit your site’s organic growth.   

Best Strategies for Contextual Link Building

Link-building is all about building and maintaining genuine industry relationships. 

The stronger your industry network is, the better the chances are of acquiring contextual backlinks for your site. 

Here are some of the proven techniques to start building backlinks.

Guest Posting On Niche Sites

The process is quite simple. 

You only write quality articles (on a relevant topic, of course) and get them published on other popular websites. 

✔️Passes strong ‘link authority” to your site

✔️Boosts credibility and authority

✔️Drives more qualified traffic

✔️ Improves your site’s online visibility

Now comes the question!

How to guest post your articles?

Though the strategy sounds simple, the real struggle is to identify the right platforms and to make the site owners agree to your guest post proposal. 

So, the crucial steps involve:

👉Identifying niche websites with high Domain Authority

👉Reaching out to the site owners with a value-added pitch 

👉Crafting high-quality content for the users

If your content is valuable to the users, the industry owners will link back to it, earning your webpage premium backlinks.

However, make sure that you target relevant websites, incorporate natural anchor texts, and adhere strictly to the target websites’ editorial guidelines to avoid rejection and acquire contextual backlinks that add real value to your site. 

Interviews/Podcasts

This strategy works best when you want to establish yourself as an authority in your industry. The process involves finding relevant podcasts, pitching to the hosts, and securing an interview. 

✔️Helps you build natural backlinks

✔️Signals your niche authority to Google

✔️Boosts brand awareness

✔️Drives increased referral traffic

Sounds good, right?

Now let’s discuss how you can actually implement this link-building strategy.

👉Find Relevant Podcasts 

👉Identify podcasts with high DA

👉Reach out to the hosts via email

👉Highlight your niche expertise

👉Suggest a topic & discuss it in detail

👉Feature it on your website

👉Make sure that the host links back to your site

Search on Google or look into podcast directories to identify podcasts in your industry. Some of the global podcast resources include:CastboxPodcast Addict Podchaser

You can also repurpose the content into blogs, social media posts, or videos for improved online visibility and enhanced brand reach. 

Content Collaborations & Expert Roundups

This is more of a collaborative approach.

Building contextual backlinks with this strategy is relatively easier if you know how to provide your users with real value through collaboration. 

✔️Helps you in natural backlink acquisition

✔️Expands your brand’s online reach

✔️Faster content creation through crowdsourcing

Want to know how to collaborate with other industry owners?

Here are the steps to follow:

👉Choose a specific topic (mostly the audience queries)

👉Identify relevant industry experts and influencers

👉Define the collaboration topic or roundup theme

👉Reach out to industry experts with a personalized invitation

👉Collect expert insights, quotes, or thought contributions

👉Create high-quality, valuable content around the insights

👉Publish and optimize your content for SEO

👉Notify and share the live content with all the contributors

👉Encourage them to share and link back to your content

The key to success with this link-building strategy is to build a stronger industry network and collaborate with the experts for future opportunities. 

Resource Page Link Building

This link-building strategy is particularly effective in contextual link-building.

Since it involves targeting only the most valuable resource pages in your industry, it helps you in faster, effective, and contextual link-building. 

✔️Boosts site authority

✔️Increases organic traffic

✔️Offers real value to users

The best part is that the backlinks you acquire do not seem unnatural!

Instead, they help your user get access to other valuable resources as well.

Here is the process of implementing this strategy:

STEP 1: Start by identifying relevant industry resources

Wondering how?

👉Simply type [your industry niche+useful resources] on Google

👉Or you can also type [your key topic+helpful resources] on the search engine

This will provide you with relevant resources online that are worth targeting. 

STEP 2: Create useful content for your users

STEP 3: Draft a personalized pitch explaining why your content is a valuable addition to the existing resource list

STEP 4: Reach out to the resource page owners via email

If your content is good enough and linkworthy, resource page owners will link back to it. Also, you can offer your suggestions to improve the resource page for the benefit of the audience. 

Manual Outreach

This approach focuses on contextual backlink acquisition by fostering long-term industry partnerships. This is different from automated outreach because the strategy helps you reach out to the industry influencers manually, which drastically reduces the risks of algorithmic penalties. 

✔️Strengthen industry relationship

✔️Ethical practice that signals authority to Google

Here is the process for an effective outreach:

👉Identify the top-ranking articles in your niche

👉Find the contact details of the site’s owner/editor

👉Explain why your content is a good fit (for guest posting/link insertion)

👉Add a personal touch to your pitch

👉Suggest the specific pages/sections suitable for link placements

👉Follow up if you do not get a response (within a week or two)

However, make sure that your outreach efforts do not sound aggressive or intrusive. Also, it is important that you add value to the influencers first in order to strengthen your industry network, foster collaboration, and secure future link-building opportunities. 

Broken Link Building With Contextual Replacements

This link-building strategy involves finding out the broken links on external websites and replacing them with backlinks to your high-quality, relevant content. 

✔️Find broken links

✔️Create replacement content

✔️Reach out to the target sites’ owners

✔️ Personalize your outreach email

✔️Explain why your content is a good fit

✔️Follow up (if necessary)

Let’s be honest here!

Users love to visit relevant websites (especially if they offer real value).

However, a broken link in the content not only interrupts their user journeys but also leads to poor search engine rankings.

Do not forget to monitor the backlink performance and track your site’s metrics after link acquisition.

Replacing the lost links with relevant backlinks to your valuable content will provide the users with valuable information and boost the authority and credibility of your site. Simply target the most relevant websites in your niche, and you are good to go!

Skyscraper Technique 

This is probably the easiest strategy to build contextual backlinks. 

All you need to do is craft content on a niche-relevant topic that is better than the top-ranking ones.

And that’s it.

Influencers and site owners will reach out to you to link back to your content. 

There are 3 simple steps to implement this strategy:

✔️Find link-worthy content (look for the top-ranking content)

✔️Craft better content

✔️Promote it on different media platforms 

Now, let’s discuss some crucial tips that can help you create the best content ever!

However, make sure that you reach out to the industry leaders and website owners personally to build a relationship with them and explain what makes you an industry expert. Do not forget to highlight the user value of your content.

Find Quality Contextual Link Opportunities Easily

Identifying the best link-building opportunities is crucial if you want the best backlinks for your website. Here are two simple ways to find the best opportunities. 

☑️Competitor Backlink Analysis

👉The best way to identify link-building opportunities is to:

👉Perform a quick scan of your competitors’ content

👉Look for the specific keywords that their content is ranking for

👉Keep an eye on the list of websites linking to your competitors’ content

👉Find the domains that link to your competitors, but not to your content 

Simply analyze the content relevance, Domain Authority, and the context of the already-posted content on the target websites. Prepare the best outreach pitches that highlight the real value of your content and secure the best link-building opportunities. 

☑️Using SEO Tools 

In order to beat the digital market, your site needs to get a significant competitive edge. Only the best backlinks can make your site outrank your business rivals. 

But for that, you need to discover new link-building opportunities.

👉Use Ahrefs to analyze the target website’s performance on Google

👉SEMRush helps you get in-depth insights into keywords, content marketing, etc.

👉Moz lets you analyze the search engine visibility of your target website

Start off by finding the relevant content in your niche. Check out the top-ranking content, blogs, and articles, and look for online directories, platforms, or websites with high Domain Authority/Rating. 

Contextual Links vs Other Types of Links

Did you know?

There are other sorts of links as well that differ from the contextual ones based on their placements, user values, and acquisition techniques.

Here is a table showcasing other types of links right here:

Contextual backlinks are always better than other sorts of links. 

✔️They are contextually relevant

✔️Placement seems natural to the search engine

✔️Boosts trust, niche authority, & credibility of your site

✔️Provides value to the readers

✔️Improves your site’s Google rankings

✔️Drives increased qualified traffic

The best part of contextual backlinks is that they outperform all the other types of links, specifically due to their high-quality, content relevance, and user value.  

Measuring the Success of Contextual Link Building

So…

You are all set to acquire the best backlinks. 

But how to know that the links you acquire will help your site grow?

Of course, you need to track your site’s search engine performance to evaluate the quality of the backlinks acquired. 

Here are a few tracking metrics to evaluate the link quality:

👉Referral traffic

👉Keyword rankings

👉Boost in DA

👉Conversion rates

👉Online site visibility

👉Online brand mentions

👉Business ROI

👉Increased DR

All the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) mentioned above help you to align your link-building strategies with the exact goals you want to achieve. 

What Does The Future Hold?

With the rapid changes in Google trends, search queries, and results, the art of link-building is also getting reshaped.

With the advent of AI, Google queries are becoming more accurate and detail-oriented. That is why the search engine focuses more on understanding the user intent and context beyond the keywords.

Contextual link-building is important these days because the links to your content must be relevant and meaningful, so that they support the context of the linked content naturally, instead of just being a mere replica of the target anchor texts. 

Link-building in this way helps you not only in making your content rank but also strengthens the Google trust signals. That is why earning backlinks from topic-relevant sources results in more effective outcomes than simply targeting random resources online. 

Contextual link-building, when done ethically, helps in long-term relationship-based outreach and ensures better link-building opportunities through content collaboration, digital PR, and roundups, meant for sustained SEO growth of your website and inbound traffic. 

How FastLinky Helps You in Contextual Link-Building?

Making your website rank higher on the search engine is our key responsibility. The best contextual link building service​ signals trust, relevance, and authority of your site to the search engine, which drives real inbound traffic and enhances user experience. 

We know the best strategy to identify the most relevant link-building resources and place them within the content in a way that signals the authority of the linked page. This way, we help you boost the search engine rankings of your site and provide it with long-term SEO benefits. 

Our expert team not only targets relevant resources for link-building but also prioritizes the link quality instead of quantity to ensure effectiveness. We handle the outreach campaigns entirely so that you can focus on your core businesses. 

Also, Fastlinky promote your content strategically, manage the entire link-building project, focus on developing a reliable industry network, and ensure the best link placements. This way, we help your users find relevant information, engage them, and signal the search engine that your site is an authentic resource. 

With transparent reporting, on-time updates, and increased referral traffic, our contextual link-building process generates more qualified leads for your website and converts them. 

Frequently Asked Questions