Keyword optimization is the first thing that comes to mind when people think about SEO. SEO isn’t all about keyword optimization. Link building is another important aspect. We will be discussing link-building case studies and providing strategies for 2022.

According to Social Media, Today quality links are a top ranking factor in the Google algorithm. But, more than 94 percent of online content gets zero links.

Why is link-building important? Google considers links to be authoritative and reliable. It is not enough to just get links. You must instead strive to attract high-quality links that will help you build your credibility.

There are many strategies that you can use to increase your chances of obtaining backlinks. A case study is a great way to learn the importance of each strategy.

Inspirational Link-Building Case Studies with Actionable Strategies for 2022

These are the top link-building case studies that you can learn from.

Case Study #1: David Farkas’s Experimental Adventure

David Farkas decided not to believe the numerous link-building case studies shared by experts and set out instead to measure the effectiveness of linking-building through creating a website in the health niche.

The Beginning

Farkas and the team went on to create 26 pieces of concise and optimized content in six months. No promotion was made or efforts to build links were made. It can be said that the initial six months of the experiment were the “control” environment.

The team waited six more months after the initial six months of content creation to determine if the website would attract traffic solely based on quality content. It didn’t.

Next Step

After one year with very little traffic, the team decided that it was time to start its link-building campaign. The answers to these two questions influenced every decision.

• Why would other websites want a link back to mine?
• What content on my website is worthy of being linked?

This allowed the team to identify which content was most valuable for its target audience. Farkas, a website that specializes in health, decided to use its expertise as a content attraction and educational resource. This allowed for the content to be clear, deep, and thus helpful.

The SEO expert added to the linkable content by running extensive outreach campaigns. The first step was to find authoritative websites and relevant websites that could link to the health-based website.

The Results

The link-building efforts led to a dramatic increase in organic traffic of over 2000%! The website is now ranked on the first page of searches for 2245 keywords. This graph best illustrates the remarkable campaign result.

Learn with Actionable Strategies

Let’s sum it all up: Here are some link-building strategies that you can learn from the case study.

• Create valuable content that can be linked to nature.
• Your niche and specialty are your strengths. You will sound credible if you do what you are best at.
• Outreach is a powerful tool. Do your research, and contact all relevant websites to inquire about linking back.

Case Study #2: Chris Tzitzis’ Link-Building Efforts for a Client Website

Chris Tzitzis was another SEO expert who helped to increase the link-building efforts for a client website that operated in the government/business niche.

The Beginning

Chris started by performing a site audit on the website. This showed surprisingly promising results. For the audit, he used one of the many SEO tools. This revealed that the website had:

• Backlinks that are simple and clean, including links to directories, guest posts, PBNs, and directories.
• Page 6: Main Keyword Ranking
• The majority of backlinks to the website were backlinks to the homepage.

Overall, although the website still had some work to do to be effective, it was on the right path.

Next Step

The budget for link building strategy was about $5,000. The website already had basic links so the SEO team focused on the natural-ness building during the first month to make it more credible.

These content types include guest posts and niche edits. All backlinks to the homepage were again directed. The first month saw positive results. The team decided to keep the same tactic in place to increase the authority and relevance of the homepage over the next three months.

The team also added fewer authoritative links to the mix in the fourth month to diversify the anchor profile, which was at the time primarily based on URL and branded anchors.

The Results

The site was able to rank number 1 for its primary keyword within five months. The site’s organic traffic increased and it reached number 1 in the overall SERP. This site was ranked higher than other top-ranking sites, but it had fewer links.

Learn with Actionable Strategies

These are the top strategies that you can use to drive this case study.

• Be more concerned with quality than quantity when creating backlinks.
• Diversify your links to ensure you cover all bases.
• Every website should aim to link back to its homepage. It increases conversion rates.

Case Study #3: Pat Ahren Prodding a B2B Towards Success

After looking at the different SaaS search agencies, a hosting provider came knocking at Pat Ahren’s door. This brand was having trouble establishing its online presence and uniqueness against GoDaddy and HostGator.

The Beginning

Pat Ahren felt the odds were against him when he worked with a small budget in a competitive industry. He and his team were able to improve the online presence of one of their clients.

The SEO team started by doing competitive research. This revealed a content marketing opportunity on the B2B site. The target audience was large, with over 10,000 people searching for information about DDoS attacks.

This was Ahren’s clue to change the keyword “web hosting” from a generic phrase to “secure web hosting”. It then optimized the website’s content and created premium content. This was the basis for their link acquisition strategies.

Next Step

After optimizing the website’s content, experts started building links to increase the backlink profile for the B2B website.

Guest posting was the main focus of the link-building campaign. To acquire high-quality backlinks, the team managed to control the writers and created valuable content for blogs and authoritative websites.

The team used SEMRush and Ahrefs tools to identify potential topics related to DDoS protection to establish their authority as a secure web host provider. These tools were also useful in identifying other credible articles related to the topic.

A total of 1000 websites from authoritative sources were selected. Each blogger was sent a premium article on DDoS security for B2B websites. The content was encouraged to be linked back by those who praised the site.

The Results

The B2B website received over 43 backlinks by promoting one premium article to more than 1000 bloggers. This was from 15 different websites. This does not include the many social media shares that the content has received.

The premium article now ranks as one of the most popular pages on the site, with more than 700 visitors per month! The average time spent on the site increased to four minutes.

The campaign lasted three months and resulted in an increase of over 55 percent in organic traffic.

Learn with Actionable Strategies

It’s possible to think that this case study isn’t a way to implement any strategy you haven’t already thought of. You should read it again. This case study reveals a very important insight.

This is how you can find your unique positioning, and then modify your link-building efforts to match it. These experts did not target all websites for link building. Instead, they focused on those that dealt only with online security. This ensured that their target audience was the same as that of the guest posting platform.

It also shows how, even if you don’t have the budget to spend on SEO tools, you can still improve your links with one piece of premium content and targeted outreach efforts.