8 Steps for Building High Quality Backlinks on a Small Budget

8 Steps for Building High Quality Backlinks on a Small Budget

July 3, 2025

Step 1
Make Sure Your Blog is Spot On

In my career, I’ve found, by accident at first, that quality wins over quantity every time. I’ve found it incredibly easy to take my clients to the top of the search engines without investing in PPC, in fact, it was so simple, the first couple of times I did it, I even surprised myself.

The secret? Great content and good connections. I see it as Good versus Evil. If you’re essentially honest and genuine in your endeavours, your efforts will be rewarded. If you have no conscience and don’t mind spamming people to get where you want to be, you will reap what you sow eventually.

For those who are overwhelmed with the backlink options on offer, I’ll take you back to the beginning to show a quick step by step guide on how you can build your own backlinks without paying through the nose for someone like me to do it for you.

Before you can pitch to any other website you need to make sure you’ve something to show off your skills and knowledge. When applying for guest spots, some hosts will only consider your application if your own blog is well written.

Other website owners and digital magazines will ask to see previously published work. The remainder will use the article you submit as a measure of your writing ability. If you’re just starting out, consider publishing useful articles on LinkedIn, HubPages, or any other free portal to build up your writer’s portfolio.

Quick Tips for a Blog to Show Off

Here are some very quick tips on what your own blog should demonstrate. See my other post on “How to Write a Blog Your Customers will Adore” for more.

1. You are an authority in your industry, i.e. you know what you’re talking about and your advice would be invaluable to a reader

2. You know how to engage an audience

3. You understand basic formatting

4. You don’t scatter spam links all over the content

5. You use various content such as photographs and text, videos or screenshots

6. You have a good grasp of the English language

7. You can write without waffle

8. You’re likable

Once you have your own blog and a few other articles in the public domain, we’re off!

N.B. If you don’t like writing, you don’t have the time or are simply no good at it (you’ve a business to run after all!) try to hire someone professional. The better the writer, the better your backlink opportunities. Please don’t fall for the scams that are out there, use copyscape and check feedback (along with their own online presence) before you hire!

This car servicing website has some great content on the blog but unfortunately it becomes lost in the design. While they rectify this, they are building a portfolio of content on other sites in order to showcase their abilities to websites that accept guest posts.

Step Two
Find Relevant Guest Spots

Moz has a great tool for finding where competitors have featured to gain their backlinks. You should utilise this to find some relevant guest spots. On top of the MOZ tools it’s also an idea to look for other businesses in your industry.

Of course, you don’t want to approach the competition, so you should look for those accepting guest spots that compliment your business model or reach the same target market as your demographic.

For example:

· If you are a comparison site, look for money saving blogs and finance websites.

· If your target market is mums, look for mummy bloggers and parenting sites.

· If you sell cosmetics, reach out to beauty bloggers or trade guest posts with a hairdresser.

· If you sell food, look for the foodie bloggers and recipe websites (in fact, recipe websites are a great way to gain backlinks alongside good content for any food related business).

The list is endless, I’m sure you understand.

A good way to find sites accepting guest posts is to simply type “ [industry] guest blogs” or “guest bloggers wanted” into the search engines.

There are also a few journalist sites I use that send me alerts when someone is looking for a guest blogger too. You will need a reasonable background in writing to sign up for these. If you’ve followed step one this won’t be a problem.

Step 3
Create a Spread Sheet

Some copywriters and marketers may consider this to be overkill but I actually use a spreadsheet to keep track of all my guest spots. Not only does this enable me to ensure I always deliver relevant content, my clients love it for tracking the backlinks and seeing the upcoming opportunities. Here’s an example of one here:

Like me, you may also want to add a wish list of the coveted blogs you’d love to feature on. I’ve still a few to tick of the list before it’s complete – I’ve given myself until the end of June!

With a list like this, you can see the progress. You can easily follow up leads and you can look back in a month or so to see where you featured, as once they feature you once, they will again!

Step 4
Research the Sites

Now you need to find out what content is popular on the sites you’re approaching. See what their most popular blogs are and come up with ideas that are similar (but not the same of course) for your own pitch. You should always read the sites writing guidelines, as it’s disrespectful not to, and ignorance will result in your post being ignored.

Step 5
Pitch Individually

Some people write a plethora of blogs and send these out to those they hope to feature on. In my experience, I find a query email works best first. Send an email with some relevant ideas on the blogs you’d be able to write for their site and ask for their feedback.

Some sites have detailed guidelines and a list of topics, and so encourage you to send the completed work. In this instance, it’s even more important that you write exclusively for the site and create a post they will be proud to share.

You should also include your biography, and, if you are doing this just to get links to your company’s website, or to a client’s business, be honest! Guest blog sites understand the value of a backlink and they’re much more likely to allow one in a post if you’re upfront about your intentions rather than if you try and slip it in unnoticed. We’re all businesses after all!

Step 6

Make it Original

My life would be so easy if I could write one blog and send it to twenty different sites but my career would soon be over. Make sure you send only original content as to do otherwise is rude and will be frowned upon. You won’t only risk your own reputation you could risk the site’s Google ranking if they publish duplicate content unknowingly. Strangely enough, Huffington Post is one of the only blogs I write for that allow articles from other sources. They won’t allow a promotional backlink though so do be careful! Which leads me to..

Step 7

Make Sure the Blog is Advantageous

The sites we want to guest blog on usually have the upper hand throughout this process but we shouldn’t forget the reason we want to be featured. You need that link, whether it’s in a profile or the body of the post (the latter is better) and so you need to know if the site will accept that. Some won’t even entertain a link of any kind (which is odd as outbound links, placed well, can be beneficial too), while others will have rules, such as, “not above the fold.”

Brand mentions can now count towards your SEO efforts (this is actually debatable) and so if the site won’t accept a link don’t despair. You are still raising your reputation as an authority in your industry and you’re still building a portfolio of sites you’ve written for. On top of this, if the site is popular, you will also be reaching an entire audience you wouldn’t have been able to target if you didn’t feature.

Step 8

Share and Share Alike

Once the post is up it’s time to share. Why? The links on social media will help you in the long run while your host will be more willing to accommodate you if they see you sharing it with your network. Now you’ve begun to build your portfolio it’s time to tackle your wish list, remember, the scattergun approach never works, get personal and spend time getting to know the publication before you pitch. These relationships could last a lifetime and if you’re a marketer or a business, you’ll realise the incredible value in this.

The better your content becomes and the wider reach it has, the less you’ll need to pay PPC Agencies for creating paid ads!

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