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How To Find A White Hat Link Building Service

By the Rhino Rank team
29th Jan 2024

White hat link building is your go-to link building strategy if you want to avoid Google penalties. Search engines consider high-quality websites with backlinks to your website a trust indication since they demonstrate that other websites appreciate and find your content valuable to their users.

But despite the enormous impact of white hat links on SEO campaigns, many webmasters prefer other link building strategies. 

That’s because it takes time and effort to build organic backlinks. Due to this, some firms prefer black hat SEO tactics despite the adverse effects. 

In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need about white hat methods to help you build solid links that Google highly values and invalidates unnecessary penalties. 

Let’s get started!

Short Summary

  • White hat link building is important for building high-quality links.
  • However, many web admins don’t invest in white hat backlinks because they are time-consuming and hard to achieve, unlike other link building strategies like black and gray hat.
  • White hat link building is a long-term SEO strategy that emphasizes creating valuable content and establishes ethical relationships with high-authority websites. 

What is the White Hat Link Building Strategy?

White hat link building is an SEO strategy that increases your website’s authority and organic search rankings. It entails producing excellent content and contacting other websites to obtain inbound links. 

The white hat backlink process steps are aligned with Google’s webmaster guidelines. On the other hand, black hat backlinks go against search engine guidelines and are interpreted as spammy links and an attempt to manipulate the search engine algorithms. 

White hat link building strategy focuses on long-term SEO goals. It strives to build a brand that competes for fundamental keywords through crafting content that adds value and aligns with search intent.

 

What Makes a Link White Hat?  

Google advises generating links using content that “can naturally earn recognition in the online community.”

The word “naturally” is used in this statement; therefore, in the strictest sense, any form of content marketing intended to obtain links could violate this rule.

However, the majority of people believe that link building requires some outreach.

White hat links are inserted into the content following some thorough editorial review. The link should have value to earn its place there rightfully and shouldn’t be paid for. 

Here are a few examples in action: 

  • When another webmaster finds your content valuable and links to it organically, 
  • When a website owner gets your content outreach email, reads your content and links to it. 
  • When a website owner accepts your guest post pitch and determines that their readership will find it interesting,

The website’s target audience is always the primary consideration when a link is added to content in any of these scenarios.

While in some cases, one website owner reaches out to the other in a request to link to their website, there are no payment arrangements, and the main focus is that the audience will benefit from the link.

Is White Hat Link Building Important?

A solid white hat link building approach is essential if you want success in your SEO campaigns.  Let’s explore some of the reasons why you may need this ethical practice for your long-term SEO campaign. 

Boosts Search Engine Rankings

Earning high-quality and relevant links from credible websites boosts your website’s ranking. Search engines view websites with white hat links as trustworthy, giving better visibility in search results.

These hyperlinks serve as endorsements, indicating the legitimacy of your material. As a result, you earn higher rankings, resulting in additional organic visitors. It also increases the likelihood of drawing potential clients or website owners as visitors.

More Organic Traffic

Getting high-quality backlinks establishes your website as a reliable resource. Your website’s ranks rise as a result of increasing organic search traffic. A website’s search engine rankings for keywords increase the chances of internet users discovering and clicking on your site. 

More referral traffic means more potential customers, leads, and conversions.  

Enhanced Website Authority

White hat backlinks demonstrate the improved credibility and influence a site has earned in search engine rankings and user perception. High Domain Authority (DA) is only achievable by getting high-quality backlinks from high-quality websites. 

White hat link building entails acquiring and growing links organically. It is accomplished through producing insightful and valuable content. This content draws natural links from other high-quality websites. The authority and link juice then passes to your site when you receive backlinks from reputable websites.

Faster Crawling and Indexing  

A search engine has to discover and review your content before indexing it. White hat link building strategy makes it easier for the engines to discover your content, crawl it, and index you on the result pages.

Bots have a higher chance of quickly crawling and indexing your pages when trustworthy websites link to yours. This increased visibility makes it possible for other search engines to comprehend your material, leading to better organic search outcomes.

More Brand Awareness

White hat link building is essential for increasing brand awareness and exposure. Getting backlinks from reliable and pertinent websites gives a brand a better chance of improving its online visibility. 

Users learn more about the company and its services when they stumble upon these links when browsing other authoritative sites. 

This exposure contributes to the brand’s legitimacy, trust, and awareness. It leads to increased brand recognition and potential customer involvement.

Competitive Advantage

This refers to the benefit a website receives over rival websites regarding Search Engine Result Page (SERP) scores and online visibility. This advantage’s establishment depends heavily on using white hat techniques.

A website might surpass its rivals by utilizing white hat link building techniques. It can draw more visitors and get an advantage over rival websites.

Signs of a True White Hat Link Building Service 

While there are a ton of white hat link building services, only a few can be trusted to source you valuable links. 

Luckily, some signs will help you know whether you’re dealing with a genuine white link building service. 

1. Domain Authority (DA)

Search engines rate a website based on its domain authority, which estimates its likelihood of appearing in search results.

Higher ratings indicate a site is more likely to rank, which should therefore increase traffic. These values range from 1-100.

Backlinks are essential for determining domain authority.

Your site is likely to acquire a higher DA score if it has a lot of trustworthy sites linking to it and authoritative backlinks.

2. Anchor Text Selection

Regarding link building, choosing the correct anchor text is crucial.

For the anchor text to appear on SERPs, it should be pertinent to and descriptive of your specialty.

The choice of anchor text can benefit from keyword research.

3. No Spam Links 

Your efforts to build spam links will lead to more issues than you already have.

Ensure the company you hired to develop links isn’t just dumping links all over the internet.

Search engines will pick them up and can do more harm than good to your website.

4. Real-Life Testimonials

Examining a link building agency’s client testimonials is a fantastic way to judge whether a company ranks among the best.

Real-life testimonials highlighting what clients say about dealing with them are a trait you’ll find across the top link building organizations worldwide.

5. A Diversified Team

One individual can send you a few backlinks and a guest post. However, you’ll require a diverse team of professionals to carry out more sophisticated and thorough link building activities.

The finest link building organizations are excellent at devising and carrying out these more extensive, successful link acquisition methods.

They frequently collaborate with a team of diverse professionals with, various professional backgrounds and specialties to accomplish this.

6. An Impressive Client Portfolio

A company’s clientele greatly indicates its operating methods and skill level.

The top link building organizations demonstrate their capacity to produce backlinks by showcasing a portfolio of clients they have previously worked with, just like other businesses with practical expertise would.

Gray Hat vs. Black Hat vs. White Hat Links

Gray, black, and white hat link building concepts explore different methods of building links. The main difference is that the white hat link building strategy closely adheres to the Google webmaster guidelines; the other two aren’t quite as stringent. 

Black hat link building, for instance, employs strategies that are expressly against Google policies.

This might entail using link farms, PBNs (private blog networks), or automatically generated comment links. Most of these black hat link tactics were previously very effective, but that’s no longer the case. As search engines become more adept, it is now possible to identify websites using these black hat links, and they become less valuable.

It is preferable to entirely refrain from using these tactics if you have long-term goals for your company. If you utilize them, your website is seriously at risk of being manually penalized.

Gray hat links sit between the black and white hat link building. In contrast, this link building strategy isn’t necessarily spammy, but it also doesn’t involve stringent activities like those in the white hat SEO techniques.

An example is when you contact another site owner for a guest blogging opportunity, and they agree but demand payment in exchange.

It’s gray hat because, even though you initially used white hat strategies, Google advises against buying links.

Google may struggle to distinguish between gray and white hat SEO tactics.

Gray hat tactics like buying and building links are incredibly prevalent in several businesses. These link building strategies can be helpful if you know what you’re doing and are willing to assume some risk.

White Hat Link Building Techniques 

1. Contribute to Popular Podcasts

Your white hat link building plan should include attending famous podcast shows, elaborating on your services and outlining where listeners can get them online. 

Finding relevant episodes shouldn’t be difficult because there are podcasts in virtually every industry. 

Consider more than just subscribing to podcasts relevant to your field. There might be podcasts centered on your line of work, your demographic, your life events, etc. 

2. Digital PR

PR link building techniques are an excellent strategy to get links from reliable sources on a large scale.

First, produce something newsworthy, then approach bloggers or journalists with story details.

You can quickly produce hundreds of links from reputable publications when done correctly.

When a website realizes that a narrative is doing well on another website, it will be compelled to publish the same story in its version to prevent its audience from looking elsewhere. This helps create a “flywheel effect” where links to your story keep coming in.

Additionally, these links are ethical. They are positioned editorially, and the posting website will only publish the story if it appeals to their readership.

Making a piece of content that is highly linkable is part of the process. An excellent illustration of this tactic in action is a story that was supposed to create a timeline of Donald Trump’s history of tax cheating with distinctive graphics. Over 150 hyperlinks were added to the article, many coming from prestigious websites like Slashdot and Mashable.

The main drawback of digital PR is that it is so challenging to execute.

Coming up with content ideas that will go viral can be labor-intensive. Additionally, for interest to be generated after you have a notion, your execution must be flawless.

Distribution might also be challenging. It will only be simple to persuade people to report your report if you have a massive network of prestigious newspapers.

3. Subscribe to Terkel

Terkel is a perfect platform for getting ethical backlinks, and you should add it to your link building plan.

Many renowned brands and media outlets utilize the Terkel platform to receive opinions, comments, and thought leadership replies to their inquiries.

They gather their favorite comments and turn them into a blog post or article. So, it offers you a good opportunity to have high-traffic backlinks from companies. 

4. Guest Posts 

Writing blogs and articles for websites that accept guest posts is the ideal white-hat link building approach if you’re a content monster.

For guest posting websites, contributors frequently can include links to your website in the content or the author’s bio. 

Finding websites that accept guest posts is easy with the help of Monster Insights. They advise conducting a Google search using pertinent topic keywords and phrases and including “write for us.” 

For example: 

  • Digital marketing + write for us
  • Fashion tips + write for us
  • Commercial opportunities + write for us

Google will then display a list of sites relevant to your sector that allow guest posting. Either submit your written content or apply to be a guest author.

5. Leave Positive Testimonials for Your Favorite Brands  

Businesses are frequently more interested in getting testimonials than in creating them. 

They provide prospective customers with social proof, which explains why. Brands frequently feature them on their home pages, service pages, price pages, customer pages, and other parts of the websites. 

What is frequently missed is the possibility of including a link to the client’s site in those testimonials.

However, recommending a good product or service can lead to a backlink to your website.

Consider companies with solid domain authority if you want this SEO tactic to be worthwhile. According to experts, search engines value hyperlinks from reliable websites more than those with poor rankings.

6. HARO 

HARO (Help a Reporter Out), is one of the best tools for obtaining white hat backlinks from journalist blogs and news websites. 

Famous media houses like Fox News, Chicago Tribune, and The New York Times use HARO to access sources’ expertise.

These popular sites have high domain ratings and massive traffic, giving you an edge over competitors. 

HARO will send you three emails daily: in the morning, midday, and evening after signing up. Each email appears in the same manner.

It includes requests for quotations, suggestions, advice, and articles from various publishers. You can choose which queries to respond to that are highly relevant to your industry and company. 

The media outlet will link to your website if your content is picked up.

7. Utilize Google Search Console

The Google Search Console tool has fantastic SEO features, like the Top Linking Websites report tool. This feature displays a list of websites and pages that backlink to your website, making it a superb tool for white hat link-building campaigns. 

Look through the list to see the different blog articles, videos, and whitepapers, among other information linked to.

This is a sign that they know your brand and value the information you’ve provided. 

Sending an email to the blogger or marketing representative of the blog that contains a link to your website is a fantastic next step.

Send relevant content they may find helpful, and ask if they’d be willing to provide another hyperlink.  

You can also write a guest post for their website, providing them with free material in exchange for more links to your website.

8. Linkable Assets 

Making and publicizing linkable assets might help attract ethical links.

You produce a helpful resource, then send outreach letters to other sites to help you advertise it.

Brian Dean coined the term “Skyscraper technique” to describe this tactic in 2015.

However, its popularity had a downside: it caused site owners to receive many requests from people requesting them to link to poor content.

You need a high-quality asset right now to successfully execute a linkable asset campaign.

Think of producing:

  • Original research or studies. After that, authors can reference your findings in their publications.
  • Free but effective programs or tools that address a real problem
  • Better explainer information compared to other sources currently available

Using an SEO tool to locate your rivals’ most connected pages and produce similar (but superior) content is the quickest approach to determining effective content.

Make a list of sites in your field that you can contact after you’ve finished creating your material.

Finding a website in a related field to your own and using an SEO tool to search websites with related keywords may help you do this.

Remember that some websites may demand a fee for linking to your content when you conduct outreach. However, Google doesn’t consider paid links as white hat links. If you consent, your link building plan will veer toward using gray or perhaps black hat strategies.

Consider consulting SEO professionals or familiarizing yourself with Google’s guidelines when developing a linkable asset.

Your asset will continuously produce organic traffic if you can position it at the forefront of the search results. This means it can still build links naturally even after you cease reaching.

9. Use Statistics in Building Links 

Many writers use statistics when composing blog posts and news stories to support their topic. Many are aware that it can strengthen the case they are making. 

They are correct, too. Readers are 74% more likely to approve of content with statistics than content without it.

Therefore, a fantastic digital PR technique for increasing backlinks is to perform a content survey to produce pertinent statistics for journalists to source. 

For instance, a PR survey company that annually studies Black Friday purchasing predictions and patterns should include:

  • The percentage of consumers that shop online on Black Fridays
  • The percentage of consumers who go shopping in person on Black Friday
  • The average money each shopper spends on Black Friday

Posts backed by such high-quality links are likely to draw many more high-quality backlinks from websites like Moo Send (82 DR), The Drum (89 DR), and CNBC (92 DR).

The survey results can be utilized to create content that generates leads, build a reputation as a thought leader, and boost website traffic, in addition to helping you obtain more backlinks.

10. Discovering Broken Links and Pitching Your Content

Broken backlinks are dead links that are no longer live. Due to the content being moved, deleted, or reorganized over time, they frequently display as a 404 error page.

Broken link building is a search engine optimization strategy that creates backlinks by updating these 404-page links.

Tools like Backlinko, Ahrefs, and SEMRush make it simple to identify where these broken link pages are located. 

Here is an illustration of how using Ahrefs to find broken links might help your website rank higher than rivals.

  1. Visit Site Explorer
  2. Enter the URL of your competitor’s website 
  3. Select the Best by Links report from the list on the left
  4. Modify the HTTP code to add a “404 not found” page filter
  5. Referring domains are sorted from most significant to least important in the report

Next, look through these pages to see if there are any subjects your brand has already written about or would be appropriate for it to write about. 

You can then reach out to the website owner, informing them that their page contains a broken link, and offering up your content as a more relevant alternative to link to. 

Top 5 White Hat Link Building Services and Companies

While link building is crucial, you may not always have the time to work on your backlink profile. 

Here is a list of the top five link building services to assist you in managing your backlinks because of this. 

Let’s start now. 

1. Rhino Rank

Rhino Rank - website homepage

Rhino Rank focuses on establishing long-lasting connections with high-ranking websites to raise your page’s online visibility.

The Rhino Rank strategy strongly emphasizes networking with others in your sector, producing content that people will want to connect to and establishing cooperative relationships with.

The company is committed to doing link building tasks under the client’s identity. As such, Rhino Rank will create tailored backlinks based on their customers’ individual specifications, including the anchor text they want to use and the niche industries they want the backlink to be placed.

In addition to contacting webmasters, Rhino Rank will go above and beyond by ensuring links are naturally integrated with the appropriate anchor text.

Rhino Rank Key Features 

  • Curated links, or link inserts
  • Guest posting services 
  • User-friendly Client dashboard
  • Powerful affiliate programme
  • Clients have full authority over SEO strategies 

Pros 

  • Content-driven approach
  • 100% manual outreach
  • Money-back guarantee
  • Fully customizable link packages
  • Transparent reporting 

Cons 

  • Mostly recognized for these two link building techniques rather than a broad range of tactics.

Pricing

Starting from just $55, they provide the most cost-effective way to start boosting your SEO.

2. FatJoe 

FatJoe - website homepage

Even with linkable content resources on your website, you must create awareness, especially among bloggers, to get backlinks. 

And this is where Fat Joe comes in handy. The company offers some of the best blogger outreach services in the digital marketing world. 

FatJoe has helped over 5,000 companies get high-quality link placement through blogger outreach since it was founded in 2012. 

Key Features 

  • Multilingual outreach
  • Infographic outreach
  • Content syndication
  • Media placements
  • Blogger outreach
  • HARO links
  • Niche edits

Pros 

  • Quality content for guest posts
  • A wide range of link building options
  • On-demand SEO

Cons 

  • No broken link building option
  • Unclear payment terms

Pricing 

FatJoe specializes in obtaining links from websites with domain authority ranging from DA10 to DA50. The prices range between $73 to $392.

3. PosiRank

PosiRank - website homepage

Search Engine Optimization professionals at PosiRank offer various link building strategies to get your website featured in all the right ranking positions. 

The company is result-driven and blends SEO and your business needs to get more traffic and achieve the best campaign results. They offer various link building options, from broken link building to outreach, and you can pick what you prefer.

Key Features

  • Guest posting
  • Supportive links
  • Enterprise link building
  • Consultations to audit site needs
  • Client’s control over link metrics

 Pros

  • Valuable Features
  • Complete toolset
  • Data-driven metrics
  • Good customer support
  • Flexible pricing

Cons

  • Complicated user-interface  

Pricing 

PosiRank’s prices vary with your business’s white hat backlinks needs. Therefore, you will have to schedule a consultation and give an insight into what you want.  

4. The Upper Ranks

The Upper Ranks - website homepage

This platform has made white hat backlinks to leading companies like Silicon Valley and Fortune 500.

They adopt a niche-specific strategy based on the knowledge that a select few high-quality connections have a greater impact than many subpar ones.

Key Features

  • Easy scalability
  • Focus on authoritative links
  • Create high-quality content

Pros

  • Reputability
  • Customized link building strategies 

Cons

  • High cost compared to other link building companies

Pricing

The Upper Ranks offers consultation-based pricing plans to meet the demands of your site.

5. Stellar SEO

Stellar SEO - website homepage

The Stellar SEO platform is famous for its exceptional outreach efforts and customizable link building strategies. 

You get to choose your level of involvement in the link building process. Their services are safe from spammy links and are long-term.

They also strive to strike a balanced backlink profile. And you can also get a pay-per-link option if you need a smaller campaign. 

Key Features

  • Manual outreach
  • White label links
  • Strategy creation
  • Content creation
  • Competitor analysis

Pros

  • Bespoke strategy creation
  • Flexible packages
  • Content-first approach
  • Offer multiple link building plans 

Cons

  • Payment for consultations could delay the process for those eager to launch a campaign.

Pricing

Stellar SEO will develop a price plan tailored to your project, whether a lifetime of link building or just a few.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

What does link building include?

Link building includes a wide range of techniques, including creating engaging content, writing guest posts, using social media, and email outreach. Making your website valuable and trustworthy for users and search engines is everything.

How easy is link building?

Link building can be complex because of its time-consuming nature and the requirement for strategic planning. It calls for endurance, imagination, and a solid grasp of SEO concepts. But it becomes more controllable with a thorough guide and practice.

What is a good link building strategy?

Analyzing your present backlinks, researching your rivals’ backlinks, establishing link development goals, and producing high-quality content are all part of an effective link building plan. Additionally, it also entails reaching out to pertinent sites for guest posting and ensuring the backlinks you obtain are high caliber.