How to Get Backlinks From High Authority Sites? (Step-By-Step Guide)
Learn proven strategies to get high-quality backlinks from authoritative websites. Includes guest posting, HARO, resource pages, and practical outreach templates.
Want to know how to get backlinks from high-authority websites? You're in the right place!
This guide covers the complete process of obtaining high-authority backlinks with practical, step-by-step strategies that actually work.
Obtaining high-quality links is one of the most important aspects of SEO. They help improve your website's ranking and visibility in search engines. So if you want to take your SEO game up a notch, read on!
What Are High-Authority Backlinks?
A high-authority backlink is a link that comes from a website with a high domain authority (DA) or domain rating (DR).
📊 Key Metrics Explained
Domain Authority (DA)
Developed by Moz, ranges from 0-100. Higher scores indicate greater ability to rank.
Check with: MozBar browser extension
Domain Rating (DR)
Developed by Ahrefs, ranges from 0-100. Indicates link equity and link popularity.
Check with: Ahrefs Site Explorer tool
🎯 Real Examples of High-Authority Sites
Getting a high-authority backlink from New York Times would significantly boost your SEO more than 100 links from low-authority websites.
Why Are High-Authority Backlinks Important?
High-authority links act as votes of confidence, telling search engines that your website is high-quality and trustworthy. As a result, you'll see improvement in your website's ranking and visibility.
⚠️ Important: Dofollow vs Nofollow
It's crucial to get dofollow links from high-authority websites. Dofollow links pass link juice to your website and help improve rankings.
How to Check:
- Right-click on any link
- Choose "Inspect"
- Look for rel="nofollow" in HTML
- No rel="nofollow" = Dofollow link ✅
3 Misconceptions About Link Building
❌ Misconception #1: The more links you have, the better
Truth: It's about quality, not quantity. One link from a high-authority website is more valuable than 100 links from low-authority websites.
❌ Misconception #2: Backlinks aren't important
Truth: Backlinks are still a huge ranking factor for Google.
A Moz study analyzing 10,000 high-traffic keywords found backlinks remain one of the most important ranking factors.
❌ Misconception #3: Link building is dead
Truth: Link building has evolved but remains crucial. Google's Search Quality Guidelines state that links are a very important ranking factor.
How to Get High-Authority Backlinks?
Here are three effective ways to get high-authority backlinks, starting with the fundamentals.
📋 Step-by-Step Process
STEP 1: Design a Professional-Looking Website
The first step is often overlooked but crucial. Your website should be well-designed, mobile-friendly, and easy to navigate with high-quality content.
Recommended Themes:
- • GeneratePress
- • Astra
- • Neve
Speed Optimization Plugins:
- • W3 Total Cache
- • WP Rocket
- • LiteSpeed Cache
STEP 2: Publish High-Quality Content
Your content should be relevant to your niche, well-written, and engaging. Create linkable assets that others want to reference.
Best Content Types for Links:
- • How-to guides
- • Tutorials
- • Top 10 lists
- • Product reviews and comparisons
- • Case studies
- • Ultimate guides
Strategy #1: Write Guest Posts
Guest blogging is still the best way to get high-quality backlinks. You write a blog post for another website in your industry and get a link back to your website in return.
🔍 How To Find Guest Blogging Opportunities
Method 1: Competitor Analysis
- Find high-authority websites in your niche
- Add URL to Ahrefs Site Explorer
- Click "Backlinks" → "New/Lost"
- Identify guest post opportunities
Method 2: Google Search Operators
"[Your niche] + write for us"
"[Your niche] + contribute"
"[Your niche] + guest post"
📧 Guest Post Pitch Template
Hey [name],
I'm [your name], and I run [website.com]. On my website, I talk about X, Y, and Z.
I've been following your website for a while now, and I really like it. I especially loved your post about [specific post].
Here's some of my previous work:
• [Your post 1]
• [Your post 2]
• [Your post 3]
I would love to contribute a guest post to your website. Here are a few ideas:
• [Idea 1]
• [Idea 2]
• [Idea 3]
If you're interested, I can send over a few sample articles that I've written.
Thanks,
[Your name]
⚠️ 3 Important Keys for Guest Posting
1. Scale Up Your Link Building
Start with DA/DR 40-50 sites, then gradually pitch to higher authority sites as you build your portfolio.
2. It's Time-Consuming
Link building requires consistency. Send at least 5 outreach emails daily for best results.
3. Expect Low Response Rates
Only a small percentage will reply, and even fewer will say yes. Don't get discouraged - persistence pays off.
Strategy #2: HARO (Help A Reporter Out)
HARO is a website where journalists and bloggers post queries to get sources for their articles. If you provide a quote or relevant data, you can get featured in high-authority publications.
📰 How HARO Works
Receive Queries
Get emails from HARO with different journalist queries
Reply to Relevant Queries
Respond to queries relevant to your niche or expertise
Get Featured
If journalists like your response, they'll include your quote and link
Pro Tip: Make sure your response is relevant and provides value. Quick, helpful responses get featured more often.
Strategy #3: Resource Page Links
A resource page is a page that lists different resources on a specific topic. These pages are goldmines for relevant, high-quality backlinks.
🔗 How to Get Resource Page Links
Step 1: Find Resource Pages
"keyword + resource page"
"keyword + link roundup"
"keyword + useful resources"
Step 2: Check Relevance
Ensure they link to similar resources. If they do, there's a good chance they'll link to yours.
Step 3: Reach Out
Contact the website owner about your resource. Include the link in your email for easy access.
How To Track Your High Authority Backlinks
Now that you know how to get high-authority backlinks, it's crucial to track your progress to see the results of your link-building efforts.
📊 Tracking Methods
Google Analytics
Free tool to track website traffic and performance. Look at the "Referring Sites" section to see all websites linking to you.
Tip: Use the Google Analytics WordPress plugin for easy setup
Ahrefs or SEMrush
Premium tools that provide detailed backlink analysis, including new/lost links, anchor text distribution, and competitor comparisons.
Google Search Console
Free tool showing which sites link to you and which pages get the most links.
🎯 Key Takeaways
Do's ✅
- • Focus on quality over quantity
- • Build links consistently
- • Target relevant websites in your niche
- • Create linkable assets
- • Track your progress
- • Start with lower DA sites and scale up
Don'ts ❌
- • Don't buy links
- • Don't use link farms
- • Don't focus only on high DA sites initially
- • Don't get discouraged by low response rates
- • Don't neglect your website quality
- • Don't ignore nofollow vs dofollow
Wrap-Up
Link building is a process that requires consistency and persistence. You need to be sending outreach emails regularly to see results.
Don't forget about strategies like HARO and resource page links. These are both great ways to get high-quality backlinks from high-DA sites.
If you follow the strategies in this guide and put in the work, you'll start seeing more link opportunities come your way. Eventually, you'll be able to get high-quality backlinks from some of the best websites on the internet.
About the Writer
Jordan Alexo is a digital marketer who's been making money online since 2011. He specializes in self-publishing, content creation and teaching others how to do the same thing he does best! He inspires you on his website with strategies that have worked for him and product reviews that help you grow your online business.