5 easy, high authority links you’ll want in your backlink profile

By Nazma Noor

Good quality, high authority links are valuable to have in your backlink profile.

There are a number of ways to measure the authority of a website. One of the most commonly used is the “Domain Authority” metric created by Moz SEO Tools. Moz Domain Authority, or DA scores, are widely used as an indicator of how authoritative search engines consider a website to be, based on its backlink profile.

DA scores range from 0, for sites that are new and haven’t been registered in Moz’s index yet, to 100; a score reserved for a very small minority of websites like the BBC.

Getting links from high authority websites like national newspapers can mean an investment of time, budget and some creative thinking to plan content marketing campaigns.

But there are some high authority links you can get pretty easily. And you probably already have the content or contacts needed.

Here are five examples of high authority links that don’t require a big budget and lots of time.

1. Local government websites

Local and national websites with “gov.uk” domains are in the very small minority of websites that have a domain authority of 100 in Moz’s scoring system.

While you’re unlikely to get a link from the main www.gov.uk website, there could be opportunities to get links from your local government website.

Many local .gov.uk sites have business directories to promote local companies within the area. This is perhaps the easiest way to get a link back.

If your local gov.uk website doesn’t have a business directory, then it’s worth having a good look through their website. Make a note of any instances where they do link out to external websites and see what your business can do to obtain something similar.

2. University websites

The authority of university websites, which sit on .ac.uk domains, varies depending on the university itself. According to Moz, Cambridge University and Oxford University lead the way with domain authorities of 94 and 93 respectively. Most of the other top UK universities are not far behind this.

There are a few different ways to work with universities to get links for your business. The first is via university alumni pages.

Most universities have an area on their main domain for alumni members; this often includes alumni profiles. Universities are usually keen to show off the success stories and career paths taken by former students, so find out which universities your staff members attended and contact the relevant university alumni departments to set up an interview or online profile. This is also a great opportunity to talk up your brand and what your company does.

Another way to approach universities is to offer an exclusive discount code for their students or staff. But your product or service will need to be something that’s relevant to students and staff and, unless you’re local to the university, it’ll need to be something that can be purchased online.

3. Local newspaper websites

While local company news may not be of interest to the high authority websites of the national press, you shouldn’t discount the value in gaining coverage on your local newspaper website.

Most local newspapers have a “business” section dedicated to news about local businesses, so find an angle to target them.

Have you launched a new product or service? Is your business doing something for charity or helping the local community? Perhaps you’ve moved to new premises, or taken on some new staff members.

Contact the business editor of your local newspaper and tell them your story.

4. Claim your social media profiles

Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Youtube and Pinterest are all high authority domains.

Links from social media profile pages like this generally tend to be nofollowed links, but it’s still worth setting up official company pages on these channels, even if you’re not actively running social media campaigns.

If you keep your social media channels active you may also find that your social media pages start to rank for your brand terms in Google, meaning less space for competitors to potentially take your organic brand traffic.

5. Professional memberships and associations

Depending on the type of business you run, your staff could hold a number of professional memberships and the company itself could be a member of associations and governing bodies within your industry.

Check if the websites for these professional bodies and associations have member listings, and that your information is up to date – particularly if the membership was set up historically. I’ve come across instances where the member listings on high authority websites for clients contains no website address at all or, even worse, an old website address that hasn’t been redirected.

It could also be worth looking into the value you’ll get from joining new professional bodies and associations; if there’s value for the company or employees, in addition to the SEO value you’ll get from having a link, then consider signing up.

These “quick win” links from high authority websites can be a great way to begin to improve your backlink profile.

But to see real improvements and growth in your online visibility, this activity should be part of a larger strategy that looks at developing wider brand signals for your business.

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