Who do you trust most?

Your parents, siblings, spouse or lifelong friends may come to mind.

They’ve been there for you so many times over the years.

They give you valuable advice and recommendations, and you’re certain they have your best interest at heart.

High Trust Flow websites have earned this level of trust from search engines.

They’ve built up a strong reputation over the years.

They’ve proven themselves to be authorities in their given niche. They always link out to the best, highest-quality websites and they’re dedicated to providing their site visitors with the information they need.

Getting backlinks to your site from a high Trust Flow website tells search engines, “hey, this website is pretty good quality, so you should rank it high enough in the results pages that other people can find it.”

Yes, high Trust Flow might not be the only SEO metric worth looking at. Websites are evaluated using a few different metrics. DomainRank and MozRank used to be the big measures of website value. But today, Majestic’s Trust Flow is one of the main determinants.

So, you don’t just want backlinks from high Trust Flow websites, you want to become a high Trust Flow website.

What Is Trust Flow?

Trust Flow (TF) is a number between 0 and 100 that scores a website’s quality.

Majestic manually scoured websites and created a (secret) database of trusted “seed sites.” These “seed sites” form the foundation for TF, and the closer a website is linked to a seed site, the higher its TF score will be.

High Trust Flow communicates value and quality to search engines and other websites. When working on your website’s SEO and web presence, it’s crucial to attract backlinks with a high TF score. A high TF score is typically 50+.

Curating high TF backlinks will, in turn, contribute to a high TF for your website, too. And a high Trust Flow score will boost your SEO, contributing to higher web traffic, conversions and customers.

Topical Trust Flow is also a key determinant when measuring the quality of a website. Topical TF scores the relative influence of a website within a niche. This metric shows in which industries a website has authority and helps users find influencers within specific categories. Topical Trust Flow is also scored between 0 and 100.

Monitor Backlinks can help you measure your own TF score and check the TF of other websites. When doing influencer research, checking out guest posting opportunities, running competitor analyses or doing any other link building activities, you’ll need to keep an eye on Trust Flow scores.

With Monitor Backlinks, you have a clear picture of not only your site’s Trust Flow but also the TF of others. This has plenty of practical applications, like identifying high Trust Flow sites to reach out to for backlinks.
 

 

4 Trustworthy Strategies to Get Relevant, High Trust Flow Backlinks

If backlinks help SEO, then quality backlinks skyrocket SEO. In the world of search engine optimization, quality is much more important than quality. One backlink from a website with high TF does way more for your website than 100 links from sites with low or mediocre TF scores.

In this sense, all links are not created equal.

Here are four strategies to help you snag the links with high TF.

1. Become a Content King

The oh-so-common SEO line goes: “Content is king.” But that’s not what I’m saying here.

To earn high Trust Flow backlinks, you need to become the King of Content.

(If that already sounds like you, feel free to skip down to the next strategies.)

The process of mastering content is much easier said than done. Depending on the stage of your business, you may be just starting to craft content or you may already have a blog with hundreds of posts. Either way, your goal should be to build authority within your niche using your expertise and written content.

Quality content helps in reaching new audiences, building trust and loyalty with your consumer base, and converting readers into paying customers. Creating valuable content also provides your audience with something to share. This means your brand and information reaches new people with which you’d otherwise never interact.

Think about it: Your customers are stellar advocates of your product or service. If you don’t create content, what will they have to share? Definitely not your Product or About pages, as nice as those may be.

They’re looking for shareworthy writing with valuable information and entertaining images.
 

 
Value is key here, folks. Over 2 million blog posts are published daily. Value is what makes yours stand out.

How do you know what your audience values? That’s where keywords come in. Consider your target customer persona and ask yourself these questions.

• What are your target customer’s pain points?

• Why would they search—and purchase—your product?

• What components of your product or service encourage customers to search for you? What is unique, compelling, exciting, interesting and/or relevant to your audience?

Review and pull short and long-tail keywords from your answers. Online shoppers likely use different terms than your colleagues and industry leaders, so keep this in mind when brainstorming keywords. Consider more casual, human phrases—rather than jargon-loaded, technical words.

Check out free tools like Keyword Tool Dominator, Ubersuggest, Soovle, Merge Words when researching your proposed keywords. These help you expand on potential phrases and show you activity around certain search terms.
 

 
Compiling a list of relevant keywords will help you better understand what your consumers are searching for, giving you a road map for writing valuable content. Next, follow these steps:

1. Don’t have a blog? Well, get one! Start by writing content for your blog. This will give you more opportunity for internal linking and will create strong links back to your website once readers start sharing your content.

2. Check out Medium, a content site on which you can post for free and without a submission process. Medium has a high TF score and exposes your content, brand and backlinks to a new audience.

3. Visit Quora, a forum that many people use to ask questions and get answers. While not all questions and answers are relevant, there’s plenty of discussion within each industry. For example, if I was trying to build my online presence as a yoga blogger, I would search and answer questions about yoga poses, benefits and philosophy. Quora exposes your brand and backlinks to a new audience.

Next, consider submitting content to relevant third-party sites. We dive into this more below.

2. Guest Post, Guest Post, Guest Post

Your guest posting strategy is parallel to your content creation strategy, but it involves expanding your reach by publishing on other websites.

These sites ideally have high Trust Flow (higher than your site’s), meaning that when you link back to your website in your article or byline, you’ll build high Trust Flow backlinks from that guest site.

Popular guest sites with high TF include Entrepreneur (77), Inc. (75) and the Huffington Post (85). Depending on your niche, there are hundreds of guest posting sites and blogs to check out. From digital marketing to psychology to food to parenting, there’s a guest blogging opportunity for everyone.

Nowadays, building SEO through guest posting is no secret. Managing editors and publishers worldwide are bombarded with requests from businesses and writers for publishing opportunities.

How can you help your request stand out? How can you make editors crave your content for their site? It’s simple: Value.

I hate to repeat myself, but quality content all comes back to providing value to others. Guest blogs are no different. Sure, you’re looking to build your SEO through the opportunity, but you should approach neither your content creation nor your pitch with a spammy, sales-like demeanor. (Remember: You’re one of many, many third-party sites looking to guest post. Don’t be like the rest!)

Instead, follow these steps:

1. Do your research. Look for magazines, blogs or content outlets that are relevant to your niche.

Do you sell landscaping services? Look for opportunities with lawn care, landscaping or home DIY blogs or magazine—basically any content that speaks to homeowners.

Are you a boutique dog collar e-commerce store? Check out content sites that educate and entertain pet owners.

As an example, I compiled a list of a few posting opportunities for a health and yoga blogger. A table like the one below is a great way to organize your guest posting strategy. Run each URL through the Monitor Backlinks backlink checker to ensure that their Trust Flow is decent. (Note how the sites below are 15+.)

 

 

2. Build three to five pitches for potential posts. What kind of content is popular across each blog or magazine? Look at the guest blogging guidelines; sometimes editors will include specific topics to avoid or write about. Focus on content that isn’t yet published on their site or yours. Do this before contacting anyone. Editors will appreciate your preparedness.

3. Pitch the guest blog and/or editor. Some sites will have contact forms to fill out. Others will provide a submission or personal contact email. Follow the guidelines to a T, otherwise, your pitch might not be seen.

Also include a short bio about yourself and why you have the expertise and authority to be writing about your topic.

Note: Editors receive a ton of requests, and yours might not be seen for a while. If you haven’t heard anything after a couple weeks, send a short follow-up. If you don’t hear back after a month, send a different pitch or try again with another publication.

4. Write and publish. If your pitch is approved, write up your post and send it to the editor. Be sure to include one or more links to your site, as these will serve as your backlinks. After submission, keep an eye out for your published post.

Eventually, your goal with guest posting is to provide so much value and expertise that editors reach out to you. But that doesn’t happen immediately—it happens once you’re the King of Content. Keep writing great content and guest posts, and eventually, editors will know you by name!

3. Build a Relevant Influencer Strategy

Influencers are all the rage these days. Consumers prefer to make purchase decisions from the advice of someone they trust, and influencers play that role for many people.

Influencer marketing isn’t always straightforward, though. Instagram or Twitter deeming someone a social media celeb doesn’t necessarily translate to a relevant influencer for your brand. On the other hand, your most powerful influencer could be someone who doesn’t even know they carry any weight with your audience.

That’s where the relevance of this strategy comes into play.

You can spend time, energy and money on an influencer strategy that does absolutely nothing for your SEO. Again, the whole point is to provide value to your audience in a way that encourages shares and builds links.

To build your strategy, follow these steps.

1. Start (like always) with research. Dig deep into who your audience is following and responding to. Search specific hashtags on Instagram and Twitter. Don’t automatically pay attention to numbers, as popularity doesn’t always mean influence.

2. Create a list of 10 to 20 influencers who live well within your niche. Run their sites through Monitor Backlinks’ backlink checker to validate their Trust Flow. Depending on the size and age of their website, they probably won’t have a super high score. Look for a 15 or 20+.

3. When reaching out to an influencer, aim to build a relationship rather than just asking for links. Like publication editors, influencers receive tons of requests a day. Don’t simply say, “Hey, wanna link to my site?” They want to know how they’ll benefit, too. Perhaps you can feature them in your content, or provide them with free products or services.

The goal here is to build a mutually-beneficial relationship that involves them linking to your site, thus creating high TF backlinks.

4. Attend Events to Build Your Audience and Network, in Person and Online

Not all SEO optimization takes place on the internet. There are plenty of in-person opportunities to get involved, showcase your expertise and gain high TF backlinks.

Events, seminars and conferences are great ways to expand your audience and network in person and online. Firstly, attending an event gives you something to talk about on your blog and social media networks.

You can write up an article discussing goals you have for the event, or you can share a link to the keynote speaker list on your Facebook page. Secondly, if you’re a speaker, your name and information will be shared on the event website. Not only does this market your brand and business, but the information can give you a high Trust Flow backlink to your website.
 

 
Lastly, attending events in-person gives you the chance to meet industry influencers, guest publication authors and members of your customer base—three important players in your Trust Flow and overall SEO process. Putting a face to the name of your business can help establish authority and trust between you and them, hopefully helping your case when trying to connect with them online later.

If you’re curious about conferences happening in 2018, check out this comprehensive list of 300+ business, digital marketing and tech conferences. If you’re a small blogger or business, focus on attending. As you attend and meet more people, you’ll increase your chances of becoming a keynote speaker and gaining valuable backlinks from conference sites.

Final Thoughts on High Trust Flow Backlinks

Building high Trust Flow backlinks isn’t an overnight process.

Quality content creation, guest posting, influencer marketing and in-person events are all strategies that require hard work, persistence and patience.

Thankfully, a handy tool like Monitor Backlinks can help you keep an eye on your SEO and backlink activity. As you improve your SEO and build more high Trust Flow backlinks, Monitor Backlinks will provide a detailed analysis of every link and website, and how they contribute to the health of your SEO.

Whether you’re a new business or established website, start working on one—or all!—of the above strategies, and soon you’ll see a boost in quality backlinks and Trust Flow.