Do You Need Backlinks To Rank In Google? [ANSWERED]

When you’re just starting out a brand new website, one of the toughest things to do is build backlinks.

Nobody likes spammy emails begging for links…

You’re not sending those to me are you? 😅

Anyways, I’m going to answer the question:

Do you need backlinks to rank in Google?

Read on to find out my answer from my own experience…

Do You Need Backlinks To Rank In Google

Do You Need Backlinks To Rank In Google?

There’s been countless tests and data gathered stating that backlinks have the highest correlation to top rankings in Google.  

So, external links to your website are a must-have in order to rank… right?

Not so fast.

The more competitive the keyword, then the more necessary it is for the post your trying to rank for to have backlinks pointing to it.

However, if you’re going after more long-tail keywords with a new site that has no backlinks, then you can definitely rank higher.

Here’s a few best practices that will help you to rank high in Google without backinks:

  • High Quality In-Depth Content
  • Go after long-tail keywords with minimal competition
  • Lots of content around a specific topic with a good internal linking structure

Taking advantage of these best practices as a new site will help you tremendously and will actually get your blog post ranking on the first page of Google without any backlinks or external links.

In fact, John Mueller (webmaster who works for Google) said that his friend’s site has no links and ranks well in Google.

Here’s what John said:

“So it is not the case you absolutely need links to rank.  Backlinks are obviously apart of Google’s ranking factors, but it isn’t something Google only relies on.”

How I Ranked My First Blog Post On The First Page Of Google With No Backlinks And Got My First $100 Sale

Let me tell you a quick story about how I made my first $100 on my blog.

I started out blogging with ZERO knowledge of SEO, search analysis, or even how to setup a WordPress website.

I started out by reading, watching, and learning SEO for free with every spare minute I had.

Here’s a list of some of the sites and YouTube channels I used to learn SEO for free:

Once I got a handle on the SEO basics, I knew it was time to start implementing and testing out different strategies based upon what I had learned.

So, I sat down and wrote my first blog post ever (my One Funnel Away Challenge Bonuses post) and waited about 5 weeks after publishing it.

Five weeks later, I still had not built any backlinks or external links to my site and suddenly I found my first blog post ever on the first page of Google in the fourth position.

Just a few days after that I got my first affiliate sale ever from my blog for $100 while I was sleeping and had woken up to see $100 in my account.

I was simply ecstatic.  I now knew that SEO wasn’t as hard as everyone can make it seem.  Plus, I had gained the self-belief that I could actually make it work.

I know that you can learn SEO the same way using those free resources that I mentioned and am confident you can get your first page ranking in Google with no backlinks if you write high quality content for long-tail keywords.

How To Rank On The First Page Of Google Without Backlinks

You need to keep in my Google’s ultimate goal for their search engine…

Show as relevant as content to the search query as possible.

This is great news for new websites, since it means that great content that matches search intent the best will eventually make it to the first page of Google.

Here’s a video on what Google’s number one ranking factor is and how to create content based around it.

Here’s 7 ways to rank on the first page of Google without backlinks.

1. Find Low Competition Keywords

By writing content for low competition keywords, you inherently have a better chance of ranking on the first page of Google. 

This is done by finding long-tail keywords (multiple words) and writing articles centered around the topic and answering related questions.

2. High Quality Content (Long-Form Content) 

When I say long-form content, I mean a minimum of 1,000 words give or take.

The more words you have on the page the better the chance you have of Google seeing something it believes should rank you higher for a specific keyword. 

You can write shorter articles, but you’ll want to make sure you’re targeting lower competition keywords when doing so.

3. Relevant Content

You need relevant content. 

How do you do this? 

By knowing the keyword you’re focusing on and tailoring your post specifically to what you believe is the user’s search intent. 

Take a look at the top sites already ranking for that keyword to get a better idea of what Google believes is the search intent.

4. Re-Publish Content

The cool part about blog posts is that you can easily republish the content on other blogging platforms. 

A few examples are Medium and Blogger. 

This helps to get your content more reach and you can link back to your main blog as well.

5. Social Media Promotion

Just about everyone is on social media these days on a regular basis. 

Whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest there’s many different avenues of re-purposing your content to a wider audience.

6. Build An Email List

Your email list is one of the few things that you truly own as a business. 

It’s critical that you take the time to setup optin forms and popups on your blog to capture user info. 

Then you just need to integrate with an autoresponder to push people back to your site for more as you produce new content! 

Here’s what I use: Thrive Leads and ActiveCampaign.

7. Setup Push Notifications

You know that little notifications popup that appears when you visit certain sites. 

Well, they’re taking advantage of push notifications and for good reason. 

In a similar manner to your email list, you’ll be growing a following and subscriber base for your blog.

Now, all you need to do is send out a notification and get traffic right away. 

I personally use PushEngage for push notifications.

What’s The Best Way To Get Backlinks To A New Website Or Blog?

Now it’s time for my favorite method to obtain backlinks from high domain authority sites with hardly any work.  

It’s called the HARO method which stands for Help A Reporter Out.

Here’s how you can get started with HARO to obtain backlinks for a brand new website:

  1. Create an account for HARO
  2. Choose the category you want to receive requests for from reporters (should be a category that fits your niche)
  3. Sit back and wait for daily emails with a list of topics/blog articles that reporters have requested quotes/interviews for and then simply reply to the ones that look interesting
  4. If you wrote a good response, you’ll likely receive a dofollow backlink (not all give you backlinks but a majority do and will notify you after writing the post)

It’s a pretty sweet way to get backlinks that’s much more passive than writing an entire guest post.

Frequently Asked Questions About Backlinks

You need zero backlinks to rank on Google.  You can rank a blog post for long-tail keywords without backlinks.

Yes, definitely. You can rank without backlinks.  If you’re going for more competitive keywords, then your site will need some backlinks to its name though.

In order for a website to rank on Google, it has to go through the Google Sandbox in order to typically rank higher.  This usually is around 6 months.

Final Thoughts On Backlinks And Google

So, do you need backlinks to rank in Google?  No.

Ranking your website in Google without backlinks CAN be done.  

It doesn’t have to be difficult to do either.  Simply follow the some of the free SEO resources and guidelines I outlined in this post and you should be well on your way to ranking on Google without any backlinks or external links.

Did you learn something new from this post?  Leave a comment below and let me know. 😀👍

Affiliate Disclaimer

I hope you enjoyed this post. This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to purchase through my links at no additional cost to you.

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