High-quality links play a key role in ranking high on search engines. Government links are the highest quality backlinks, which are very difficult for SEO experts to obtain. Learning how to earn gov backlinks give your websites more visibility and reach.
Government backlinks come from local or federal government websites, making them highly trusted by Google and other search engines.
Most government websites don’t link to any website. So, in this article, we’ll break down 5 steps to earn gov links and boost your website SEO.
Understanding the Value of Gov Backlinks
Government backlinks have a high value in the SEO world due to their high domain authority. This is because these government websites have age and trust amongst people, which makes them powerful. A gov backlink is an endorsement of your site, which improves your credibility amongst search engines.
Domain authority of the Whitehouse website
The nature of government sites implies trustworthiness as they are considered sources of factual information. The content of a gov site is unique and usually not found elsewhere. This is why they are cited by reputable sources, like new outlets, education institutions, gov sites and other websites. Furthermore, there is a strict vetting process needed to acquire and maintain a gov domain.
Government links are rare and difficult to get for your website. Federal and government sites are selective about who they link to. This is why typical link building techniques may not allow you to get gov backlinks. However, if a gov website links to your content, then they’ll pass more link equity your way.
Understanding the Types of Gov Backlinks
- Federal gov backlinks: Federal government links are the topmost gov backlinks, having the highest domain authority and credibility amongst search engines. Some examples of federal government websites are USA.gov, WhiteHouse.gov, Nasa.gov, and the websites of other federal departments. Acquiring links from federal websites is a monumental task. However, if you get a link from federal sites, it’s worth in gold for your search engine optimization.
- State gov backlinks: State gov backlinks are less valuable than those from federal government sites. This is because some state gov websites are updated less frequently. Search engines love websites whose content is frequently updated. However, state government sites can be highly valuable, offering a good balance of authority and relevance, especially for businesses operating within specific states. Some examples of state government sites are departments of motor vehicles, state education departments, state legislatures, etc. Acquiring links from state government sites is moderately difficult and can be achieved via state-specific initiatives or programs.
- Local gov backlinks: Local gov backlinks are more accessible as they belong to local city councils, local police departments, county governments, etc. These local gov websites may seem less valuable, but they are particularly beneficial for local businesses looking to enhance their visibility within their local community. Getting a backlink from local government sites is relatively easy, and you can get it through local partnerships or community involvement.
- Government agency backlinks: These links are obtained from specific government agencies, like state, local, or federal agencies. Links from relevant government sites in your niche can provide a boost to your domain authority and trustworthiness. You’ll need to have expertise or some contribution to the government agency’s area of focus to get these gov backlinks.
GOVTech list of 100 best companies that made a change in the US market
How to Build Gov Backlinks
Here are the 5 steps to acquire backlinks from government sites for your website.
Finding relevant government agencies and websites
Researching and finding local government websites through Google is a great way to start. Simply type in site:.gov; so that only gov sites appear in your results. From the results, shortlist gov websites that are open to backlinking or external resources.
Government websites can be found through government directories. These directories of government sites have a list of websites for counties, states, and small regions of the country. However, this is time-consuming and you’ll have to seep through extensive lists to find the right fit.
GovEngine is a search engine specifically for government websites in the USA
Analyzing Competitor Backlinks is another powerful way to get gov links for your website. Tools like Ahrefs allow you to analyze your competitors’ backlink profiles and find government sites related to your niche. If a relevant government department links to your competitor, then they may interested in linking to your website.
Building relationships with government officials and agencies
Research and try to collaborate with a government agency if their mission aligns with your goals. State, regional, and local governments usually run different initiatives. Identify the right opportunity to get backlinks from these government organizations. You can release a press release to announce the partnership and shed more light on it.
Interviewing local government officials can also be a good opportunity to create quality content that attracts links from government departments. Not only this, it also improves your link building opportunity from other websites. This can turn out to be a great way to enhance your domain authority and search rankings. However, building relationships with government entities takes time and effort.
Participation in government programs is a good option to attract attention and backlinks from government sites. Try to document your participation and share your success or achievements through press releases. Ensure that you include relevant data, reports, or other information. This will further boost your authority amongst other websites in your niche.
Creating valuable content for gov backlinks
Content is a great way to get a gov backlink. Crafting high-quality content about a government department or agency is a great way to market the content to them. Share relevant data and research about government initiatives or programs to grab attention. Your goal is to write positively about these government agencies so that your chances of acquiring gov backlinks are high.
For example, if your firm works in the healthcare space, you can write about the different initiatives by government bodies. This is a great way to grab attention from them to get a link from local or federal government agencies.
Reaching out to local government websites and crafting content for them is also another great way to get a backlink. This can be anything from informative content to programs that these local government agencies offer to the public. If you are running a web design agency, you can offer interactive maps of local sites and recreational sites. This is something local government organizations would link to on their websites.
Creating high-quality content that attracts links takes time and effort. With years of experience here at GrowthOG, we specialize in helping you develop informational, factual, and engaging content that can secure valuable backlinks, including those from government websites.
Leveraging guest posting and resource page opportunities
64.9% of link builders consider guest blogging as an integral part of their link building strategy. However, the avenue of getting an opportunity to write guest posts on government websites is tougher than normal websites.
Start by finding the right opportunities on Google that can help you build gov backlinks. You can use queries like site:.gov “contribute”, site:.gov inurl:write, site:.gov “write for us”, etc to narrow your search for such government websites.
If you find a gov site that has submission guidelines, then it can be a great place to get a gov backlink. So, go through their blog style before you pitch about writing a guest post for them. Furthermore, you need to understand the audience you are writing to improve your chances of getting the blog approved.
While crafting a proposal for a gov site, try to be professional and to the point. Start by introducing yourself, explain why you should write the piece, and outline the structure. Follow this by disclosing the benefits of the guest post to the readers of the federal or local government sites. Be patient, as the review process of a gov site can take more time compared to private sector websites.
Once you get the approval for the guest post, submit it following the said guidelines. If not, then gov sites typically will reject the guest post. When the guest post is published, it will not only gain you a gov backlink but also improve your credibility and foster a relationship with different government bodies.
Government resource pages are a great source of getting gov backlinks. These gov research pages offer high quality and relevant information for their readers. A gov resource page usually uses information from external pages if it doesn’t have the expertise.
Resource page building is a powerful technique for gov link building that is usually neglected. These local gov resource pages are usually not updated, and budding with linking opportunities if you have time to dig through them.
In some cases, there are broken links in the content. If you find broken links, you can directly pitch to the gov site and ask them to link to your website, which has updated content on the subject. Broken link building is a very powerful technique to get gov backlinks.
Identifying open government blogs and forums to comment on them is another great way to get gov backlinks. Commenting on government blogs is a white hat link building strategy; however, spammy comments can impact your reputation. It is important to note that most government blogs don’t allow commenting; even those that do are no-follow. Ensure that your comments on a govt site are insightful and contribute to healthy discussion.
GrowthOG is a bespoke agency dedicated to delivering exceptional links at scale. We can help you with your content marketing campaigns. Our experts can help you with guest posting and promoting your brand on industry-relevant websites.
Measuring the success of gov backlinks
A link from a gov site is highly relevant to your website’s SERPs. So, the link juice that is passed from them to your website is considerably higher than other sites. This helps boost your authority as search engines give them more priority. Ultimately, it will improve your website visibility and give you more organic traffic.
Once you acquire a gov backlink, you need to track the effectiveness it has had on your website. You can use SEO tools like Ahrefs or Google Search Console to check the impact of the gov backlinks.
The most common metrics to check the success of gov backlinks are:
- Domain authority and domain rating: A gov backlink usually carries higher DA and DR scores. If you have seen a spike in these parameters for your website, then it is a clear indication that it has helped your website.
- Referring domains: Referring domains track the number of unique domains that have provided a backlink to you. After acquiring quality links from government domains, there will be an increase in links to your site. Ultimately this will have a positive impact on your backlink profile.
- Organic traffic: If there is an increase in your organic traffic, then the gov backlinks are helping you rank high in search engines.
- Keyword rankings: Check your keywords and see if there has been any improvement after acquiring gov backlinks. If there are improvements, then it has helped your website grow.
Over To You
Getting gov backlinks is a complex process, but if you manage to get them, it can completely transform your website performance.
If you are able to find relevant government agencies and websites, you can shortlist them and pitch them for a backlink. Building relationships with government officials or government bodies is another great strategy to get a gov backlink.
Guest posting is a powerful technique to leverage quality backlinks from a gov site. Apart from this, resource pages and broken link building also offer great opportunities to get gov backlinks. Once you attain these backlinks, you need to measure the success of these gov backlinks. This will help you understand how effective the campaign has been so you can replicate it to further boost your website growth.
Gov backlinks will help your website attain authority and trustworthiness amongst search engines and local customers. This is a daunting task, which link building agencies like GrowthOG can expedite and help your website get high quality links.