How to Get a Backlink from Forbes
Forbes has a Moz Domain Authority of 95.
How to get on Forbes?
If you have been finding an answer to this question, let me tell you two things:
- It is NOT EASY to get a backlink from such a powerful site
- But it is also not IMPOSSIBLE
New businesses face this problem, but we get high DA links for our clients every day.
So, I decided to share our experience to help you grow your business.
It requires extra hard work and time – you should know why getting a link or submitting a guest post on Forbes is worth every penny.
Want To Get A Backlink From Forbes.com
Why Are Backlinks Important?
Content has its value but I can count hundreds of sites with epic content but very few views.
High-quality content will help you maintain your rank.
But, it is rarely possible to rank with just high-quality content.
Brian Dean shares the same thought with me.
In addition to great content, you need high DA backlinks.
Backlinks are the most important factor to rank in Google.
When a website gives you a link, Google considers it a vote for your page.
It increases the authority of that page which further increases the authority of the entire site.
High authority websites rank easily because Google trusts them.
It is essential for every website to gain Google’s trust if it wishes to rank on its first page.
How One Backlink from Forbes Can Skyrocket Your DA?
As I mentioned, it has a Moz DA of 95. But, do you know what a DA is?
Domain Authority (DA) is a 0 to 100 measurement of a website’s importance in Google.
Moz and Ahrefs are believed to provide the most accurate measurement.
A high DA shows that Google trusts this website. A backlink is considered a vote of trust.
So, getting a backlink from Google’s trusted site means you also get the trust of Google.
- Forbes is an American business magazine that also has a website.
- Forbes has one of the biggest websites in the world. Moz ranked it 65th most powerful domain in the world.
- It has over 8 million backlinks, and they are increasing every day.
This proves that:
- Submitting an article to Forbes can help you grow your business online
- Getting a backlink from Forbes can drastically enhance your domain authority and ranking
Get A Backlink From Forbes.com
Two Ways To Get a Backlink from Forbes
In case you are new in the field, you have to email the website and make a request.
The request could be to:
- Add your link in one of their pages
- Or, publish Forbes guest post with link(s) in it
There are two strategies you can use to get a backlink from Forbes.
Get High DA Backlink
Find Broken Links
Broken link building is a great trick to get a backlink from Forbes.
In this tactic, you have to find the broken links in your target site.
A broken link is a link that points to a page that doesn’t exist.
You will find a few broken links in almost all websites. Powerful websites publish dozens of articles every day.
It is only natural if a link in an old post no longer exists.
You have to find these links and request its author to use your link in the anchor textinstead of the broken one.
Broken links are a bad user experience.
All high websites provide great value to their users. That’s how they have earned and maintained their position at the top.
They wouldn’t want even a single broken link on their website. Besides, Google is also not a big fan of broken links.
They can either remove that link or replace it with another similar page that has good content.
If you are the one to identify the broken link, they are more likely to use your offered link as gratitude.
It is the most efficient strategy to get a backlink from Forbes; there is still no guarantee they will respond.
How to Find Broken Links?
The first step in broken link building for Forbes is to find them.
Simply go to Broken Link Checker and enter website URL. It will show you all the internal and external broken links.
This tool found me 331 broken and bad links. Most of the broken links were internal, but you can request to replace it as long as it’s broken.
For example, one of the external links included a page from YCharts.
It was linked by a 4-year-old article on Forbes.
You have to visit a broken link and see what it was about. You can go to Web Archive and enter the URL of the broken link to see its history and content.
Create Valuable Alternative Content
Make sure the topic you select is
- Really broken,
- Relevant to your niche,
- And, replaceable.
You should be able to create just as good content for a replaceable page as it used to have.
If you already have a similar page, you don’t have to create a new one.
Most probably, you will have to write a high-quality article that Forbes will have no problem replacing.
Remember: you are not the only one looking for broken links – you have a competition to beat with the quality of your content.
A page with SEO content is more likely to be selected. Make sure you follow my On Page SEO checklist to create content that Forbes can’t reject.
Where to Contact Forbes for Broken Links?
You have to contact the contributor that wrote that article. You will find the author information at the top or bottom of the article.
The above mentioned Forbes page with broken link had this author bio as shown in the image.
You will find the author’s Facebook and Twitter account in addition to his email. You can contact the contributor and request him to replace the link.
Or, directly contact Forbes:
If you don’t get a response from the contributor, the second option is to contact the Forbes directly.
They have provided an email corrections@forbes.com to report issues like broken links. Forbes staff usually replies within 5 days.
What If They Don’t Reply?
You found broken links, created similar page, and contacted Forbes.
If they don’t respond, all that effort could go to waste.
But, it won’t if you work smart.
You can find other websites that used the same broken link and email them to replace it with your valuable page.
Simply enter this broken link in Ahrefs and it will show you all pages pointing to it.
For example, I found 5 pages linking to mentioned broken link in addition to the Forbes.
You just have to create one good email and contact all of them. At least one of them will agree if you provide valuable content.
I have shared many more similar tricks in my guide to get high PR backlinks that you should know.
Want To Get A Backlink From Forbes.com
Offer Guest Post
Guest posting is the most common practice to get backlinks.
- You contact the target website
- Pitch them a proposal
- Provide outline or demo content
- They publish your content with link(s) in it
Sounds simple, doesn’t it?
Most probably, Forbes staff won’t even respond to your email.
Still, this is the way most people submit a guest post on Forbes.
It’s not that Forbes staff is lazy. They just receive too many emails and respond only to those that they find might be worth it.
Who Does Forbes Reply?
Your proposal must stand out from all other emails.
They want people to share their experience who are successful in their fields.
You need to ask yourself: what are you best at?
Something that you know a lot better than most people on planet. Forbes gets over 71 million unique monthly visitors from all around the world.
People will read your article on Forbes – including the tycoons of your field.
Here’s what you need to do before you reach out to Forbes.
- Decide your niche.
- Read articles of your niche on Forbes.
- See what makes these articles so great that Forbes published them.
- Select a topic and create its outline.
Once you have come up with an idea that is one masterpiece and provides value to the reader, email it to ideas@forbes.com.
If your post is selected, remember:
- Forbes holds the right to modify your article.
- They can delete your post whenever they want.
How To Pitch Forbes
Forbes has its own writers, and many influencers as contributors that write content for free.
That’s not all, Forbes staff receives hundreds of emails every day for guest posting.
Before you pitch Forbes, you need to ask yourself one question:
What can you offer that others can’t?
Once you have found your unique selling proposition, it’s time to create an email that enchants its readers.
Here are a few tips:
- Write a precise subject.
- Don’t beat about the bush – stay on the topic.
- Present your unique selling proposition.
- Prove how your post will provide value to the readers.
- I know these are quite simple tips and most of which you already know.
But, that’s all there is. Rest depends on your topic outline and your research.
If you have researched your niche on Forbes, you would know what they are looking for.
Contact A Contributor
Forbes is said to have around 1,800 contributors. Many of the contributors are people of CEO level.
All these contributors provide unique and valuable content to Forbes free of cost.
Each contributor is an expert of his/her own niche and writes only on those topics. You need to make contact with a contributor that writes on the niche of your business.
There is an article on Forbes with a list of its contributors, their niche, and their contact information.
There is again a strong possibility that the contributors might not even reply to your email.
So, what can you do approach a Forbes contributor?
Follow them on social media (shared with the list of contributors).
Understand their behavior and needs.
Offer infographics and useful material to use in their articles.
When you are in a position to ask for favors, ask them to provide you a link in one of their articles or publish one of your posts.
Use a third person to approach contributor:
If all your efforts to impress a Forbes’ contributor has been in vain, you can approach someone that has links with one of them.
Every new business tries to get a backlink from Forbes. We have helped many of our clients get a backlink from Forbes.
Some digital marketing and outreach agencies have their own Forbes contributor or links with some of them.
Contacting them will save a lot of your time and efforts to submit a guest post on Forbes.
Become A Contributor
If possible, it’s the best approach. You can also become a Forbes contributor and publish your own guest post on Forbes.
Contributors are not paid but:
It increases their authority in their respective fields.
They get a huge increase in their sales.
Drive a lot more traffic to their own websites.
Get more social media following.
In 2019, it might be a little too close to impossible to become a Forbes contributor.
They already have too many contributors and way too many applicants. That’s why they are no longer accepting any new applications for the post of Forbes contributor. It shows the following message when you submit an application.
Want To Get A Backlink From Forbes.com
Send Us Your Inquiry
Conclusion:
It’s difficult for a novice to submit a guest post on Forbes and get a response.
But, it is possible if you follow all the mentioned instructions, and stay determined. Here is a summary of discussed methods to get a backlink from Forbes:
Find Forbes broken links and request to replace it with a link of your page.
Create an amazing article that no one can reject and submit a guest post on Forbes.
Contact a contributor and request him to give you a backlink or publish your post.
Acquire services of a party that can get your post published on Forbes.
Do you know of any other method?
Which method works or has worked best for you?
Do share your experience with us.
