Government-affiliated websites (.gov sites) have comparatively higher authority, with domains like nasa.gov rated DR90+.

Imagine how a backlink from such a website could increase your website’s authority and boost its visibility to search engines.

However, getting a .gov backlink isn’t a walk in the park — you need a meticulous link-building strategy for a successful outreach campaign.

This article covers how to get backlinks from .gov sites, including best practices and common mistakes to avoid.

TL;DR - How to Get .gov Backlinks

Can’t read the whole article right now? Here’s a quick rundown of how to get .gov backlinks:

1. Have your website listed on .gov resource pages
2. Look for government sponsorships
3. Establish thought leadership in your niche
4. Offer replacements for broken links
5. Competitor analysis
6. Publish guest posts on government blogs
7. Purchase .gov backlinks

Continue reading for a detailed overview of how to refine your outreach strategy to land .gov inbound links.

But if you’re only interested in gaining backlink placements on .gov websites, we recommend working with a link-building service.

Partner with Profit Engine to integrate .gov backlinks into your link-building strategy and boost your website’s authority. We prioritize manual link acquisition and placement to ensure the .gov backlinks are relevant to your niche and elevate your website’s SEO performance.

Schedule a one-on-one consultation to learn how our .gov link-building services can elevate your website’s SEO performance! 

What Are .gov Backlinks?

.gov is a domain name system for websites affiliated with the United States Government. The .gov domain helps the public know they can trust the information on a website as accurate and verified. Consequently, .gov websites have high domain authority and ratings, which explains why they rank first on related searches. 

By understanding what .gov domains are, it becomes quite simple to define .gov backlinks. As the name suggests, they are inbound links from government-associated domains to your website.

The .gov backlinks point to your domain and signal search engines that your website contains equally helpful information. The ‘vote of confidence’ from these .gov backlinks helps elevate your website’s authority, so your web pages rank high on SERPs.

Are .gov Backlinks Good?

Yes, .gov backlinks are good and can help your website rank higher on search engines. Remember, the .gov domain is exclusive to U.S. government organizations.

As such, backlink placements from such trusted domains will likely propel your website’s authority in your niche.

Benefits of .gov Backlinks

Securing .gov inbound links for your websites helps you unlock the following advantages:

• High Domain Authority: Adding .gov backlinks prompts search engines to rank your site higher. For example, backlinks from cdc.gov, which has a 90+ DR, would likely bump up your medical website’s DA and DR by a few points.
• Credibility and Trustworthiness: The .gov domain is exclusive to federal and state government organizations, so an inbound link pointing to your website encourages visitors to trust your site.
• Invaluable Link Juice: Government websites have natural authority and often rank first on related searches because of their presumed trust and information accuracy. As such, incorporating .gov backlinks into your website helps you tap into their rare, high-value link juice, which boosts SEO performance.

How to Get Backlinks From .gov Sites

It is difficult to secure .gov backlinks based on the limited number of government websites relevant to a specific niche. However, you do have options on how to pursue .gov backlinks successfully.

Let’s outline some strategies in detail below:

1. Have Your Website Listed on .gov Resource Pages

Getting your website listed on a government website automatically earns you a high-quality backlink that helps boost your domain authority and rating.

Send an outreach email to the relevant government institution(s) highlighting how your website aligns with their objectives and providing the link(s) they should add to their resource section.

2. Look for Government Sponsorships

Partner with government agencies to implement local initiatives or programs. The institutions may list your business as one of the program sponsors or facilitators, earning your website a .gov backlink.

In unique situations, they might highlight your contributions in a press release, providing additional link-building opportunities.

3. Establish Thought Leadership in Your Niche

The best way to earn organic .gov backlinks is to become an authority in a relevant niche and create original, impactful content that prompts government agencies to cite your work. 

Agencies like the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are known to feature authoritative articles and white papers from reputable organizations. This is a possible route to secure high-quality .gov backlinks for your website.

4. Offer Replacements for Broken Links

Identify broken outbound links from government websites and offer to replace the URL with yours.

However, ensure your website contains relevant, impactful data to convince the domain administrator to add the link to their domain.

5. Competitor Analysis

Evaluate your competitors’ link building strategies to see whether they have any .gov backlinks. If they do, those websites likely accept backlink requests.

Craft a compelling outreach email requesting the government institution to provide link-building opportunities in exchange for some offered value, like supporting its programs.

6. Publish Guest Posts on Government Blogs

Did you know that some government websites invite the public to pitch guest posts to be featured in their blog sections? Well, they do.

For example, the U.S. General Services Administration encourages businesses and professionals to share case studies or success stories related to government digital services.

7. Purchase .gov Backlinks

Earning a .gov backlink organically takes time. You must first establish authority in your niche and then share impactful content or grow your professional network until a government agency notices your efforts.

The alternative? 

Profit Engine is the best place to buy backlinks for .gov domains and boost your website’s authority. We provide results-focused link-building strategies prioritizing .gov domains that offer the most SEO value for your website. Also, our team will help you implement a well-coordinated outreach campaign, including tailoring the emails to specific government institutions.

Book a free, no-obligation call so we can help you secure .gov backlinks for your website!

Avoid These Pitfalls When Building .gov Backlinks

You do not want to make mistakes that could result in losing your .gov backlinks or having your website disavowed.

Here are common blunders to look out for when pursuing .gov link-building opportunities and ways to avoid them:

• Black Hat Tactics: Posting spammy comments with links on blogs published on government websites could cause the institutions to disavow your domain. Instead, make meaningful contributions that encourage readers to follow the inbound links to your website.
• Generic Outreach Messages: Poor outreach strategies, such as sending bulk emails to government institutions, will likely result in little-to-no link-building success. Tailor the outreach messages, highlighting your unique value proposition to encourage the domain admin to consider your request.
• Sharing Low-Quality Content: Government institutions will not link to your website if it contains outdated or inaccurate information. Instead, focus on publishing evergreen, authoritative content that offers long-term value.
• Ignoring Website Relevance: Backlinks from unrelated .gov websites may boost your domain rating short term but will undermine your website’s credibility and trustworthiness. To avoid this, vet the .gov websites to ascertain their relevance to your niche.
• Neglecting the Links: Not maintaining your .gov backlinks results in missed opportunities to fix broken links. The domain admin might opt to remove the broken links, causing you to lose out on the expected SEO value. Use link building tools to find backlinks with a ‘no page found’ or ‘404’ error message. Fix your broken or dead backlinks by updating the URL or adding a 301 redirect to the new page.

Best Practices to Earn Quality .gov Backlinks

Let’s delve into some proven methods for effective .gov link-building:

• Publish Government-Friendly Content: Provide case studies, white papers, and research-based articles on government policies and initiatives. Relevant government institutions will likely link to the resources, earning you a natural backlink.
• Partner with Government Agencies and Institutions: Is your local or state government launching a community program? Look for potential public-private partnerships that align with your niche. This helps you establish relationships with the institutions and can help you receive a .gov backlink in the future.
• Avoid Direct Link Requests: During link building outreach campaigns, frame your requests as a mutually beneficial partnership. This increases the chances of the domain admin responding to your backlink request.
• Ensure Content Relevance: Prioritize contextual link-building so your backlinks are surrounded by related content that entices readers to follow the URL to your website.
• Measure Performance: Track your link building metrics to assess how the .gov backlinks impact your website’s SEO. For example, you can monitor changes in domain authority and referral traffic. This can give you insights into refining your content to optimize SEO performance.
• Optimize the Anchor Text: Incorporate relevant keywords or search phrases into the anchor text to maximize the link juice you extract from the .gov domain.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

This section addresses common inquiries we receive about how to get backlinks from .gov sites:

Are .gov Backlinks More Valuable Than .edu Backlinks?

Yes and no. People usually assume that .gov backlinks are more valuable than .edu links. However, it depends on multiple factors.

For example, a .gov website may have more authority on topics related to government policies and initiatives. On the other hand, .edu backlinks will likely offer more SEO value when covering educational or scholarly content.

Can I Buy .gov Backlinks, and Is It Safe?

Yes. You can buy a .gov backlink, and your website should be safe. However, we recommend purchasing the .gov backlink from a reputable link-building service.

At Profit Engine, we use a 16-point link-building checklist to ensure that .gov backlinks are safe, meet the standard quality, and align with your niche.

How Can I Check If a .gov Backlink Is Active?

The best way to check if a .gov backlink is active is by using SEO tools like Ahrefs, Moz Link Explorer, and SEMrush, which let you know if a link is live.

How Do I Monitor the Performance of My .gov Backlinks?

Use SEO analytics tools like Ahrefs, Linkody, and SEMrush to track backlink metrics such as organic traffic, referring domain authority, link removals, and click data.

Conclusion - How to Find .gov Backlinks

Adding .gov backlinks helps boost your website’s authority so it ranks higher on SERPs. However, the link-building outreach process is more challenging than it would be for standard backlinks, as most opportunities come through public-private partnerships.

Buying .gov backlinks offers the easiest way to link your website to U.S. government domains.

At Profit Engine, we can help you win backlink placements in .gov domains to boost your website’s authority and referral traffic. For example, you can partner with our team to personalize your outreach emails to specific government agencies. Also, we’ll leverage AI and backlinks tools to streamline your .gov link-building process so you can earn placements from high-authority, relevant government websites.

Boost your website’s authority with .gov backlinks — contact us today!