Link Building Strategies
Links matter. There's no debate links are a big signal of quality to search engines, so you need to know your ABCs.
Whether
you're starting from scratch or looking to further enhance your link
profile, links remain a critical method of marketing. However, if you've
been paying attention, you can see that link building is a constantly
evolving practice.
Certain
tactics are overused then abused then penalized, with link builders
running around trying to undo damage from techniques that worked well
but maybe weren't 100 percent safe ideas.
What
follows is a list and discussion of 20 link building tactics, some of
which worked just as well 10 years ago as they do today.
Start With the Basics
Ah,
the basics...these are the tactics that can form the foundations of any
link building campaign, no matter what your niche or budget. The basics
don't tend to change and they're critical to understand so that you can
move on to more advanced and creative techniques.
1. Email
a webmaster, asking for a link to your site. Personalizing your emails
is critical here (think about how many emails you get every day) so make
sure you're actually emailing webmasters who have sites that are
relevant to yours, and, even more importantly, make sure that your site
is actually link-worthy. We're all busy people and no one wants to waste
time so if it's not a good place for a link to you, don't waste
anyone's time.
2. Use
the phone. Picking up the phone to do the same thing as listed above is
also acceptable for those of us who aren't averse to having to speak to
another human being for work matters.
3.
Find great sources for links by simply searching the web for your
desired target keywords. Whereas even a year ago I would have said that
sites appearing high in the SERPs would be good sites to contact, due to
the truly amazing amount of spam and hacked sites that appear high up
for certain search terms, I'd say you need to visit the sites with a
very careful eye. Whereas we used to think that getting a link from any
source was a good idea, after Google started notifying webmasters that
they had bad links which should be removed, I'd say to be very, very
critical.
4. Use
social media to find great sources for links. There are loads of tools
that can help with this (my favorite is Icerocket) but simply going to
Twitter and searching for a keyword in the same way that you search
through an engine's results can show you some fantastic link
opportunities.
5.
Make the link negotiation personal. Even if you've emailed to ask for a
link, don't be opposed to speaking to this benevolent webmaster by
phone, or in person if that works out. Sometimes this personal
connection can be what secures your link.
6.
Know what makes a site a good linking partner. If you've been building
links for a long time, you can probably easily glance at a site and, in
under a minute, determine whether it would be a beneficial linking
partner. However, for the rest of the world, it's not so easy. Know what
makes me like a site more than anything else? Social love. If I see a
blog post that is relevant to my topic, has ongoing relevant comments, a
decent amount of tweets/likes/shares, that's a good site to me because
I'm thinking about traffic.
7. Think
about traffic! Think about sites that can send you relevant traffic,
not just sites that might improve your rankings. If you can see yourself
going to that site, seeing your link, clicking on it, and thinking
"nice, this is just what I wanted!" then yes, that's a good
traffic-generating site most likely.
8. Stop
thinking about rankings and Google's Toolbar PageRank. Rankings
definitely matter but considering the amount of places that can send you
traffic (like social media sites, sites that link to you, sites where
you guest post, etc.) it's silly to rely on rankings in one engine. Stop
thinking that a link from a site with a PR of 0 won't help you, and
that a link from a site with a PR of 5 definitely will.
9. Check
to see what your competitors are doing. While this should never be a
definitive way to define your own link plan, it's valuable to see what
works for others in your niche. Just don't think that you can mimic a
competitor's link profile and do as well as they have. It's definitely
not that simple.
10.
Make sure your site isn't hurting you. Many times we think that with
the right links, our sites will soar in the rankings, even though they
are usability nightmares with nothing real to offer anyone that can't be
found elsewhere.
11. Check
out the sites that link to you and find the sites they link to. Sounds
convoluted, but it's a great way to figure out other good sites to
contact.
12. If
you get a link from a fantastic site that is exactly the type of site
you want to link to you, after congratulating yourself on this
achievement, do some digging and find out who else links to that site.
Those may also be good sites to contact for links.
13. Search
for sites that should link to you but don't. If you find a blog post
entitled "Top 100 companies that sell green widgets" and you sell green
widgets but aren't listed, contact the webmaster and point this out.
Nicely, of course.
14. Don't
automate if you can help it. There are times when automation can be a
lifesaver but when it comes to reviewing a site and making a personal
connection that leads to a link, I'd make the decision to do it all
manually.
15. If
you receive a negative response, regard this as very important, as
these refusals could be telling you something. Perhaps your site isn't
as link-worthy as you thought it was. If a webmaster takes the time to
email you back and say no thanks, ask him or her why. Maybe you'll
uncover an error that is glaring to everyone but yourself. Regard this
as a fantastic usability opportunity. Also, if a webmaster points out
something fixable and you fix it, maybe you'll get that link in the end.
16. If
you move your site to a new URL, surely you'll 301 it but for the
maximum linky benefit, do yourself a favor and contact the sites
(especially the really good ones) that link to you to point out your new
URL.
17. Sponsor something. Sponsor a charity, a contest, an afterschool club at your kid's school, anything.
18.
Learn to love the nofollowed link. There's more to life than link
juice. Nofollows can be amazing for traffic so if someone says yes, I'll
link to you but I have to nofollow it, say thanks.
19. See who links to YouTube videos that relate to your industry and ask them for a link.
20. In that same line of thought, see who links to infographics in your niche. Ask them for a link.
