Mastering the Art of Link Building Outreach: A Big Fat Guide

Link building should be guided by a well-defined strategy and goals rather than solely amassing a specific quantity of backlinks.

While it’s true that link building plays a significant role in SERP rankings, it’s crucial to note that “every link does not carry the same weight”, and a focused approach on acquiring links from relevant sites would yield better results than simply chasing a predetermined number of links.

Examining the backlink portfolio of your rivals can lend insights into their strong and weak points, and uncover potential link opportunities for you.

Relevance should always be at the forefront when seeking links, and doing keyword research is key to discovering fresh opportunities for link building.

Several criteria need to be considered for spotting a promising backlink prospect. First and foremost, relevance is vital, and inbound links should originate from natural and relevant sources.

Assessing competitors is also crucial in discovering new link possibilities.

Conducting keyword research is the cornerstone of any successful SEO strategy and aids in identifying prospects to develop new content that caters to the needs of your target demographic.

The true merit lies in understanding how to look for keywords and leveraging them to enhance the likelihood of conversions. 

Comprehending your audience and harmonising your keyword strategy with their actual search terms is also critical.

Following these guidelines, you can locate valuable backlink prospects to help with your link building outreach to.

What Exactly is Outreach? — Understanding Link Building Strategies & Techniques

Simply put, outreach is contacting external entities requesting a backlink directed to your site. An effective outreach strategy enhances the probability of securing a backlink.

The four popular strategies to consider are:

1. The Skyscraper technique
2. The Moving Man technique
3. Guest Posting
4. Digital PR

Mastering the Skyscraper Technique

The Skyscraper technique involves locating content that other websites have already linked to. 

Then you start producing valuable content on the same topic or niche. 

Your next step is to promote your content to those sites, encouraging the website to link to your new and fresh content instead.

Spotting High-Performing Articles

Using the Backlink Gap tool is a great way to juxtapose your site’s backlink profile with your competitors. 

Creating Better Content

The objective here is simple. Either create a better article than the existing article or update your previous article on the same topic.

As a rule of thumb, spending at least 8/10 hours carefully putting the content with research, citing sources and placing relevant images within the article.

Connecting with Domains

The final move is to contact all sites with a backlink to the existing content and request them to redirect to your better content instead.

Understanding the Moving Man Technique

The method involves contacting sites with outdated content backlinks and asking them to link to your updated content instead. 

The trick here is to locate outdated links on blogs, spots, and articles within your niche or relevant industry.

Prioritise sites with a solid backlink profile. This technique is a fantastic way to amass relevant backlinks to your site with minimal work.

Identifying Outdated Content

This involves locating content and sites that are no longer active or current. Links can become outdated due to;

• Rebranding 
• New URLs 
• Ceased services 
• Discontinued offerings 
• Unmaintained resources

To find such links, try these search strings on Google:

• “service not available” + [industry keyword / article topic] 
• “We have relocated” + [industry keyword / article topic] 
• “page no longer exists” + [industry keyword / article topic] 
• “this website is no longer updated” + [industry keyword / article topic] 
• “this page is no longer updated” + [industry keyword / article topic]

Finding Backlinks to Outdated Content

Once you’ve put together a list of outdated resources, use a backlink analytics tool to locate pages linked to them.

Creating or Updating Content

Create a new article or update an existing one with high-quality, helpful content and engaging for the target audience. It must be relevant to the website’s audience.

Guest Posting

Guest posting involves securing backlinks by offering guest articles to be featured on other sites. We have a separate article all about guest posting which you can read here!

To use this method, you must identify high authority websites or blogs. You can do this by using Aherfs.

Identifying The Right Websites For Your Content

You’ll need to discover websites with high authority in your industry that accepts guest posts. Otherwise, your outreach attempts will be a waste of time if you don’t.

We suggest experimenting with different search strings in Google to unearth blogs which will accept guest posting, for example:

• “Guest author” + “keyword” 
• “Guest post” + “keyword”

Once you find the list of potential websites accepting guest posts, run the URLs through Ahrefs to check the site’s metrics. Remember you are looking for a higher domain rating (DR) than your websites. 

Proposing a Guest Post

Reach out to these blogs in a friendly and professional manner since not all websites are equally open to guest posting

Delivering Content with Links

The final stage involves creating the content. Ensure your guest content is as engaging and provides added value to the website’s audience. 

Remember to follow their guidelines when placing your backlinks and anchor text within the article.

Digital PR

Digital Public Relations (PR) is a tactic to amplify your brand’s digital visibility.

It’s a longer-term outreach strategy involving creating positive PR content about your company and contacting journalists and media outlets which are active in your niche.

Digital PR content can be:

• Guest Blog posts 
• Press Releases 
• Unlinked Mentions

Brainstorming Ideas

Start with generating a list of ideas that align with your niche.

Start Sharing

Start sharing PR about your company, including exciting company events and recent achievements/rewards, and start circulating to related media outlets.

Your content should always include a link to your website, preferably to a relevant webpage within your site

Building an Outreach List

Start to build a list (using Excel or a similar tool) of potential media outlets to whom you can outreach to.

Focus on media websites or journalists who write about your market or niche. Diversify your contact list but only connect with prospects likely interested in your content.

Dispatching Your Pitch

It’s now time to pitch your idea to your outreach list. 

Open and sincere communication is key here as you’re aiming to establish a long-lasting relationship that will be mutually beneficial.

Tips to Increase Your Link Building Outreach Success

The following tips will help you optimise outreach for link building. 

Before starting your outreach and cold emailing, it’s important to understand where your site stands within your niche and the competition you’re up against.

Review Your Current Backlink Profile

Understanding your backlink profile can help you devise an outreach strategy that fills in any gaps in your profile.

A backlink audit assesses all backlinks directed to your website, spotting any toxic backlinks that could negatively impact your website’s rankings. A backlink audit can also pinpoint any backlinks you’re earning from high authority websites.

Several tools allow you to analyse your backlink profile, including Link Research Tools and Semrush’s Backlink Audit tool.

Review Your Competition’s Backlink Profile

Understanding your competition gives you a better shot at success. Most industries and niches have many competitors; you want to save time vetting them. You don’t want to outreach to your competitors directly.

Craft Outreach Emails with the Link Building Tools

These link building tools help you contact site owners to request backlink removals. It’s an excellent means to manage your outreach efforts from start to finish.

After selecting your website by adding the keywords and competitors, you can move them to the “To In Progress” stage. From here, you can use one of our outreach templates and email them directly.

Here’s a pitch template email example:

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Subject: Article about newsletter landing pages on Property Weekly?

Hey [website owner],

As a loyal Property Weekly subscriber, I couldn’t help but be impressed by your recent [article] on the UK property market.

It was both engaging and packed with valuable insights!

While browsing your site, I noticed that there isn’t any content on advice for first time buyers. I wondered if you’re open to accepting guest contributions?

I would love to share my expertise on buying property for the first time. Having authored numerous articles and a book on this subject, I believe I can bring valuable insights to your readers. You’re welcome to review one of my previous articles [here] for reference.

If this proposal works with you, I’d be thrilled to start working on a first draft as early as next week. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Best regards,

---

Run a Gap Analysis

Performing a backlink gap analysis is a fantastic way to spot opportunities based on sites that are linked to competitors in the same market or niche.

Comparing your site’s backlink profile with your competitors’ reveals link building opportunities. If your competitors have a stronger link profile than you, close the gap by securing backlinks they don’t have.

Personalise Your Outreach Emails

Personalising emails and ensuring they strike the right tone is critical for a successful link prospect and building campaign. 

All the work you’ve done up to this point can be squandered if your emails come across as spammy, unreliable, or unprofessional.

Make sure your cold emails are personable by trying the follow;

• Introducing yourself and your site or organisation.
• Highlighting a pain point (and how you’ll resolve it).
• Keeping it brief and to the point.
• Sending your emails from a branded email address.

These tips will help you avoid relegating your email to spam or trash folders.

Boost Your Backlinking with Outreach Strategy

Backlinks are a crucial and influential component of any SEO campaign. They can lead to new connections and heightened brand awareness if done correctly. 

Try these tips to build better relationships and secure high-quality backlinks over time.

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