How to strategize your first link-building campaign?
Is it necessary to pay for links? Where do you look for possibilities to create links? How do you get in touch with other websites?
We will discuss these questions further in this blog.
Campaign overview is the key.
You may keep track of your progress using a spreadsheet. Because every component of your outreach effort is crucial, make sure you allocate adequate time to address everything, including:
- The name and domain of the websites you contact
- When was the first time you met each lead?
- The number of follow-up emails you send to each lead.
- The contact information at your website.
- The links you provided in exchange for your offers
It is crucial for everyone in charge of your link-building effort because it provides a comprehensive overview of all options. It also helps to clarify the entire procedure, making it simple to compare options.
Link Quality Control
You should evaluate the quality of a site you’d like to collaborate with before paying for a link – or even before negotiating with someone. Examine the company’s overall link profile: what are the inbound and outbound links like? They are unlikely to boost your DR if they have inbound links to anything suspicious, particularly 2nd tier links to PBNs (Private Blog Networks). It’s most likely a shady site using black hat tactics to exaggerate link prices and increase their DR.
It’s usually quite simple to tell whether this is the case: does their traffic match their Domain Authority?
We understand that these technologies aren’t 100 percent accurate in traffic estimates, but this is enough to raise suspicions. Also, look at their outbound links. Most websites will link to controversial platforms such as CBD or gambling, but if every link is to one of these topics, that’s a red indicator. You can use whatever tool you want for this; however, we favor Ahrefs Linked Domains Report. You’ll be able to spot sites that have no doubts about linking to several spammy CBD, gambling, or pornographic sites.
You can also use this information to determine a reasonable offer and as bargaining ammo. Finally, do a quick sense check. What is the overall impression of the website? It’s a little difficult to quantify, but if something doesn’t feel right or the site appears to be a paid link farm, trust your instincts. Both new and older sites should monitor these metrics to maintain a healthy backlink profile.
How to obtain free backlinks?
We propose that you try to get free backlinks for every new site you create, regardless of the specifics of your niche. As previously said, looking for free opportunities makes good business sense. Especially relevant considering all of the simplified and “standardized” methods of obtaining free backlinks available today. Let’s have a look at them.
Guest Posting
Guest posting involves writing a post for a blog in your field that includes a link to one of your articles. Guest posting is a great technique to earn some free links if you’re on a tight budget. You can do it in two ways. You might start by looking for guest posting possibilities. You can identify sites that have accepted guest posts in the past by searching for your niche topic + “guest post.” This can lead you to sites that have a consistent approach for accepting guest posts in many circumstances.
Many people will tell you that this strategy is ineffective because everyone is doing it and the sites are often of lower quality, and there is some truth to this. However, at Authority Hacker, we base our recommendations on evidence rather than philosophy. Indeed, the first six connections we acquired on the site came from this strategy, and they were all highly relevant and of great quality, leading us to believe it was well worth it.
It’s vital to keep in mind, though, that many people will solicit you for money during this procedure. Don’t be discouraged; it’s just a numbers game. The more emails you send, the more opportunities you’ll have to find a free backlink. And these prospects are unquestionably available. However, as this is a numbers game, you might want to try a different strategy. You can also use the Shotgun Skyscraper Technique, which allows you to contact dozens of webmasters at once.
Here’s how you can get started:
- Use Ahrefs to load one of your competitors.
- Look at their backlinks.
- Import backlinks into Buzzstream.
- Manually review all the sites for relevancy and delete any that appear to be questionable.
- Find the site’s proprietors’ email addresses.
- Use a pre-written message to reach out.
While I’d love to delve into pitching fantastic ideas, I’ll simply give my personal favorite: Ahrefs’ Splintering Technique, which they detail in their Guest Posting guide. You’ll thank me later if you’re bad at pitching amazing ideas.
After you’ve completed this procedure, make sure you contact each lead at least once. When you receive a response, they will either offer you a free guest article or ask for money. If you do decide to pay for links, it’s almost always a better deal to merely ask for a link insertion straight away. Paying for both the link and the content creation has minimal value.
Link Exchanges
If you’re just starting with a website, you’ll need to find another site with which to exchange links. If you have the opportunity, take advantage of high-quality link exchanges. Just keep in mind that the content on these sites should always be of high quality. Exchanges are a good feature of a healthy link profile if all boxes are checked.
I can’t emphasize enough how important this is. If it’s obvious that they’re trying to push spammy or low-quality content, simply ignore it. “Would I put this stuff on my blog?” you might wonder. You can always think outside the box if you don’t have another site to use in talks. You can potentially negotiate any service or product into the backlink negotiation if you provide it. Think outside the box — there’s no telling what you can do with a little foresight!
Help A Reporter Out (HARO)
Help a Reporter Out (HARO) is a platform where authority site owners assist reporters with information and, in some cases, guest posts in exchange for a backlink. When you’re first starting, HARO is still a wonderful option to consider.
The best method to find out if HARO can help your site is by signing up and starting contacting reporters depending on their needs. While there are various tips available and I could go into further depth on what to say and how to say it, the truth is that the best thing to do is to get right in. If you haven’t found any opportunities after a while, it’s safe to assume that HARO isn’t right for your site. Before you dismiss it completely, give it a go.
Conclusion
You can get great backlinks if you keep these things in mind:
- Keep a close eye on every aspect of your marketing.
- Maintain a healthy mix of sponsored and unpaid links.
- Discuss the possibility of backlinks.
- You can manage the quality of backlinks you receive.
- Make use of the shotgun skyscraper method.
- Sign up on HARO
Getting backlinks for a new website is difficult, especially if you don’t want to pay for them. But it’s possible. If you work hard as we showed you in this essay, you’ll see results sooner than you think.