Learn to build links to march to success in SEO in 2020 and beyond

SEO link building is the benchmark of driving traffic to one’s website. Let us see some things that shall enable us to do this.

This is definitely an important part of digital marketing. We need to know this completely

For students, link building is a career option for which they need to do research.

Some tools for link building are 
Ahrefs a link building software suite designed for SEO pros but also easy for non-technical users to use. It costs $99-$999 per month
Linkody, a user-friendly backlink tracker that is not very expensive. It costs $14-$139 per month
GroupHigh, that costs $179-$499 per month
to find bloggers for outreach campaigns. 

We could use also tools like SEOQuake that are effective and free. Businesses can add this as one of the tasks their digital marketing team needs to do as it does add value.

Businesses would gain by being known in the digital world and get additional customers, as in the digital world, a back-link is a good recommendation, just like word-of-mouth reference in traditional marketing. This is the best way to get a customer. 

1.  Round up links

These are curated blog updates that link out to their favourite content during a given time period.

We need to find these opportunities and send them an email pitch, suggesting they link to a piece of your content in their next update.

These  are a tremendous way to land links in lots especially when we have something of value to share.

Naturally, success depends on the quality of the content we submit. So, one should not compromise on quality.

Titles are important – so we need to look for eye catching titles like the following for titles like:

·         “Top News Posts of the Week”

·         “Best of Digital Marketing: Monthly Blog Roundup”

·         “Top Discount Tips of the Month”

How do we find such opportunities?

a. We need to use search engine operators in Google, Yahoo, Bing and Duck Duck Go.

b. Search for them on Twitter using keywords and #hashtags

How do we secure the link?

After we have identified an opportunity, we must look for a way to contact the person (email, form, social – email is preferred).

Then, we need to send them an outreach email asking them for inclusion. This should be stated with a good pitch.

2. Resource Pages

This connects to content deemed important for their audience.

While there is a roundup, there’s a few key points.

·         This takes place on a regular basis and features content recently published.

·         This is updated once and reaches out to eternal content.

The biggest difference is the pitch:

·         This takes place before the blogger creates the post, asking for a link in the upcoming post.

·         This pitch takes place after the content is published, asking for them to add your content to their page.

These generally have a lower success rate, as we’re asking someone to update content.

What does a “resource page” opportunity look like?

Some examples are

·         A lawyer might have a resource page that features important forms, government documentation or insights not featured on their own site.

·         An agency that does digital work might link out to tools they use, industry data or insights not featured on their own site.

How do we find “resource page” opportunities?

One can use search engine operators in Google, Yahoo, Bing and Duck Duck Go.

It’s important to find good opportunities, otherwise a pitch will be a complete waste of our time.

If we don’t have a “free online resource for learning SEO”, don’t waste time pitching for inclusion.

Of course, we could  find multiple resource opportunities to pitch to.

How do we secure the link?

After one has  identified an opportunity, one needs to look for a way ahead. We could  contact the person (email, form, social – email is preferred).

We need to try and give a good incentive to take action with a strong value proposition.

·         We could share the piece on social, email, etc. to drive new visitors to their site

·         Inform them know you’ve got a better, updated piece of content

·         Fix a broken link

3. Broken Link Building

We don’t want to send our visitors to a page or website that doesn’t exist, it’s bad for the user experience.

This is the process of finding relevant websites that are linking out to dead pages, notifying them and offering your link to replace the dead one.

At first glance, this seems like a load of work. This however is necessary. Look for tools that could help.

Essentially, one should perform broken link building as a subset of pitching resource pages. That way, we don’t waste any time and maximize emails sent.

How do we secure the link?

Broken link building has a high success rate (5x better than resource pages) because we’re helping someone fix a problem.

We need to send them an email pitch letting them know exactly where to find the link and a pitch to replace it. It’s important to note, our link should be a spot on replacement to the dead link we’re pitching. Otherwise, you’ll have a low success rate.

4. Guest Posting

Guest posting is the best way to secure links for our website.

On top of the SEO benefit, we get significant traffic, brand exposure and build relationships with key industry influencers.

With that being said, guest posting requires us to create great content on a consistent basis.

What does a “guest post” look like?

A single such post could help post for competitive keyword rankings and drive significant traffic to our site. We just need to find good bloggers.

How do we find “guest posting” opportunities?

a. We need to use search engine operators in Google, Yahoo, Bing and Duck Duck Go.

b. Pitching relevant, authority blogs.

If we are just starting with guest blogging, stick to using search operators to find sites actively accepting content.

Once we build a track record, we can pitch anyone you want. One should generally look for big, authority websites with an active audience.

After we have identified an opportunity, we need to look for a way to contact the person (email, form, social – email is preferred).

5. Sponsored Posts

Basically one needs to find sites that accept advertisers and pitch them on a “native” buy.We could send a pitch asking someone to sponsor a post.

All the above would help us do great SEO link building in 2020. Students will get jobs in this arena as everyone knows the power of SEO and business will surely grow when they take it seriously. We could certainly begin now.