Link Building Outreach: Make It Work

SEO optimization strategies and methods have evolved drastically in the past years. Link building, for example, can be extremely effective if you plan out an efficient link-building strategy. Link building is the process of trying to get third-party web pages to link to yours, while link building outreach is the process of attempting to reach out to those third parties inquiring about possibilities of getting the links back to your website. Link building is a strategy, while link building outreach is the process of outreaching itself, the process of contacting people in charge, people who can help you get that link.

The process is extremely tricky, but you may already know that if you ever had a chance to lead a link-building outreach campaign. The ways to reach owners, editors, or marketing people from those third-party websites vary. It happens today on social media, privately, or via email. You need to come up with link-building strategies if you want to boost organic and referral traffic to your website.

A link-building outreach campaign is about getting valuable links precisely. The focus is quality, not quantity. Let’s look into mass email outreach. Does it work? If you don’t target your requests properly, your messages end up sitting in somebody’s spam folder. There are ways to get in touch with site owners or people working on the content via social media personal and professional networks. Also, strive to get high-quality backlinks so search engine codes boost your visibility. Do your best to facilitate the high flow of organic traffic.

We recommend reading this article till the very end, as we have gathered the most useful tips based on our experience to help you with your link-building efforts.

Link Building Outreach Process Stages

We have been in the link-building outreach business long enough to tell you straight up that you need a clear strategy to build relationships with people who can help you kick off your link-building campaign. Link building is similar to a networking process. If you want to generate as many inbound links as possible, a one-time deal will not do you any good in the long run. Try to establish more stable connections. Typically, an outreach process consists of stages, such as creating a list of outreach targets, generating offers, and negotiating the terms.

Before we go into details for every single stage we mentioned, please read some general tips first:

• Proofread your content. Quality content is a key trust-building factor. Make sure the content you promote is of the highest standard, or your potential link partners may hesitate to work with you. Content creation platforms can help you write the best content. Don’t undervalue a resource page. You can use it to create topic clusters, and it is very beneficial for you because resource pages are powerful in Google rankings.
• Use technology. Don’t underestimate the benefits of using the software as a means of link-building outreach tool. The most popular are Ahrefs, Pitchbox, and Hunter.io. Ahrefs can even help you find broken links.
• Search for websites that relate to your business indirectly. There is a chance that a website with various links to your competitors is willing to do business with you, which makes them your possible link targets. However, double-check if the website is, in fact, responsive to link building before contacting the owners. Look for a guest post they recently ran, or links they already have that take you to your competitor’s website.
• Avoid spammy websites. Search engines will disregard links to spammy websites, and you can end up destroying your search ranking and wasting your time. 

Apply those tips for all types of link-building outreach campaigns. Please continue reading to learn details about each stage.

Discovering link-building opportunities

If you perform a manual search for the websites to backlink, you can create a shortlist of linking opportunities for your convenience. You can also use a link-building tool for that. To simplify the process and reduce the load of work, check the list thoroughly to see if there are any people you have already been in contact with. Maybe you know someone from that company, and you can just reach out directly and cut right to the chase.

Here are our favorite link-building strategies for target outreach:

1. Competitor backlinks research. If you find a website that links to your competitors, chances are, it can be useful for you as well. We call it a competitor backlinks strategy. Go to the website of the competition, copy its URL, go to Ahrefs, and post it in the “Backlinks” field. Go through the results to filter out the most recent ones. The backlink tool’s purpose is to compare your competitors’ site’s backlink profile with yours.
2. Link Intersect. Once again, Ahrefs can help you with this one. This is a strategy you can use to figure out the list of your potential targets that already link to your competitors but not your business’ website.
3. Niche websites. Another strategy to find potential link-building partners is to target websites with content indirectly related to your business. This is an easy procedure, and you can do it via a simple Google search. Just make sure to type in the right keywords.
4. Guest blogging. There are websites in relevant industries that accept guest posts. You can run a fast Google search for that, or you do your search through your competitors. If you go with the first option, your keyword search will look like “industry name+guest post.” In the second case scenario, you type in the competition’s name plus “guest posts.”
5. Broken Link Building. It is a brilliant strategy that allows you to earn links without begging. All you have to do is find a broken link on resource pages, notify the website owners about the problem, and politely ask if you can post your link instead of the broken one.

We can’t say other existing strategies are less efficient, but we just did our best to elaborate on the most common and efficient ones.

Find the Right Contact

Outreach link emails can facilitate the link-building process only if you manage to contact the right people. What kind of people should you be looking to? People who are responsible for the content are editors, content managers, blog managers, and Marketing executives. Outreach emails’ purpose is to reach their targets, so avoid using generic usernames, such as “info” or “admin.” Aim for the personal user names so your email does not go into the spam. Find a way to contact the right person by searching for their profiles on social media. For example, you can retrieve email information on LinkedIn or any other type of social media; it will only take a few minutes.

Browse social media, looking for influencers you can connect with to build links. They use social media platforms to generate income and most likely constantly search for fresh content. Influencer outreach is just as good as email outreach, so keep your mind open to other options to balance out the outreach process for the purpose of building links.

Once you get your list of emails in order, please choose between templated emails and direct emails. Templated ones are for contacting a bigger number of smaller blogs and websites. Use email templates, but customize them as much as possible. Use direct emails to earn a link from authoritative websites. One high-quality link is worth a lot because it has a positive effect on organic search traffic.

Templated Outreach strategy

For the templated email outreach strategy, please follow a simple protocol:

1. Select email segments. Go through the list of the websites you put together in advance and split them into segments so that when you contact them, the email you send is the most relevant. It is like you are sending down templates, but they are semi-custom. This strategy is more streamlined and less time-consuming.
2. Write templates. You need to find a balance between sending multiple email templates and making them personalized. Each email must have the target’s website and name. Make it personal – introduce yourself. State the reason you are writing to the person clearly. Provide proof that other sites have already linked to you. Customize content for each segment by adding a compelling subject line, and make sure to include your professional signature. Be convincing and explain the benefits of working together. Eliminate spam triggers words like “link exchange,” so your link-building pitches aren’t categorized as spam.
3. Arrange the time. Having a system goes a long way. Preview your emails, format them if needed, and schedule them. Take into account your recipients’ time zones, and adjust the schedule accordingly so people in charge get your outreach email by the beginning of their workday.

Try to add some personal touch to your templated emails, but save some time along the way.

Reaching out to authoritative websites

Most authoritative websites publish specific instructions on how to get your guest post. You have to follow them immaculately for your link-building purposes. They can deny your application if you fail to meet the requirements. 

If you can’t locate any specific instructions after checking all the relevant sections with subject lines such as “Blogging Guidelines” or “Guest blog post,” just go with the general recommendations below:

• Make your pitch stand out to prove you can engage the audience

Bring out your expertise. Nobody is interested in reading something that has been posted, reposted, and rehearsed a hundred times. Aim for uniqueness. Content marketing leads to a 97% rise in the number of links.

• Add published articles to show your social existence

High-quality links are hard to get. In order to convince people to work with you, you may want to provide proof that you are able to create high-standard content. A referral to the existing published article will do.

• Make it sound personal to stand out

Make sure to mention the name of the person you are trying to get your reply from. Other link builders are trying hard as well, so imagine the number of requests editors get and do your best to be noticeable.

• Follow up to make sure the recipient opened your email

You can’t really know why you did not get the response. There is a chance nobody opened your email, so you always need to check whether they ignored it or simply missed it. When writing a follow-up email, please remember to make it personal as well. A genuine email address and an attractive subject line rules apply here as well. Consistency will get 40% more links on average.

Whether you have decided to generate links using direct or templated emails, follow the tips above to become a better link builder.

Finalize The Deal

Be ready to receive negative replies. You can get a list of conditions you need to meet in order to get your link. 

The most common responses are usually the following:

1. They don’t work with old articles
2. They want something in return
3. They charge a fee

Rejection is a natural reaction. Most likely, you can overcome it by paying. Don’t give up, and do your best to convince them to work with you.

Frequently Asked Questions — FAQ:

How can I earn links from authoritative websites?

You need to establish legitimacy in the eyes of your possible link partners. You can do that by providing proof of your social presence. You need to demonstrate you are capable of producing unique content. Check if they received your first email if you did not get a reply after initiating contact.

How to deal with rejection after the outreach?

Figure out the reason for rejection and act accordingly. If your recipient reaches out to you saying that you have to pay, there is not much you can do but negotiate the cost. Try to get a discount, and don’t treat their rejection as a personal failure. Most links require effort, discipline, and consistency.

What is link reclamation?

Link reclamation is searching for any broken links that don’t link properly to the content about your company. Basically, you focus on passive links. You can even run a search on different types of references to your business without a proper link. Like a screenshot or a Google image, someone is using without a link.