Despite the recent Google algorithm changes, building backlinks is still a big part of SEO. However, building high quality backlinks as part of an effective SEO strategy takes work. With the Penguin algorithm changes, a lot of the easy backlink strategies such as directories, social bookmarking, and random private blog networks are no longer effective ways to build your authority, traffic, and rankings.
So, what are effective ways to build back links if you own an online tool site? Here we highlight 5 of the best.
1. Freemium Review
If your online tool has any sort of free trial or freemium version, a great way to attract backlinks is to approach influencers and people in your niche with a trial of the paid version of the tool. Effective keyword research can help identify the right influencers and topics that are most likely to attract backlinks. Why give away a paid version? Because you want them to feel you appreciate them and their time. I love trialling SEO software and adding it to my arsenal of tools and so will others in your niche.
Make sure you pay attention to the pitch though. Read here for ideas on headlines and ways to pitch. And don’t forget the followup. A study by Backlinko has proven than following up a number of times can have a serious impact on the success of gaining a link back. >
Broken Links Building
This is a great strategy if you have a tech tool such as a CSV converter, time scheduling software or a grammar/spelling app. With this strategy, you will want to find sites which list their favourite tools or resources. Many sites have a resource page listing valuable tools and links. These are often accrued over time and webmasters often neglect to keep these pages up to date, meaning old sites, sites that have moved or have expired could still be listed. The aim of this strategy is to find these sites, highlight the broken links, advise the webmaster or site admin and offer you a tool or site as an alternative.
You can often find .edu sites use these for research purposes too. Most sites that passionate about a topic will have a page dedicated to resources, books and tools related to that subject. These are usually called links.php or resources etc. To find these pages you can either use a tool like Link Prospector to find these sites for you or even do a search in Google. For example “hr software resources”.
Once you have a list of pages that link to their favourite sites, you will now need to find broken links on these pages. I recommend “check my links” which can be easily installed to your website browser. Load up the page with the reference links you want to check and press the check my links button and it will highlight any broken links In red.
Once you have a list of sites with broken links, you need to highlight the pages, the broken links (I usually use the link anchor text in the email so the webmaster can easily find them) and find the contact details of the site owner and put together an email like the one below. Targeting relevant sites in your niche can increase the chances of getting your tool listed as a replacement for broken links. As with other types of email outreach I always recommend emailing from the domain you are reaching out from rather than using a free email address such as Gmail or Hotmail as it adds extra credibility and increases the chances of your email being opened.
Obviously, if you are doing this manually it can take a bit of work, but well worth the effort. Don’t forget to follow up at least twice on the original email.
3. Guest Post
For this strategy, it’s vitally important you have fresh content which is authoritative and shows your expertise. Guest posting is a vital part of any effective link building strategy. Targeting relevant sites in your niche can maximize the impact of your guest posts. Broad guest posting is usually frowned upon in the SEO community, however, if you pick sites that are set up for an audience rather than just SEO, you can often easily land really good opportunities to post content on. How do you tell a good site apart from a bad site to guest post on, easy..look at the site and ask yourself if Google didn’t exist, would I post here? I would grab a list of sites that are relevant to your niche but still broad enough to have a reasonable amount of opportunities to contact. For example, say you have an email scheduling software tool you are wanting to attract links to. You could look for blogs related to email, time management, scheduling or marketing. As above you could use either link prospector or a Google search to find opportunities using search operators such as “intitle” “write for us” or “inurl” guest post
4. Expert Round-Up
One of the most popular ways to earn authoritative links is through content marketing and especially expert round-ups. Expert round-ups are a great way to create valuable resources that attract backlinks. This is where you invite experts in your niche to give their opinion on a subject, which would then be turned into a guest blog post, a survey or infographic.
The key to success in this campaign is to do your research beforehand. Bloggers, influencers and site owners are busy people, just like yourself. Make sure you pick a topic they would be interested in commenting in with an attractive subject line. Connecting with website owners for expert round-ups can lead to valuable backlinks and increased authority. Pick a handful of questions via email, or schedule a webchat or phone call to interview them over the phone.
Once you have the material ready, make sure you reach out to them to advise the content is live. If you are lucky, they will either share or even mention your content in a linkback to your site as a way of sharing their insights.
Competitor Analysis for High Quality Backlinks
If this isn’t enough in terms of strategy ideas, why not grab your top 5-10 competitors and use a tool like Ahrefs or Majestic, to see what strategies your competitors are using to attract backlinks and improve search engine rankings. Understanding these competitor strategies can help you enhance your own search engine results.
You will often find a theme in your niche on a way forward and may even uncover other strategies such as events, tradeshows or exhibitions, or even reverse broken link building (blog post in the future on this strategy).
Link building is very much still alive; however, it is vital you attract the right kind of links. With pre-planning and persistence, you can easily find a way to build links that are relevant and have authority, regardless of the niche.
Happy link earning!
