Outreach like a Maniac!
Outreaching to propose a link exchange is one of the most common off-page optimisation activities, but it’s crazy to think that it’s easy to do. In fact, according toIan Bowden of Search Engine Land, “outreach teams have the most difficult job in an SEO agency.”
Outreach is the process of reaching out to webmasters with the goal of placing or exchanging links to and from their websites. In this article, we’ll help you unravel the basics of outreach for link exchange and provide tips for you to launch a successful outreach campaign, even if it’s your first time doing so.
Why Outreach is Important
Inbound links, or backlinks, are links from other websites that point to your website or a specific page inside it. Search engines see backlinks as a vote of confidence to your website and its content. Especially when the network of websites that link back to you boasts of a high domain or page authority.Straight up: that’s premium link juice passing on to you!
High-quality backlinks from reputable websites is one ranking signal you should invest in and strive for. The benefits include driving a ton of referral traffic from your site and increasing your site’s visibility on the SERPs.
On the other side of the coin, outreach matters because it enables you to control the quality and relevance of your link acquisitions over time. By reaching out to websites of similar niche and industry, you can create a mutual relationship with them and exchange links, where you can place links on each other’s pages.That is, provided the links are relevant to the pages they connect to.
Neglecting the state of your backlink profile can hurt your optimisation efforts by leaving it open to leeches in the form of bad and irrelevant links - links you’d most likely have to disavow later!
How to Do Link Exchange Outreach
Before you start sending those emails or sliding through people’s DMs, you must carefully plan how you’ll execute your outreach campaign.
1. Scout the Target Websites
To begin, you must identify the websites you’d like to exchange links with. As a rule, you have to propose link exchange with websites that are within your niche and industry. Once you lock them in, sift through the list and prioritise those that have a strong online presence.You can use tools like Moz to determine a site’s domain authority to help you narrow down your prospects.
2. Craft a Personalised Email/Message
Once you’ve identified your list of potential websites, you can start writing your personalised email or message(if you want to reach out in a more informal venue) to the webmaster. The art of crafting a persuasive email/message is a course in itself, but generally, your email should sound friendly yet professional. Above all, it should be clear and state why you’re reaching out and what’s the call to action for the receiver of the message. It helps to outline what’s in it for them too, so they can promptly respond to your request.
While sending the email, you can try to do an A/B test of your subject line and the email copy/message so you can check which variant works and yields the most number of clicks and replies.
3. Create a Content that Webmasters will want to link to
You can’t propose a link exchange if you don’t have a meaningful commodity to share or trade with. More often than not, it's content in your website that is considered ‘premium’, or the kind that webmasters will want to link to. For this, you have to work on your content marketing strategy. Do you have an e-book to share? A comprehensive white paper or an interesting case study? How about an interactive questionnaire? What should you have on your website that makes it appealing for others to link back to you?
4. Send a Follow Up
If you don’t hear back immediately, don’t lose hope. In our experience, it’s rare that website owners reply after the first contact: they’re simply busy or distracted. You can send a follow up email after a few days.
Refrain from sending the same message again. Craft a follow up email but make sure that the message is more compelling. If you still don’t receive a response, you can try reaching out through a different platform or try following up again at a later date.
Tips for a Successful Outreach Campaign
So you now know how to execute an outreach campaign? Here are some tips to ensure that your off-page optimisation efforts will get you that coveted link juice:
1. Choose Quality over Quantity
You might be tempted to knock on every door of webmasters to ask to link back to you. While it is indeed a numbers game, it’s more important to focus on getting only high-quality backlinks. You should allocate your time and effort for the most relevant and authoritative websites in your space.
2. Provide Value
Before you embark on an outreach campaign, assess first what value you will bring to your target websites. Think of it as akin to relationship building. What can you provide so they will respond to you and continue engaging with you?
3. Be Persistent
There will be times when you’ll face scores of rejection emails before you get your first backlink. Don’t give up too easily! Outreach is known as a slow and time-consuming process. Keep following up and who knows, that last email you sent may reward you with a high-quality backlink.
4. Be Resourceful
Sometimes, you can’t and won’t reach someone via one avenue alone. If they don’t respond to emails (and many do suffer from inbox fatigue!), try giving them a holler on social media. If you can find them on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, start the conversation there. There are website owners, especially influencers, who engage better through informal means. Be resourceful!
Need help jumpstarting your outreach campaign? We’ll hold your hand every step of the way! Our outreach team will be at your service to get you backlinks that matter. Give us a call today!
