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Writer's pictureVincent Grippi

Link Building Outreach: More Than an SEO Strategy

Updated: May 26, 2023

Link building outreach is often misidentified as simply being an SEO tactic. However, link building outreach offers benefits that go well beyond its impact on search engine rankings. It can also be a powerful way to build relationships, improve brand visibility, and drive traffic to your website.


This article will provide an overview of link building outreach, its potential impact on your brand, as well as the benefits and challenges that come with it. From establishing thought leadership to increasing referral traffic, we will show you how link building outreach is more than just an SEO strategy, if you’re willing to put in the work.


Conducting Link Building Outreach


What is Link Building Outreach?


Link building outreach is all about identifying and building relationships with creators and publications that align with your brand to share your content. It is a process of acquiring backlinks from other websites to your own. It involves reaching out to website owners, bloggers, and other content creators to request links to your site.


Link building outreach can be done through a variety of formats, including:


  • Having your content featured on other websites. This can be done through guest blogging, submitting articles to directories, or pitching your content to editors.

  • Being interviewed or featured in podcasts. This is a great way to get your name and brand out there, and it can also help you build relationships with other industry leaders.

  • Having your work cited as a source. This is a subtle way to get backlinks to your website, and it can also help you establish yourself as an authority in your field.

  • Contributing content to other websites. This is a great way to get your name and brand out there, and it can also help you build relationships with other website owners.


Do Backlinks Really Matter?


Like any other industry, the digital marketing world has its fair share of bad actors. The rise of spammy and unethical link building outreach tactics has caused Google to devalue the importance of backlinks for SEO. While Google has devalued backlinks in recent years, they still play an important role in your SEO strategy.


Per a study conducted by Thrive My Way, websites that rank #1 on Google have 3.8x more backlinks than the other top ten sites!


If you prioritize creating high-quality, relevant content and focus on building genuine relationships with other reputable website owners and content creators, you can earn organic, high-quality backlinks that drive traffic and enhance your brand's visibility.


Link building outreach stat


Benefits of Link Building Outreach


Link building outreach offers several significant advantages beyond its impact on search engine rankings.


Building Valuable Relationships with Publishers


By reaching out to other website owners and bloggers, you can build relationships that can lead to future collaborations and partnerships. These relationships can also help you get your content in front of a wider audience and help your brand stand out in a crowded market.


Increasing Your Brand's Visibility and Reputation


When your website is linked to high-quality sites, it can enhance your credibility and make your brand more visible to potential customers. This increased exposure can translate into higher traffic and sales.


Drive Referral Traffic to Your Site


Getting backlinks from reputable and high-traffic websites is a great way to drive new visitors to your own website and convert them into customers.


Brand Positioning


To solidify your brand's status as a leading player in its industry and enhance its reputation, it's essential to capitalize on content creation and earned media opportunities that align with your target audience. This involves actively pursuing and securing prominent features on respected podcasts and publications, as well as crafting engaging content for high-quality websites. By earning recognition from industry experts and media influencers, your brand can attract new customers and business partners, while simultaneously boosting its reputation and credibility.


Improve Search Engine Rankings


We already established why links still matter when it comes to SEO. And link building outreach is the most proactive way to obtain high-quality, authentic links to your website.


High-quality backlinks from reputable sites can help your rankings. In turn, higher search engine rankings leads to increased traffic and revenue.


💡 Tip: The top page listed in a Google search has an average click-through rate of 25.6% (as of March 2023). The second has an estimated 10.25%.


The Challenges of Link Building Outreach


You're probably wondering: "If link building outreach is so effective, why isn't every marketing team doing it?" Well, that's because the process of link building outreach can present significant challenges for marketing teams due to a variety of factors.


First, it can be time-consuming and labor-intensive. To build links effectively, you need to identify relevant websites and influencers, research their editorial guidelines, and craft compelling outreach messages. This process can take hours or even days, depending on the number of websites you're targeting. Most editors aren't so quick to listen to your outreach, unless you already have a professional relationship with them - and building that takes time!


Second, link building is a competitive game. There are thousands of other marketers out there who are also trying to build links to their websites. This means that you need to be creative and strategic in your outreach efforts in order to stand out from the crowd.


Third, link building can be risky. If you're not careful, you could end up building links that are considered spammy or low-quality. This can actually hurt your website's SEO performance, rather than help it.


Despite the challenges, link building can be a valuable tool for marketing teams. When done correctly, it can help you improve your website's visibility and traffic. However, it's important to remember that link building is a complex and time-consuming process. If you're not sure where to start, you can consider hiring an experienced SEO consultant or agency to assist.


If you know that your team is at a disadvantage, it's perfectly acceptable to outsource this work to experts with the experience and knowledge necessary to execute a successful link building outreach strategy. This can help ensure that your efforts are efficient and effective and that you're getting the best possible results for your investment.



The Bottom Line: Link Building Outreach Works


Despite the challenges, link building is a valuable tool for marketing teams, offering benefits that far exceed "being good for SEO." When done correctly, link building outreach can help you improve your brand's visibility and credibility, while helping you establish valuable relationships with publishers and content creators. However, it's important to remember that link building is a complex and time-consuming process. If you're not sure where to start, you can consider hiring an SEO consultant or agency to assist.




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