Anatomy of a link building campaign - This is exactly what happens when you hire a link builder

Anatomy Of A Link Building CampaignWhat exactly happens when you hire a link builder?

Dan Raywww.raydigitalmarketing.comDan@raydigitalmarketing.

com

http://www.raydigitalmarketing.com/


Onboarding - The Boring Admin Stuff

The second you pay your first invoice, I jump into various admin tasks to get you setup and ready to begin your campaign…

These include:

Creating a gmail account

Getting access to your analytics account

And then your search console account

Set up your reporting book and search operator file (these are the key)

Then I will begin with the actual work:

Content Analysis

Link Analysis

Assigning target Pages and Keywords

Build your project plan

The details of these steps are on the following pages...

Dan Raywww.raydigitalmarketing.comDan@raydigitalmarketing.

com

Dan Ray | www.raydigitalmarketing.com | [email protected]

Content and Link AnalysisI then take a look into your current content:

What do I have to work with?Are you actively creating content?Do you have a content creator?How many social shares does each piece

of content get?Do you have distribution channels built

out (email list, social following etc)Are you willing to invest in content

creation?

And then at your current link profile:

Is your domain clean? No links that are spammy or unnatural

Is anchor text ratio clean? Not over optimisedRun majestic on target pages to make sure

that everything is in order from a linking perspective

Check your metrics, TF (trust flow), CF (citation flow), DA (domain authority), PA (page authority), link history for any blips, links from relevant websites


I make a list of all of the information I have gathered from the few steps above (I keep this list in a reporting document that is updated in real time, and can be accessed by you any time you want to).

This keeps track of all of the content that I will be using, the keywords that it is currently ranking for and any that I think it should be or can rank for.


Generate a huge list of Google operatorsI then use the keywords generated in the step above to create an enormous list of Google Operators, these are powerful words and characters that can be appended to search terms in Google that help to filter out specific results.For example, if you are building links in the “lego” niche, you could use a term such as –“lego inurl:resources”This would return any pages about lego that have the word “resources” in the URL. This is likely to be a list of resources about lego, ready for me to show your resource to them.



Select types of links based on content we have, budget, willingness to add contentBased on the type of site that you have and the things I have uncovered in the previous steps, I will select a few types of links that would be most suited to your site, these won’t be used exclusively but will be the basis for the campaign.Good examples of this are in industries that aren’t so “interesting”, or if you don’t have a lot of content on your site.In these situations I know that the best types of links to create will be content placements on other sites, local bloggers, or my “bridge method” (which finds related industries to yours that aren’t in competition with you, think web designers sites for an SEO).All of the types listed above do not require content on your site, but content to be created to be placed on other people’s sites, this content will contain a link to your site.



Create a project management planAt this point everything is in place, I have all of the information that I need to run your campaign, it’s time to create a roadmap of how the next few months will go.In your reporting document I create a project management tab that will show you exactly what will be done over the next 3 steps, this is very detailed and items will be updated in real time as “assigned”, “working” or “completed”.This keeps you constantly updated on what I have been doing for you and will be doing in the next few months.Dan Ray | www.raydigitalmarketing.com | [email protected]


Find opportunitiesOk so by this point I know:

Which keywords you want to rank forThe content that I can use to rankThe types of links I want to get for youThe search operators I will use to generate

targets for linksI use these 4 things to create a list of

targets, I call this prospecting. This is a constantly ongoing process, so if you ever look into your reporting sheet, you will see all of the targets and their status, this will change for you on a daily basis as I update it in real time.Dan Ray | www.raydigitalmarketing.com | [email protected]



Outreach For each of the targets I have found I will then send a personal email, using their name if possible and the most appropriate type of email based on the type of link I will be asking for.The approach for a content placement, is very different to the approach for a resource link for example.

Follow upProbably one of the most important parts of the process, mostly overlooked by other people.People get hundreds of emails every day, you probably do too and it’s extremely easy to ignore them, for this reason, I send a follow up email (or 3) to all the targets who don’t get back to me.I also track email opens, so that I know who has opened an email and not replied, and who just hasn’t seen it yet, these people receive completely different follow up messages.


ResultsThe benefits of the methodology that I have created are primarily based around 2 performance indicators.

1. Referral traffic growth2. Organic traffic growth

This is people clicking on the links that I build for you, and the links improving your organic rankings.



Typical links expectationsThis is completely dependent on the type of content we have, what your site is selling, and the reaction and attitudes of the targets being approached. But I tend to get between 10-20 links per month.The more willing that you are to create content for me to use, specific content that I choose and create it quickly, the higher this number will be.For example, a client of mine has created 15 pieces this month

5 of which are for their sites based on different types of target I wanted to approach3 were for opportunities discovered where people were linking to a resource that no longer

existed, I created a version of it and suggested it as a replacement for the “broken” link10 were for content placements2 were improvements on popular pieces of content that already had plenty of links, I simply

show them the “better” version.Dan Ray | www.raydigitalmarketing.com | [email protected]



Link sheet – this is a live spreadsheet containing various tabs, that will show you the project plan, all targets, the status of outreach, opportunities, the content I am using for outreach, the passwords of any accounts I have set up for the campaign, live links, and plenty of other useful information.

SEE AN EXAMPLE

End of month report – This is a short informal document that I send at the end of each month to give an overview of the campaign, I will suggest any improvement, show increases in traffic and any other relevant information.

SEE AN EXAMPLE

Reporting


https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dAIUWLmH6uvl3_GpdldoadiHNbAYQaRPXUAqt7yuu_E/edit?usp=sharing

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TQr_xj6_ZSStWozOKlNIJnHKMJtBpp52IDEiWidePcg/edit?usp=sharing

Pricing

Pricing starts at £1000 per month

Most people like to start with a £2000 per month agreement.

Average is £5000 (generally rising to this figure with time).

Highest current monthly fee is £8500.

I’d love it if you could beat that!

SEND AN ENQUIRY HERE

The rest of this presentation is simply a list of the types of links that I build (20 types), and an explanation of them, so if that is of interest to you, then keep reading….

http://raydigitalmarketing.com/link-building-enquiry/

Link roundupsThese are a highly underutilised type of link, people all over the internet are aggregating content, by sharing posts that they think their audience will be interested in, these people are literally asking for you to show them something worth sharing.

So if we have something that they will like, I simply email and show it to them.Think in terms of “this months best Lego posts”, and your site having a great post about lego, this person would be more than happy to share it.



Resource pages + Broken link buildingWhat should be the bread and butter of any link builder, the resource page.This is a page where people are listing resources around their subject matter, these pages exist on billions of sites, across every single industry.

If you have a resource it quite simply should be on these pages, and if you don’t we should create one together.

I like to pair this with broken link building, by analysing resource pages to see if any of the resources they link to are no longer available, this opens up an opportunity to recreate that piece and have them replace the broken link with your link (also opens up the chance for me to target everybody else who links to the broken piece and ask them to replace it with your link).



Content placements (Guest posting)Best used when you don’t have a lot of content available, I will approach other sites in your subject areas that accept other peoples content on their site, I then have something amazing written for them and you both benefit.

They benefit by having an excellent piece of content that is relevant to their visitors and you benefit by having a contextual, relevant link back to your site.



Sponsored postsThese ones will cost you some money, but a lot of sites accept money in exchange for writing about your service or product, they will often ask for something to review in addition to some money, although sometimes it will be just money, or just a sample.

This is a great way to get links on a site that your competition can’t get on.



Link reclamationA 2 stage type of link, I look for either places that have linked to you in the past and removed the link, politely reminding them that you are still around and would appreciate the link to be made active again.

I also look for sites that mention your brand or product but without a link, then ask them to replace that mention with a link.



Bridge method (location based)I look for sites that are based in the same area as you, and approach them with a 2 businesses helping each other out with mutual links or content placements etc

Bridge method (niche based)This is somewhat of a speciality link for me, I seem to excel at gaining these. I look for businesses that are related to yours in some way, but not in direct competition with you and ask them for a link.

This is similar to the location based method above (hence the sharing of the name “bridge”).

Think of this in terms of a web design site linking to an SEO site, extremely relevant and related, ye not in competition.



Online PRNow this is a long term method, people have been using some form of online PR in spammy ways for years now, however what I am talking about here is real PR.Do we have anything that is worthy of the attention of local journalists, buzzfeed, The huffington post, if so it is completely possible to track down these journalists and get them to add your link to either a past article or an upcoming one.They will often ask for money but in my opinion, this type of coverage is worth every penny, you will typically have to pay a couple of hundred for this type of link but it is INCREDIBLY valuable when you get one.Alternatively when i am not paying, local newspapers love local businesses when they help the community, so have you recently helped out a charity, won your local sports league, have an interesting history?



Local bloggerHow many people in your local town or city have a blog? I’d bet millions.How many of them are making anything from their blogging? Very few.

With that in mind they would be more than happy to link to you if you can give them a valid reason and this is an extremely relevant link simply by being local to you.

If you don’t have a compelling reason, money often talks, they are often more than happy to take a few pounds to add your link to 2 year old blog post that they had forgotten about.



Uni student blogsAlmost every university has an internal blogging platform, thousands of students start them up, gain a little traction and then completely abandon them, either because they graduate, lose interest or aren’t having the impact they want.

But these blogs are hosted on University domains, and that means that they are trusted almost completely by search engines.

With a little encouragement, these students are more than happy to link out to a local business who can possibly benefit them in some way.



Pillowing tactics (mostly used for link diversity or anchor text dilution purposes)

Manufacturer links (ecommerce only)If you sell a product that somebody else makes, these manufacturers often have a list of distributors or people who use their products on their sites. If they don’t they are usually easily convinced to create one.

Video linksIf you create any videos there are multiple platforms to share these videos, such as Youtube and Vimeo. They usually allow links in the description box.



Directory linksIf there are any directories specific to your type of business then you SHOULD be listed on them as well as some of the most popular ones that are well know for various different industries.

Professional organisationsThere are generally professional organisations for most types of business, if they exist for yours, then it makes sense that you are a member, they often reward members with links back to your site.

Conference and event linksIf you attend any events or speak at conferences they usually link to attendees.



Blog and forum commentingMost people view this as a spammy tactic, however, if used correctly, for the purpose that blog comments and forums exist then it is an extremely effective way of building both links and traffic while the added side effect is that you have the opportunity to build a relationship with the blogger you are commentating for.For example, if you disagree with what is being said and have a blog post as a retort, then link to it in a comments, along with a well written and thoughtful response.

Wikipedia linksOne of the most trusted sites in the world, yet entirely user generated, anybody can add anything to absolutely any page. Including links to your site. These links need to be extremely relevant and useful or they are quickly removed.



Extra tacticsReverse engineering competitor linksIt can sometime be useful to see what links your competition have and to try to recreate them, although I prefer to get the links that they don’t have rather than the ones they do.

InfographicsIf you have an industry where there are a nice set of statistics or data that you have accumulated, then infographics are a great way to share this, if it is something that is exclusive to you, sites that are writing about that topic but don;t have the data you have will often embed your infographic, along with a link back to your site.



Skyscraper methodThis is a method that has been around for a long long time, but has recently come back into prominence thanks to Brian Dean.It is a method where you find a piece of content that is being linked to a lot, and then create something better or more up to date, approaching all of the people who link to the original piece and asking them to link to you “better” content aswell.

Broken link buildingI find something that has been linked to a lot but no longer exists, recreate the original piece or create a comparable version of your own.Approach all of the people who link to the original and asking them to replace it with your link.



Anatomy of a link building campaign - This is exactly what happens when you hire a link builder

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