Ranking factors change with every Google Core Update. But no matter the changes, the importance of backlinks remains.
The state of SERPs (Search Engine Results Page) since 2023 makes this apparent. Google has favored posts from online forums like Quora and Reddit for competitive keywords.
SEOs are left to speculate. The consensus is that this shift is due to the forums’ extremely high DR.
Quality content isn’t enough to stay competitive. To keep up, we need link velocity through link-building outreach campaigns. Here's what we cover in this post:
- What is a link building outreach campaign?
- Link building outreach tools
- Link building outreach email copy examples
- Link building outreach best practices
The Basics of Link Building Outreach + Examples
Even a car engineered and optimized for the fastest speed needs fuel to run. The same goes for any website. Backlinks fuel a site’s organic growth.
A website could be fully optimized with a robust content library. But without any backlinks, it’s not reaching its full potential. That’s where a link building outreach campaign comes in.
Backlinks are links to your site from another relevant and authoritative site. Link building outreach is the act of communicating with web admins and asking them to link to your site.
There are several ways to do so. Here are the most popular link building outreach campaigns that can improve your link velocity in 2024:
Niche Edits
Niche edits or link insertions leverage your existing articles. All you need is to find a quality website relevant to your niche and ask for your article to be inserted into an anchor text.
Think of yourself as a resource. Look through articles related to your article, find a section that doesn’t have a definite resource yet, and then ask to be that source.
It’s a streamlined link-building strategy since you don’t have to write a new article for a guest post.
Guest Posts
If you ask anyone in the SEO scene about link building, guest posts are probably their top recommendation. However, getting guest post placements isn’t as easy as it used to be.
High authority sites have hundreds of guest post request emails in spam. To avoid this, you’d need to apply email marketing best practices, like email warmups, to improve deliverability.
When you land on a link-building prospect’s primary inbox, you must ensure that your article offers something unique and valuable to its audience.
Broken Link Campaigns
Broken link campaigns are similar to niche edits. The difference is instead of asking to be a source, you’re asking to be a source replacement for a broken link.
Articles with broken links become less credible, especially those linking statistics. It’s also not a good look for a website when visitors click on a link, and it ends up broken.
To run broken link campaigns, create a list of websites in your niche, run a site audit, and find broken links to which you can be a resource.
Unlinked Mentions
Unlinked mentions are an absolute gold mine for link-building. Some web admins don’t link to you on purpose. Others simply forget.
Either way, contacting them and asking for a link is still a good idea. The fact that you’re mentioned means that you’ve already provided value.
It could be a quote, a statistic, a case study, or even just a passing reference. These are clear indications that admins are aware of your brand and content, making it easier to do outreach.
You can create a simple Google alert with your brand or leverage tools like Semrush or Ahref. When you get a notification for an unlinked mention, contact the site.
HARO (Help a Reporter Out)
HARO is a platform where reporters and news outlets can connect with high-quality resources for various topics. If you want high-DA backlinks, HARO is a definite must-try.
The best part is that HARO is entirely free. However, opportunities to build links are scarce. HARO only sends request queries three times daily.
Speed is essential. When you see a request for a source, send your pitch quickly. However, ensure you understand the request and include your unique value propositions.
Tools Needed for Link Building Outreach
We’ve established some popular strategies for link building outreach. But no matter your strategy, the right tools are essential for achieving sustainable link velocity. Here are the tools we recommend if you want to run link building outreach campaigns in 2024:
Instantly.ai
If you’re not doing unlinked mentions, consider most of your link building as cold outreach. For cold outreach, nothing beats Instantly.ai!
It has every tool to scale link building and ensure the highest deliverability rates for each email. Your link-building pitches are likely to avoid the promotions tab and spam folders.
Users get unlimited warmups for unlimited email accounts, a CMS tool to track prospects, and automation features that streamline entire campaigns from scheduling to email copywriting.
You can even try it out for free today!
Ahrefs/Semrush
Ahrefs and Semrush both have robust tools for finding backlink prospects. Users can research competitors and find sites that link to them, get backlink recommendations, and analyze the quality/relevance of backlink prospects.
More importantly, both allow users to monitor their backlink profiles, see if campaigns are moving the needle for their sites and find any harmful or spammy links to disavow.
Web Scraper Tools
Web scraper tools, especially those you can customize, can help you find specific keywords or anchor texts to link to. However, this level of customization requires some programming skills or a developer.
Tools such as Octoparse allow complete customizability. For simple web scraping, try out Screaming Frog. Thanks to its advanced search filters, it can help you find link-building opportunities for low-hanging fruit keywords.
Lead Finder Tools
Remember, link building requires us to email website admins. We still have to look for their email addresses. Lead finder tools help us with just that. You can try out Hunter.io, Apollo.io, or even LinkedIn Sales Navigator.
But when you finish building your email list, don’t forget to validate the email address. For example, a list from Hunter or Apollo might be hallucinated, only including the domain of an email and not a real person.
If you want to find verified link-building prospects in the B2B space, try Instantly B2B Finder. You can find potential prospects, send your link-building pitch, or simply build a relationship for better opportunities.
Email Health Checker
Email outreach is a numbers game. Even with the best copy and high deliverability, there’s still a good chance that emails get ignored or sent to spam automatically.
It’s essential to routinely check your sending account’s email health using an email health checker.
As mentioned, you can improve or protect your email account’s health via automated email warmup and email outreach best practices.
Link Building Outreach Email Copy Examples
With the tools and strategies ready, all that’s left is to create an email copy that web admins can’t ignore. Here are examples of link building outreach email copy for the most popular link building strategies:
Niche Edit Email Copy
If you’re doing niche edit outreach campaigns, express your article’s unique value. Here’s an example you can try out:
Hey, {{first name}},
{{your name}} here from {{company}}. Loved your {{blog title}} on {{topic}}. Our team has it bookmarked whenever we do {{relevant task}}. That’s actually why I wanted to reach out. I noticed that it still doesn’t have a resource for {{relevant topic}}.
We created an in-depth study on {{relevant topic}}. It’s pretty robust, and I believe it can provide much value to {{prospect website}}’s audience.
I completely understand if you charge a fee for link insertions like this. The team is also willing to pay for the link. Let me know if this interests you.
Thanks in advance,
{{your name}}
Guest Post Email Copy
Guest posts are a tried and proven way of generating backlinks. Try pitching topics that complement prospects' already existing articles.
Hey, {{first name}},
I’m {{first name}}, {{position}}, from {{company}}. Not sure if {{prospect’s company}} accepts guest posts. Our company publishes content specifically catered to {{niche}} if you do.
We can provide guest posts to supplement your articles on {{niche}}, complete with our data and insights. If this interests you, I can send over a draft.
If you have any suggestions on specific topics within {{niche}}, we’re open to them as well.
Thanks in advance,
{{your name}}
Unlinked Mentions Email Example
Going for unlinked mentions is one of the most accessible link building outreach strategies since web admins already know your brand and content. Nudge to link to you with this email:
Hey, {{first name}},
{{your name}} here from {{company}}. Thanks for mentioning us in your {{blog title}} article. But I noticed that you didn’t link back to our blog. We get more in-depth on {{topic}}, and we think it could provide more supplemental information.
Would getting a link be possible?
Thanks in advance,
{{your name}}
Key Takeaways
Link building outreach is essential for the sustainable growth of any website’s backlink profile. To run successful campaigns, you need the right tools and strategies. As a quick recap, here are some key insights you might’ve missed:
- The most popular forms of link building are niche edits, guest posts, broken link campaigns, unlinked mentions, and HARO.
- You need outreach, lead finders, web scrapers, and backlink monitoring tools.
- Automated warmup improves deliverability and protects the health of your email-sending accounts.
If you need an outreach tool to help you sustain your link-building efforts, look no further than Instantly.ai. Try it out today!
