We are here to help you get results from broken link building. This will be a guide of a sort but since there is so much to say about this – this will only be your first stop. You will learn the basics and then you will be able to continue research on your own. Of course, if after reading this you conclude that this is getting too much for you that is fine too. We will help you find someone who can help you out. There is always a way. The most important thing is having a goal and we know ours for today! Get the best possible results. So, let’s begin our journey.
Broken Link Building 101
Let’s explain what broken link building actually is, even though you probably already know this one. But to simplify it down it’s when you find broken external links on some other websites (inside your niche) and reach out to recommend your own content as a replacement for the said broken link. This can be a great strategy and it’s smart to use it as well as others like skyscraper techniques and similar. For this to be successful you need to break down the process into three parts or steps.
Three steps
The first step is obviously finding broken links on websites inside your niche. That requires some research and time. Next, you need to have content that will be good enough to replace the bad one. But it really needs to be attractive – visually too! Needs to be worth linking to. The final step will be conducting outreach in order to persuade a website owner to replace the dead link on their page with yours with is pretty easy when you have really good content. Those are the basics and hopefully, now you understand the exact. It sounds quite easy and it can be but sometimes finding broken links that will work great for you can be tricky.
Why use it as a part of your link-building strategy?
This tactic or strategy, if you wish, is great and it can be very beneficial but this can not be your only link-building strategy! The benefits of this strategy are great but not enough. Now, let’s see what you can get from it if you invest some time :
- You can build links on pages that have already inherited authority.
- Or build links from within relevant content in your niche, supporting the visibility and growth of target pages and that can help your SEO.
- Also, you will inherit links that were previously given to your competitors – point more for you!
- You will be supplementing other link-building tactics as the opportunities arise.
As you can see there are no downsides to this tactic. But once again this simply can not be the only strategy, you need plenty of them in your SEO campaign in order to make your website successful.
How to find good broken link opportunities and turn them into links to get results
It’s great to find one good opportunity but you need to find five, ten, or twenty for this to work out great for you really. You can get good results from broken link building since they usually have a better hit rate than other link-building approaches. But once again one is not nearly enough. So, you need to learn how to find those opportunities. There are websites where you can get a basic education on this topic such as the Link Department. Or, if that isn’t enough, you can hire SEO experts to help you out.
Finding dead pages to get results from broken link building
These are web pages on relevant (for your niche) websites that have previously earned links but have since been deleted, or something else happened and return a 404 error. In order to find these opportunities, you should use your competitors as a starting point. You can even use the Backlink Analytics tool to see where some opportunities might be. Google is also your friend here. You just need to type keywords relevant to your niche and start searching. Please note that once you do find opportunities for yourself, it’s important to have or create right away content that will replace the dead-end link.
Content worth linking to
Your content doesn’t need to be something that’s never been seen before. It just needs to be good, esthetically pleasing, full of useful information, and worth linking to. It might be good if you can figure out what happened to the previous link before it became 404. You could do that by using archive.org’s Wayback Machine. You simply enter the dead backlink there and it will show you how it used to look. By seeing what it used to be you can add some additional value to your content and have it improved.
If all this is getting a bit too much for you
Running a business, handling marketing, finances, website and all the other aspects of business can be quite hard. That’s why the more you grow it will be necessary to outsource your job. If you have a lot of work to be done elsewhere or you are needed somewhere else it’s ok to outsource this task to someone whose primary job is SEO.
They are called SEO experts and they can help you to achieve a lot of results from broken link building or other strategies. You can hire an in-house SEO expert or you can hire a company to send you occasional help. Just know that nowadays there are as many experts as there are SEO tactics. But, before you hire someone make sure to interview them and explain exactly what you need and want. Also, make sure that this person has a basic knowledge and make sure that he or she has previously worked in a niche similar to yours. That will make everything easier for both sides. Remember there is always help and there are people who can do an amazing job for you and your website.