3 alternative link building tactics you can use right now

You already know some of the most common methods of bonding:

Unfortunately, most of them are either too expensive, too long, or too saturated.

Instead, tap into these three alternative link building strategies that can dramatically improve your link acquisition rates.

1. Method of taking control of the subject

Hunting for broken links is my least favorite link building strategy of all time. And it’s far from an alternative link building strategy.

His chances of success are worse than finding a needle in the world’s largest haystack.

Instead, crave a more aggressive method that I call Topic Takeover:

Look for content that mentions a specific niche topic and aggressively pitch your valuable content as the “next step” for readers.

Here is how to do it.

First of all, launch an SEO tool and use the content explorer feature. Personally, I prefer Ahrefs.

In this example, I’ll show you the exact process and the answers I got when using Topic Takeover for my travel blog.

Using the content explorer, enter the niche topic you want to link to. In my case, it was a blog post about a hike in Hawaii.

Make sure you set a filter post date (the more recent your chances of success), a minimum domain rating of 25, only live links, and any other filters you might like:

Depending on the date range and specificity, you should return outstanding results on high authority sites.

Then export the list:

Download the list to a Google Sheet to start tracking progress, awareness, and live links.

Then open each blog post and search for your target term:

The context of the mention here will be essential in helping you create a personalized email.

When it comes to evolving this, be sure to prioritize personalized emails for higher authority domains.

Find the author of the article you are viewing by looking at the top or bottom of the article:

By using a number of email search tools, you should be able to find their contact details with relative ease.

The last step is to write a meaningful email. Be genuine by trying to both provide value to readers for their content and your own blog.

Your email must include:

• What you liked about their content.
• Why this resonated with you.
• A quick one-sentence pitch on your post.
• How your post will add value to their readers.

So, does it really work?

Absoutely. Here is one of dozens of emails I received:

This tactic is not sexy. There is nothing revolutionary about it.

It’s just a matter of context and value, and how you can deliver it (and receive it).

2. Turn front page mentions into landing page links

When your brand starts gaining recognition in the form of mentions and links, you’ll start to notice one thing:

They are almost always directed to your home page.

Landing pages are very easy to link to when you are talking about a product in a blog post.

While it’s easy for the site to write about you, it’s not always the most valuable to your brand.

Why?

Imagine it this way:

You own a social media planner and are mentioned in a social media post.

The specific mention revolves around the aspect of time planning and downloading directly into the tool.

Would you prefer:

• Have a generic mention on the home page forcing users to click multiple pages on your site to find what was just discussed in the post.
• Have a mention of a direct link to a specific landing page on your site featuring that exact scheduling feature.

Most often, the second option is far superior.

It is likely to both reduce the bounce rates of frustrated users who cannot find the exact feature mentioned and increase the conversion rates on that referral traffic.

So how do you use this alternative link building strategy? Using the content explorer on Ahrefs, register your brand name in several variations:

This will return a filtered list of brand mentions.

Export the list and sort the results in a spreadsheet.

View each piece of content listed and find your anchor point, in this case, “search engine log.”

From there, it’s up to you to contact the article’s author and pitch to replace the homepage link with a more interesting landing page directly related to the context of the original mention.

3. The give and take approach

Links are precious, there is no doubt about it.

Google has repeatedly confirmed that links are a critical factor in search engine optimization.

Every website wants to acquire links, but few want to give them away.

If you’re struggling to acquire natural links, don’t worry – you’re not alone.

Simply taking advice like “create better content and the links will come” is pretty far-fetched in a digital landscape of billions of pieces of content.

It might work for websites with established authority over the past decade.

But a new website looking to establish its domain rating? You’re going to have to do a lot more than just create content and expect your link profile to skyrocket.

One of the best approaches is give and take.

It’s simple, efficient and, while time consuming, can be tailored with the right process or recruiting.

So how does it work?

It’s relatively straightforward. First, launch Ahrefs (or whatever SEO tool you like) and repeat the same startup process as the Topic Takeover method:

Find your target topic / phrase that you want to get a link for using the content explorer.

Be sure to filter again for the date published, only live links, and one link by domain for better condensed results.

Now, instead of emailing to request a link in the post, find the author of the post you’re looking to acquire a link to.

Look for any more relevant content they’ve created recently, or better yet, find their own personal blog or website.

From there, browse their most recent content to see if any of their posts match the topics you’ve covered in your own content or business blog.

Now, drop a link for them in your content where applicable and where it will add the most value to readers.

In your awareness email, keep it simple:

Hey ___,

I loved your article on [Topic]. I actually linked it here https://www.searchenginejournal.com/alternative-link-building-tactics/349780/!

I was reading another post from you https://www.searchenginejournal.com/alternative-link-building-tactics/349780/ here. I loved where you spoke [topic]. I recently wrote a detailed guide on this topic: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/alternative-link-building-tactics/349780/

I think this would be an extremely valuable continuation of the topic here for the readers, what do you think?

Better,

[Your name]

Conclusion

Link building is more than just a guest posting and a hunt for broken links.

It’s about value, expertise, and creating better internet experiences for your readers.

Follow these three alternative link building strategies to start generating big link acquisitions faster.

More resources:

Image credits

Featured Image: Pixabay
All screenshots by author, February 2020