How to ask for a link
The best way to ask for a link is to not ask at all!
Instead, offer to provide potential partners with access to useful content:
Offer to write them an article about your expertise.
Send them an infographic they can use, or an article that could help them improve their business.
Put together a list of resources by asking industry experts for advice or compiling the best services or companies in that sector. Below is an example of one such email.
Sample email
Dear {first name},
I have been following your blog {name of blog} for several weeks. I especially loved your article on {article relevant to you}.
{=> Add a personal note here. For example, your thoughts on some event related to your shared interest or one of their social media posts.}
I work at {company name} specializing in {specialty}. We created an infographic about {subject of infographic} that you may find interesting.
Would you like me to send it to you?
Sincerely,
{full name}
Find bloggers in your sector of activity
Start by writing a short description of your services. Then create a spreadsheet that includes:
Ideas of content you can provide to get people talking about you.
The URLs, names, and contact information of blogs on topics relevant to you.
Send the owner of each blog a personalized email with a piece of relevant content and suggest one or more of the following:
They can use you content and add a link on their website.
You can contribute to their blog.
They can try your products or services and write an article.
Contact potential partners that are not competitors
You can also contact websites in your sector that are not direct competitors, and suggest exchanging links.
When you exchange links, avoid linking page A to page B and vice versa. Instead, you should link to one of their pages that does not have a backlink to you. And they in turn can use another page to link to other content on your site.
Example of a partnership:
Let’s use the employment agency The Muse as an example. A good choice of partnership could be between The Muse and a company specialized in well-being at work, like SnackNation.
The Muse could offer to write an article for SnackNation’s blog about the influence of corporate culture on employees well-being. The article would also include a description of The Muse and a link to their homepage.
In exchange, SnackNation could write an article for The Muse’s blog about the ten best activities to promote employee well-being, which would include a link to their website.
What about paid links?
Some big-name blogs or news websites may ask for money to post a link.
While Google forbids paying for a link, it is still common practice and is sometimes even legitimate. For example, news sites can sell ad space and include a link in the ad. Blogs by professional “influencers” commonly request payment as well.
Avoid paying for links when you are beginning the SEO process.
However, if you must boost your SEO strategy, then only pay for an entire article that is well-written and published on a high-quality website (news organization, established influencer, etc.). You will be paying for high-quality content, which takes time to create, so it is appropriate to compensate the author for her time. Moreover, such articles don’t only provide you with a link, they also attract visitors interested in your products or services.
Recap
Prepare the content you will be offering before you begin your link-building campaign.
Introduce yourself to bloggers and influencers in your industry or sector.
Avoid paying for links.
While you are contacting other websites, you can also start creating links to your own site from social media, for example. Let's look at how.
