Good backlinks from related websites are the most important element in Google’s ranking algorithm. Getting these links is the hard part. Since Google’s Penguin update, automatically created low quality links don’t work anymore. What can you do to get good backlinks and what can you do if your link requests get rejected?
Step 1: find the right websites
It can be difficult to get good backlinks and you shouldn’t waste your time on websites that won’t have a positive impact on your own website.
Step 2: get in touch
After building your list, contact the owners of the other websites. Tell them your story, let them know that you are passionate about what you do and explain why both sites could benefit from the link.
Link building is relationship building. Both sides benefit from a good relationship. Ask yourself how the other website benefits from the relationship before asking for a link.
Step 3: how to deal with rejection
If your link request gets rejected, don’t take it personally. There are many reasons why a link request can be rejected:
- They are just busy and the timing is not right.
- The pitch was not a good fit or your pitch was confusing.
- They have had bad experiences in the past.
Decide on a case-by-case basis how to proceed after the rejection. It might be that the other webmaster simply did not know what a guest post is. In this case, it helps to explain the concept. A guest blog post usually benefits both parties.
If you get many rejections, check your pitch. Maybe you have to offer something better to get a backlink. Rejections can help you to fine-tune your requests.
You can also try something new. Contact other websites by phone, try another approach (inform them about broken links on their site, etc.)
If you want to have a successful link building campaign, it is important to have as much data as possible. Keep track of the date of your first contact, the website owners contact information, the link type, conversation notes, etc.
The link manager in IBP helps you to keep track of that data so that you can build as efficiently as possible.
