- Outreach Targeting - In order to request a link from a website, first you have to find it. Social media tools exist that make this task a lot easier than it used to be. Tools like Followerwonk and WeFollow help identify influential social media "influentials" around your topics of interest. These folks usually have websites with great link equity.
- Outreach Research - Once you've found your outreach targets, get to know them a little before trying to ask for a link. At first, this means doing your homework. Take prospects and look them up on Klout to see what they're known, who they influence, and who influences them. Seek first to understand, then to be understood.
- Outreach Assistance - The normal process for requesting links is to craft a personalized email to your prospect and hope they return your email. Increase the odds of a response with social media by friending/following them on social networks and/or sharing their content with your network before your write your email. It's easier to get a response from someone if you've retweeted their work than if you're just a stranger begging for a link.
- Pinging and Warming - If you're doing it right, you're not just building links. You're building relationships. Acknowledge those who have linked to you in the past by regularly sharing their work and engaging with them on social media. Watch a simple link request blossom into a great partnership, and you'll instantly understand why link building through social media is a better long-term approach to this critical SEO activity.
- Social Content Exposure - In the end, a strong social network is the best link building tactic. When you create new content, people need to see it before they can link to it. Publishing your content to your social media networks is a great way to gain attention to your work early on and hopefully earn some links right out of the gate.
About the Author: Josh is a Senior Online Marketing Manager at Rasmussen College. Josh holds his B.A. in Economics from St. John's University. He blogs about business education, marketing and related topics on his Squarespace blog. Connect with Josh on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+.
Comments (2)
SEO - James McRitchie
As someone who gets far too many requests for links, I would emphasize the importance of spending a few minutes examining potential targets. Make sure their content and yours are harmonious.
marketing - steve serps
It looks like the whole of search marketing is tending to focus now on social medias of sopme sort. I still get joy out of digg and stumbleupon. You mentioned some stuff I have never heard of like 'Klout', very ueful, thanks for a good read.
