Animink - Is Broken Link Building a Viable SEO Strategy

1. Can Broken Link Building Be a Viable SEO Strategy? Broken link building (BLB) is a backlink strategy that has been around for quite some time, but it is an approach that is leveraged less often than other SEO strategies. The idea behind BLB is to find broken hyperlinks on someone else’s website, and then report the issue to the site's webmaster. Think of BLB as a “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” approach to your SEO strategy. With BLB as part of your Charlotte SEO strategy, each party mutually benefits in the exchange. When you inform the webmaster of the broken link on their website, you not only prove your value to an industry peer, you are also able to provide an instant solution in the form of high-quality content from your own website that they can use as a replacement for the original broken page link. By using the broken link building strategy you gain two advantages: 1. You’re using a psychology sales tactic that has a positive result rate of 25 to 60 percent. 2. You’re getting an easy backlink to your website while networking with industry peers. BLB is a different approach to efficient link building, similar to a proven sales tactic known as the principle of reciprocity in social psychology. It is human nature to want to return a favor, which is why BLB is a powerful tactic to use in your SEO link building strategy. You’re not simply asking a website owner for a backlink, you are offering to turn things around for their site. You are doing them a favor first, before asking for something in return. You’ve shown generosity and now the site owner feels obligated to return the favor by linking back to your website which helps improve their own SEO efforts. Benefits Of Broken Link Building Finding broken links can take a lot of time and effort for web admins. It is something they must check for regularly, however, to avoid negatively affecting their website’s ranking. You’ve suddenly made their job easier by identifying the broken links on their website for them. Broken link building can create a lot of opportunities. Other reasons BLB is a viable SEO strategy include: - Gaining a lot of high-quality backlinks to your site - The potential to boost your conversion rate by 5-10 percent - Increasing your website’s visibility with high authority backlinks - Discovering new audiences you haven’t yet tapped into - Improving your website’s relevance with better quality content

2. How To Implement Broken Link Building Implementing broken link building is a four step process. If these steps are confusing, a professional and experienced SEO company in Charlotte can help. Step 1: Prospecting The first step to implementing BLB is to prospect for broken links (also known as dead links) that no longer work because of a specific issue like: - the URL in the link is incorrect - the website or page no longer exists - access is blocked by a firewall - the website owner no longer allows outside access You need to look for high authority sites that are relevant to your market when prospecting. For example, if you are running a pet care blog, you should prospect from websites that sell pet care supplies. You will then use link building tools for SEO to find pages that produce a 404 error when you enter the address in your browser. Step 2: Create Matching Content The linked content you offer to the website owner doesn’t have to be a 100% match, but it should be close to the original content the broken link previously pointed to. If you can provide better content, you're showing your thought leadership and authority in your niche market. You should never blindly reach out to webmasters of sites with broken links. If you are not familiar with the webpage or your content doesn’t match the original, your chances of getting a backlink will be diminished. Part of the content repurposing strategy is to ensure the blog post or article you are offering can be updated to match the content you’re targeting. Step 3: Send Link Building Outreach Emails Once you have identified the broken links and published the matching content, you need to reach out to the website owner with a captivating email. In the email, you should address the broken links and provide details about them, such as the type of error the page received. Some tips for outreach emails include: - Include your intent in the subject line, which is to make the owner aware of the broken links and to offer an alternative resource. - Provide a summary of the original content to prove your credibility. - Provide a screenshot of where you found the broken link. - Make your pitch short and to the point, in a way that sounds mutually beneficial to both parties. - Be sure to ask for a strategic link. Step 4: Follow Up Your success rate with BLB can vary as it is not a foolproof strategy. If you don’t get a response in a week or two, send a follow up email to improve your chances of success. Offering to link to

3. their page in one of your marketing campaigns or other methods that will improve their SEO can also add value to your proposal. Get the BEST Results with an Experienced SEO Company An experienced and professional search engine marketing Charlotte agency will help you learn to use powerful strategies and tools, including broken link building, to organically improve your website’s ranking. Animink has been helping businesses of all sizes improve their digital marketing strategies for more than 20 years. When you partner with the SEO consultants at Animink, they will discuss your entire Business Strategy, including a responsive website for your business. Visibility of your site on major search engines is as much a science as it is an art. The goal is to work with the best SEO company possible to obtain a high rank for specific keyword phrases within Search Engine Results Pages (SERP), including Google, Bing, Yahoo, MSN, or other search sites. Visit the Animink website today to learn more.