SEOAlternative Ways to Find Sites for Link Building

Alternative Ways to Find Sites for Link Building

When trying to build links, you don't have to rely only on organic search for your research. Here are some additional sources.

Searching for sites to get links from can be time-consuming, and often frustrating. With search engine results filled with Made for AdSense sites (MFAs) it’s time to explore other ways to find sites for link marketing.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with getting a link from a site plastered with AdSense as long as it has a good link profile. Many old sites with great link profiles earn revenue this way.

But how do you find a newer site with a few good backlinks that ranks well? Here are some ways to find sites for link marketing.

Google Related Links

This function is often forgotten when link building. Try it once and you’ll see the quality of the results is often much better than organic search.

Try the related links function on Expedia’s site [related:http://www.expedia.com/” in Google to see the results. Now try it on your own domain.

Use this technique on industry organizations, competitors, information sites, or any site ranking for the terms you want.

You’ll need to do more than a simple link request for many of these. We’ll cover that more in the next section.

Human Edited Directories

These are filled with sites to get links from. Because they’ve already passed human inspection, the quality tends to be much higher than search engine results.

Obviously, there will be some low quality sites — there’s no way around that. Start with DMOZ, Yahoo Directory, BOTW, and niche directories for your industry.

Once you find sites you want a link from the trick is figuring out how to get them to link to your site. If you keep an open mind the possibilities will arise.

Start by going through some sites to see what they have a history of linking to. If you can narrow it down, then you can create content (a.k.a. link bait) designed just for them.

Let’s take the example of the cruise industry. Say you noticed many sites are linking to different “cruise newsletters” that offer last minute deals, tips, advice, etc. What to do?

Create your own unique cruise newsletter incorporating social media. For the best results, find a way to separate yourself from the other newsletters, and make it stand out.

Outgoing Links

You’ve been trying to get an authority site to link to your site — without much luck. Some sites stopped updating their link resources years ago. Maybe the person retired, or just got tired of all the junk link requests.

Instead, go after the sites they link to. Think of it as reverse engineering. It’s a good way to build up your link neighborhood profile.

This strategy also works with your competition. Obviously, most won’t link to you, so get links from sites they link to.

PPC Advertisers

What does pay-per-click (PPC) have to do with link marketing? Simple: if a business is investing in PPC they either already have good backlinks, or will develop them over time.

Don’t skip over the newer sites spending a lot on PPC. It’s much easier to get a link from them before they become well established.

Look at the advertisers in related industries. KeywordSpy or a similar tool is useful here. Remember to keep an open mind when figuring out how to get links from these sites.

Summary

You don’t have to depend on organic search to find sites for link building. There are other options available. One just needs to look at the other avenues available.

Resources

The 2023 B2B Superpowers Index
whitepaper | Analytics

The 2023 B2B Superpowers Index

8m
Data Analytics in Marketing
whitepaper | Analytics

Data Analytics in Marketing

10m
The Third-Party Data Deprecation Playbook
whitepaper | Digital Marketing

The Third-Party Data Deprecation Playbook

1y
Utilizing Email To Stop Fraud-eCommerce Client Fraud Case Study
whitepaper | Digital Marketing

Utilizing Email To Stop Fraud-eCommerce Client Fraud Case Study

1y