Hey what’s up everybody? Brian Dean here. Welcome to the second lesson of Module 3. In the last lesson you learned all about the Eyeball Phase of content promotion. That’s where you strategically promote your content so it generates traffic and shares. And now it’s time to switch gears. In the rest of this module I’ll show you proven strategies that you can use to build links from authority sites in your industry. In fact, these are the same link building strategies that I’ve used to rank Backlinko in the top 3 of Google for competitive keywords like these.
And guess what? I still use these strategies today. And in this lesson you’re going to learn all about one of my favorite link building strategies: Content Curator Link Building. But before we get into the specifics, let me quickly share an important lesson about link building with you. When I first got started with SEO, I was OBSESSED with link building strategies.
I would scour forums and blog posts to find the newest way to build links to your site. Looking back, this was one of the reasons that I struggled with SEO at first. Instead of focusing on a handful of effective strategies, I always had an eye out for the next big thing. It was basically shiny object syndrome. But for link building strategies.
Today, I realize that you don’t need 100 link building strategies. You only need a handful of really effective ones. And more importantly, you need to do the little things. The nuances. The processes. The tested email scripts. The little tweaks. That, when added together, make each strategy 10x more effective. Which is exactly what I’m going to show you in the rest of the lessons in this module.
So with that out of the way, let’s dive right into this lesson. Today’s lesson is all about a strategy called Content Curator Link Building. This strategy is all about finding pages where adding your link doesn’t just make sense. It actually makes that page better. To help illustrate this approach, let’s quickly look at an outreach approach that doesn’t work. And break down exactly why it’s not effective.
And then, when you see how Content Curator Link Building works, you’ll understand why my approach makes much more sense. OK so here’s an example of a bad outreach email that I got the other day. What’s wrong with this guy’s email? Honestly, I could pick this guy apart. But I’m not going to do that. Instead, I want to focus your attention on one fatal flaw.
This person never told me where to put his link. This is huge. Even if I like his content, even if I love his content, I’m not going to comb through my site looking for a place to add his link. Who has the time for that? Instead, you simply want to let the site owner know exactly where to put your link. Why is this important? First, this shows that you did your homework. When you suggest a specific place for a Linkreator to add your link, it proves that you read their content and saw a place where your link would be a good fit.
Second, it makes your Linkreator’s job 100x easier. Instead of having to figure out where your link should go, all they have to decide is: “should I add their link or not”? In short, whenever you reach out to someone with a link building pitch you need to have a specific place on a specific page where you link makes sense. I’ll repeat that because it’s super important.
If you want someone to link to you, you need to show them a specific place on a specific page where your link makes sense. When you do, you’ll find that people are much more likely to link to you. With that out of the way, let’s dive into the Content Curator Link Building process. As you just learned, a big part of successful link building is finding sites (actually, specific pages) where a link to your site makes sense. That said, there’s a way to 5 or even 10x the number of links you get from email outreach.
How? Find a spot on a page where your link doesn’t just make sense but adds value. I’ll explain. You may not realize it, but there are hundreds (if not thousands) of people that want to link to you right now. The best part? All you need to do to get a link is send these people a simple email to give them a heads up about your outstanding content.
And when they see that your Power Page is legit, they’ll happily link to you. This approach is called Content Curator Link Building. So, what is Content Curator Link Building and How Can It Help You Get Authority Backlinks? Well I probably don’t need to tell you that content curation has exploded in recent years.
Content curation has exploded mainly because there’s more content coming out than ever before. Lots more. So there’s a growing need for people to comb through it all and highlight the best stuff. And sure, lots of people are aware that content curation is popular in general. But they don’t realize that the growth of content curation opened up one of the all-time best link building opportunities in SEO ever.
And now I’m going to show you two techniques that you can use to build links from Content Curators. Our first technique is Resource Page Link Building. Believe it or not, but content curation is nothing new… it’s just grown by leaps and bounds over the last few years. In fact, curation is something that’s been part of the web almost since day 1.
Heard of Best of the Web? It started in 1994. Before blogs, content curation came in the form of resource pages. What Are Resource Pages? A resource page is a page on a site that links out to great resources on other websites. For example, let’s look at this resource page.This is an authority page on an authority site.
Needless to say, getting a link from this page could make a significant dent in your rankings. Let’s look at another example: this resource page in the health space. Again, like all resource pages, this resource page links to a mix of links to high-quality sites and specific pieces of content. As you can see, there are high-quality resource pages in every industry under the sun.
So now that you’ve seen how resource pages work, and why they’re easy to get links from, it’s time to break the entire process down, step-by-step. Your first step is to Find Niche-Relevant Resource Pages. I’ll have a big fat list of search strings that you can use to find resource pages in the worksheet. But here are my 3 favorite. Keyword plus inurl links, keyword plus inurl resources and keyword plus helpful resources.
Now I should point out something important. When you use these search strings to hunt for resource pages, you want to use broad keywords. If you’re too specific, you may miss out on amazing resource page opportunities. For example: let’s say you just created a Power Page about Kung Fu. If you search only for “kung fu” plus inurl resources, you’ll miss out on a lot of resource pages where your link would make sense.
That said, you can always try searching with a specific keyword. But make sure to also mix in a few broad keywords too. Instead you want to use a broad keyword like “martial arts” plus inurl links to find resource page link opportunities for your Kung Fu Power Page. Or say that your Power Page is about link building. You can try “link building” plus inurl resources.
But you also want to use broad terms, like “SEO” and “marketing”. Your second step is to find the right person to contact. Finding the right person to reach out to can be tricky, especially when you’re dealing with resource pages that are run by large institutions, like .edu sites. And sometimes, it’s insanely easy. You’ll sometimes find that curators straight up ask for you to submit a link to add to the page. In any event, it’s critical that you send your email to someone that actually has the power to add your link to the page. For small blogs, that’s usually the blogger that runs the blog.
And for large sites,like .edu sites, it can be the webmaster or tech guy in that department. Fortunately, after years of link building, I’ve developed a few simple techniques you can use to find the right person to contact. I have these techniques for you in the worksheet. Step three is to reach out and get links from resource pages. So at this point you’ve found a quality resource page. And the right person to contact. Now it’s time to send your outreach email.
The full script outline is in the worksheet. But here’s the short-and-sweet version to give you an idea of how the script looks. This non-pushy script works really well. First you’re complimenting the work they put into their resource page. Then, you’re very gently recommending that they consider adding your resource. Let’s look at a real-life example of Resource Page Link Building in action.
A while back I wanted to build links to one of my Power Pages. And like I usually do, I kick off my link building campaigns with Content Curator Link Building. First, I used search strings like “SEO” plus “helpful resources” and “SEO” plus inurl resources to find resource pages on SEO. And I found this super authoritative resource page on the University of Michigan website.
Next, I found the right person to contact. In this case I found a contact page that listed the email address of the web administrator. And I sent them a message using the script from the worksheet with some added personalization. And because my Power Page added value to their resource page, they were happy to add my link. Next up, we have Content Curator Link Building Technique number two, The Mount Rushmore Method.
As you know, a Power Page creates lots of link building opportunities that normal blog posts and articles don’t. And that’s mainly because your Power Page appeals to the very group you want to build links from, the Linkreators. In fact, you’ve really already done the hardest part of this whole process: created something that your Linkreators will want to link to.
And the beauty of the Mount Rushmore Method is that, just like Resource Page Link Building, you don’t need to twist anyone arm to get a link. Just find a page where your link makes sense, send a quick, friendly email, and you’re set. How Does The Mount Rushmore Method Work? With this strategy, instead of resource pages, you’re looking for “Best of...” content curation blog posts. You’ve probably seen these “Best of...” blog posts before.
They usually have titles like “48 Travel Blogs You Need to Follow”, “Top 50 Money Saving Articles Ever”, ”The Ultimate List of Paleo Diet Resources. And when you find articles like these, simply let the curator know about your awesome content. And you’re good to go. That’s why this strategy is called “The Mount Rushmore Method”.
You’ve found a place where people list the best content, Mount Rushmore. And it’s a matter of adding your deserving content to the list Here’s an example of a best of blog post. The best part? This page doesn’t just link to super authority sites. They also link to high-quality content from smaller, lesser-known blogs. OK so let’s break it down, step-by-step.
Step one is to find “Best of…” blog posts in your industry. “Best of…” blog posts are designed much like resource pages. Their purpose is to give credit to and link out to outstanding resources, like your Power Page. However, because they’re in the form of an article or a blog post, resource page search strings usually won’t find them. Instead, you want to use these search strings specifically designed to uncover “Best of…” blog posts and articles.
I should point something out. When you use these search strings, again, you want to use broad keywords. For example, let’s say you just published a Power Page about backpacking in Southeast Asia. You’d want to search for something broad, like this. Also, you want to avoid any pages that say “Best posts + [year]” or “Best posts March [year]” etc. These pages list resources from a particular time frame. So it doesn’t make sense for the Linkreator to add a link to your brand new Power Page.
Instead, you want to zero-in on evergreen “Best of…” posts, like this. Most “Best of…” posts link to specific pieces of content. But sometimes you’ll come across “Best of…” pages that link to the top blogs in your industry, not just specific articles. So if you feel like you deserve a spot on a “Best blogs” list, go for it. Even if you don’t run a well-known site. In fact, especially if you don’t have a super popular site. Here’s why. Linkreators that create “Best of…” blog lists don’t want to list the same blogs as everybody else.
In fact, these Linkreators usually hunt around to find lesser-known blogs that no one else has on their list. That way, their list stands out. In other words, when you pitch your lesser-known site, you’re making their list better. So they’ll happily link to you. And now it’s time for step two, reach out and pitch your Power Page or site.
Again, I’ll have the full script for you in the worksheet. And with that step done, you’re all set. To quickly recap, you learned that to succeed with link building you don’t need 100 strategies. Instead, you need a handful of powerful strategies. Along with tactics, tips and specific approaches that make them 10x more effective. And in the next lesson, Lesson 3, you’re going to learn about a process called Renovation Link Building.
You probably already know what time it is, worksheet time! The worksheet contains everything you need to execute a Content Curator Link Building campaign. So download the worksheet and I’ll see you in the next lesson.
Comments
Post a Comment