Broken link building is an effective link building tactic that benefits both your website and the site you are getting backlinks from. This strategy involves finding broken links on other websites and replacing them with links to relevant resources on your own site. In this article, we will explore three easy ways to build high-quality backlinks using broken link building.
- Keyword targeting: This method is ideal if you do not know specific places to look for broken links. Start by generating a list of search terms you want to rank for, and modify them to target pages that link to other websites related to your keywords. Use a tool like Xenu or Check My Links to check for broken links in the search results. Once you find a broken link that matches your resource, contact the website owner.
- Resource targeting: If you know who your competitors are, resource targeting is an easy way to find broken links. Use a tool like Moz’s Open Site Explorer to see who links to your competitor’s web pages. Look for websites with a high amount of backlinks and a page authority of 40 or higher. Crawl these websites for broken links, and contact the website owner when you find a relevant one.
- Direct targeting: This method requires you to know your ideal resource pages. Find an existing resource website related to your topic and crawl it for broken links. Cherry-pick the relevant broken links and contact the website owner.
Regardless of the method you choose, contacting the website owner is essential. Follow these simple guidelines for the best success rate:
- Be transparent about who you are and why you are contacting them.
- Provide information on the broken link, including the page it is on, the anchor text, the broken link URL, and the link to your own version.
- Keep your email short and to the point.
- Use the 3-3-7 strategy for following up: send a follow-up email three days after your first contact, another in three more days, and a final follow-up a week after that. If there is still no reply, move on.
In conclusion, broken link building is an effective way to build high-quality backlinks. Use keyword targeting, resource targeting, or direct targeting to find broken links, and contact the website owner with a clear and concise email. By following these steps, you can improve your website’s SEO and build valuable relationships with other website owners.