Link Building Strategies That Contributed to Pet Keen’s 3M Organic Traffic Growth

Over the course of three years, Pet Keen has experienced remarkable growth, going from zero to nearly 3 million organic visits per month.

A significant factor contributing to this success has been our effective utilisation of backlinks. In this blog, we will share the link building tactics that have played a crucial role in achieving this substantial growth.

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Method 1: Leveraging HARO (Help a Reporter Out)

HARO is a valuable, free service that facilitates connections between journalists and potential sources. By signing up and selecting your areas of interest, you will receive daily emails featuring inquiries from journalists seeking input or expertise.

Tip 1: Engage Industry Experts as Respondents

Journalists seek expert insights to uphold their reputation, making it crucial to hire professionals who can provide valuable input. At our company, we employ veterinarians to respond to Help a Reporter Out (HARO) requests. This tactic has significantly contributed to our success.

Link Building Tips:

• Establish a “Hiring” Page for Experts: By creating a dedicated page on our website, we receive over 10 emails per week from interested experts.
• Seek Referrals from Existing Team Members: Our team members often recommend other industry experts they know, creating a network of knowledgeable professionals.
• Utilise Job Boards: Platforms like ProBlogger and Upwork have been fruitful in finding experts who are actively seeking opportunities.

Tip 2: Publish Author Pages Highlighting Expertise

While your expert may possess authority in the industry, it is crucial to showcase their expertise to journalists. Neglecting to do so can diminish your chances of success. To address this, we create author pages that display the expertise of our professionals. When responding to HARO queries, we include links to these pages.

Link Building Tips

• Photo: Providing a photo adds personality to the expert’s profile.
• Bio: A concise bio explains their background and education.
• Experience: Expanding on their bio further establishes their expertise.
• Publications: Link to notable publications where the expert has been featured.
• LinkedIn Profile Link: Ensure that the LinkedIn profile is up to date, includes a professional picture, and provides an overview of their education.

Tip 3: Explore HARO Alternatives

As HARO has become saturated, it is beneficial to seek alternative platforms to connect with journalists searching for sources. We have achieved great success using platforms like JournoLink and leveraging the #journorequest hashtag on Twitter.

Link Building Tips

Consider your industry and identify other avenues where journalists typically seek sources and industry experts to enhance your outreach efforts.

Method 2: Leveraging Industry Statistics Posts

When journalists seek statistics to support their sources and claims, ranking for the terms they use in Google can passively earn them backlinks over time.

Link Building Tips:

• Include the estimated number of referring domains linking to petkeen.com’s statistics page, as obtained from Ahrefs’ Site Explorer
• Impressively, many of these links come from highly reputable sources such as chubb.com and EcoWatch:
• Include an overview of the highly reputable domains linking to petkeen.com’s statistics page, as obtained from Ahrefs’ Site Explorer
• This success is partly due to our page ranking in the top five results for keywords like “pet industry statistics”:
• Include the top keywords that statistics page ranks for in Google Search

Here’s how we discovered this keyword:

• Enter a broad industry topic into Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer.
• Access the Matching Terms report.
• Filter for keywords with a Keyword Difficulty (KD) score of 50 or higher.
• Include terms like “statistics,” “stats,” “facts,” and “figures” in the filter.
• Identify pet statistics keywords with significant search volume.
• [Include the search volume and Keyword Difficulty of the keyword “pet industry statistics,” as obtained from Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer]
• The high KD score indicates that top-ranking pages for this keyword have acquired numerous backlinks, suggesting that journalists are likely searching for this keyword and using those top pages as sources—exactly what we aimed for.

Method 3: Leveraging Guest Blogging and Case Studies

Guest blogging involves writing a single post for another website, and when done correctly, it remains an effective strategy. The key lies in crafting a compelling pitch.

In addition to guest blogging, consider the following tips:

Tip 1: Pitch Websites with Existing Relationships

Start by pitching posts to websites you already have relationships with. This doesn’t necessarily mean deep connections; even being a customer can garner attention and interest. To identify potential opportunities, ask yourself:

• Which software and apps do you use? Companies behind these tools often appreciate hearing how their products contribute to your business’s success.
• Which online publications do you admire? Personalise your pitch based on your fondness for their platform.
• Do you know anyone in the industry? Seek introductions to editors through your contacts.

Tip 2: Target Medium to High DR Sites

To maximise your impact and reach a larger audience, be selective in your pitching efforts. We find that targeting companies with a DR higher than 50 is a sweet spot for successful pitches.

Editor’s Note: While DR is helpful, we recommend considering traffic estimates as well, as it offers insights into a site’s readership. You can find this information in Ahrefs’ Site Explorer.

Tip 3: Consider Case Studies or Podcast Episodes

Guest posting has received negative perceptions over the years, causing some publications to reject pitches outright. Thus, consider alternative content formats that provide value to their audience.

Diversifying your content offerings with case studies and podcast appearances can provide alternative avenues to share valuable insights and expand your link-building opportunities.

List of Link Building Strategies: An Insight

Here are some valuable insights I’ve gained from my experiences with link building:

Insight 1: Establishing Trust and Professionalism

When it comes to linking to sources, journalists and webmasters prefer trustworthy and professional websites. If your site appears low in quality or is filled with intrusive elements like display ads and pop-ups, they may choose to link to another website instead. To address this, take an objective look at your site and ask yourself the following questions:

• Does my site have an aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly web design?
• Are there excessive intrusive elements that may hinder user experience?
• Do we have a page that clearly outlines our editorial guidelines and commitment to content integrity?
• Are our articles the most helpful resources available for readers?
• Do we showcase our company’s industry expertise, following the E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) principle?

Insight 2: The Power of Exceptional Products or Services

Having a remarkable product or service can attract a significant number of links. When people genuinely enjoy a company’s offerings, they are more inclined to write about and recommend them. This often takes the form of top 10 lists, reviews and recommendations.

TIP: If your product or service doesn’t excite people, don’t expect extensive media coverage. Instead, focus on creating something that generates enthusiasm and genuine praise.

Insight 3: Passive Link Attraction with Increased Traffic

There’s a theory that as your website’s traffic increases, the likelihood of others discovering and linking to it also rises. This phenomenon, often referred to as the “vicious cycle of SEO,” suggests that building a brand that people love and that ranks well in organic search can naturally attract more passive links over time.

Insight 4: Focus on Select Link Building Tactics

With numerous link building methods available, it’s better to concentrate on a few effective tactics rather than attempting to master them all. Trying to juggle too many tactics simultaneously can quickly become overwhelming. By focusing on three to five “golden” link building methods, you can specialise and achieve better results. It’s important to note that the effectiveness of these methods may vary depending on your industry.

To identify your “golden” link building methods, we recommend experimenting with proven techniques and assessing their impact on your specific goals. This process will help you determine which strategies work best for your website.

Learn More: The Zen Way of Creating High Quality Backlinks

Link Building Strategies 2023

• Create Valuable Content: Prioritise the creation of high-quality and informative content that is relevant to your target audience. Craft engaging articles, videos, and resources that provide unique insights and solutions to their needs.
• Guest Blogging: Seek opportunities to contribute guest posts to reputable websites in your industry. Ensure that your content adds value and aligns with the target website’s audience. This approach can help you establish authority, expand your reach and earn quality backlinks.
• Build Relationships and Outreach: Proactively engage with bloggers, influencers, and industry experts. Nurture genuine relationships by offering insights, collaborating on projects or aiding. By building rapport, you increase the likelihood of receiving natural link placements and potential partnerships.
• Resource Link Building: Develop comprehensive and valuable resources such as guides, tutorials or tools. Promote these resources to relevant websites, bloggers and journalists who may find them useful and be inclined to link to them as references.
• Broken Link Building: Identify broken links on authoritative websites within your industry. Reach out to website owners or administrators and suggest relevant content from your website as a replacement. This approach offers value by helping them fix broken links while gaining a valuable backlink in return.
• Leverage social media: Actively promote your content on social media platforms to increase its visibility and encourage others to link to it. Engage with your audience, share industry insights, and collaborate with influencers to foster relationships that may result in link opportunities.
• Monitor Brand Mentions: Keep track of online mentions of your brand or content. When you come across mentions that lack a link to your website, reach out to the author or website and kindly request a backlink. This can help you capitalise on missed link opportunities.
• Participate in Industry Communities: Engage in relevant online forums, communities, and Q&A platforms where you can contribute valuable insights and link to your content when appropriate. This participation can establish your expertise, build credibility and attract relevant links.
• Utilise Local Citations: If you have a local business, ensure your website is listed in reputable online directories and local business listings. This improves your visibility in local search results and may generate valuable local citations.
• Analyse Competitor Backlinks: Study the backlink profiles of your competitors to identify potential linking opportunities. Look for websites that link to your competitors but not to your website. Consider reaching out to these websites and showcasing the unique value your content can provide.

By implementing these strategies and adapting them to your specific industry and target audience, you can steadily build a strong and authoritative backlink profile.

Types of Link Building Strategies

There are several types of link building strategies that can be utilised for building links to enhance your website’s visibility and authority. Here are some commonly employed links building strategies for SEO:

• Guest Blogging: Contribute informative and valuable guest posts to websites or blogs within your industry. This enables you to demonstrate your expertise, connect with a new audience, and acquire backlinks to your website.
• Broken Link Building: Identify broken links on other websites and approach the website owners with relevant content suggestions to replace the broken links. By helping them fix broken links, you can earn valuable backlinks to your website.
• Resource Link Building: Develop high-quality resources such as guides, tutorials, or tools, and reach out to relevant websites to include your resource as a valuable reference. This approach attracts backlinks from websites seeking authoritative and valuable resources for their audience.
• Skyscraper Technique: Identify popular content in your industry and create even more comprehensive and valuable versions of it. Then, reach out to websites that linked to the original content, offering your improved version as a valuable resource to potentially earn backlinks.
• Influencer Outreach: Collaborate with influencers or experts in your industry to create content such as interviews, expert roundups, or co-authored articles. Leveraging the influencer’s audience and credibility can lead to increased visibility and potential backlinks.
• Link Reclamation: Monitor mentions of your brand or content online and contact website owners who have mentioned you without linking to your website. Respectfully request them to add a link to your website, allowing you to reclaim missed backlink opportunities.
• Social Media Promotion: Share your content on social media platforms to increase its visibility and encourage others to link to it. Engaging with your audience and industry influencers on social media can also generate natural backlink opportunities.
• Local Citations: Ensure your website is listed in relevant online directories and local business listings. This improves your website’s visibility in local search results and attracts backlinks from local sources.

Remember, when implementing link building strategies for SEO prioritise quality over quantity. Seek out reputable and relevant sources, cultivate genuine relationships, and offer valuable contributions to your audience and the websites you engage with.

Backlink Strategy Template

Do you want to implement creative link building strategies? This template can help. Follow this outline while designing your personalised backlink strategy template:

• Define Your Objectives: Clearly state the goals you want to achieve through your backlink strategy, such as improving search rankings, increasing website traffic, or enhancing brand visibility. Make sure these goals are specific and measurable.
• Identify Your Target Audience: Understand the demographics and interests of your target audience and identify the websites they visit. This will help you tailor your backlink strategy to reach the right audience and gain relevant backlinks.
• Competitor Analysis: Analyse the backlink profiles of your competitors to discover potential opportunities. Look for websites that link to your competitors but not to your site. These can be prioritised as potential targets for outreach and relationship-building.
• Content Creation: For formulating the best link building strategies, first, create high-quality and valuable content that naturally attracts backlinks. Develop a content plan that includes informative articles, guides, infographics, videos or interactive content that resonates with your target audience and addresses their needs.
• Outreach Plan: Develop a well-defined outreach plan to connect with relevant websites, bloggers, journalists and influencers in your industry. Craft personalised messages that communicate the value your content offers to its audience.
• Guest Blogging: Identify reputable websites that accept guest contributions in your industry. Develop compelling guest post ideas and pitch them to website owners or editors. Ensure that your content offers unique insights and aligns with the target website’s audience.
• Resource Link Building: Identify websites, directories or resource pages that curate valuable links in your industry. Reach out to these sources and propose including your content or website as a valuable resource. Demonstrate the relevance and value your content brings to their audience.
• Broken Link Building: Search for broken links on authoritative websites and offer your relevant content as a replacement. Notify website owners or editors about the broken links and provide your content as a helpful solution, creating value for them while earning backlinks for your site.
• Social Media Engagement: Utilise social media platforms to promote your content and engage with your target audience. Share your articles, infographics, or videos and encourage social sharing and discussions. Interact with industry influencers and encourage them to share your content, which can potentially lead to valuable backlink opportunities.
• Tracking and Analysis: Regularly monitor and analyse the performance of your backlink strategy using tools like Google Analytics. Measure the impact of backlinks on organic search traffic, rankings and domain authority. Based on the insights gained, adjust your strategy for continuous improvement.

Conclusion

It is important to define clear objectives for your backlink strategy, identify your target audience, conduct competitor analysis, create valuable content, develop an outreach plan, engage in guest blogging and resource link building, leverage broken link opportunities, utilise social media engagement, and track and analyse the performance of your strategy.

By following these steps, you can effectively build high-quality backlinks, increase your website’s visibility and achieve your goals of improving search rankings, driving more traffic and enhancing brand visibility.