Link building is an essential part of improving your website’s ranking on Google. However, determining the right link building strategy for the Netherlands can be complex, as every situation and goal requires a unique, well, Dutch approach. In this blog, you will find guidance on how to create your own strategy for getting valuable backlinks.
Link building is a tool, not busywork: you have limited time and resources that need to be used efficiently. So, be clear about your goals before you start:
- Which site? Which pages? Why? How is this going to help your business?
- Be specific: this page, on this date, with these keywords, is currently in these positions, generating these views and clicks, and I want to improve that. Google Search Console is really useful for this.
- Set your goals based on reality, not dreams. So, what resources and time do you have? What can you achieve with them? Can you buy links, or is it better to just trade links? What is the competition like for your keywords?
- How will you track your activities and measure the results? How will you make adjustments?
If link building is your full-time job, you probably aren’t reading this blog. However, for most link builders, it’s an additional task on top of writing or outsourcing content, placing articles optimised for SEO (using Yoast or Rankmath), updating products or pages, replying to customer emails, creating promotions, sending newsletters, managing social media… oh yes, and link building. That’s fine, as long as you ensure you have a structured approach and continue to answer your emails.
Stay on top of the process
With everything you do, including link building, it comes down to two things:
- Having an overview
- Taking action
Setting your goals and measuring the results of your actions fall under having an overview. Every task that takes longer than a single contact, such as a link trade or link purchase, needs to be documented. Otherwise, you risk forgetting your commitments in the midst of a busy schedule. Excel (or Google Spreadsheets) is incredibly handy for this. This is how I use it:
- Portfolio overview. All the sites where I can place links for others, whether through trades or sales, are listed neatly online with all the SEO stats and prices. See SEO options Blossomyourcontent.eu.xlsx – Google Sheets. And of course the SEO stats are updated automatically.
- Link trade overview. Every link trade is a line on my link trade spreadsheet. I keep track of: who, how many links, status, notes. Each status has its own column which I tick off: agreement, my link requests sent, my links placed, link requests received, links placed, reminder. I also have a blacklist of link traders I no longer want to trade with.
- Reporting. I build links for clients and partners such as SEOflow.nl. I record these in a Google Spreadsheet, showing the type of backlinks, anchor text, and link for each month.
- Built links. For clients, I build a certain number of links per month depending on the goals and agreements made. I typically work a month ahead. In a separate sheet, I track how link building is progressing: every link request for a client is noted here until it’s finalised and can be reported at the end of the month. Not every link request gets placed or within the time frame I have for reporting. This sheet helps me stay on track without prematurely communicating progress.
Now it’s time for action. What link building strategy will you use?
A link building strategy for every situation
A strategy is simply a plan to get from A to B: to get your specific page higher on Google.
Guest Blogging as a Link Building Strategy
Increase your website’s visibility and authority by sharing content on reputable blogs within your niche.
Approach:
- Look for relevant blogs that accept guest posts. Make sure the blogs have real traffic.
- Reach out and pitch your idea. Write high-quality, informative articles that add value to their audience.
- Ensure you include a link to your own website, either in the author bio or within the content if allowed.
For example, see my own profile on Frankwatching.
Broken Link Building
Gain backlinks by pointing out broken links on a webmaster’s site and asking them to replace them with a link to your content.
Approach:
- Use tools like Ahrefs or Check My Links to find broken links on relevant websites. A free tool is https://brokenlinkcheck.com/broken-links.php.
- Reach out to the webmaster with a polite email, pointing out the broken link and suggesting your content as a replacement. Be helpful and offer something in return if necessary.
Influencer Outreach as a Link Building Strategy
Gain exposure and backlinks by collaborating with influential figures in your niche.
Approach:
- Identify influential bloggers, vloggers, or social media personalities who are relevant to your industry.
- Send a personalised message proposing a collaboration, such as product reviews, interviews, or co-created content.
- Many podcasts are examples of this. I have personally approached companies that make a social impact to give them free exposure, such as in this interview with Wij zijn MEO for Emerce.
Skyscraper Technique as a Link Building Strategy
Create the best and most comprehensive content on a subject to generate more backlinks and traffic.
Approach:
- Identify popular content within your niche that has a lot of backlinks.
- Create a superior version of this content by going deeper into the topic, adding visual elements, and providing up-to-date information.
- Reach out to websites linking to the original content and suggest they link to your improved version instead.
This also helps you rank a page faster. For example, see my own Dutch page on B2B content marketing.
Resource Pages as a Link Building Strategy
Gain backlinks by being included on resource pages that list valuable sources within a specific niche.
Approach:
- Search for resource pages within your industry using queries like “keyword + resource page”.
- Contact the administrators of these pages and propose adding your content to their list of resources.
- SEO Flow, for example, is listed on the Blossom Your Content free SEO Tools page.
Unlinked Mentions as a Link Building Strategy
Turn mentions of your brand, products, or services that don’t include a link into valuable backlinks.
Approach:
Use tools like Google Alerts or Mention to receive notifications when your brand is mentioned without a link.
Contact the author or webmaster and politely ask if they can add a link to your website.
‘Keep gathering link building strategies’
“If a hammer is your only tool, all your problems look like nails. It’s the same with link building: keep learning. SEO as a profession is always evolving, your competitors are not standing still, and you need to keep expanding your toolbox of SEO and link building strategies. This way, when you set a goal, you’ll know various ways to achieve it efficiently. If one method isn’t working well, switch to another.”
Thomas Lapperre, Bloeise
Here’s another great link building strategy I discovered myself: link building with images.
