Link building in 2021 (when you're a bit crap at PR) #brightonseo

Link Building in 2021
When you’re a bit crap at PR
@staceycav
#brightonseo

Or… “OMFG HELP ME I NEED TO
BUILD LINKS BUT I’VE NEVER DONE
PR AND I HATE EMAILING
JOURNALISTS”.
@staceycav
#brightonseo

Mum. Binge Watcher. SEO.
Content marketing
consultant. Bad runner.
Excellent gin tester.
@staceycav #brightonseo

PR Pro

I do SEO.

I love SEO.

It often involves landing links on sites like
these.

PR Pro
@staceycav

@staceycav
https://twitter.com/darth_na/status/1353746384973926400

I produce content and promote it to
journalists and other writers and it
achieves a combination of things…

But I’d generally just consider it one tiny
branch of content marketing.

Outreach skills and the creativity side of
digital PR/link bait are useful in link
building, for sure.

But you do not have to be comfortable
emailing journalists to achieve links.

Problem solving is the most valuable link
building skill I think I possess.

“
I don’t enjoy outreach.
What can I do to
achieve the same or
better quality and
quantity of links while
doing less outreach?

It came down to a mindset shift.

Instead of my content always being
the story, my content can build as
many links by supporting someone
else’s story.

Digital PR activity
results in
links/coverage
where you’re the
story.

And that’s great.

But you don’t have to be the story to
build links.

We can look to editorial-led sites to
see this at play

https://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/a19434332/what-is-the-keto-diet/

But somebody
high profile
slating it is
news.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/tax-calculator/

An income tax calculator in itself
isn’t news.

But tax increases are news.

Link Building
WHEN YOU’RE CRAP AT PR
(OR JUST DON’T WANT TO DO IT)
Practical

Reactive PR-ey Stuff
It’s a LOT less outreachy.
1

This is about answering requests from
journalists. NOT cold emailing.
Or “inbound PR” as I prefer to call it.

Securing links this way often involves
being a part of a larger feature and
generally isn’t about you being centre
stage.

Placing Product:

Placing Expertise:

Lots of journalists are actively seeking
help with articles.

On Twitter with #journorequest

Anyone can build links this way.

Tips:
Respond fast and selectively.

Tips:
Have a bio and headshots prepared.

Tips:
Have a Dropbox or Google Drive folder
full of supplementary images or info
all ready to go.

Tips:
Check these constantly. Often being
an hour late to the party means
someone took your spot already.

Self Generating Content
Links from journalists. Without contacting
journalists. At all.
2

See also: Link bait. Link magnets.
Or just useful stuff people cite as a
source.

It works because journalists,
bloggers and content writers
within businesses research like
most of us do.

Works for “statistics”, “trends”,
“downloads,” “calculators” and
“templates” amongst other searches.

Mind map your topics

Good old keyword research:

Analyse what’s already ranking:

Does it have links?

Do they appear to be naturally
acquired over time?

Can you improve on what ranks?
Better data?
More up to date?
Better imagery?
More geographically relevant?

Can you rank it?

Ads?
Outreach?
Just wait?

“Stealable” Assets
Links from people who use things you’re giving
away for free
3

Creative Commons Licensing of
assets like imagery, video and sound
lets people use those assets with
appropriate attribution.

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.ast

https://gastronomiaycia.republica.com/2021/01/05/los-aceites-esenciales-vegetales-
pueden-reemplazar-a-los-conservantes-quimicos-en-la-carne/

https://www.whatsonstage.com/leeds-theatre/news/wyp-bronte-
season-2016_40250.html

https://rokokoposten.dk/2021/01/14/far-smed-soens-computer-i-havnen-i-protest-mod-
problematisk-hjemmeskole/

https://www.businessinsider.fr/amazon-est-autorise-a-entrer-au-capital-de-deliveroo-
fragilise-par-le-coronavirus-184349

https://www.ccn.com/did-pre-ipo-uber-lose-1-8-billion-in-2018-or-aggressively-invest-in-
its-85-market-share-dominance/

https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/2019/03/07/working-in-the-platform-economy-
what-is-it-really-like/

Tested with Royalty Free sites like
Unsplash. But it felt a bit like
“tricking” people and positive
responses were lower.

https://unsplash.com/license

This is won and lost at the planning
stage.

What’s your topic?

What already exists?

What already exists free to use?

Are they being used?

Inspiration

Production

Distribution

Self Host
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/data-types/image-license-metadata

Tracking

Chase Attribution

90 minutes later…

But before you create any new
assets…

Start by looking at what you’ve
already got.

https://www.ctpa.org.uk/key-facts

https://www.ctpa.org.uk/key-facts
Original research from an industry
authority.

https://www.finder.com/uk/beauty-statistics

https://www.finder.com/uk/beauty-statistics
A collection of other
people’s statistics

This is why.

Have you any previous assets that
made the news and should have the
potential to continue to grow
passively?

Has anyone stolen your existing
original imagery?

“So are you saying I never have to
do PR work to build links??”

Link building in 2021 (when you're a bit crap at PR) #brightonseo

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