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Everything you need to know about broken link building

There’s a reason why broken link building is one of the hottest topics amongst SEO enthusiasts today. This link building strategy is not only reliable and effective, but it’s also a white-hat strategy that should be included in any link builder’s tool box.

So what is broken link building?

Broken link building involves identifying various forms of broken links, such as 404 error pages on websites that are in your niche market. Once collated, the next step includes reaching out and recommending your own content in place of the missing content.

This is an excellent link building strategy for your website and will provide value to other webmasters through assisting them with their website and SEO efforts. Even though broken link building has been around for many years, it is important to note that it has evolved into one of the most effective link building strategies in recent years. Put simply, if you haven’t already included this in your SEO plan, now would be the time to do so.

Why Does Broken Link Building Work?

Broken link building has a peculiar outreach process that gives the power back to the link builder. Traditionally, you would have to go through the process of building trust and would be in the position of asking rather than offering. With broken link building, you’ve already identified the problem and provided the solution. This puts you in a favourable position as you’ve now been rewarded with one or multiple backlinks to your website whilst helping out a fellow webmaster.

How to Find Relevant Broken Links

Fortunately, the process of finding relevant broken links is quite simple. You want to start by doing backlink checks on websites and competitors in your niche market. Best of all, you can discover broken backlinks in a heartbeat with the following tools:

If you’re using Ahrefs as a broken link checker, what you want to look for is every 404 error page that currently exists on the nominated website. Ahrefs will then supply you with all the relevant information, such as websites that are currently linking to the broken pages. 

This is a very scalable method as you now have the opportunity to investigate the list of websites that are referring to the original broken links to check if they might have any broken links themselves. This will save you a lot of time and effort as these websites will most likely be in the same niche market (given that they provided a link in the first place).

Final Tips for A Successful Broken Link Building Strategy

Now that you understand how broken link building works and how scalable the strategy is, it is important that you keep a few tips in mind to increase your chances of success.

Compared to guest posting, broken link building is more scalable and requires significantly less energy if executed with care. If you believe that having replacement content is sufficient, think again. If you own a website, chances are that your email is overflowing with pitches from SEO specialists & digital marketing agencies in Brisbane. The key to succeeding with broken link building is to stand out by communicating effectively, being concise whilst giving webmasters a reason to want to work with you. 

A good place to start is by ensuring that you are leaning into your own personality, being friendly and helpful whilst remaining approachable. You may not perfect your pitch at first, but a little patience will go a long way. You’ll know when you’ve perfected the pitch, and the best part is that you can use it multiple times before you have to make alterations.

Need help with your broken link building strategy for SEO? Contact Patch Agency’s experts today.

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