Ever wondered how your competitors seem to have infiltrated every corner of the internet? How they’ve managed to get so many shoutouts or mentions on different sites across the web? The secret lies in a solid SEO outreach strategy, for, as the Geordie saying goes, “Shy bairns get nowt”.
In this handy tutorial, we’re going to outline what exactly makes an effective outreach strategy, why it matters to your online success and how to pull one off. So, buckle up. Here’s a quick overview of what we’ll cover (feel free to skip to the parts you need most!).
- What is SEO outreach?
- Types of SEO outreach
- The benefits
- The 3 key foundations
- How to do SEO outreach in 6 steps
- Conclusion
What is SEO outreach?
In the simplest terms, SEO outreach is the process of reaching out to other websites, bloggers, influencers, or publications with the intention of getting them to mention and link back to your own website.
It’s a proactive approach to building relationships and generating backlinks, which are crucial for improving your website’s search engine rankings. And the best part? It’s an easy way to snag traffic and, in turn, boost your brand’s visibility.
Why does outreach work for SEO?
Outreach is a vital component of any comprehensive SEO strategy. While on-page optimisation and technical SEO ensure that your website is ready-to-rank, crawlable and user-friendly, outreach helps to increase your website’s authority and credibility in the eyes of search engines and searchers alike.
By acquiring links and mentions from reputable and relevant websites, you not only drive referral traffic but also send positive quality signals to search engine algorithms, ultimately leading to higher rankings.
Types of SEO Outreach
As with most SEO components, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to outreach. Different strategies will suit different business goals, industries, and audiences. The key is to identify the methods that best align with your brand and offer the most value.
For instance, a fashion brand might find more SEO success by focussing on social media or influencer outreach, whereas a design firm could extend its audience with quality guest blogging for online home magazines. To help you choose, here’s a quick rundown of the most effective types of SEO outreach…
Broken link building
Broken link building is a strategy that involves finding broken or dead links on other websites and reaching out to the website owners to suggest replacing them with alternatives that lead to relevant and high-quality content on your own website. This strategy benefits both parties: the website owner fixes their broken links, improving user experience and potentially their SEO, while you gain a valuable backlink to your content.
To implement this strategy, you typically use tools, such as Ahrefs’ Broken Link Checker, to find broken links in your niche, and then craft personalised outreach emails to the website owners, offering your content as a replacement.
Bonus Tip: Resource pages are a great place to start. These are pages that list curated resources on different topics, meaning they are backlink (and sometimes, broken link) galore! To find relevant resource pages, type “[your topic] intitle: resources” into the search bar. For example, to find resource pages on SEO outreach, we’d input “SEO outreach intitle: resources”.
Infographics
Infographics are visual representations of information or data, presented in an appealing and easy-to-understand format. They are also highly shareable and can attract attention from both website owners and their audiences.
Thanks to the rise of intuitive and accessible software like Canva, it’s never been easier to create a high-quality and more importantly, shareable, graphic relevant to your niche. Reaching out to bloggers or websites with such visual content can lead to more backlinks when websites embed the infographic in their content, along with potential social media shares. Plus, considering that websites that use infographics within their content generate 12% more traffic than those that don’t, they’re a real strategic asset for boosting engagement and brand awareness.
Guest blogging
Guest blogging involves writing and publishing articles or blog posts on other websites according to their editorial guidelines, sometimes credited and sometimes under their brand.
To execute a successful guest blogging strategy, you first need to identify websites that accept guest contributions, pitch them with your ideas or topics, and if accepted, write and submit your content according to their guidelines. These posts must be of a high quality, as they reflect both your brand and the host site’s, playing a crucial role in earning trust for future opportunities. So, if you feel like brushing up on your blogging technique, our copywriting for businesses post is a good place to start.
Link reclamation
Similar to broken link building, link reclamation is the process of reclaiming lost or broken backlinks to your website. This strategy involves identifying instances where other websites have mentioned your brand, product, or content but failed to include a valid link back to your page.
By reaching out to these website owners and requesting that they add a link to your site, you can recover lost link equity and improve your website’s visibility. Not only does this help with SEO, but it also improves the user experience on the referring site: it’s a win-win really! Tools like SEMrush or Google Alerts can help you identify these unlinked mentions efficiently.
Social media and influencer outreach
For particularly shareable content formats like expert roundups, product reviews, or viral content, social media and influencer outreach can be vital for SEO. By connecting with content creators across platforms like Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube, you can amplify your reach, drive qualified traffic, and potentially earn backlinks or mentions to gain your brand a wider audience.
In particular, influencers with blogs or YouTube channels often link back to the products and resources they feature, giving you both social proof and SEO value. That said, even if a direct backlink isn’t a part of the initial outcome, the exposure can lead to future partnerships that support your overall SEO strategy.
Local SEO outreach
If your business serves a specific geographical area – SEO-savvy tradies, we’re looking at you – it might be best to go more local with your SEO outreach strategy. This involves focussing on connecting with local directories, regional blogs, newspapers, event pages, and other locally relevant websites that can boost your presence in location-based search results.
The goal here is to build backlinks from sources that signal clear geographical relevance to search engines, helping your business appear more prominently in “near me” searches, such as those on Google Maps.
The benefits of SEO outreach
So, now we’ve covered what SEO outreach is, how it works, and the most common types, you’ve likely got an inkling as to why it’s worth doing. But, if you needed more convincing, here’s exactly what you stand to gain:
Improved SERP rankings
Backlinks continue to be one of Google’s top-ranking factors. As such, earning high-quality links from reputable websites sends strong signals to search engines that your content is trustworthy, relevant, and worth displaying to searchers – helping your pages climb the results pages faster and more sustainably.
Deepened brand authority
Beyond rankings and algorithms, when respected websites link to your content, it also boosts your brand’s credibility and reputation within your industry niche. Outreach helps to position you as a thought leader in your space and builds trust with potential customers.
Stronger industry relationships
Outreach can and should go beyond transactions: it can be an excellent opportunity to connect with influencers, editors, and other business owners in your area. Such relationships can lead to repeat collaborations, co-marketing opportunities, and more – particularly vital for those operating in a local business landscape.
Long-lasting impacts
Unlike paid ads, which tend to stop delivering results as soon as your budget runs out, a well-placed backlink can continue to drive traffic and SEO value for months, or even years. Often, you will see compounding returns over time, as each backlink strengthens your domain authority, improves visibility, and increases the likelihood of earning even more organic links.
Enhanced reach
SEO outreach exposes your content to entirely new audiences, making it a powerful way to reach potential customers without waiting for them to come to you. It places your content directly in front of readers on platforms they already trust – whether that’s a popular industry blog or a relatable influencer’s channel.
Sharpened traffic quality
A good SEO outreach strategy will see you target websites and platforms that are already highly relevant to your niche or industry. The users of these pages are typically already interested in the topics, products, and services you offer, meaning that they arrive at your site with a high intent to engage. As such, you can make the most of this benefit by producing outreach pieces that fit strategically into your brand’s funnel, targeting each audience segment with personalised content that speaks directly to their needs and stage in the buyer journey.
Additionally, this high-intent traffic drives important behavioural signals – such as longer session durations and repeat visits – which can positively influence your SEO performance over time.
The 3 SEO outreach foundations
There are three key foundations that will be central to any SEO outreach strategy – including the 6-step one we have in store for you in just a moment. Keep these in mind throughout the entire process, and you’ll be well on your way to success…
1. Earning backlinks
We’ve mentioned them a lot over the course of this post, but earning backlinks is the core of SEO outreach. Essentially functioning as votes of confidence from other websites, they indicate to search engines that your website is trustworthy and authoritative.
However, be aware of Google’s best practice guidelines: if sponsored posts aren’t marked with a no-follow sponsored content attribute, you might face negative consequences.
2. Targeting reputable, relevant and reliable websites
Not all backlinks are created equal. Quality is far more important than quantity, and earning backlinks from reputable, relevant, and reliable websites – in other words, those with strong ‘domain authority’ – will have a much greater impact on your search engine rankings. These types of websites have the power to give you valuable backlinks whilst also exposing your brand to a larger audience. So, be selective!
3. Building relationships
Building relationships is the third pillar of SEO outreach. Rather than simply reaching out to websites with the sole purpose of getting a backlink, it’s important to approach outreach as an opportunity to establish genuine connections within your industry. By building rapport and offering value to other website owners, you increase the likelihood of earning backlinks organically and fostering long-term partnerships that can benefit your business in myriad ways later down the road.
How to do seo outreach in 6 steps
So, what’ve we learned? SEO outreach campaigns with the best results are targeted, relevant, and strategic – bonus points if you can automate it!
Here’s a structured six-step approach that will keep your SEO outreach focussed, strategic, and scalable. Each stage is crucial for the success of your outreach campaign, and careful planning and execution are essential throughout the entire process. Let’s get into the details, shall we?
1. Planning, workflow and preparation
Effective SEO outreach begins with careful planning, establishing a consistent workflow, and thorough preparation. It’s essential to clearly define your goals, whether it’s acquiring a certain number of backlinks in a specified time, targeting specific websites, or hitting certain SEO benchmarks.
At beefound.agency, we use a handy cocktail of CRMs and SEO tools to keep everything ticking along; namely Asana for tracking tasks during the content creation process, SEMrush to find prospects and monitor links, and finally, Bigin to store data and track our sales pipeline.
Budgeting
One final thing to mention on the subject of planning: ensure that you budget accordingly. While it’s true that some link-building opportunities may come at no monetary cost – such as through organic outreach or content collaborations – relying solely on link-swapping or free placements isn’t always the best practice. Investing in high-quality content creation, outreach tools, and relationship-building efforts can yield more sustainable and impactful results in the long run. By allocating resources wisely and considering the potential return on investment, you can ensure that your SEO outreach efforts are both effective and cost-efficient.
Remember, quality often trumps quantity when it comes to link-building, so prioritise strategic partnerships or even consider teaming up with an outreach expert who can absorb these costs whilst guaranteeing you get the best ROI.
2. Prospecting
Prospecting is the process of identifying and compiling a list of potential websites or influencers to reach out to, and it requires more than just a Google search. Effective prospecting consists of strategic research, where you assess the authority, engagement, and topical relevance of potential partners. You should look out for sites that attract a consistent audience and are likely to be open to collaboration.
Key areas to evaluate could include:
| Area | Positive Signs |
| Domain Authority (DA) | Higher Score |
| Domain Rating (DR) | Higher Score |
| Trust Flow (TF) Or Other Trust Scores | Higher Score, typically at least above 15 |
| Social Media Signals | High levels of engagement and activity, including metrics such as follower counts, likes, shares, and comments. |
| Site Focus | Niche sites tend to provide more valuable and relevant backlinks. |
| Accessibility Of Contact Details | A clear and accessible contact page facilitates outreach. Those without one tend to be less open to outreach opportunities. |
| Who Else They Link To | Linking to similar brands to your own, or other sites in the same industry space. |
| Site Content Standards | Site standards are achievable and in line with your own values and skills. |
| Pages With Natural Link Opportunities | Any pages where a link could be inserted naturally, adding genuine value to the prospect’s site. |
Tools like Moz and SEMrush can be invaluable for qualifying prospects and gathering data on their website metrics, while email templates and automation can help streamline the process and increase efficiency.
3. Pitching
Once you’ve identified your prospects, the next step is to craft compelling pitches that clearly communicate the value you can offer to the recipient. Personalisation is key here, as generic or impersonal pitches are likely to be ignored.
Instead, take the time to research the values and mission of each prospect individually and tailor your pitch accordingly, highlighting relevant content or resources that may be of interest to them. By demonstrating that you’ve done your homework and genuinely believe in the value of your proposition, you increase the likelihood of getting a positive response.
This said, brevity is often a more powerful tool. Ensure your first email is concise, straight-to-the-point and easy to read. Then, you can follow up with more detail when they respond.
4. Negotiation
Negotiation often plays a role in SEO outreach, particularly when it comes to securing placements or backlinks on high-quality websites, where there’s likely to be competition for mentions.
While you may have heard that buying backlinks is a bad idea – as it often is – there is room for ethical backlink buying. Google even acknowledges that a certain degree of buying and selling links is a normal aspect of the web economy. Just make sure that your prospect is transparent about their disclosure policy and guidelines, and that they’ve marked up your link properly to avoid incurring the wrath of the search engine giants.
Now, back to negotiation.
It’s important to approach negotiations with a collaborative mindset, seeking to find mutually beneficial solutions that satisfy both parties involved. Be prepared to be flexible and open to compromise and focus on building a long-term relationship rather than securing a quick win. If the placement fee is outside your budget, you could angle for a bundle deal for multiple posts on the site or across a few sites to lower the overall cost.
By fostering goodwill and demonstrating your willingness to work together, you increase the likelihood of achieving a desirable outcome.
5. Content creation
Once you’ve secured placements or backlink opportunities, the next step is to create high-quality, SEO-optimised content that provides real value to the shared audience between the partner and your brand. Depending on the placement, this could involve writing guest blog posts, creating infographics, or sharing original research, for instance.
Regardless of the format, here are a few guidelines to abide by:
- Conduct thorough research and add real insight.
- Follow SEO best practices, such as keyword use and internal linking.
- Use headers, bullet points, and images where appropriate to structure the piece for readers and web crawlers.
- Tailor the tone, depth, and subject to fit the prospect’s existing style.
- Ensure your link feels naturally integrated.
Also, as a side note, don’t overlook the importance of professionalism. Deliver your content on time, ready to go, to leave a good impression for the future.
6. Analysis and link monitoring
Finally, it’s crucial to monitor the performance of your outreach efforts and analyse the impact of any backlinks or placements you’ve earned. Keep track of key metrics such as referral traffic, ranking positions, conversion figures, and audience engagement, and use this data to inform future outreach strategies and tactics.
Some key questions to reflect on could include:
- Has referral traffic grown?
- Have you improved rankings for any target keywords?
- Are there improvements in your domain authority or trust flow scores?
- Where do the links appear on the actual page – is it in the first paragraph or further down?
- How long are links staying live? Do you have to chase up any paid links that may have dropped off?
- Is the cost of the links fitting well into your overall budget? What is your ROI looking like?
We recommend regularly auditing your existing backlinks to ensure that they are all relevant, high-quality, and in compliance with search engine guidelines. By staying vigilant and proactive, you can maximise the effectiveness of your SEO outreach efforts and continue to drive sustainable results over time. Sounds perfect!
Take your SEO outreach strategy to new heights
Phew, that was a lot of information! And a lot of work…
If you haven’t the time to delve so deep into your SEO outreach strategy, why not team up with the best? The ‘busy bees’ at beefound.agency are poised and ready to get your small business off the ground.
Interested? Then get in touch, and we’ll sort you out. Or, if you’re still on an SEO-learning sprint, check out our other expert blog posts!
