3 easy link building tactics your digital strategy is neglecting.

Don’t be fooled – this title isn’t clickbait. Although the words ‘easy’ and ‘link building’ may bring back memories that are best forgotten of quick-win strategies that provided little SEO value, there are some simple ways you can strengthen your link profile – and you’re probably overlooking them.

Of course, creating interesting, relevant content that sites will want to feature should be a core part of your link building and overall digital strategy. By creating something of value, you can gain links from high-quality sites and engage with your target audience. By having some digital consulting from a marketing agency, you are able to see what you need to change and add to your strategy so you are able to keep up with your target audience and pull them in.

However, this value can come in many different forms – not just through content. There are other ways you can gain relevant, quality links, which can work in tandem with your content plans:

Mentions

What is easier: introducing a new site to your brand or contacting a site that is already talking about your brand, products and services? Rather than establishing new connections every time you build links, start by leveraging the existing relationships you have with sites.

In essence, every reference to your company is a link opportunity. While brand mentions are arguably the most common form, product mentions, propriety images and references to key employees – like managers, CEOs etc. – can all offer huge link potential for your brand.

One way of finding such mentions is by setting up Google Alerts for terms relevant to your brand, although more specialist listening tools are also available.

Partnerships

The brands you stock or companies you work with could help strengthen your brand’s link profile. For example, shoe retailer Schuh stocks over 100 different footwear brands-that’s 100 different link opportunities the brand can seize. With department stores like House of Fraser and big-players like ASOS stocking even more brands, the opportunity to harness these links increases ten-fold.

But why would the brands or companies you stock or work with want to link back to your site? In short, it’s in their best interest. Through linking back to your site via a retailer’s page, they are directing potential customers to where they can buy the products, raising awareness of their brand and increasing sales.

Charity efforts

Even if the events were offline, your charity efforts can become a valuable linking tool. Shouting about the good work you’re doing in the community is a great way to gain local coverage and even a link from the charity’s website, which usually have a high domain authority.

Of course, undertaking charity work for the sole purpose of gaining a link is not advised. However, if you’re already doing something that genuinely benefits a charity, there is nothing wrong with leveraging your efforts to strengthen your digital performance.

This article was contributed by Mediaworks.