Link building is a combination of creating quality content, understanding what your audience wants to see, and getting a sense of how your competitors rank for similar keywords and content. If you’ve read our guide to creating a link building strategy, chances are you’ve already got a good understanding of the basics (if not, check it out!), so let’s dive a little bit deeper!

One of the most challenging aspects of any link building strategy is outreach, the process of reaching out to people online to ask them to share your content. It can feel intimidating to reach out to strangers to ask them to link to your website, but if you offer unique, quality content and you approach the situation correctly, bloggers and website owners should be happy to send their readers to your site. 

This guide will cover how to find websites and bloggers to share your content, how to establish a relationship with them, and some tips and tricks to make the process go as smoothly as possible.

Find resources within your niche

Before crafting emails asking website owners or bloggers to link to your latest blog post, you have to find people within your niche. Your content is more likely to be interesting to them and will provide value to their readers. 

Look for influencers in your area on social media and try to find people who share content similar to yours or enjoy participating in the activities your company offers. Look for local groups on Facebook or follow area hashtags on Instagram. 

While it can seem tempting to reach out to bigger websites based on your location or industry, if they aren’t niche enough, it might be hard to make an impact since they probably get many link requests.

Use your target keywords and common topics to inform outreach

If you’re having trouble finding specific people or websites within your niche, or your business encompasses many areas of interest, use your target keywords to find websites you might want to reach out to. 

Search for your target keywords in Google and take a look at the websites that use them. Chances are, some of them will be your competitors, but there are likely other resources using these keywords as well, and these would be the perfect websites to reach out to.

If you’ve already shared some articles that relate to your industry or local area, look for blogs or websites that link to similar articles or share similar content. This way, you know that you and this resource are already on the same page, and their audience would benefit from your blog posts or other informational pages on your website.

Use blogging to your advantage

As a tour and activity operator, it’s common for your website to be made up of activity pages and content that’s specific to your company. While these pages are valuable to anyone hoping to book activities similar to yours, if you want to reach a wider audience and draw in more bookers and backlinks, providing additional resources is essential. This is where blogging comes in.

Blog about your industry & location

You are an expert on your area and in your industry, so put your knowledge to good use by creating a blog that shares your best insider knowledge! Blog posts serve as a great resource for anyone researching the local area or industry, even for those who are not necessarily looking to book a tour, and helps to build your brand and increase visibility to your business. General informational pieces like the best places to visit in your city, travel tips for your industry, how to prepare for your activities on a general scale, or any other interesting topics are extremely attractive to readers looking for information. Better yet, when done well, bloggers and websites in your area or industry will want to share the information with their current audience, and you’ll receive a backlink. 

Write guest blogs for other websites

If blogging is one of your hobbies or you have free time to write a few articles, take your strategy one step further by guest blogging on another website that then links back to your website. Reach out to city guides and local websites with your blog idea and see if you can write a blog post for their website. They’ll have an awesome article to share, and you’ll get a link back to your own website. It’s a win-win!

Submit your blog to blog directories

A great way to get more eyes on your website is to submit your blog to blog directories, websites that categorize blogs under various topics and help enable people to find blogs based on their interests. Blog directories are particularly useful if you’re just starting out with blogging and don’t have many posts yet. 

How to ask websites to link back to your content

If you’ve found a website or blogger whose content resonates with you, and you think your content would be of value to them, take the next step and reach out and ask them to link to your web page or blog post.

You can craft a general email template to help you write these emails, but it’s best to give each message a personal touch to show that you’ve spent time reading their content and putting thought into your request. The goal for link building outreach is not quantity, but the quality of the requests.

Start by addressing them by name. This is easier to do when reaching out to a blogger. If you’re hoping for a backlink from a local business, you might have to do some digging to find the right person to reach out to. It’s always best to use a personal email address if you can find it, rather than the general contact information listed on the website. 

Tell them briefly how you found their website or blog and what you like about it or what stood out to you. Be sure that you’ve done your research on the company or blogger, as this will come across in your email and goes a long way for personalization. 

Next, introduce the piece of content you’d like them to share by telling them what makes it unique and why you think their readers would enjoy it. Share a few quick takeaways without going too in-depth.

Finally, include the link to your work and explicitly mention that you would like them to share it on their website, in a particular article, on their social media pages, or wherever else you had in mind. Don’t be afraid to tell them your exact intentions in order to secure the backlink.

Tips & tricks for successful outreach

• Write an intriguing subject line that will catch the reader’s attention.
• Focus on small websites that don’t have a huge audience yet and are working to gain traction within your community. You’ll notice them linking out to other resources, guest blogging for other websites, and participating on social media. They are likely eager to link to your website.
• Feature the website or blogger in your content (if you see a way to work it in naturally). People always want to know what has been written about them, so they’re more likely to take a look at your content and give you a link.
• Provide social proof. Maybe your blog has gotten a ton of comments on Facebook or many likes. This will help people see your website as an authoritative one that is deserving of a link.
• Send a follow-up email if you haven’t gotten a response.

With a solid link building strategy and these tips and tricks up your sleeve, you can start reaching out to local businesses and reap the benefits of all those backlinks. For more information about link building, check out our guide to getting started with link building.