How do you keep your link building skills sharp?

1 Audit your existing links

The first step to improve your link building skills is to review your current link profile. You can use tools like Google Search Console, Ahrefs, or Moz to analyze your backlinks and identify their sources, quality, and impact. You want to look for metrics like domain authority, anchor text, relevance, and traffic. You also want to spot any broken, spammy, or toxic links that might hurt your rankings and reputation. By auditing your existing links, you can learn from your past performance, find gaps and opportunities, and plan your future actions.

2 Research your competitors

The next step to sharpen your link building skills is to study your competitors. You can use the same tools as before to spy on their link profiles and discover their sources, strategies, and results. You want to look for patterns, trends, and insights that can help you improve your own link building. For example, you might find out which websites are linking to your competitors but not to you, which keywords and topics they are targeting, and which types of content and formats they are using. By researching your competitors, you can gain a competitive edge, find new ideas, and avoid their mistakes.

3 Create valuable content

The third step to enhance your link building skills is to create valuable content. Content is the foundation of any link building campaign, as it attracts, engages, and persuades your audience and potential linkers. You want to create content that is relevant, useful, and original for your niche and keywords. You also want to create content that is shareable, linkable, and evergreen, meaning that it can generate interest and traffic over time. By creating valuable content, you can showcase your expertise, authority, and trustworthiness, and earn natural and organic links.

4 Outreach to relevant websites

The fourth step to refine your link building skills is to outreach to relevant websites. Outreach is the process of contacting other website owners, editors, bloggers, or influencers and asking them to link to your content. You want to outreach to websites that are relevant, authoritative, and trustworthy in your niche and industry. You also want to outreach to websites that have a high potential of linking to you, based on their previous behavior, preferences, and needs. By outreaching to relevant websites, you can build relationships, increase exposure, and acquire quality links.

5 Monitor and measure your results

The fifth step to polish your link building skills is to monitor and measure your results. You can use tools like Google Analytics, Ahrefs, or Moz to track and evaluate your link building performance and impact. You want to monitor and measure metrics like number of links, link quality, link diversity, referral traffic, conversions, and rankings. You also want to monitor and measure your return on investment, based on your goals, costs, and benefits. By monitoring and measuring your results, you can identify what works and what doesn't, optimize your strategies, and demonstrate your value.

6 Learn from the experts

The sixth and final step to keep your link building skills sharp is to learn from the experts. You can follow blogs, podcasts, webinars, courses, or books from reputable and experienced SEO and link building professionals. You can also join communities, forums, groups, or events where you can network, exchange, and learn from other link builders. You want to learn from the experts who can provide you with the latest trends, best practices, tips, and tricks on link building. By learning from the experts, you can stay updated, inspired, and motivated to improve your link building skills.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?