How do you reclaim lost link equity?

1 Audit your existing links

The first step to reclaim your lost link equity is to audit your existing links and identify the sources and destinations of your inbound and outbound links. You can use tools like Google Search Console, Ahrefs, or Moz to analyze your link profile and find out which pages have the most and the least link equity, which links are broken or redirected, and which links are from low-quality or spammy sites. You can also check your competitors' link profiles and see where they are getting their link equity from.

2 Fix your broken links

Broken links are links that lead to non-existent or inaccessible pages, resulting in 404 errors or poor user experience. They can harm your link equity and your SEO performance by wasting your crawl budget, increasing your bounce rate, and lowering your trust and authority. To fix your broken links, you need to either restore the missing pages, update the links to point to the correct pages, or remove the links altogether. You can use tools like Screaming Frog, Broken Link Checker, or LinkMiner to find and fix your broken links.

3 Optimize your redirects

Redirects are instructions that tell browsers and search engines to go to a different page than the one requested. They are useful for maintaining your link equity when you change your site structure, move your domain, or merge or delete pages. However, redirects can also reduce your link equity and your SEO performance if they are not implemented correctly. To optimize your redirects, you need to use the right type of redirect (301 for permanent changes, 302 for temporary changes), avoid redirect chains (more than one redirect in a row), and update your internal and external links to point to the final destination.

4 Reclaim your lost links

Lost links are links that used to point to your site but have been removed or changed by the linking site. They can affect your link equity and your SEO performance by reducing your referral traffic, your domain authority, and your relevance. To reclaim your lost links, you need to monitor your link profile regularly and reach out to the linking site owners to ask them to restore or update the links. You can use tools like Ahrefs, Moz, or Majestic to track your lost links and find the contact information of the linking site owners.

5 Build more high-quality links

Building more high-quality links is the best way to increase your link equity and your SEO performance. High-quality links are links from relevant, authoritative, and trustworthy sites that have high traffic, engagement, and reputation. They can improve your link equity and your SEO performance by driving more qualified visitors to your site, boosting your domain authority and relevance, and signaling your trustworthiness and credibility. To build more high-quality links, you need to create valuable and shareable content, outreach to relevant and influential sites, and leverage your existing relationships and networks.

6 Monitor and measure your link equity

The final step to reclaim your lost link equity is to monitor and measure your link equity and your SEO performance. You need to track and analyze your link profile and your organic search metrics to see how your link equity affects your rankings, traffic, conversions, and revenue. You also need to compare your link equity and your SEO performance with your competitors and your industry benchmarks to identify your strengths and weaknesses and find new opportunities and threats. You can use tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Ahrefs, or Moz to monitor and measure your link equity and your SEO performance.

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?