How to Take Advantage of Broken Backlinks
A backlink is a link that takes you from one site to another. Backlinks help your SEO rankings.
When a backlink breaks, your site no longer receives juice to the link from Google. Common reasons backlinks break include a page URL change or incorrect URL.
Broken backlinks present valuable opportunities. It is easier to fix broken backlinks than it is to secure completely new backlinks. You should be keeping track of your backlinks on other websites. You can do this with free tools like UberSuggest by Neil Patel.
UberSuggest also allows you to track your competitors’ backlinks. When you notice a broken backlink, especially to a site with high traffic that is relevant to your business, you need to reach out to the site with a working backlink. This goes for broken backlinks that already link to your site, as well as backlinks that link to your competitor’s site.
Link Reclamation and Link Building
Link reclamation occurs when you reclaim your own broken links and get that value pointing to your site again.
The first thing you need to do is identify your site’s broken backlinks using a free tool like Ahrefs or UberSuggest. Choose broken links that are worth pursuing. Backlinks should be relevant and posted on a reputable site. Next, reach out to the site. Let them know the backlink is broken and provide them with a working link.
If the site owner doesn’t respond, regain the link value by setting up a 301 permanent redirect.
Broken link building allows you to replace a competitor’s broken backlink with a relevant link to your site. All you need is content that fits the topic your competitor was linked for.
Start by analyzing your competitor’s backlinks in Ahrefs or UberSuggest. Find broken backlinks that your site has similar content for, or create the content from scratch. Once the content is ready, reach out to the site owner about the broken link and offer your replacement article. Learn more about why content marketing is a valuable part of building your online presence here.
Get New Backlinks
Besides salvaging broken backlinks, you should also actively search for new backlink opportunities. Free services such as HARO connect bloggers and journalists with sources that have information about the topic they’re writing on. HARO users are actively looking for sources to feature on their websites and respond quickly to relevant pitches. Delivering random pitches to sites you want to backlink to you can be fruitless, especially since many expect you to pay to be featured. In addition, paid link building violates Google’s Webmaster Guidelines and penalties for it affect SEO.
Outreach efforts to build and maintain backlinks are an essential part of comprehensive SEO. Backlinks are one of Google’s main ranking factors that increase domain authority. Read our blog to learn more about creating a well-rounded SEO strategy.
