How to Create a Link Building Campaign
Are you new to link building? That’s okay - we’re here to help answer any and all questions you might have. Let’s begin with defining what link building is. A link building campaign is the process of acquiring links from other websites that direct them to your own. This particular marketing campaign is an effective way to increase your website traffic and domain authority, while helping you maintain or increase your rankings. Google has identified link building among the top ranking factors along with original content. However, it’s important to keep in mind that it takes time, patience, and outreach to accomplish your goals.
Here are some examples on how to make link building unique to your practice.
Referring websites
Networking in your community is always great, but it’s important to also bring it online! Whether it's friends, relatives, employees, patients, or anyone else you know that has a website or blog, it’s really valuable to be linked to these websites.
There are two approaches you can take. You can keep it in network by referring a doctor’s website: "Make an appointment with our partner, Sesame Orthodontics!" Or, you can reach outside the box by asking to be listed on community websites. For instance, perhaps a local high school can drive traffic to you by saying "Sesame Orthodontics would like to offer our athletes a free consultation, give them a call today!"
Guest blogs
Bloggers are always looking for new ideas to curate content for their audience. This is a great way to gain a few links by pitching a guest written, co-written, or topic specific blog that you could participate in. And if you are collaborating with someone else, don't feel that your content needs to be related to dentistry or orthodontics! Blog about what you're passionate about - "10 Tips to a Successful Fantasy Football League! Dr. Sam, Sesame Orthodontics"
*If you’d like a more dental specific blog for your business, you can use our content questionnaires to create something like this: Which Braces are Right for You? Dr. Sam, Sesame Orthodontics
Reviews
Getting your business reviewed is a top priority and a great way to kill two birds with one stone by adding a link. This a great way to aid your link building campaign, whether it’s having the reviewer link to your page, or responding to a review by supplying a link.
By applying this, being reviewed by a patient could look like this: "Dr. Sam and the whole Sesame Orthodontics staff was amazing! They really made the Invisalign process a positive experience!"
Responding to a review might look like this: "Thank you for visiting our office! We are glad you had a great time and are enjoying the Invisalign process. We like to make sure you have all the information you need at your fingertips, so please check out our Invisalign page for a digital copy of care instructions!"
Contests
Everybody loves contests and they can be an easy way to get your community talking about your business. Increase your exposure by requiring participants to post on Facebook or blog about your business or promotion and include a link.
You could promote a particular service: "Past, present & future! Have you received Invisalign with Sesame Orthodontics? Write a blog about your current or previous experience at our office and you could be the winner of a brand new iPad!"
A photo contest is also a great, easy approach: "A picture says a thousand words! Tag Sesame Orthodontics in your Facebook post and you will automatically be entered into our raffle!"
Charities
Charities and nonprofit organizations oftentimes have a donor's page. This is a great way to support your community by sponsoring yourself, friends, relatives, employees, and patients as a business while also performing a charitable act.
If you're already a sponsor or food/clothing drive organizer, advertise it!
Associations and organizations
If you're a part of an association or organization, chances are they have their own website. If they do, find out if they link out to their members and get your website’s link added to their page.
It’s important to be creative when campaigning for links! First begin with our complimentary analysis of your top three competitors. You may not need to reinvent the wheel, you can simply use your competitor’s links as a jumping point to your brainstorm session. Then, use some of our examples to create your own link building campaign! For more information on link building, check out our help site or reach out to our Sesame SEO team!