subject: Competitor Analysis As A Step To Start On Link Building [print this page] It is not really that hard to start a link building campaign. Really, it sounds difficult if you do not know much about how and when to start. But doing a great scrutiny of both your direct and indirect competitors will help you know which links you will need. Surely, there are good player in your niche. Know which links gave way to their success and pursue a link back from these sites and others like it. Basically, it is summarized into two things:
* Contact the same sites that linked to the competitors and ask them to link to you too
* Determine the type of sites that can provide maximum benefit to your popularity
There are many available tools available in the market, both paid and free. Many tools also offer a free trial if you're interested in analysing several sites. If you need to analyse further, you may need to pay a certain fee. Two recommended tools include Open Site Explorer and Majestic SEO. Both can provide detailed information but it is best to use both.
These will provide a "link graph" of the interlinking between sites. Depending on the site being analysed, this can be really complicated. No tool can obtain all important link information so using at least two tools will allow you to see a bigger and more complete picture. The two tools mentioned above can pull over 1,000 link data. Since they are both user-friendly, it also wouldn't take that much time to learn how it works.
After identifying the links, the next step is to contact site owners and identify other potential link partners. The steps below will give you a better picture of how this can be done properly.
In Contacting Webmasters:
* Keep the message short - go direct to the point and keep the email short. Don't waste the webmaster's time because they will respond if they're interested.
* Customise the message - pointing out unique things about the website will make your email look legitimate. Sending the same email to thousands of people makes your message look like spam.
* State a benefit - what benefit will they get if they do as you ask? Look into what you can offer to make the linking attractive to them.
In Identifying Other Linkers:
* Gather information - learn about the characteristics of the sites that link to your competitor by visiting them and studying their features.
* Pay attention to the anchor text - the anchor text is the hyperlinked words that direct the visitor to the competitor's site.
* Develop your own list - aside from gathering as much link data about the competitors as you can, it is also important to develop your own list of target sites.
As you can see, getting started on link building shouldn't be complicated. It is important to take note that webmasters will only willingly link back to yours if you have something special to offer. Having a decent traffic base even at the start of the campaign will also make your site look more attractive.