5 Rare & Valuable Link Building Tactics – Moz
Skip to content
Moz logo
Menu open
Menu close
Search
Products
Moz Pro
Moz Pro Home
Moz Local
Moz Local Home
STAT
Mozscape API
Free SEO Tools
Competitive Research
Link Explorer
Keyword Explorer
Domain Analysis
MozBar
More Free SEO Tools
Learn SEO
Beginner’s Guide to SEO
SEO Learning Center
Moz Academy
SEO Q&A
Webinars, Whitepapers, & Guides
Blog
Why Moz
Agency Solutions
Enterprise Solutions
Small Business Solutions
Case Studies
The Moz Story
New Releases
Log in
Log out
Products
Moz Pro
Your All-In-One Suite of SEO Tools
The essential SEO toolset: keyword research, link building, site audits, page optimization, rank tracking, reporting, and more.
Learn more
Try Moz Pro free
Moz Local
Complete Local SEO Management
Raise your local SEO visibility with easy directory distribution, review management, listing updates, and more.
Learn more
Check my presence
STAT
Enterprise Rank Tracking
SERP tracking and analytics for SEO experts, STAT helps you stay competitive and agile with fresh insights.
Learn more
Book a demo
Mozscape API
The Power of Moz Data via API
Power your SEO with the proven, most accurate link metrics in the industry, powered by our index of trillions of links.
Learn more
Get connected
Compare SEO Products
Free SEO Tools
Competitive Research
Competitive Intelligence to Fuel Your SEO Strategy
Gain intel on your top SERP competitors, keyword gaps, and content opportunities.
Find competitors
Link Explorer
Powerful Backlink Data for SEO
Explore our index of over 40 trillion links to find backlinks, anchor text, Domain Authority, spam score, and more.
Get link data
Keyword Explorer
The One Keyword Research Tool for SEO Success
Discover the best traffic-driving keywords for your site from our index of over 500 million real keywords.
Search keywords
Domain Analysis
Free Domain SEO Analysis Tool
Get top competitive SEO metrics like Domain Authority, top pages, ranking keywords, and more.
Analyze domain
MozBar
Free, Instant SEO Metrics As You Surf
Using Google Chrome, see top SEO metrics instantly for any website or search result as you browse the web.
Try MozBar
More Free SEO Tools
Learn SEO
Beginner’s Guide to SEO
The #1 most popular introduction to SEO, trusted by millions.
Read the Beginner’s Guide
How-To Guides
Step-by-step guides to search success from the authority on SEO.
See All SEO Guides
SEO Learning Center
Broaden your knowledge with SEO resources for all skill levels.
Visit the Learning Center
Moz Academy
Upskill and get certified with on-demand courses & certifications.
Explore the Catalog
On-Demand Webinars
Learn modern SEO best practices from industry experts.
View All Webinars
SEO Q&A
Insights & discussions from an SEO community of 500,000+.
Find SEO Answers
August 7-9, 2023
Lock in Super Early Bird savings for MozCon
Snag tickets
Blog
Why Moz
Small Business Solutions
Uncover insights to make smarter marketing decisions in less time.
Grow Your Business
The Moz Story
Moz was the first & remains the most trusted SEO company.
Read Our Story
Agency Solutions
Earn & keep valuable clients with unparalleled data & insights.
Drive Client Success
Case Studies
Explore how Moz drives ROI with a proven track record of success.
See What’s Possible
Enterprise Solutions
Gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing world of search.
Scale Your SEO
New Releases
Get the scoop on the latest and greatest from Moz.
See What’s New
New Feature: Moz Pro
Surface actionable competitive intel
Learn More
Log in
Moz Pro
Moz Local
Moz Local Dashboard
Mozscape API
Mozscape API Dashboard
Moz Academy
Avatar
Moz Home
Notifications
Account & Billing
Manage Users
Community Profile
My Q&A
My Videos
Log Out
By: Rand Fishkin
June 16, 2006
5 Rare & Valuable Link Building Tactics
Link Building
The author’s views are entirely his or her own (excluding the unlikely event of hypnosis) and may not always reflect the views of Moz.
I’ve been thinking it’s time for an “old-school” SEOmoz blog post. These are some of the rarer, but occassionally highly effective techniques for rooting out links in a challenging campaign.
#1 – Mentioned without a LinkThis one is surprisingly effective. Your goal is to identify sites/pages that already mention your brand/product/service/website but have failed to provide the direct HTML link. Just shoot them a pleasant, personal email and request the link – success rates can be very high. To find these willing linkers, you can use Yahoo!’s advanced search parameters, i.e. “seomoz” -linkdomain:seomoz.org
#2 – Profile SitesAll those “Web 2.0” sites that allow for the creation of profiles with links, from Frappr and Newsvine to MySpace and Yahoo! 360 to Digg, Del.icio.us and StumbleUpon are goldmines for links. Even those that don’t have direct links enabled often allow you to submit sites or show what you’ve “tagged” or visited.
#3 – Can I Quote You on That?If there’s a particularly strong site in your sector that you desperately want a link from, this tactic can be of occassional use. The idea is to write a news article with some legitimacy and request a quote from the company/individual you want a link from. Once they know you’re writing about them, make sure to send them a copy of the press release or story once it hits and let them know they’re welcome to copy portions of the article for their own site if they’d like to reference it (with a link of course).
#4 – Friends & FamilyI’m always shocked at how few people send a blast email out to their friends and family requesting links. You’re guaranteed near 100% conversion rates for those folks who do have websites or blogs and it’s a natural way of making connections – after all, these are the same people who’d recommend you at a party to their friends, so why not ask for the equivalent online.
#5 – Think LocalSites from Citysearch & Yellow Pages to Google Maps (though that link doesn’t count) provide global, local links if you sign up with them, but in nearly every mid-large metropolitan area, there are literally hundreds of directories and lists of local companies in every possible category. Oftentimes they’re free and even when they aren’t, the prices to be listed are fairly inexpensive. Try searches like seattle inurl:directory or “new york” intitle:marketing intitle:firms – obviously, it helps to get creative with your searches, but with so much opporunity, why wouldn’t you?
Any “rare” link building tips you’d like to share?
For more link building tips, check out The Beginner’s Guide to Link Building:
Read the Guide!
Read Next
Link Relevance vs. Content Relevance in Link Building
Read this post
In Defense of Spam Score and the Concept of a Toxic Link
Read this post
Measuring Link Building
Read this post
Comments
Please keep your comments TAGFEE by following the community etiquette
Comments are closed. Got a burning question? Head to our Q&A section to start a new conversation.
Moz logo
Contact
Community
Free Trial
Terms & Privacy
Jobs
Help
News & Press
Copyright 2022 © Moz, Inc. All rights reserved.