Backlink Management

Managing Your Backlinks From Start To Finish

What Is Backlink Management?

Backlink management is the process of managing your link building efforts from start to finish. When you have a brand new website, you need to start earning links right away in order to rank. Once you have backlinks, you need to continue to build backlinks. You need to optimize your link building efforts towards your business goals. For example, you need to have anchor text that matches your priority keywords. You also need to monitor your existing backlinks. Over time, content may get deleted from websites. You may pick up spammy backlinks through no fault of your own. Backlinks are the most labor intensive component of SEO and you will need some assistance in getting your link biulding efforts up and running.

Key Takeaways

What is a backlink?

A backlink is a link on another website that points to your website. Your website needs SOME backlinks to rank for anything.

What is an anchor

This link to my homepage is an example of an anchor. "Homepage" is the anchor text. Google looks at the anchor and the text around it as a signal of trust and authority. The backlink is like voting. The link is the vote and the anchor text is the "issue" that is being voted on. The anchor tells Google and other search engines what the page is about.

How Many Backlinks Do You Need To Manage?

If you want to rank for a search term, you need to do one of two things. First and foremost, do a Google search for the search term that you want to rank for. Find the ranking page on the website for that keyword. You can then use a tool such as Moz, SEMrush, or Ahrefs to see how many backlinks that page has. To rank for that keyword, you will need as many backlinks for the page on your website as your competitor. Let's use "custom paint by number kits" as an example.

The example shows you the number 1 ranking site for "custom paint by number kits." In order to be competitive with that website, you need to have exactly 60 referring domains going to your page that you want to rank for the same keyword.

Key Takeaways

What is a referring domain?

A referring domain is a website (a unique domain) with a backlink that points to you. While you may have multiple backlinks coming from one referring domain, it's important to have as many unique referring domains as possible.

What about quality over quantity?

Quality backlinks are important. That being said, the law of backlinks always boils down to a numbers game. The person with the most quality backlinks will end up winning.

How Do You Go About Getting Backlinks?

There are a few ways that you can go about getting backlinks:

You can use the skyscraper method. The skyscraper method entails finding competitive content and creating something better. Then you have to compel other websites to link for you. You could end up spending HOURS writing a really long blog and then even more hours trying to reach out to other websites.
You can go find links on other websites that are broken and spend some time trying to get that website to replace the broken link with a link to you. Once again, time consuming and labor intensive.
You can find a reputable provider of backlinks and pay for them. Even though Google hates link schemes, the fact of the matter is that you need to by them in order to rank at scale.

Where Can You Buy Backlink Management?

You can buy backlinks from companies like:

The Hoth
Fat Joe
Other Backlink Management Services

The problem with some of these services are that they take two to four weeks to fulfill. You can buy them from SEO Gone Wild and they are fulfilled within one week, max.

See Backlinks To Buy

How Do You Manage Bad Backlinks?

Managing bad backlinks is a critical aspect of maintaining a healthy website and protecting its search engine rankings. The first step in managing bad backlinks is to conduct a comprehensive backlink audit. Using tools like Google Search Console, Ahrefs, or SEMrush, you can identify all the links pointing to your website. These tools help in spotting potentially harmful backlinks from spammy, low-quality, or irrelevant sites. Once you have identified these bad backlinks, it's essential to categorize them based on their level of threat to prioritize your actions.

The next step is to reach out to the webmasters of the sites hosting these bad backlinks. Craft a polite and concise email requesting the removal of the backlink. Provide specific details such as the URL of the page containing the link to your site and the link itself. While some webmasters might respond promptly, others may ignore your request. It's important to keep track of your communication attempts and follow up if necessary. Being courteous and clear in your communication can increase the chances of having the backlinks removed.

If manual removal efforts fail, the final step is to use the Google Disavow Tool. This tool allows you to inform Google that you do not want certain backlinks to be considered when evaluating your site. Create a text file listing all the bad backlinks you wish to disavow and upload it to the Disavow Tool through Google Search Console. It's crucial to use this tool with caution, as disavowing too many backlinks can harm your site's SEO. Regular monitoring and periodic audits are essential to ensure that your backlink profile remains clean and your website maintains its authority and ranking in search engines.

Tools You Need For Effective Backlink Management

Here is a list of tools that you might find effective for backlink management. We have used these at various points in time. Our preferences are SEMrush, Moz, and Google Search Console.

Ahrefs: Offers a comprehensive backlink analysis, including competitor backlink tracking, broken link analysis, and backlink growth over time.
SEMrush: Provides tools for backlink auditing, tracking, and analysis, along with identifying toxic backlinks.
Moz Link Explorer: Allows users to research backlinks, find link-building opportunities, and analyze link metrics.
Majestic SEO: Known for its large backlink database, it provides tools for backlink analysis, link profile comparison, and link discovery.
Google Search Console: Offers basic backlink data directly from Google, helping to monitor and manage backlinks.
Monitor Backlinks: Tracks new backlinks, lost backlinks, and the overall health of a site's backlink profile.
CognitiveSEO: Provides backlink analysis, link audits, and competitive analysis features.
BuzzSumo: Helps in finding influencers and tracking backlinks for specific content pieces.
Linkody: A simple tool for tracking backlinks, disavowing toxic links, and getting notified of new backlinks.
Kerboo: Offers a comprehensive suite for link auditing, monitoring, and outreach management.
SEO SpyGlass: Part of the SEO PowerSuite, it provides detailed backlink analysis and competitor research.
Ubersuggest: Offers a backlink checker tool to analyze the link profile of a website.
Pitchbox: Focuses on link-building outreach and managing relationships with influencers and bloggers.
LinkResearchTools (LRT): Provides advanced backlink analysis, link detox, and link-building tools.
OpenLinkProfiler: A free tool that offers detailed backlink analysis and link discovery.