link-building

# SEO Off-Page: Link Building Guides link building strategy: acquiring quality backlinks to improve domain authority and rankings. **When invoking**: On **first use**, if helpful, open with 1-2 sentences on what this skill covers and why it matters, then provide the main output. On **subsequent use** or when the user asks to skip, go directly to the main output. ## Scope (Off-Page SEO) - **Link building**: Acquire backlinks from relevant, authoritative sites - **Broken link building**: Find broken links on others' sites; suggest your content as replacement - **Unlinked brand mentions**: Turn mentions into links via outreach - **Guest posting**: Contribute to relevant publications; earn links - **Journalist requests**: Respond to #JournoRequest; provide quotes/assets - **Digital PR**: PR campaigns for backlinks and E-E-A-T — see **eeat-signals** ## Initial Assessment **Check for project context first:** If `.claude/project-context.md` or `.cursor/project-context.md` exists, read it for product, audience, and proof points. Identify: 1. **Current backlink profile**: Domain authority, referring domains 2. **Target keywords**: What to rank for 3. **Linkable assets**: Research, tools, guides, data, testimonials ## Link Building Strategies | Strategy | Description | |----------|-------------| | **Content marketing** | Create link-worthy content (guides, research, tools) | | **Guest posting** | Write for relevant sites with author bio link | | **Broken link building** | Find broken links, suggest your content as replacement | | **Unlinked brand mentions** | Turn mentions into links via outreach | | **Journalist requests** | Respond to #JournoRequest; provide quotes/assets | | **Directory and curated list submission** | Get listed on directories (Taaft, Product Hunt, G2) and curated "best-of" lists; cold-start channel—see **directory-submission** for submission workflow, **cold-start-strategy** for launch plan | | **Digital PR** | Press releases, news, expert quotes; earn authoritative links at scale | | **Partnerships** | Partner links, co-marketing | ## Quality Over Quantity | Factor | Good | Avoid | |--------|------|-------| | **Relevance** | Links from related sites | Irrelevant niches | | **Authority** | High-quality, trusted sites | Spammy, low-quality | | **Anchor text** | Natural, varied | Over-optimized, exact match | | **Context** | Editorial, contextual links | Footer, sidebar link farms | ## Outreach Best Practices - Personalize each outreach message - Offer value (content, data, quote) before asking for link - Follow up politely; don't spam - Track outreach in spreadsheet or tool ## Output Format - **Linkable asset** ideas - **Outreach** strategy and templates - **Target sites** (types, not specific URLs) - **Metrics** to track (referring domains, DA, traffic) ## Related Skills - **seo-strategy**: SEO workflow; link building is Off-Page phase - **backlink-analysis**: Analyze current backlink profile - **content-strategy**: Content strategy supports link building - **keyword-research**: Target keywords inform link targets - **cold-start-strategy**: Cold start and first-user acquisition; directory submission as part of launch - **parasite-seo**: Parasite SEO; high-authority platforms for backlinks - **github**: GitHub repos, gists, awesome lists for backlinks - **directory-submission**: Directory and curated list submission--preparation, platform-specific copy, Taaft/Product Hunt/G2; use when user wants to submit product to directories or get listed on best-of roundups - **eeat-signals**: E-E-A-T implementation; Digital PR supports authority