Design a link building campaign with prospect identification, asset creation, and outreach strategy. Use when the user asks about link building, backlinks, domain authority, how to get backlinks, outreach campaigns, digital PR, guest posting, or link acquisition. For internal linking, see fix-linkin

Build Links Design a targeted link acquisition campaign using asset mapping, prospect scoring, and outreach sequence design. Before You Start Gather this context (ask if not provided): 1. Domain and niche. What site needs links? What industry? 2. Current backlink profile. Any idea of current referring domains count, domain rating/authority? 3. Linkable assets. Does the site have: original research, tools, data, infographics, comprehensive guides? 4. Budget and resources. Can the team invest in content creation, outreach tools, or PR? 5. Constraints. Industries with strict link building ethics (finance, health) need extra caution. Domain Profile Diagnosis Before choosing a strategy, diagnose which dimension of authority is weakest. This determines where link building effort will have the most impact: Dimension What it measures Signs of weakness Citation Inbound references from quality sources Few referring domains, low authority linkers, no editorial links Identity Brand recognition and entity coherence No branded search volume, no knowledge panel, inconsistent NAP Trust Legitimacy and manipulation absence Spammy backlink profile, no HTTPS, thin content, manual actions Eminence Visibility and industry standing Low organic traffic, no SERP features, no media mentions Strategy by Weakness Citation weakness (few referring domains) → Prioritize volume: guest posts, resource page outreach, broken link building Identity weakness (brand not recognized) → Prioritize brand mentions: PR, Wikipedia/Wikidata, industry directories, podcast appearances Trust weakness (spammy profile) → Prioritize cleanup first (disavow toxic links), then earn editorial links from authoritative publishers Eminence weakness (no industry presence) → Prioritize thought leadership: original research, conference speaking, expert commentary for journalists Most sites have 1 2 weak dimensions. Diagnose before prescribing. Link Building Strategies (Ranked by Effectiveness) Tier 1: High Authority, Scalable Original Research & Data Publish original data, surveys, studies, or industry reports Journalists and bloggers cite original data naturally Works because: nobody else has this data Example: "We analyzed 10,000 pages and found that..." Free Tools & Calculators Build a genuinely useful tool related to your niche People link to tools they use and recommend Works because: ongoing utility = ongoing links Example: ROI calculator, audit tool, template generator Comprehensive Guides (10x Content) Create the definitive resource on a topic Must be genuinely better than everything else on page 1 Works because: people link to the best resource Update regularly to maintain link worthiness Tier 2: Targeted, Relationship Based Guest Posting (Quality) Write for relevant, authoritative publications in your niche Focus on sites your audience actually reads, not just DA 1 link on a relevant, authoritative site 10 links on generic blogs Pitch unique angles, not rehashed content Resource Page Link Building Find pages that curate links to resources in your niche Search: [topic] + "resources" , [topic] + "useful links" , [topic] + "tools" Offer your genuinely useful content for inclusion Broken Link Building Find broken outbound links on relevant sites Create or identify your content that replaces the dead resource Contact the site: "I noticed a broken link, here's a working alternative" Tier 3: Community & PR Journalist Query Platforms (Connectively, Qwoted, Featured) Monitor journalist query platforms for relevant source requests Provide expert quotes with credentials Fast response time is critical (within hours) Community Participation Contribute genuinely to communities (Reddit, forums, Slack groups) Share expertise, not links — links come naturally when people discover your content Build reputation first, then content gets shared organically Digital PR Newsjack trending topics with data or expert commentary Create content tied to seasonal events or industry milestones Pitch to journalists with data backed angles Link Quality Score (LQS) Score each link prospect (or existing backlink) across 6 factors. Rate each 1 5: Factor 1: Domain Authority (25% weight) Score DR/DA Range Examples 5 DR 70+ Major publications, NYTimes, BBC 4 DR 50 69 Industry publications, established blogs 3 DR 30 49 Mid tier blogs, growing companies 2 DR 15 29 Small blogs, newer companies 1 DR <15 New or thin sites Factor 2: Topical Relevance (25% weight) Score Relevance Level 5 Exact match — same niche, same subtopic 4 Closely related — same industry, adjacent topic 3 Broadly related — same general field 2 Tangentially related 1 Unrelated Factor 3: Traffic to Linking Page (15% weight) Score Monthly Traffic 5 10,000+ 4 1,000 9,999 3 100 999 2 10 99 1 <10 Factor 4: Link Position (15% weight) Score Position 5 In content, editorial mention 4 In content, contextual resources section 3 Author bio or about section 2 Sidebar or dedicated links section 1 Footer, sitewide, or hidden Factor 5: Anchor Text Quality (10% weight) Score Anchor Type 5 Descriptive, natural language 4 Partial keyword match, natural 3 Brand name 2 Naked URL 1 Generic ("click here", "read more") Factor 6: Follow Status (10% weight) Score Status 5 Dofollow, editorial 4 Dofollow, non editorial 3 Sponsored (rel="sponsored") 2 UGC (rel="ugc") 1 Nofollow Calculating LQS LQS Range Rating Action 4.0 5.0 Premium link High priority — pursue aggressively 2.5 3.9 Acceptable link Worth pursuing if outreach effort is low 1.0 2.4 Low quality Skip — or review for risk if it's an existing backlink Link Profile Health Benchmarks Use these to assess the overall backlink profile: Metric Healthy Warning Critical Dofollow ratio 60 80% 90% 95% Exact match anchor % <15% 15 25% 25% Brand anchor % 25 45% <15% <5% Toxic link % <5% 5 10% 10% Average linking DR 25+ 15 25 <15 Outreach Template Framework Do NOT use generic templates. Personalize every email. But here's the structure: First Touch 1. Personal hook — reference something specific about their content (a post you liked, a point you agree with) 2. Value proposition — what you're offering (not asking for) 3. The asset — link to your content with a one sentence description 4. Soft ask — "thought you might find this useful for your readers" (not "can you link to me?") Follow Up (5 7 days later) Brief, adds new value (new data point, related resource) One follow up maximum. Two is acceptable if the first was missed. Three is spam. What NOT to Do Mass send identical emails Lead with "I'd like a backlink" Offer to pay for links (violates Google guidelines) Use fake compliments or AI generated personalization that's obviously generic Send more than 2 follow ups Campaign Tracking Track outreach in a simple table: Prospect URL Score Strategy Status Date Sent Response Link Live? ... ... 8/10 Guest post Pitched [date] Interested Pending ... ... 7/10 Broken link Sent [date] No reply — Benchmarks: Response rate: 5 15% is normal for cold outreach Conversion (response → link): 20 40% of responses Overall: expect 1 5 links per 100 outreach emails Quality campaigns with great assets: 10 20 links per 100 emails Output Format Link Building Campaign: [domain] Current Profile Assessment Estimated referring domains: [count] Profile quality: [strong/average/weak] Notable gaps: [what's missing — e.g., no links from industry publications] Strategy Selection Based on available assets and resources: Primary strategy: [which tier and tactic] Secondary strategy: [backup approach] Rationale: [why these fit this site] Linkable Assets Existing assets to promote: [list] Assets to create: [list with brief descriptions] Prospect List Prospect Score Strategy Contact Notes ... ... ... ... ... Outreach Plan Timeline: [weekly/monthly cadence] Volume: [emails per week] Follow up schedule: [when] Success Metrics Target new referring domains: [per month] Target domain authority increase: [over 6 months] Pro Tip: Use the free [Domain Authority Checker](https://seojuice.com/tools/domain authority/) to assess your current authority baseline and prospect domains. SEOJuice MCP users can run /seojuice:backlink audit to see which domains link to you, identify lost links worth recovering, and assess link quality — list backlinks finds recently lost backlinks for broken link building.

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