How to Use Link Insertions for Better SEO

Link insertions are one way to build backlinks to your website. There’s no need to create new content, plus you can choose the best landing spots to maximize each link’s impact.

It’s no secret that backlinks are a prime ranking factor in SEO. Algorithms see backlinks as a sign of trust and authority. When you have links coming from reputable, relevant websites, your website looks more credible by association.

There’s an art and a science behind link insertion. Knowing the right way to build links using this technique will help you see results faster. Here’s what you should know about link insertion and how to make the most of every link.

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What Are Link Insertions?

Link insertions are links added to existing content, such as blog articles, website pages, or landing pages. You can request a publisher to link to your content in something they’ve already created.

This type of link-building largely depends on outreach. It’s a low-lift request since the content is already published. All the publisher needs to do is to edit the existing content by adding a link. You can specify the content, the URL you’d like to insert, and the anchor text for them to use.

Link Insertion Examples

There are different types of link insertions you might use in your SEO strategy. Examples of link insertion include:

• Unlinked brand mentions: A publication might mention your brand by name but not link to your website.

• Unlinked name mentions: A publication might quote you directly or mention you in their content but not link to your website, blog, or LinkedIn profile.

• Unlinked data: Content might mention data or a statistic but not link to a source.

• Additional resources for context: Content might mention a topic you’ve written about and your content can provide additional context or helpful information.

The goal is to enrich other people’s content with yours while also giving you a backlink. It’s a win/win!

How Link Insertions Can Help SEO

Link insertions are one type of backlink, which can benefit your SEO. Here’s how:

Link insertions increase domain authority

Search engines like Google use backlinks as an indicator of your website’s credibility and authority. Having your links on reputable and relevant websites can increase your site’s domain authority, which is a major factor in search rankings.

Link insertions send you referral traffic

When you have links on other websites, those websites can direct traffic to your content. This not only increases your traffic volume but also improves the quality of your traffic. Users who click through to your site are already engaged in related topics, so you can serve as an extension of their quest.

Link insertions can improve your brand visibility

Being mentioned (and linked to) on other sites puts your brand in front of more people. You gain access to a broader audience, which can lead to more recognition and potentially more links in the future. 

Think about it this way: the more people who know about your website, brand, and content, the more chances you have of earning organic links. This can create an endless cycle of exposure and linking, both of which can help your SEO efforts.

Link insertions add context to your content via anchor text

Link insertions aren’t “naked” URLs. They’re hyperlinked text within the content. If you play your cards right and choose relevant anchor text, search engines will know more about your content and can rank you for those terms accordingly.

Ideally, you want a mix of exact-match keyword anchor text and non-exact match keyword anchor text. Too many exact matches can appear inauthentic, which might harm your SEO instead of helping it.

Link insertions can help with content indexing

Backlinks help search engines find and index your content faster. This is especially important for new or less visible pages, as being linked from a well-index website can speed up the discovery process.

When your backlinks use appropriate anchor text, search engines have a better understanding of what your content is about. Bots crawl the publishing site’s content, including links, and discover your content in the process. Once algorithms know your content exists, it can index the content and display it in relevant search results.

Other Benefits of Link Insertions

Using link insertions as part of your SEO strategy offers a wide range of benefits, including the following:

They’re fast and easy to acquire. 

If you’re using a link insertion service like SEOJet, you can tap into a ready-made network of blogs and websites in your niche. These sources have already been vetted for quality and traffic. There’s also no outreach on your part, so you can skip straight to the results without the heavy lifting.

They’re relatively inexpensive.

Compared to creating new content from scratch with the purpose of backlinking, link insertions are more cost effective. If you’re doing your own outreach, your biggest expense is time. You’ll need to find relevant websites and blogs in your niche, find content that aligns with your own, and then find link insertion opportunities. Then, you’ll need to reach out to the publisher with your pitch. There’s no guarantee they’ll comply, so you might end up spending a lot of time trying to build links with nothing to show for it.

A better way is to use a link insertion service that’s purpose-built for this type of link building. Services that have already made the right contacts and know how to pitch publishers can get you better and faster results. You’ll save money by saving time, plus you’ll know exactly how much each link costs you.

They put you in front of relevant, engaged audiences.

People reading content that contains your inserted link are already interested in those topics. This is where relevance comes into play. You want your link to enrich the content, not just be thrown in haphazardly. 

When your link has a purpose, you’re putting yourself in front of an engaged audience who is likely to take action.

They earn the trust of your target audience.

If you have a link inserted in a trusted publication, your target audience may be more likely to trust you. You are the company you keep, and this certainly applies in the digital marketing world. Make yourself look better by association.

They diversify your traffic sources.

Relying solely on search engines for traffic can be risky. Algorithms are constantly changing, but your link insertions are more permanent. This can give your website more stability and less risk.

How to Find Link Insertion Opportunities

Finding opportunities for link insertions takes a mix of networking, strategic planning, and research. Here are some techniques you can use to find authentic ways to ask for links in other people’s content.

Find Broken Links

Links can break over time for many reasons:

• Websites might change their URLs or URL structure and not redirect the old links

• Web pages might be deleted or removed

• Websites might introduce paywalls

• Links might be broken from the start due to typos

• Websites might change their domain name and not set up redirects

Their loss could be your gain. If you can find broken links, you’ll be solving a problem for the publisher and helping yourself.

You can find broken links that might be good link insertion opportunities in several ways:

• Online link checkers like Ahrefs or Screaming Frog SEO Spider

• Browser extensions like LinkChecker or Check My Links look for broken links in real time when you visit a web page

• Manually checking sites you want to get backlinks from

• Link check websites like Dead Link Checker or Broken Link Check

This process can take some time. Your first priority should be hand-picking the sites from which you want links. From there, you can run link checks and find opportunities to replace broken links with your own.

Find Content on Topics that Closely Align with Yours

You’ve already created some great content you’d like to share with others. Your next goal is to find published content where your own content can add value.

For example, let’s say you find an in-depth review of the Call of Duty: Warzone video game. If you’ve just created a guide revealing the game’s Easter eggs or special hacks, the review might be a good fit for your content. You’ll be connecting with people interested in the game without rehashing what the original content already shares. 

Just be sure the publisher doesn’t have something similar already or isn’t likely to create something similar in the future – you’re here to help, not compete.

Find Unlinked Mentions

Unlinked mentions are golden opportunities for backlinks. The publisher has already mentioned your brand, name, product, or service. All you need is to turn the static text into a hyperlink.

Here are some tactics you can use to find unlinked mentions:

• Set up Google Alerts for your name, brand, or relevant keyword

• Use brand monitoring tools like Mention, Brand24, or Awario to identify mentions

• Use social listening tools to see who’s talking about your brand on social channels

• Try SEO tools like Ahrefs or Moz to track mentions

• Do  a manual Google search using “brand name -site.com” to find mentions of your company beyond your own website

• Set up relevant feeds using tools like Feedly to monitor industry-related news and mentions

Once you find unlinked mentions, you can reach out to the publisher and ask them to link to you (and why). To make it easier to comply, provide them with the following:

• The URL of their content

• The URL you’d like them to link to

• The anchor text you’d like them to use in the link

• A good reason for requesting the link (e.g., I thought this content might be helpful to your readers)

Look for Resource Pages

Resource pages are like directories that provide links to additional information on a specific topic. These pages might link to a variety of websites, articles, videos, or other content.

You can look for resource pages in your niche, then reach out and request to be added to the page. You might link a specific piece of content or your entire website, depending on the purpose of the resource page.

How to Choose the Right Anchor Text for Link Insertions

The anchor text is a key part of link insertion. You want your anchor text to add context to your content, but you also don’t want too many exact matches that can give away your link-building secrets.

It’s a tricky balance, but there are a few ways you can go about choosing the best anchor text for your links.

Keep anchor text to a few words

Keep your anchor text concise yet descriptive. Overly long anchor texts can distract and detract from the reader’s experience.

Use a variety of anchor texts for the same URL

Variation helps to avoid looking manipulative to search engines. You can use a variety of anchor texts that still get the meaning across by using synonyms, brand names combined with keywords, or exact match keywords.

Make the anchor text feel natural within the content

Read the content you want the link to be in and see where your link might fit naturally. This makes it easier for the publisher to comply when they don’t have to rewrite content to get your link to fit.

Use SEOJet to monitor anchor text ratios

SEOJet can help you optimize anchor text by monitoring usage and ratios across all of your backlinks. Generate the best anchor text based on what other links are already pointing to your pages.

Get Link Insertions the Easy Way with SEOJet

SEOJet specializes in link insertion, designed to make every link count. We tap into our growing network of website partners across a wide range of niches to ensure your link fits naturally into the content. We only choose relevant partners who have been vetted for quality and traffic, ensuring you get the best results and the biggest SEO impact.

Learn more about our link insertion services and start building your backlink profile with confidence!