5 Tools Professional Link-Builders Use That You Can Too

Link-building and SEO are two of the most essential parts of growing your online footprint. However, they can also be overwhelming for entrepreneurs and often seem more like the kind of thing best left to a professional. However, the basics of expanding your reach and ranking high in Google’s search results are more achievable than they may seem.

Professional link-builders use many tools to make it easier to build links and awareness while staying within Google’s guidelines. A professional link builder can help you get the most of these tools, but here are five of the most important tools that you can get started with all on your own.

Ahrefs’ Tools

Ahrefs is a company with a suite of paid link-building tools that are affordable and easy to use. Their site is also a valuable resource if you’re just starting to build your online brand, as it features instructional blogs and other resources. You’ll find several useful tools here, but these are the two essentials.

• Content Explorer- Ahrefs’ content explorer is a research tool that makes it easier to build original content and boost your search rankings. It’s a database covering over a billion online sites, letting you search them and check out their SEO stats to see what methods are working best for other online entrepreneurs. The filters make it easy to narrow your research down to the essential material and find what you need. You’ll be able to reverse-engineer successful strategies, find broken links you can try to connect to your own website and network with other sites that fit into your demographic.
• Site Explorer- This is a more in-depth tool focused on the metrics of your competitors’ sites and is ideal for those with a bit more link-building experience. You’ll be able to use this tool to look into your competitors in three ways. The first, organic traffic research, will break down your competitors’ hits to show which pages bring them the most natural traffic. The backlink checker will show which sites are linked to your competitors and how high-quality their backlinks are. Finally, paid traffic research will show you whether they’re in any paid partnerships and where their traffic is going.

Brand and Site Name Alerts

Have you ever wanted to know when someone is talking about your company online? Well, thanks to brand/site name alerts, you don’t have to manually filter through Google results anymore. You’ll be able to set up an alert to notify you whenever your company is mentioned on another public site. You can customize how active you want the alerts to be—whether you want all mentions of your brand sent to you, or only certain relevant content. This feature is available through several professional services like Ahrefs’ and can also be set up through Google.

Link Explorer

Link explorers are a useful prospecting tool that will give you more in-depth information into your competitors’ sites, including some information that may not be easily accessible from a glance. You’ll be able to find the domain authority of their sites, any standard anchor text they use, and other information on what works for them. Not only is it helpful to know what your competitors are doing right, but you’ll be able to see their strategy and determine whether this site is a potential partner. Professional link explorer tools are available from many top companies.

Outreach Tools

Once you’ve done your research, the next step is finding suitable sites to reach out to. This can be the most challenging part of the link-building process. The best way to approach this is to find potential partners who are just slightly to the side of your own sector—in the same general field but maybe offering a slightly different product or service that can complement yours. This way, you avoid reaching out to your competition.

Organizing your outreach can be tricky, which is why we recommend using tools to keep track of all outstanding inquiries. A variety of tools are available with templates for quick emails, a custom organizational system to remind you who you’ve reached out to, and other tools to make sure you don’t send any duplicates or other faux pas. Some sites may also not have any contact information available at first glance, and these tools—along with some of the others—can pull that information for you.

Link-Build Your Way to Success

These tools are accessible to anyone and easy to set up. Understanding the basics can help you boost your website’s online presence and start building links. A professional link-builder will help you get the most out of these and other professional tools. Whether your site is just starting or you’re looking to refresh your online presence, they can help you find the ideal partners and work on expanding your brand.