Working with others to build incoming links

The same rules that apply to internal links apply when building links from other sites. Links need to help readers and provide the right information, at the right time, in a clear way. There’s just one difference - now you need someone else (a human, not a website) to agree to link to your content. This one difference is very significant.

Why someone would agree to link to your content

Pages link to content on other sites because someone, a human, decided to include that link. So, when you’re “building links” you’re not getting another site to link to you. You’re getting the person responsible for that other site to link from their content to your.

The reasons remain mostly the same, like when you’re deciding to link from your site (say, your homepage) to some other page that you wrote. You should add that link if it genuinely helps readers.

If you’ve just finished writing another page on a topic that’s been covered hundreds of times and you’re “building links” to it, there’s no reason for an authoritative site to link to you. But, if the content that you wrote is essential for the success of the readers of the “other site”, there’s a good chance that you’ll get that link even without asking for it.

For example, if you’re running a site for a service that helps with immigration to Denmark, nobody needs to pitch you the idea of linking to the right page, in the government website on immigration to Denmark, which lists the valid reason for getting a visa. You’ll link to it because your readers need this information and it helps your credibility, not because you’re doing the Danish authorities a favor.

So, when you’re “building links”, think about:

  • What types of pages, on what types of websites will benefit from linking to what I just created?
  • What are the actual sites and pages that fit this description?
  • How do I reach the person who maintains the content on each of these sites?
  • How do I explain it to this person, so that it’s about their readers and not about me promoting my content (for SEO, obviously)?

No.

Almost always “no”. It’s a bad sign for someone considering linking to you for the wrong reasons, which will usually result in exactly the opposite of what you’re aiming for. A small exception is when another person simply wants to get compensated for their time. But almost always “no”.

Yes, for the same reasons above. You link to content that will best help your readers. If that content is on your site, that’s great. If it’s on someone else’s website, go ahead and link to it. Different companies have different policies about outgoing links. These policies can be very different, often conflicting and still be correct, because circumstances are different.

Below are two policies about external links, which are almost opposite and both are valid. They’re opposite because the conditions are vastly different. Understanding that different circumstances will produce different linking policies will help you when you’re trying to get links from other sites to your content.

Example 1 - wpml.org (website translation, very established)

Since WPML’s website talks about a very well known brand and product (in WPML’s tiny ecosystem), it doesn’t mention competitors or link out to them. This policy comes from the idea of “there’s no bad publicity”. WPML’s website links freely to material written by partners, but only when this material is useful to readers often.

Example 2 - PTC.wpml.org (software translation, new arrival)

PTC is a relatively new name for software translation, so there’s no fear of it advertising competitors. PTC’s website can freely link to competitors when comparing what PTC offers versus what these well-established and known competitors have. Old and established competitors don’t need PTC to get people to know them. PTC can benefit from the anchoring effect of competitors to demonstrate its relative benefits.

What works best and requires the least effort (in link building) is to produce original and helpful content about topics that many people need and is not available elsewhere. By becoming the authority on popular topics, links “just happen”. It’s the same logic that dictates your entire content strategy, not just “incoming links”. Once you’ve posted that valuable, unique and original content, it’s usually a matter of communicating it to the right people.

Link building isn’t a separate activity from content creation. If you’re spending significant effort ‘building links,’ it usually means your content isn’t valuable enough for people to naturally want to reference it. It’s OK. Not all content needs to be unique, have thousands of incoming links and appear on the top page of Google searches. Some content is a target for your newsletter and some is your legal stuff. But if you plan on getting search traffic for your content, you can’t write generic content and then go “link building”.

Promote your content proactively

Eventually, great content gets links without any effort. But initially, you need to help others discover it. Once you’ve published something genuinely valuable, identify the people maintaining sites where your content would help their readers, and let them know it exists.

This is different from traditional “link building.” You’re not spamming or begging. You’re helping others see how your content will help their readers.

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