Link building

Convincing Management of Link Building’s Value

Image: Selling Link Building to Management

There’s a persistent challenge for all SEOs: securing a budget. This is particularly true with link building. While SEO has technical elements that can be explained with data, traffic, and site configurations, link building is often reduced by management to a focus on the cost per link.

This cost-driven mindset is misleading as it overlooks the key difference between price and value. In this article, we aim to shift the conversation from cost to value in selling link building to upper management.

Three Critical Stages to Communicate Value

As an in-house SEO needing links to achieve goals, how can you request an additional budget? Start by communicating the value. Here are three stages where selling the value of link building is crucial:

  1. Securing Budget: Highlight the importance of links in SEO.
  2. Project Start: Focus on strategy and execution.
  3. Six-Month Review: Present results and forecast growth.

Consistent communication of value throughout the project is essential, especially at these key points.

1. Securing Budget: Emphasize the Role of Links in SEO

You’ve improved through technical and on-page SEO but need links to stay competitive. Since doing this alone isn’t viable, request additional budget to acquire necessary resources, linking this to your department’s SEO goals:

  • Grow organic traffic year-over-year by X%.
  • Enhance traffic to target pages.
  • Improve keyword rankings.
  • Maintain brand advantage over competitors.

Show where competitors outperform you in rankings and links, underlining the significance of links within search. Reference relevant studies to support your case.

Create a logical argument for why link building deserves investment:

  1. Search is the largest online marketing channel.
  2. Links are a main signal in organic search.
  3. Current resources are focused on technical and on-page SEO.
  4. Investment in links is critical to continue improving search visibility.

Explain how link building aligns with both SEO and overall business goals. Illustrate benefits for organic traffic, brand visibility, market presence, new initiatives, partnerships, and other strategies. Highlight that the ultimate aim is the results, not just acquiring links.

Present the idea that the right links deliver valuable results — enhanced organic search performance.

2. Budget Secured and Project Start: Strategy and Execution

Once budget is secured, proceed with a strategy that aligns with your goals. Maintain management buy-in by emphasizing that you’re not just purchasing links but investing in a strategic plan that supports both SEO and business objectives.

Use tools like SEMrush to highlight competitive strategies and outline how you plan to surpass them, highlighting benefits such as increased traffic, improved reputation, and a larger audience share.

Introduce key performance indicators (KPIs) and lead indicators that will signal the campaign’s success, like the quality and relevance of links, number of links to target pages, and websites contacted. These should connect to the overarching goals, with the expectation of seeing outcome-related movements around the six-month mark.

3. Six-Month Review: Monitoring and Forecasting Growth

By this stage, show the results achieved and forecast further growth. By the six-month mark, you should demonstrate trends despite bumps along the way. Highlight areas like:

  • Organic traffic growth.
  • Improved key term rankings.
  • Expansion of long-tail keywords.

Share the number of links secured each month, but focus on trends of steady improvement. Highlight even modest gains as positive indicators of the team’s direction. Present projections for future success based on current results to keep management’s interest and investment in link building stirred.

Key Talking Points

Throughout the campaign, you’ll need to emphasize the value of link building to maintain support. Key points to address include:

Securing Budget:

  • Organic search as the largest online marketing channel.
  • Links as primary ranking signals.
  • The necessity of investing in links for continued growth.

Project Start:

  • Importance of strategic link building.
  • Relevant lead indicators for the campaign.
  • Execution monitoring and reporting.
  • Linking KPIs to business goals.

Six-Month Review:

  • Reporting on lead indicators and outcomes.
  • Projecting future growth.
  • Ongoing monitoring of link-building KPIs.

By focusing on these stages and key points, you’ll effectively communicate the value of link building, ensuring necessary support and budget.

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