Looking for the best place to publish that awesome piece of content? Want to know about up-and-coming sites to get great links from? Trying to get a site mentioned in the media? Then congratulations, you're probably a link builder.
And since getting 'linked to' is one of the hardest most time-consuming SEO tasks to perform, here are 4 kickass services that I promise won't be a waste of time if added to your link building arsenal.
Help A Reporter Out
Help a Reporter Out - Founded by entrepreneur Peter Shankman, HARO is a type of free liaison service where reporters who are looking for quotes or information get connected with experts from a wide variety of topics including; healthcare, business and finance, education, entertainment, high-tech and travel.
This means that, whether you're an online business owner with expertise on a topic or a professional link builder with expert clients in many niches, you have the potential for relatively easy link opportunities from credible media outlets. And (hopefully) we all know by now how much Google values these when it comes to your online exposure.
After creating an account you'll receive daily emails full of opportunities. You can also set your preferences to receive only the opportunities that are relevant to you and your expertise. Its important to stay on top of the emails though, as many of the reporters are under deadline and their requests are often time sensitive.
And don't forget to follow HARO on twitter so you won't miss out on their more urgent expert requests.
I should mention that after signing up you may get a few phone calls from someone at HARO trying to plug their (I assume) advertising services. Personally I wasn't interested but some of you might be.
My Blog Guest
MyBlogGuest - The brainchild of Ann Smarty, MyBlogGuest is a free community of site owners in a Forum atmosphere that are willing to publish quality content on their blogs. This is an incredibly helpful resource for not only link builders who are seemingly forever looking for a home for their next piece of content, but also for site owners who are looking for new content for their own blogs.
After signup you can browse either an articles gallery to see whats being offered as far as fresh content or a sub forum of sites (by category) that are looking for guest posters. And better still, once the content has gone live, you can ask for help sharing it via the Social Help Needed section of the forum.
This means that link builders increase the chances their link will be republished on other sites and site owners get fresh new content and increased social media proof should the content be successfully shared.
Blogger Linkup
BloggerLinkUp - Similar to MyBlogGuest where you can request or offer guest posts, except you get daily emails informing you of opportunities which makes it less of a community experience. The categories range from business and finance, internet and tech to arts and education.
The service is headed by Cathy Stucker who is a 'take no crap' kind of lady and she makes it very clear that sites are not allowed to ask for money in exchange for publishing posts.
As with HARO, you'll want to stay on top of the BloggerLinkUp emails as you might miss out on a good time-sensitive opportunity.
Link Moses Private
Link Moses Private - Link Moses Private is a link focused newsletter written by link building expert Eric Ward. Its not a free service but for only $8/month its hard to complain.
The newsletter comes several times per month and consists of Eric's take on various link topics such as; understanding link authority and paid link outing. The meat and potatoes of the newsletters though are the Link Opportunity Alerts which consist of high caliber backlink opportunities across a wide variety of niches.
The link opportunity alerts may not apply to everyone but they give site owners excellent ideas about how to mine for the same type of opportunities within their own niches. I wish I could go into more detail about some of the topics and opportunities Eric covers in his newsletter, but its private information and I gotta respect that.
I can say that whether you are building links for clients or for yourself, LMP is one service you sincerely wont regret paying for.
These are just 4 of the "not a waste of my time" services that I use as a professional link builder and every day I explore more and more. If you know of a service or a tool that makes getting links just a little bit easier, please share in the comments below.
If you liked this post, you might also enjoy 5 Practical Link Building Strategies for Local Businesses
Hi Melanie, I have been thinking of allowing guest posts on my blog for quite some time now. And after reading your article, I think that 2013 is the time for me to do this. I’ve followed one of your recommendations and have just signed up to Blogger LinkUp.
I’ve heard of HARO but never actually got around to putting it to use. My Blog Guest seems like a winner – link building opportunity but above all, the opportunity to get the kind of content you might want and the chance to connect with people in your niche.
HARO is a brilliant service and place to get traffic! Great post Melanie!
It’s disturbing that so many Content Writers and Social Spiritualists believe SEO is dead and now only depends on ‘Great Content’ and Tweets….
Hi Melanie, Thank you so much for mentioning HARO to your readers. We’re happy to hear that you have found our service a useful tool and hope your readers will as well. Again, thank you for the shout out and happy holidays!
Huge fan of Ann Smarty and am loving My Blog Guest for my own personal sites’ needs. Great resources Melanie!