Anyone whose worked on optimizing websites for the search engines knows about link building and how tedious, repetitive and time-consuming it can be – prospecting, researching, contacting and following-up can certainly drain away your day.
We’d know – we’ve spent a few years working to get sites to the top of the search engines. Building links is a big part of that. But sometimes though, it can literally be considered a “needle in a haystack” trying to find the right, do-follow link that will really move a website.
As the years have gone on, this task has gotten even more complex as search engines like Google continually make changes to their algorithms.
Fortunately though, there are tools available that can expedite these steps and make the daily task of finding good quality links slightly easier. Below are 6 recommended tools for really cranking up your link building efforts. Each tool has its own unique strengths and focus.
1. Screaming Frog SEO Spider (http://www.screamingfrom.co.uk/seo-spider/)
Utilizes an often overlooked way of getting links and audits your site and your competitors’ site(s). The desktop tool sees which incoming links to your site are going to 404 error pages and crawls competitor sites to see where they’re linking.
2. Majestic SEO (paid) (http://ww.majesticseo.com/)
Majestic SEO is now considered the premier tool for comprehensive backlink data since Yahoo Site Explorer went offline last year. Many SEO companies use this tool as a ‘behind-the-scenes’ data provider for their own stats.
3. Blekko (http://blekko.com)
Blekko is unique in that it uses backslash functionality to provide SEO-rich data. Basically, you register for free then enter any site’s URL with modifiers like “/SEO,” “/inbound,” or “/outbound” for detailed link information.
4. SubmitEaze (http://www.submiteaze.com/)
Since Google’s Panda update last year, the value of directors and article links for link building is something to be real careful with. SubmitEaze helps you find the qualified directories related to your industry that will benefit your firm.
5. Quix (http://www.quixapp.com/)
Quix is a “bookmarklet” tool that brings many everyday SEO, social, WordPress and webmaster tasks under one umbrella. Literally dozens of commands allow you to research competitor sites, Google and even social sites like Facebook and Twitter.
6. ToutApp (http://www.toutapp.com/)
Although link building through blind e-mails requesting a link to page A in exchange for a link to page B are in the past, there is still a need for link builders to stay in touch and cultivate media and PR contacts. ToutApp helps do this by automating the process and providing detailed tracking.
We’ve used a few of these tools to help us dramatically improve link building efforts for us and our clients.
Have you used any of these tools?
Any other link building tools you’d recommend?
Let us know in the comments field below!!
Some other posts you may be interested in
Outlook for Search – Building High Rankings in 2012
3 Steps You Should Take Before Linking to another Site
8 Ways you can safely sell Links on your Website