SEO Off-Page: Link Building

Guides link building strategy: acquiring quality backlinks to improve domain authority and rankings.

When invoking: On first use, if helpful, open with 1-2 sentences on what this skill covers and why it matters, then provide the main output. On subsequent use or when the user asks to skip, go directly to the main output.

Scope (Off-Page SEO)

Link building: Acquire backlinks from relevant, authoritative sites
Broken link building: Find broken links on others' sites; suggest your content as replacement
Unlinked brand mentions: Turn mentions into links via outreach
Guest posting: Contribute to relevant publications; earn links
Journalist requests: Respond to #JournoRequest; provide quotes/assets
Digital PR: PR campaigns for backlinks and E-E-A-T — see eeat-signals

Initial Assessment

Check for project context first: If .claude/project-context.md or .cursor/project-context.md exists, read it for product, audience, and proof points.

Identify:

Current backlink profile: Domain authority, referring domains
Target keywords: What to rank for
Linkable assets: Research, tools, guides, data, testimonials

Link Building Strategies

| Strategy | Description | |----------|-------------| | Content marketing | Create link-worthy content (guides, research, tools) | | Guest posting | Write for relevant sites with author bio link | | Broken link building | Find broken links, suggest your content as replacement | | Unlinked brand mentions | Turn mentions into links via outreach | | Journalist requests | Respond to #JournoRequest; provide quotes/assets | | Directory and curated list submission | Get listed on directories (Taaft, Product Hunt, G2) and curated "best-of" lists; cold-start channel—see directory-submission for submission workflow, cold-start-strategy for launch plan | | Digital PR | Press releases, news, expert quotes; earn authoritative links at scale | | Partnerships | Partner links, co-marketing |

Quality Over Quantity

| Factor | Good | Avoid | |--------|------|-------| | Relevance | Links from related sites | Irrelevant niches | | Authority | High-quality, trusted sites | Spammy, low-quality | | Anchor text | Natural, varied | Over-optimized, exact match | | Context | Editorial, contextual links | Footer, sidebar link farms |

Outreach Best Practices

Personalize each outreach message
Offer value (content, data, quote) before asking for link
Follow up politely; don't spam
Track outreach in spreadsheet or tool

Output Format

Linkable asset ideas
Outreach strategy and templates
Target sites (types, not specific URLs)
Metrics to track (referring domains, DA, traffic)

Related Skills

seo-strategy: SEO workflow; link building is Off-Page phase
backlink-analysis: Analyze current backlink profile
content-strategy: Content strategy supports link building
keyword-research: Target keywords inform link targets
cold-start-strategy: Cold start and first-user acquisition; directory submission as part of launch
parasite-seo: Parasite SEO; high-authority platforms for backlinks
github: GitHub repos, gists, awesome lists for backlinks
directory-submission: Directory and curated list submission--preparation, platform-specific copy, Taaft/Product Hunt/G2; use when user wants to submit product to directories or get listed on best-of roundups
eeat-signals: E-E-A-T implementation; Digital PR supports authority