When Should You Start Link Building? (The Definitive Answer)

Link building is one of the most powerful ways to boost your SEO and get more organic traffic.

But it’s also one of the most challenging and time-consuming.

So when should you start link building for your new website?

Should you wait until you have some content and traffic?

Or should you start right away and build links as you go?

That’s what this guide will answer.

In this guide, I’ll show you:

• Why link building is important for new websites

• How to know if your website is ready for link building

• How to create a link building plan for your new website

• How to measure and improve your link building results

Let’s get started.

Why Link Building Is Important for New Websites

You probably already know that link building is important for SEO.

But why is it especially important for new websites?

The answer is simple:

Because new websites have no authority or trust in the eyes of Google.

And without authority or trust, you have no chance of ranking for anything.

Think about it:

Google’s main goal is to provide the best and most relevant results for its users.

Why would it rank a new website higher? The site has no history, reputation, or proof of quality. An established website already possesses these qualities.

It wouldn’t.

That’s why new websites need link building.

Link building is the process of getting other websites to link to your website.

And when other websites link to your website, they’re essentially vouching for your quality and relevance.

They’re telling Google: “Hey, this website is worth checking out. It has something valuable or interesting to offer.”

When Google notices that other websites trust and respect your site, it begins to do the same. It starts trusting and respecting your website as well…

That’s how you build authority and trust with Google.

And that’s how you improve your chances of ranking for your target keywords and getting more organic traffic.

But how do you know if your website is ready for link building?

That’s what I’ll show you next.

How to Know If Your Website Is Ready for Link Building

Before you start link building, you need to make sure that your website is ready for it.

Otherwise, you might waste time and money on ineffective links. These could have no impact or even harm your rankings.

So how do you know if your website is ready for link building?

Here are some signs that point out that your website is ready:

• You have a clear niche and target audience. You need to know who you’re trying to reach and what you’re trying to offer them. This will help you create relevant and valuable content and find relevant and authoritative websites to get links from.

• You have a solid on-page SEO foundation. Ensure your website is optimized for target keywords. It should have a fast loading speed and a mobile-friendly design. Additionally, maintain a secure connection and clear site structure. This will help you rank better and provide a good user experience.

• You have some high-quality and relevant content. You need to have some content that showcases your expertise, provides value to your audience, and matches their search intent. This will help you attract and keep visitors, build trust and authority, and earn natural links.

• You have some organic traffic and engagement. You need to have some traffic and engagement on your website, such as visits, comments, shares, etc. This will help you validate your niche and content, prove your popularity and relevance, and signal your quality to Google.

If you have these four signs, then congratulations! Your website is ready for link building.

But if you don’t have these four signs yet, then don’t worry.

You can still work on them while doing some basic link building activities that won’t require much time or effort.

For example, you can:

• Set up social media profiles and link back to your website

• Submit your website to high-quality web directories in your niche

• Claim any unlinked mentions of your brand or website online

• Reach out to any existing contacts or partners who can link back to your website

These are some easy ways to get some initial links and exposure for your new website.

But they’re not enough to get you the results you want.

For that, you need a more advanced and strategic link building plan.

That’s what I’ll show you next.

How to Create a Link Building Plan for Your New Website

Now that you know that your website is ready for link building, you need to create a link building plan that will help you get the best results.

A link building plan is a document that outlines your goals, strategies, tactics, and metrics for your link building campaign.

It helps you stay focused, organized, and consistent with your link building efforts.

Here are the steps to create a link building plan for your new website:

Step 1: Define Your Link Building Goals

The first step is to define your link building goals.

What are you trying to achieve with link building?

How will you measure your success?

Some common link building goals are:

• Increase your domain authority or domain rating

• Improve your rankings for your target keywords

• Boost your organic traffic and conversions

• Build your brand awareness and reputation

• Set up relationships with influencers and authorities in your niche

You can choose one or more of these goals, depending on your needs and priorities.

But make sure that your goals are SMART:

• Specific: Your goals should be clear and well-defined. For example, instead of saying “I want to rank higher”, say “I want to rank in the top 10 for X keyword”.

• Measurable: Your goals should be quantifiable and trackable. For example, instead of saying “I want to get more traffic”, say “I want to get X% more traffic in Y months”.

• Achievable: Your goals should be realistic and attainable. For example, instead of saying “I want to get 1000 links in a month”, say “I want to get 50 links in a month”.

• Relevant: Your goals should be aligned with your overall business objectives and vision. For example, instead of saying “I want to get links from any site”, say “I want to get links from relevant and authoritative sites in my niche”.

• Time-bound: Your goals should have a deadline or a timeframe. For example, instead of saying “I want to get links”, say “I want to get links by Z date”.

Having SMART goals will help you stay focused and motivated, and help you evaluate your progress and results.

Step 2: Choose Your Link Building Strategies

The next step is to choose your link building strategies.

Link building strategies are the overall approaches or methods that you use to get links from other websites.

There are many link building strategies out there, but not all of them are suitable or effective for new websites.

Some of the best link building strategies for new websites are:

• Guest blogging: This is where you write and publish articles on other websites in exchange for a link back to your website. This can help you showcase your expertise, reach a new audience, and build relationships with other site owners.

• Resource link building: This is where you find relevant pages that list useful resources or links for a topic, and ask them to include your website as a resource. This can help you get links from high authority and relevant pages that already have a lot of traffic and trust.

• Niche edits: This is where you find relevant pages that already have existing content and links, and ask them to add or edit a link to your website. This can help you get links from established and relevant pages that don’t require much work or time.

• Skyscraper technique: This is where you find popular content in your niche that has a lot of links, create something better or more updated, and reach out to the people who linked to the original content and ask them to link to yours instead. This can help you get links from high-quality and relevant sites that are interested in your topic.

These are some of the most effective link building strategies for new websites.

But they’re not the only ones.

You can also use other strategies like:

• Broken link building: This is where you find broken links on other websites, create or find relevant content to replace them, and reach out to the site owners and ask them to fix the broken links with yours.

• Testimonials: This is where you write positive reviews or feedback for products or services that you use or like, and ask them to feature your testimonial on their website with a link back to yours.

• Infographics: This is where you create visual content that summarizes or illustrates data or information on a topic, and reach out to other websites that cover the same topic and ask them to share or embed your infographic with a link back to yours.

• Podcasts: This is where you either host or guest on podcasts that are relevant to your niche, and ask them to include a link back to your website in the show notes or description.

• Roundups: This is where you either participate or host roundups that feature expert opinions or insights on a topic, and ask them to include a link back to your website in the roundup post.

These are some of the additional link building strategies that you can use for your new website.

But don’t try to use all of them at once.

Instead, focus on 2-3 strategies that suit your niche, audience, and goals, and master them before moving on to others.

Step 3: Plan Your Link Building Tactics

The next step is to plan your link building tactics.

Link building tactics are the specific actions or steps that you take to execute your link building strategies.

For example, if your strategy is guest blogging, your tactics may include:

• Finding guest post opportunities

• Pitching your topic ideas

• Writing and submitting your guest post

• Following up and promoting your guest post

Each strategy may have different tactics, depending on the situation and the goal.

But there are some common tactics that apply to most strategies, such as:

• Prospecting: This is where you find and qualify potential websites or pages that you want to get links from. You can use various tools and methods to do this, such as Google search operators, SEO tools, social media platforms, etc.

• Outreach: This is where you contact and communicate with the site owners or editors that you want to get links from. You can use various channels and techniques to do this, such as email, social media, phone, etc.

• Negotiation: This is where you persuade and convince the site owners or editors to give you a link. You can use various tactics and incentives to do this, such as offering value, building rapport, providing samples, etc.

• Reporting: This is where you track and measure your link building results. You can use various tools and metrics to do this, such as Google Analytics, Google Search Console, SEO tools, etc.

These are some of the common link building tactics that you need to plan and execute for your link building campaign.

But how do you plan them effectively?

Here are some tips to help you:

• Use a spreadsheet or a tool to organize your prospects, outreach, and links. This will help you keep track of your progress and results, and avoid any mistakes or duplicates.

• Use templates or scripts for your outreach emails or messages. This will help you save time and effort, and increase your response rates. But make sure to personalize them for each prospect and situation.

• Use a calendar or a schedule to plan your outreach and follow-ups. This will help you stay consistent and timely with your communication, and avoid missing any opportunities or deadlines.

• Use a checklist or a workflow to guide your link building process. This will help you stay focused and organized with your tasks, and avoid any errors or oversights.

By planning your link building tactics effectively, you can increase your chances of getting high authority backlinks for your new website.

But how do you measure and improve your link building results?

That’s what I’ll show you next.

How to Measure and Improve Your Link Building Results

The final step is to measure and improve your link building results.

You need to know if your link building efforts are paying off or not.

And if not, you need to know how to fix them and make them better.

So how do you measure and improve your link building results?

Here are some tips to help you:

• Define your key performance indicators (KPIs). You need to know what metrics you’re going to use to evaluate your link building success. Some common KPIs are:

• Number of links acquired

• Quality of links acquired

• Domain authority or domain rating of linking sites

• Rankings for target keywords

• Organic traffic and conversions

• Track and analyze your KPIs. You need to use tools and methods to track and analyze your KPIs on a regular basis. Some common tools and methods are:

• Google Analytics: This is a free tool that helps you measure your website traffic and conversions. You can use it to see how much traffic and conversions you’re getting from your links, and what pages or keywords are driving them.

• Google Search Console: This is a free tool that helps you monitor your website’s performance and health in Google search. You can use it to see how many links you have, where they’re coming from, and how they’re affecting your rankings and clicks.

• SEO tools: These are paid tools that help you with various aspects of SEO, including link building. Some of the best SEO tools for link building are:

• Ahrefs: This is a powerful tool that helps you find and analyze backlinks, keywords, competitors, and more. You can use it to see the domain rating, traffic, anchor text, and context of your links, and how they’re impacting your SEO performance.

• Moz: This is another popular tool that helps you with SEO and link building. You can use it to see the domain authority, spam score, relevance, and quality of your links, and how they’re affecting your SEO performance.

This is a specialized tool that helps you with link building. You can use it to see the number, quality, diversity, and performance of your links, and how they’re affecting your SEO performance. See our pricing

Optimize and improve your link building process. You need to use the data and insights from your KPIs to optimize and improve your link building process. Some common ways to do this are:

• Find and fix any broken or lost links

• Remove or disavow any low-quality or toxic links

• Update or refresh any outdated or irrelevant content or links

• Test and tweak different outreach strategies or tactics

• Scale or diversify your link building strategies or tactics

By measuring and improving your link building results, you can ensure that you’re getting the most out of your link building efforts.

Conclusion

Link building is one of the best ways to boost your SEO and get more organic traffic.

But it’s not easy.

Especially for new websites.

That’s why you need a link building plan.

A link building plan is a document that outlines your goals, strategies, tactics, and metrics for your link building campaign.

It helps you stay focused, organized, and consistent with your link building efforts.

In this guide, I showed you how to create a link building plan for your new website.

I hope you found it helpful and informative.

Now I’d like to hear from you:

What do you think about link building for new websites?

How do you approach link building for your new website?

Do you have any questions or comments?

Let me know by leaving a comment below right now.