My Link Building Strategy

Down below, I will walk you through the exact steps I use in a link building campaign. Being Linksandmaria I am all about growing real plants – not fake ones. That means building genuine connections through thoughtful outreach, not shortcuts or “tactics”.

Depending on your niche, the link building plan might vary a bit.

But let’s go through the strategy together so you can see exactly how I build backlinks.

The first step in any link building campaign is figuring out whether we are a good fit for each other.  If the answer is yes, I want to learn more about your business.

1)  How do you want to be perceived?

2) What does your ideal client look like?

3) What keywords do you want to rank for? 

4) What topics is your audience interested in?

My goal is simple – generate more leads for your business.

There are many SEO tools out there but I mainly use Semrush and Ahrefs. I use them to reverse engineer your competitors’ backlinks and analyze the websites that rank for your target keywords.

I look for patterns and aim to answer questions like:

1) What are they doing right?

2) What kind of content is actually working in your niche?

3) What social media channels are they most active on?

I also look at how your keywords and topics (and your brand) show up in LLMS (like ChatGPT, Perplexity and other AI tools people use to search).

Link building only works if there’s something worth linking to – and that starts with high-quality content. I begin by auditing your website to find assets that are funny, insightful, packed with unique data or valuable to your audience in a meaningful way.

I list each linkable asset in a spreadsheet, along with its URL and the keywords it ranks for.

If your site doesn’t have much to work with, I will pitch you ideas for content that is original, optimized and genuinely useful – the kind of stuff people want to reference, share and link to. An important aspect here is that the content needs to be produced quickly, either by someone on your team or a freelance writer. Or I can hire a writer and take care of it for you. 

Link building is a content strategy and without reliability, depth and interesting angles, there is nothing to build links to – and no reason for anyone to care. 

I usually start with a list of around 200 websites that feel aligned with your brand – real businesses with actual products or services, not random blogs. The goal is to connect with sites that share part of your audience or niche and have strong authority, or the potential to grow.

Prospects can come from all kinds of places:

1) Tools your business uses daily

2) Brand mentions without links

3) Expos or networking events

4) Niche Facebook or Instagram groups

Once the list is ready, I look for the right person to contact on each site. That part matters more than most people think – emailing the wrong person often means getting ignored. I try to avoid “info@” emails as much as possible. If I can’t find the right person I use tools like Hunter or LinkedIn.

A cold email from a stranger is so easy to ignore! That is why I like showing up in their world – especially on social media – before starting running link building outreach.

Sharing, following, liking and commenting on something relevant can make all the difference later down the line. It’s about being visible and familiar, so when the email comes into their inbox, it’s not coming out of nowhere.

Once the prep work is done, it’s time to run outreach. The goal: make the person receiving your email feel like their site was genuinely viewed and that you actually know who they are. Whether it’s a journalist or a business owner – the same principle applies: create a real connection.

I divide prospects into different groups and tailor my link building outreach based on what’s happening in that niche. That could be trends, inside jokes or shared interests. The focus is on creating a real connection.

 Depending on the type of outreach, I focus on one of two things:

1) If I’m pitching a linkable asset, I explain why it’s relevant to them and their audience – and why they should care

2) If it’s a guest post or a guest podcast appearance, I offer three topic ideas or talking points that match the tone and content of their plantform and would genuinely interest their audience. 

One important detail: I always look at how they write and mirror that tone in my outreach. If their site is casual – I match that. If it’s formal and “data-driven”, I adjust accordingly. 

My default style is friendly and full of plants – but I adapt depending on who I’m emailing.

I also keep things respectful. If I don’t get a reply after two follow-ups, I move on. No spamming.

And if something’s not working – a subject line, an angle, a pitch – I recalibrate.

I test, learn and try something new.