More threads by vivekrpatel

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What are the different ways to find a relevant local blog to build links with content? Our client has a local business (chimney repair) in Portland and wanted to see links from the local blog.

Are there any tools/search queries that can help us to find local blogs?
 
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Hey guys,

Thank you for providing a great list of resources. (y)

I'll surely look into this and I'm pretty much sure this will help a lot.

Many thanks again and hope this thread would help other. :)
 

brettmandoes

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My methodology for this is a little different than what most tool providers post in their blogs and how-to articles. I start with the main topic (Chimney Repair) and put it on a whiteboard. Then I put a circle around it and start attaching other circles with related topics or industries. So one circle might be materials (stone, brick, etc.), another circle might be gas, which then connects to a circle labeled utilities, and then I might add another circle that attaches to the main circle titled home inspectors.

This is basically just brainstorming all the related and interrelated industries and blog topics. Now I'm able to clearly see a link between home inspectors and brick chimneys, and home inspectors and stone chimneys. See where I'm going with this?

Start doing outreach with home inspectors and pitching blog ideas like "3 Things Homeowners Should Check Inside their Brick Chimney Before Closing". Where to find home inspectors? Use Google Maps to look them up in and around Portland. You want the local links - they're more valuable by far and Google maps gives you a giant list of home inspectors with websites. From there you just curate the ones who have a blog.

It's easy enough to replicate this process for any industry in the local space. You just don't see it talked about because it doesn't require a tool beyond Google Spreadsheets and maybe something like hunter.io for efficiency's sake.

outreach brainstorm template.jpg
 

brettmandoes

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And you want the local websites because you can create localized kw anchor text. That's what makes them so valuable. For example, a home inspector in Portland may leave the anchor text of your link "chimney repair in Portland" whereas someone you just pitched in Columbus will strip that out and probably remove the link as well.
 
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My methodology for this is a little different than what most tool providers post in their blogs and how-to articles. I start with the main topic (Chimney Repair) and put it on a whiteboard. Then I put a circle around it and start attaching other circles with related topics or industries. So one circle might be materials (stone, brick, etc.), another circle might be gas, which then connects to a circle labeled utilities, and then I might add another circle that attaches to the main circle titled home inspectors.

This is basically just brainstorming all the related and interrelated industries and blog topics. Now I'm able to clearly see a link between home inspectors and brick chimneys, and home inspectors and stone chimneys. See where I'm going with this?

Start doing outreach with home inspectors and pitching blog ideas like "3 Things Homeowners Should Check Inside their Brick Chimney Before Closing". Where to find home inspectors? Use Google Maps to look them up in and around Portland. You want the local links - they're more valuable by far and Google maps gives you a giant list of home inspectors with websites. From there you just curate the ones who have a blog.

It's easy enough to replicate this process for any industry in the local space. You just don't see it talked about because it doesn't require a tool beyond Google Spreadsheets and maybe something like hunter.io for efficiency's sake.

outreach brainstorm template.jpg
Awesome, @brettmandoes! This is really interesting. Thanks much for sharing with us.
 
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My methodology for this is a little different than what most tool providers post in their blogs and how-to articles. I start with the main topic (Chimney Repair) and put it on a whiteboard. Then I put a circle around it and start attaching other circles with related topics or industries. So one circle might be materials (stone, brick, etc.), another circle might be gas, which then connects to a circle labeled utilities, and then I might add another circle that attaches to the main circle titled home inspectors.

This is basically just brainstorming all the related and interrelated industries and blog topics. Now I'm able to clearly see a link between home inspectors and brick chimneys, and home inspectors and stone chimneys. See where I'm going with this?

Start doing outreach with home inspectors and pitching blog ideas like "3 Things Homeowners Should Check Inside their Brick Chimney Before Closing". Where to find home inspectors? Use Google Maps to look them up in and around Portland. You want the local links - they're more valuable by far and Google maps gives you a giant list of home inspectors with websites. From there you just curate the ones who have a blog.

It's easy enough to replicate this process for any industry in the local space. You just don't see it talked about because it doesn't require a tool beyond Google Spreadsheets and maybe something like hunter.io for efficiency's sake.

outreach brainstorm template.jpg
Great fresh approach to local link building. Do you write content on behalf of your clients for guest posting?
 

brettmandoes

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Yes, I don't like to include clients in any part of this process unless necessary. Things seem to run smoother that way.
 
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I agree. Do you get a third party copywriting company to write content for blog posts?
 

brettmandoes

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When I'm consulting on the side, yes. When I'm doing SEO through my day job we have writers on staff they like to keep busy 😉
 

brettmandoes

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If the turnaround time is too long I whip up the content myself. Takes me about an hour. Worth it to secure a solid link.
 
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Cool, would you say the typical length of an average blog post is around 500 words? Its abit tricky to write content when you have a client that provides a very niche product/service. I find it takes a while to get familiar with niche businesses.:)
 

brettmandoes

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Nope, average length is whatever your link target's style is. Some do 500. Others have 1100 word minimums. Match their style and you're more likely to secure placement
 

Cherie Dickey

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I just want to chime in and say how much I love this thread... Thank you so much for all the great resources and advice! This is an area I struggle with, and I'm definitely bookmarking this.
 

JoshuaMackens

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My methodology for this is a little different than what most tool providers post in their blogs and how-to articles. I start with the main topic (Chimney Repair) and put it on a whiteboard. Then I put a circle around it and start attaching other circles with related topics or industries. So one circle might be materials (stone, brick, etc.), another circle might be gas, which then connects to a circle labeled utilities, and then I might add another circle that attaches to the main circle titled home inspectors.

This is basically just brainstorming all the related and interrelated industries and blog topics. Now I'm able to clearly see a link between home inspectors and brick chimneys, and home inspectors and stone chimneys. See where I'm going with this?

Start doing outreach with home inspectors and pitching blog ideas like "3 Things Homeowners Should Check Inside their Brick Chimney Before Closing". Where to find home inspectors? Use Google Maps to look them up in and around Portland. You want the local links - they're more valuable by far and Google maps gives you a giant list of home inspectors with websites. From there you just curate the ones who have a blog.

It's easy enough to replicate this process for any industry in the local space. You just don't see it talked about because it doesn't require a tool beyond Google Spreadsheets and maybe something like hunter.io for efficiency's sake.

outreach brainstorm template.jpg

Glad to hear someone is actually doing this!

How do you do outreach? Email or phone? How receptive have the companies been that you've reached out to? Do you find it difficult to make progress with many of them considering how they get calls and emails constantly?

Have you been able to successfully place content for a lot of clients? I'd consider a success just one link but have you been able to do campaigns and secure 2-3 links on different local websites for just one client before?
 

brettmandoes

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Starts with email, sometimes moves to phone. It's hard. Sometimes people are jerks and you have to get used to rejection. I find that my success rate is dependent entirely on my pitch, so I spend a lot of time refining that. And yes, I've secured link placements doing this.
 
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A really good book to read is
"Ultimate Guide to Link Building: How to Build Backlinks, Authority and Credibility for Your Website, and Increase Click Traffic and Search Ranking
Book by Eric Richard Ward and Garrett French"

I found this useful for link building outreach:)
 

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