Broken Link Recreation
What is Broken Link recreation, and how does it work?
Broken link recreation (also known as broken link building) is a link-building method that includes pointing out a broken link on another website and requesting a connection back to your site. A 404 page is frequently the result of a broken link. The link will display on a page that is related to your topic and looks to be a good fit for your website. You do the webmaster a favour by pointing out the broken link and suggesting that your link be added or used as a substitute.
Why has broken link building recently been so popular?
- SEOs believe they are contributing to the betterment of the internet. They assist webmasters in dealing with the issue of link rot. The quality of the web is important to SEOs. The fewer broken links there are, the better.
- It provides simple value addition to the link builder’s email. You are assisting them before asking them to assist you.
- It may result in the formation of quick links. If your broken link email is successful, you should receive your link within a day or two after submitting it. Allowing a site owner to try and evaluate a product or investing time building a connection and proposing a guest blog article are both far quicker options.
- It’s a new strategy that has already produced positive results for several link builders.
How to Find Broken Links
- Use the Check My Links Extension on whatever webpage you happen to be on.
- In OSE, go to the Top Pages tab and check for 404 pages with external links pointing to them for any rival or site in your niche.
- Use Google’s search operators to identify related websites. Hundreds of sites with lists of links specialised to your sector should arise as a result of this. Using MozBar’s SERP Control Panel, change your search parameters to show the top 100 results and export them to a CSV. You’re fine to go if you sort by Page Authority or Domain Authority. Run a link checker extension on the sites.
- intitle: KEYWORD inurl: links -exchange
- intitle: KEYWORD inurl: resources
- inurl: links KEYWORD –
- Import link lists from Xenu/Screaming Frog to discover 404 pages and run them via OSE quickly. Alternatively, you may quickly determine the status codes of a single page’s outbound links by running it through.
- Use the W3C Link Checker to discover broken links on a website.
- If you come across a broken link, run it via OSE to see who else is linked to it. From a single broken link, you might be able to uncover 5-10 more potential link opportunities.
- In OSE, export several competitors’ following backlink profiles. Combine the outcomes. Filter for URLs that contain the terms Link, Directory, Where to Buy, Resources, or any other words that are relevant to your sector. Sort websites by PA/DA, visit them, run a link checker on them, and send them an email.
Broken Link Building Email Templates
Now that we have learned what broken link building is and how to locate websites to target, let’s move on to email marketing. You will get to know about three email templates that will assist you in launching your own effective broken link building campaign. Each template is customised to fit a certain type of website or customer. Depending on your customer, niche, or targeted site for link acquisition, you may discover that one of them works best for you, or that jumping back and forth between types gives you the greatest results.
- Quick and Dirty
Subject : (xyz.com) question
Hello, (first name of the website owner),
Is (xyz.com) still being updated? I’d like to draw your attention to a broken link.
-(your name)
Who to Send It To: Ideal for use on websites that appear to have been created in the 1990s and are no longer being maintained. Also useful for sites with a doubtful reputation. Don’t spend too much time on an email from a site to which you don’t expect a response.
Why Does It Work: This template gets one of the best response rates of all of the templates because it is a short and quick email. It appears sincere and helpful, and it begins with a forceful query that draws an answer from all webmasters who are actively maintaining their websites. When they respond, just share the page and the broken link, as well as recommend your website and explain how it is a good fit for that page.
- Â The Pressure is On Them
Subject: (xyz.com) Your link is broken
hello (first name of the website owner),
My name is (your name) and I work for (Name of the company) / My name is (your name) and I have a website called (Name of your site).
I’d appreciate it if you could include (our/my) website (www.abc.com) to your fantastic collection of (links/resources).Â
(Links/Resources Url)
Moreover, I discovered a few broken links on your website. Is this a suitable place to file a complaint?
Looking forward to your reply.
-(your name)
Who to send it to: Any website with a list of links or resources (with a broken link) that you believe would be a good fit for your site.
Why Does It Work: You make it clear right away in the email that you want a link. The webmaster may feel pressured to include your link to determine which of their site’s links are broken. No webmaster will respond to your email with, “No, I’m not going to link to you. Now, please show me the URLs that aren’t working.” You’ll either receive a link or they’ll be on their own.
- In and Out
Who Is This Template For: Anyone who doesn’t have time to follow up on their links. This will be a one-time send.
Subject: (xyz.com) info about broken links
hello (first name of the website owner),
My name is (your name) and I’m writing to tell you how much I enjoyed your article on (Name of the Topic). I liked the section where they talked about (Something interesting from the post)
However, I found a few broken Links while browsing at your (Page/Post). (Link 1)
(Link 2)
(Etc)
When you’re working on the page, I recommend that you look into adding these two resources:Â
(Similar reliable website #1 – www.abc.com) – (a brief description of the website)
(Your website #2 – www.abc2.com) – (a brief description of the website)
(Share personal perspective about how these two websites have benefited you).
I hope you receive this email and it is of some assistance.
Looking forward to your reply.
-(your name)
Who to Send it to: Any website with a list of links or resources (with a broken link) that you believe would be a good fit for your site.
Why Does It Work: When you suggest two different websites for inclusion on a webmaster’s list of links, they’ll assume you’re attempting to assist them. You’ll want to flag out some broken links and provide some other resources. Make sure the suggested other site isn’t a rival of yours.
Outreach Email Link Building Tips:
- Send one email at a time. To them, from you. Be honest and attempt to provide as much value as you can.
- In your email, don’t use entire URLs or hyperlinks. As a result, your email is more likely to end up in the spam bin.
- Get the email address and actual name of the website owner. To obtain it, you must cyberstalk them. Look them up on the internet, follow them on Twitter, and look up their WHOIS info.
- Use a question or a statement at the end of your emails to ensure that they give a reply.
- Always proofread and double-check your emails. If you’re not careful, using templates may be harmful. Make sure it’s tailored to the correct website.
- If you send a templated email and make a mistake, admit it and fix it.
- Hustle. If you don’t send an email, you won’t get a link.
Conclusion
You must go out and send loads of emails. Experiment with different methods. Test and keep track. Broken link creation is still a new method, so there’s plenty of space for everyone to learn and polish their skills.
Broken link recreation or any other outreach-based link-building strategy will never be able to compete with someone who develops link-worthy content. Content that is self-sustaining in terms of link building. On days when they are not working, they should create content that will help them establish links.
Link building through outreach has its place. However, you should only use it to augment the natural links that your excellent content generates on its own. Content that is both useful and of high quality is still king.
Additional Readings: