Signs Your eLearning Blog Is Ready For A Link Building Campaign
Are you wondering when to start implementing link building campaigns for your eLearning website? Timing is key in content marketing, and according to our link building experts, there is a right time to do it.
Well, I've known many professionals who have started link building for their blogs after two or three months. Most bloggers usually wait a while until they build some website authority. So, they begin by writing some high-quality content for their blog. Then, they start link building so that they can find relevant sites that might like to link to them.
The best step you can take in the initial stage of your new eLearning blog is to focus on creating quality SEO content. At the same time, you need to start building an audience base. Take my word for it: having a few quality articles will make your visitors happy and thirsty for more. Also, remember that starting link building before having a minimum amount of articles and visitors might look weird to Google. It needs cautious steps, as the bots closely observe every activity on each blog. Having vast amounts of traffic suddenly might lead to a Google penalty. And trust me, no business owner or blogger wants that.
So, these are the two things that should top your checklist: a) creating quality content, and b) increasing your visitor base.
The above is the general rule. Now let's get a little deeper into how and when to start link building to get results for your eLearning website.
Key Elements Of A Successful Link Building Campaign
Usually, the best time to start a link building campaign is about 3–4 months after buying a new domain. Your rankings will grow as long as you keep publishing articles on your blog.
Look, there is no exact perfect time for link building, but based on personal experience, I've noticed that when I start building links when a website/blog is live, I manage to have enough links as time progresses. Don't be afraid to start link building from day one, as long as you don't overdo it, of course. It doesn't matter if your eLearning website has blog posts or not. Just ensure you don't do more than 20 backlinks per day.
Now, if you asked me what I think about the perfect timing to start link building, then I'd say it's when you see that your eLearning blog has started gaining some rankings for your preferred keywords on Google. We don't care much about the position or page at this point. It's simply a good indication that Google has indexed your pages properly. Consequently, they want to show you in search results. That's actually a great time to boost off-page SEO. So, think twice if you have an eLearning website but haven't yet started link building. Your competitors are doing it. And that means you need to grab this opportunity to rank.
Now you are ready to go start link building.
Let's say that you can use this article as a beginner's guide. First off, make sure to learn more about what link building is. You can find many tips online on how to get backlinks without getting in trouble, but are they legit? Worry not, as will discuss everything in detail.
So, here are the key elements of a successful link building campaign.
1. Check Your Resources
The first question you should ask yourself is if you have enough resources to run a link building campaign. You see, link building needs money and time to be effective. For example, you'll want to use relevant software, do thorough research, write content, and reach out to other websites and bloggers. Sure, there might be many link prospects and candidates, but without enough resources, you won't manage to get to them.
Do you have an adequate budget to allocate to link building? For a typical link building investment, budgeting ranges between $3,000 and $5,000. But there are times it can exceed these amounts, depending on your business needs. My recommendation is to set aside around $5,000 when you start trying out link building campaigns on your own.
Getting backlinks is hard. First off, it needs lots of strategic thinking. Secondly, there's tons of manual labor involved as well. You'll typically need to create content (and I mean lots of it), but you'll also have to dive into researching to uncover link building opportunities. A technical SEO audit might help you with that quest!
So, understanding how much time and money your organization is willing to spend is vital. And remember, how successful a link building plan is depends on how many resources you throw at it. If you want to rule the SERPs and show up first instead of your competition, maybe you should be thinking more seriously about implementing link building campaigns instead of other marketing efforts.
2. Find Current Link Opportunities
The link opportunities you can leverage vary from industry to industry. Let's take the eLearning industry, for example. Always think thoroughly of your link targets, as they must consist of people or organizations that are relevant and can link to you. If you're not careful about this, you won't see much success in getting links.
Now you must be wondering what will determine how many link opportunities are available. Well, the number of content publishers in your niche is key. For example, the more blogs and influencers you can find in your industry or market, the better.
One of the best practices when properly assessing link opportunities is to start by identifying categories of link candidates. For instance, this can be related to what's their ability to link to your eLearning website. These link candidates could be bloggers, niche-focused web directories or trade organizations, and so on.
Secondly, it's extremely important to understand which link candidates make sense for your eLearning business. For example, reaching out to competing eLearning company blogs doesn't sound like a good idea, right?
Last but not least, the magic happens when you start formulating plans to acquire links for your eLearning blog. There are different link building strategies you can use here, from directly reaching out to link candidates to registering your eLearning website in business directories, etc.
Oh, if you haven't already, you can start now. Simply add your business listing to one of our niche directories.
3. Are There Any Link Assets?
Sure, you might not have worked on any link building campaign strategies lately, but I bet you already have some assets that can help your eLearning business get more backlinks. By assets, I mean a great piece of content, one of your eLearning products, staff member profiles, and the like.
For example, maybe someone in your organization is very communicative and good with social media. Then, you can make this person a brand advocate or evangelist. Placing them in front of the organization can lead to getting more people to link to you. In fact, there's a deep connection when it comes to social media and SEO. Doing it wisely can help increase your rankings and your social media influence.
Here's another example from our own efforts. eLearning Industry did a survey in 2022. Over time, this type of content naturally accumulates backlinks for our business. If you want, you can download our audience survey data analysis to get a better idea about the content. The same has happened with our Best LMSs list. Of course, the content now helps eLearning Industry with more than getting links. The information we provide to our audience also improves the way they perceive us.
When it comes to linkable assets, the possibilities are endless. Here are some extra examples you'd like to consider using: free online tools, original research, brand educational videos, webinars, eBooks, etc.
However, there's one thing you must note: not all content is considered a link asset. To qualify content as a link asset, it has to help your eLearning brand stand out in some way. So, when creating your content, consider including something your competitors aren't already doing. Publishing content that breaks the norms is your best linkable asset.
Looking for more ideas? Check these:
- 7 Link Building Ideas And Tips To Get More Dofollow Backlinks
- eBooks Ideas For Lead Generation And Link Building
4. Align Business Goals With Link Building
For any link building campaign to be truly effective, it's best that you align other business or marketing objectives with it. What I mean is don't do link building without a plan just because all your competitors are doing it. Setting a link building strategy that focuses on company goals is a must. At the same time, it helps you reach other business goals. This is a given when you are aiming to achieve goals and KPIs.
For example, let's say that one of your goals is to be known for the best gamification LMS in the market. Your team decides to reach out to eLearning developers, Instructional Designers, critics, and bloggers for reviews of your gamification LMS. By doing so, you can accomplish two things. First off, you'll manage to get a backlink for each review. Secondly, you'll be one step closer to achieving your main business objective of showing off your eLearning business USP.
See? When you have a strategy in mind, link building campaigns are a win-win! In case you want to learn more about review accumulation or reaching out to eLearning influencers, please read these:
- How To Get More Customer Reviews For Your eLearning Brand
- Benefits Of Thought Leadership Marketing: Reaching Out To eLearning Bloggers And Influencers
5. Find And Fix Whatever Slows Down Your Link Building Process
Like with any marketing activity within an organization, there are several things that might be slowing down your link building process. For example, maybe you need to get higher-up approval in order to implement a certain strategy. Consequently, it's important to assess and evaluate every activity needed when it comes to your link building campaign.
Note down for which activities you have to get approval before even launching your campaigns. Strategy and planning are key to getting the desired results for your eLearning business. After you've got that down, you can decide how to overcome challenges so that your link building campaign isn't affected.
It is important to note which processes have to be optimized, regardless of whether you're doing link building in-house or are working with a digital marketing agency.
My recommendation is to give your link building team all the creative freedom they need. By doing so, your link building team will be able to act faster and more effectively.
You do want to implement link building strategically and creatively to quickly move towards positively impacting your eLearning business.
Wrapping Up
After reading the above, you might think you have already missed the boat. No worries, though, because there are plenty of solutions if you need links. For one, you can contribute to other blogs. Please note here that it would be a good idea to have started guest posting long before your blog goes live. Also, you can add comments, have real discussions, and connect with other readers and bloggers in your niche.
The value you add outside your own eLearning blog will be reciprocated. It's all about being part of the eLearning community and sharing tips, ideas, and opinions. That way, you'll manage to get comments, links, and subscribers in direct proportion to your actions above. That's how to start link building campaigns that bring results.
If you want to know how to get high-quality backlinks, I've got plenty of tips to share. Just reach out in case you have any questions.
Look—as mentioned above, link building needs lots of time and effort. If you think you don't have the resources or the expertise to do it on your own, you can always have a digital marketing agency do it for you. If you're considering the latter, do take a look at this: Are Link Building Services Reliable? 7 Things To Look Out For.
Are you ready to start increasing your website traffic? Talk with one of our SEO specialists today and see how we can supercharge your link building campaigns!
