As a website owner or marketer, you know how important link building is for your website's success. But what about link reclamation? While many people forget about this crucial aspect of SEO, it is actually an effective way to improve your website's authority and search engine rankings.
Link reclamation is the process of reclaiming lost or broken links that were once pointing to your website. This can include broken links, unlinked brand mentions, and more. By fixing these issues and getting those links back, you can improve your website's overall link profile and increase its visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs).
There are several reasons why link reclamation should be a part of your overall link building strategy:
Improve Your Website's Authority: When you reclaim lost or broken links, you are essentially adding more authority to your website. This can help improve your search engine rankings and make it easier for potential customers to find you online.
Fix Broken Links: Broken links can hurt your website's reputation and credibility. By fixing these issues, you can ensure that visitors have a positive experience on your website and are more likely to return in the future.
Increase Brand Visibility: Unlinked brand mentions can be a missed opportunity for gaining new customers. By reclaiming these mentions and turning them into links, you can increase your brand's visibility online and attract more traffic to your website.
Competitive Advantage: By actively reclaiming lost or broken links, you can stay ahead of your competitors and improve your website's overall link profile.
The first step in link reclamation is identifying the lost or broken links that need to be reclaimed. There are several tools you can use for this:
Backlink Analysis Tools: Tools like Ahrefs or Moz can help you identify lost or broken links pointing to your website.
Google Search Console: This tool can help you identify broken links on your website and provide suggestions for fixing them.
Brand Monitoring Tools: These tools can help you identify unlinked brand mentions that could be turned into valuable backlinks.
Once you have identified the lost or broken links, it's time to start reclaiming them. Here are some tips for doing this effectively:
Contact Site Owners: If a link is simply broken, reach out to the website owner and ask them to fix it. If a link has been removed, ask if it can be reinstated.
Update URLS: If a link is broken because the URL has changed, update the URL on your website and reach out to the website owner to let them know.
Create New Content: If an unlinked brand mention can't be turned into a backlink, consider creating new content that includes a link back to your website.
Link reclamation should be an ongoing process as part of your overall link building strategy. It's important to regularly check for lost or broken links and work on reclaiming them as soon as possible.
Link reclamation is an often overlooked part of link building, but it can have a significant impact on your website's authority and search engine rankings. By identifying and reclaiming lost or broken links, you can improve your website's overall link profile and attract more traffic to your site.