What Does an SEO Consultant Do: Responsibilities, Myths, and Hiring Guide

In the ever-changing digital landscape, businesses must stay ahead to ensure online visibility and growth. That’s where an SEO consultant comes in.

They are specialists who help businesses optimize their websites for search engines, driving organic traffic and improving rankings.

SEO consultants possess expertise in analyzing websites and creating tailored strategies. Moreover, they implement techniques that align with search engine algorithms.

An SEO consultant can guide you to achieving measurable success in the competitive online marketplace. It is regardless of whether you’re a small business owner or part of a large enterprise,

But what exactly does an SEO consultant do? Let’s explore their role in depth.

What Is an SEO Consultant?

An SEO consultant is a digital marketing professional. They specialize in improving a website’s visibility on search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo.

Their primary goal is to increase organic traffic by implementing strategies that align with search engine algorithms and user behavior.

Unlike in-house SEO teams, consultants often work independently or as part of an agency. Thus, they offer specialized expertise for specific projects or ongoing campaigns.

SEO consultants go beyond basic keyword optimization; they dive deep into-

• Technical aspects
• Content strategies
• Performance metrics

-to create comprehensive plans tailored to a client’s goals.

For example, they may-

• Optimize site architecture for better crawlability
• Identify valuable keyword opportunities and,
• Build high-quality backlinks to enhance authority

An SEO consultant’s ability to adapt to changing trends and algorithms sets them apart. They continuously analyze data, refine strategies, and provide actionable insights to keep websites competitive.

Their expertise is indispensable for businesses that lack in-house SEO resources.

Key Responsibilities of an SEO Consultant

SEO consultants play a multifaceted role, combining technical expertise, strategic planning, and data-driven decision-making.

Their responsibilities span various areas critical to a website’s performance and search engine success. Here are a few steps that they usually take to complete their responsibilities-

Step 1: Analyzing and Auditing Websites

Before any optimization work begins, SEO consultants conduct thorough website audits to assess a site’s current health and performance.

These audits identify technical issues (broken links, slow loading times, or improper use of meta tags) that can hinder search engine rankings.

Using tools like Google Analytics, SEMrush, or Screaming Frog, consultants gather data on traffic trends, user behavior, and indexing issues.

They analyze metrics like bounce rates, time on page, and organic traffic sources to uncover opportunities for improvement.

A well-conducted audit lays the groundwork for a targeted SEO strategy. It ensures that every effort addresses specific pain points.

Step 2 Developing an SEO Strategy

Once the audit is complete, SEO consultants create a customized strategy aligned with the client’s business goals. This strategy includes both short-term tactics and long-term plans for sustainable growth.

Short-term tactics include fixing immediate technical errors. Meanwhile, long-term strategies involve building domain authority through content and backlinks.

For example, a consultant working with an eCommerce site might prioritize optimizing product pages for high-intent keywords. They may also enhance the mobile experience.

For a blog-focused website, the strategy could focus on topic clusters and internal linking to improve content discoverability.

By tailoring their approach to the client’s niche and audience, SEO consultants ensure maximum ROI.

Step 3: Conducting Keyword Research

Keyword research is a cornerstone of any SEO strategy. SEO consultants identify keywords that-

• Align with user intent
• Have a manageable level of competition and,
• Offer high potential for driving traffic

This process involves analyzing search volume, keyword difficulty, and seasonal trends using tools like Ahrefs or Keyword Planner. Consultants also explore long-tail keywords.

These keywords are specific phrases often indicating higher purchase intent or niche queries.

For example, instead of targeting a broad term like “SEO tools,” a consultant might focus on “best free SEO tools for small businesses.” It will cater to a specific audience with actionable intent.

Effective keyword mapping helps prioritize content creation and ensures that all optimization efforts are strategically aligned.

Step 4: On-Page and Off-Page Optimization

SEO consultants are responsible for both on-page and off-page optimization to improve rankings and drive organic traffic.

• On-Page Optimization: Consultants refine elements within a website, such as meta titles, descriptions, headers, and content.

They ensure these elements are keyword-rich and user-focused, delivering value and clarity. Internal linking structures are optimized to guide users and search engines seamlessly through the site.

• Off-Page Optimization: Building authority through external efforts is equally crucial. SEO consultants focus on earning high-quality backlinks from reputable websites.

They may use techniques like guest posting, outreach, or partnerships to acquire links that signal credibility to search engines.

Together, on-page and off-page optimization create a balanced approach to boosting visibility and rankings.

Step-5: Monitoring and Reporting

SEO is not a one-time effort; it requires continuous monitoring and adjustment. SEO consultants track key metrics, such as organic traffic, keyword rankings, and conversions, to gauge the effectiveness of their strategies.

They use tools like Google Search Console and custom dashboards to provide clients with detailed reports highlighting progress and areas for improvement.

Regular reporting ensures transparency and helps clients understand the impact of SEO efforts.

Moreover, consultants use this data to-

• Refine strategies
• Addressing emerging trends or,
• Algorithm updates

-to maintain consistent growth

By staying proactive, they help businesses adapt to the ever-changing digital landscape.

Why Businesses Hire SEO Consultants

Businesses hire SEO consultants to navigate the complexities of search engine optimization. They also aim to improve online visibility and achieve measurable growth via this.

While some companies may attempt in-house SEO, hiring a consultant offers specialized expertise and flexibility. Here’s why businesses turn to SEO consultants-

• Expertise: SEO consultants bring advanced knowledge of search engine algorithms and best practices.
• Efficiency: They save time by focusing solely on SEO, allowing businesses to concentrate on core operations.
• Cost-Effectiveness: Consultants provide high-quality SEO services without the overhead costs of hiring a full-time team.
• Adaptability: They can tackle specific challenges, like recovering from a Google penalty or optimizing for site migrations.
• Access to Tools: Consultants use professional-grade tools for keyword research, analytics, and audits, which would be expensive for businesses to purchase individually.

Additionally, SEO consultants help businesses stay ahead of industry trends and algorithm updates, ensuring long-term success.

Skills and Qualities of a Great SEO Consultant

Hiring the right SEO consultant requires understanding the skills and qualities that set top professionals apart. Great SEO consultants possess a combination of technical expertise, strategic thinking, and adaptability.

Here are the key skills and attributes that define exceptional consultants-

Analytical Skills

A successful SEO consultant must have strong analytical skills to interpret data and uncover actionable insights.

SEO involves dealing with many metrics, from traffic sources and bounce rates to keyword rankings and conversion rates.

For example, a consultant analyzing website performance might notice that pages with high bounce rates share common issues (slow load times or irrelevant content).

By identifying these patterns, they can recommend precise improvements. Analytical skills also help consultants predict trends and measure the impact of their strategies, ensuring continuous optimization.

Strategic Thinking

SEO consultants excel at developing strategies tailored to a client’s specific goals and industry. Strategic thinking enables them to prioritize actions that deliver the greatest ROI.

It helps balance short-term wins with long-term growth.

For instance, a consultant working with a new startup might focus on building local SEO and brand awareness.

Meanwhile, for a well-established eCommerce site, the emphasis might shift to enhancing technical SEO and targeting high-value keywords.

Strategic thinking ensures every effort aligns with the client’s broader objectives.

Technical Knowledge

Technical SEO is a critical aspect of search engine optimization. Great consultants are proficient in resolving issues related to site structure, crawlability, and performance.

For example, a consultant might identify technical problems like broken links, duplicate content, or slow page speeds. By addressing these issues, they enhance the site’s user experience and search engine compatibility.

Proficiency in tools like Screaming Frog and Google Search Console is essential for diagnosing and fixing technical problems.

Communication Skills

SEO consultants must effectively communicate complex concepts to clients who may not have a technical background. Clear communication builds trust and ensures clients understand the value of SEO efforts.

A consultant explaining the importance of keyword density might use simple analogies or visuals to clarify their point.

Regular updates and transparent reporting further enhance client relationships. This is why communication skills are a cornerstone of successful consulting.

Adaptability

The digital marketing landscape evolves constantly, with algorithm updates and shifting trends. Great SEO consultants stay ahead by continuously learning and adapting to these changes.

An adaptable consultant might pivot strategies when a Google update prioritizes mobile-first indexing. Thus, they can ensure their client’s site remains competitive.

Their ability to anticipate changes and refine tactics makes them invaluable for long-term success.

Common Misconceptions About SEO Consultants

Many misconceptions surround SEO consultants and their role in digital marketing. These myths often lead to unrealistic expectations or skepticism about hiring an expert.

Let’s address some common misconceptions and debunk them with the truth-

Myth 1: SEO Consultants Guarantee #1 Rankings

Many believe hiring an SEO consultant guarantees a top spot in search engine rankings. However, search engines like Google use complex algorithms with factors beyond anyone’s control.

Truth: A great SEO consultant improves your site’s visibility and ranking potential through ethical strategies. But no one can guarantee specific rankings.

Myth 2: SEO Results Are Immediate

Some expect SEO to deliver instant results, like a sudden traffic surge or immediate lead generation.

Truth: SEO is a long-term strategy that builds sustainable growth over time. It often takes months to see significant changes as search engines index improvements gradually.

Myth 3: SEO Is Just About Keywords

Another misconception is that SEO consultants only focus on keyword stuffing and rankings.

Truth: Modern SEO involves technical optimization, content strategy, user experience improvements, and link building—making it a holistic discipline.

Myth 4: SEO Is a One-Time Fix

Businesses sometimes think no further work is needed once a consultant optimizes their website.

Truth: SEO is an ongoing process requiring regular updates to stay aligned with algorithm changes and evolving user behavior.

By understanding the realities of SEO, businesses can set realistic expectations and build better partnerships with consultants.

How to Choose the Right SEO Consultant

Selecting the right SEO consultant is crucial for achieving measurable results. It involves thorough research and evaluation.

A well-chosen consultant can make a significant difference in your business’s online performance. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you make an informed decision-

Look for Proven Experience

Examine the consultant’s portfolio, case studies, and testimonials to assess their track record. Successful past projects indicate their ability to deliver results.

Evaluate Their Industry Knowledge

Ensure the consultant has experience in your niche or understands your industry’s specific challenges.

For instance, an eCommerce business will benefit more from someone familiar with product optimization and marketplace SEO.

Ask About Their Tools and Techniques

A good consultant uses professional tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Screaming Frog and follows white-hat practices. Be wary of consultants who rely on outdated or black-hat techniques, as these can harm your site.

Assess Communication Skills

Regular updates and clear reporting are essential for tracking progress. Choose a consultant who communicates strategies, results, and challenges transparently.

Avoid Unrealistic Promises

Be cautious of consultants guaranteeing #1 rankings or instant results. Ethical SEO focuses on sustainable growth, which takes time.

Set Clear Goals and Expectations

Discuss your objectives and ensure the consultant’s approach aligns with your business goals. Clarify deliverables, timelines, and budget expectations upfront.

Conduct Interviews

Schedule interviews to assess the consultant’s expertise, problem-solving skills, and compatibility with your team. A good cultural fit ensures smoother collaboration.

Conclusion

An SEO consultant is vital in improving your website’s visibility, traffic, and growth potential. By addressing misconceptions and understanding their responsibilities, businesses can unlock the full benefits of SEO.

Whether tackling technical challenges or building long-term strategies, the right consultant is an invaluable partner in achieving digital success.

How a Shopify SEO Expert Will Grow Organic Traffic

Let’s be honest – while paid campaigns are great, nothing is better than organic traffic. 

It’s free, consistent, and ever-growing! 

That’s why you need to focus on SEO to get your Shopify store noticed by your targeted audience. This is where a Shopify SEO expert will come in. 

In this blog, we will discuss the role of a Shopify SEO expert in bringing valued traffic to your e-commerce store. Let’s get started.

Role of Shopify SEO Expert to Grow Organic Traffic

Here are the ways a Shopify SEO expert can help you grow organic traffic –

1. Comprehensive Keyword Research

To provide a strong basis for increasing organic traffic, a Shopify SEO specialist will do extensive keyword research. The main point of the research is to find out what keywords potential customers use to look for products on Shopify.

An SEO specialist finds high-volume, long-tail keywords to easily include in product descriptions, titles, and blog content using cutting-edge tools including Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, and SEMrush.

Long-tail keywords, those with three or more words, especially are quite important. Long-tail keywords are 2.5 times more likely to convert compared to generic terms, as users searching these terms are often closer to making a purchase.

2. Optimizing Store Structure

A well-organized Shopify store guarantees that search engines can effectively scan and index every page in addition to making user navigation easier.

A Shopify SEO specialist will maximize the structure of the store to improve search engine exposure as well as user experience.

Experts sometimes follow a “three-click rule,” which says that any product should be available three clicks from the site.

Adding group and subcategory pages to a hierarchical structure also helps find keywords that are relevant and improves internal linking.

A Shopify site offering products for the outdoors might, for example, employ top-level categories like “Camping Equipment” and subcategories including “Tents,” “Sleeping Bags,” and “Cooking Gear.”

Every one of these pages would aim for particular keywords, therefore improving the site’s relevancy for both general and specialized search phrases. 

3. On-Page SEO Enhancements

Using on-page SEO techniques, a Shopify SEO consultant will optimize specific pages for better search engine results page ranks.

There are several important elements in this process, each vital for improving visibility and drawing natural traffic. 

Title Tags and Meta Descriptions

Including targeted keywords in well-crafted title tags and meta descriptions will dramatically increase click-through rates (CTR).

For a certain search intent, a Shopify SEO specialist may choose a more specialized title like “Lightweight Running Shoes for Marathon Training | Free Shipping” instead of a generic term like “running shoes.” 

Content Optimization

Excellent, keyword-optimized material helps to satisfy user intent, therefore enhancing search results and interaction.

A specialist guarantees that product descriptions flourish in relevant search terms in addition to being thorough and instructive.

For a camera, a well-optimized product description might say, “mirrorless camera with 4K video” or “lightweight DSLR for beginners,” therefore improving its chances of ranking for those terms.  

Image Optimization

On-page SEO depends heavily on images. Including informative alt text for photos not only increases accessibility but also offers another chance for related keyword ranking.

As an example, “durable waterproof hiking boots” as alt text can help a product page rank for terms that people may use to look for that type of product.  

4. Technical SEO Best Practices

Following technical SEO best practices can help a Shopify SEO specialist make sure the site is search engine friendly, which guarantees user access and efficiency.

Technical SEO consists of numerous important components used to enhance search visibility and site performance. 

Site Speed

Site speed is a crucial ranking factor, with studies showing that a one-second delay in page load time can lead to a 7% reduction in conversions. 

By compressing pictures, minifying code, and using browser caching, Shopify SEO specialists help lower load times. 

According to Google, pages that load in under three seconds have a 32% lower bounce rate than slower-loading pages, making speed optimization vital for retaining visitors and improving search rankings.

Mobile Optimization

With over 70% of e-commerce traffic coming from mobile devices, mobile optimization is essential. 

Not only does a mobile-friendly site make the experience better for users, but it also works with Google’s mobile-first crawling, which ranks and indexes sites based on their mobile versions first.

An SEO specialist familiar with Shopify guarantees that the store’s design is responsive—that is, it instantly changes to match any screen size, therefore enhancing usability and lowering bounce rates for mobile visitors. 

Structured Data

Rich snippets and structured data markup help search results include more information including product ratings, pricing, and availability.

Structured data is used by Shopify SEO professionals to raise a store’s search engine result visibility, therefore improving the attractiveness of listings to consumers.

A product listing with a five-star rating and price in search results, for instance, may draw more clicks than a basic listing. 

5. Content Marketing Strategy

To get more traffic and improve the online presence of the store, a Shopify SEO professional will create a whole content marketing plan.

The professional establishes the brand as a reliable authority by producing worthwhile material including blog entries, guides, and videos on the products of the store, thereby drawing in possible clients to the website. 

Blog Posts and Guides

Publishing high-quality blog posts and guides relevant to the products can significantly improve search visibility. 

Research from HubSpot shows that companies that publish at least 16 blog posts per month receive 3.5 times more traffic than those that publish four or fewer. 

A Shopify business selling fitness equipment, for instance, might produce blog entries on “Home Workout Tips” or “Benefits of Resistance Bands,” appealing to its target market and including pertinent keywords to rank in search engines.

Video Content

Another effective option is video material since it grabs users’ interest and involvement. Including a video on a landing page might greatly raise conversion rates.

For example, a Shopify SEO expert could help you make videos that show off product features or show you how to use the product. These videos can then be shared on sites like YouTube and placed on product pages to keep people interested for longer.

Google’s video results also show this kind of material, therefore raising the visibility of the store. 

Backlinks and Domain Authority

Natural promotion of backlinks from other sites—which are necessary for domain authority—comes from valuable content.

A Shopify SEO specialist builds the store’s SEO foundation and increases its authority in Google’s view by creating material other sites want to link to—such as how-to manuals, research-based articles, or infographics. 

6. Building Backlinks

A Shopify SEO expert will implement strategic link-building methods to increase the site’s authority and improve its ranking potential. 

Building high-quality backlinks is essential for enhancing a store’s domain authority, as search engines view these links as endorsements from reputable sources.

Guest Blogging

Writing guest posts for authoritative sites within the store’s niche is a powerful way to earn backlinks. 

By contributing valuable content to these sites, a Shopify SEO expert can secure links back to the store, increasing its authority. 

For instance, a Shopify store selling eco-friendly products might guest blog on sustainability-focused websites, adding credibility and driving traffic from a relevant audience.

PR Campaigns

Creating newsworthy material that draws media coverage can result in premium backlinks.

To create excitement, a Shopify SEO specialist could produce press releases or original material such as a research study or a limited-edition product introduction.

This strategy can attract coverage from industry publications, news outlets, and bloggers, resulting in valuable backlinks. 

Skyscraper Technique

The skyscraper technique is spotting popular material from competitors and then producing an even more complete, better version.

A Shopify SEO specialist can approach websites that previously linked to the original content and inspire them to link to this upgraded version by providing further insights, revised facts, or increased imagery.  

7. Monitoring Performance

Closely observing SEO performance will help a Shopify SEO specialist make sure that optimization plans produce the desired outcomes.

Using technologies like Google Analytics and Google Search Console, the professional tracks key indicators to find effective strategies and areas for development, thereby guaranteeing the store stays competitive in search results. 

Keyword Rankings

Evaluating SEO efficiency largely relies on keeping an eye on keyword rankings. Regularly evaluating the store’s rank for targeted keywords, a Shopify SEO specialist adjusts content and techniques as needed. 

For instance, if rankings for a high-priority keyword drop, the expert might update product pages or blog content to improve relevance. 

Nearly 97% of pages receive no organic traffic from Google, largely due to poor keyword optimization. Regular tracking helps prevent this by keeping keywords aligned with search trends.

Traffic Sources

Whether via organic search, direct traffic, referrals, or social media, Google Analytics offers information on the sources of store visitors.

Knowing traffic sources helps the professional to choose which channels cause the greatest conversions and modify their approach.

Organic search accounts for 53% of all site traffic, making it crucial to optimize this source for e-commerce success.

User Engagement Metrics

Pages per session, average session length, and bounce rate all help to expose how users interact with the site. If the bounce rate is high, the expert might look into problems like content that isn’t relevant or pages that take too long to load. 

A Shopify SEO expert also assesses the impact of content and product descriptions on engagement, optimizing pages to keep users on the site longer, which can positively influence rankings. 

Link Building Keyword Strategy: Ways to Find Keywords for Link Building

Most sites that send you backlinks will start with a Google search and find your page in the SERP. Target that search term as your keyword for natural link building.

Have you ever wondered how natural backlinks appear on your website? These backlinks come from a site when that site owner was looking for a source on Google and found your site.

They found your page to send backlinks to because you were using a keyword that appeared on the SERP when they made that search. So, how do you find the right keyword to add?

You will be using some tools and assessments to find excellent keywords specific to your niche. We have explained the process step-by-step in this blog to help you understand.

Why Is Keyword Research Necessary?

Any form of research helps you make efficient and effective strategies, including keyword research. You can also get to know your target audience when researching for keywords.

This research can be for two reasons-

• You can try to find relevant keywords that other sites will be searching with when trying to find content that adds more context to their own content.
• You can set up different tools like Google Alerts or SEMrush to notify you when any web page mentions your brand name (branded keyword).

You can then send them requesting emails to turn that brand mention into a backlink to your site. This process will be highly fruitful if a high-profile website mentions your brand name or products.

Aside from link-building, keyword research will also directly help your marketing by getting more leads. You can target short-tail keywords that attract more or long-tail ones that convert more.

Low ←Conversion Rate→ High

Other ways researching keywords can help you are-

Getting Insights into Target Audience Behavior

A vital part of keyword research is to see what your target audience is looking for. If people are looking for anything particular so much, they are likely to search for it online.

Now, when you can identify their most searched or trendy items, it will help you plan relevant topics for your content.

When making content on topics that align with the customer’s needs, it will draw more attention from your target audience.

Moreover, it will also help you see the culture of your niche or community. You can learn the industry-related common lingo, inside jokes, big names, new trends, etc.

This data is pretty valuable when planning and making content.

Competitor Behavior

Keyword research can help you pinpoint what your competitors are doing. You can check their target keywords and see their content topics.

You can also check which keywords are helping them rank high and target those yourself.

Branded and Non-Branded Keywords

There are two types of keywords-

• Branded keywords: Keywords that directly include your brand name, products, service, etc. The keyword- ‘SEMrush SEO blog’ is a brand keyword for SEMrush.
• Non-branded keywords: Keywords that don’t include your brand name, but are still very relevant to your business or niche.

For example, if your site is about SEO, ‘top SEO tool’ is a non-brand keyword for you.

Both branded and non-branded keywords are very important for your site’s SEO and link-building.

Find Branded Keywords for Link-Building

When looking for branded keywords for link-building, you need to find two types of keywords-

• Keywords that you rank for
• Keywords that you don’t rank for

We will explain later why you will need both. For now, let’s check the first one-

Finding Keywords That You Rank for

You can use the Ahrefs site explorer tool to find the keywords you rank for. Here is how-

• Go to Ahrefs and log in with your domain.
• Go to Site Explorer > Organic keywords (from the left side)
• Type in the keywords associated with your brand or products in the filters on the top. Make sure you have chosen your targeted country from the filters, too.

• Click ‘Export’
• Import it into Google Sheets or any similar spreadsheet editor.

It is as easy as that!

Finding Keywords That You Don’t Rank for

We will compare the list of keywords you rank for (the list we found in the last section) with all the branded keywords of your business to find keywords that you don’t rank for.

• Go to Ahrefs’ ‘Keywords Explorer’
• Type in the branded keywords that you have used in the last section.

• Select the same country that you have used when forming your earlier list.
• Click the button with the search symbol.
• Select ‘Matching terms’ from the left side. It will display all the branded keywords of your company.

• Click on ‘Export.’ Then, import it to the same spreadsheet but on a new sheet.

It will display all the branded keywords and their details throughout several columns.

• Create a new column and name it ‘Are we ranking?
• Then insert this formula into the first cell of the column-

=ArrayFormula(COUNTIF(First List!A2:A, B2:B)=1)

• In this formula, replace ‘First List’ with the name of the sheet that contains the list of keywords you rank for (we mean the first list).
• Also, replace the cell ranges (A2:A, B2:B) with the cell ranges that include the keywords.

Now, the column, ‘Are we ranking?’ will have ‘true’ or ‘false,’ depending on whether you ranked for the keywords or not. Thus, you can filter the keywords you don’t rank for.

Getting Target-Worthy Keywords from the List

Now, these lists will help you find three types of keywords that you should target-

• Underperforming keywords: Keywords that aren’t performing as much as their potential.
• Mismatched Intent: Keywords in pages that don’t provide what users look for.
• New Keywords: Keywords with high volume, but your sites aren’t ranking with them yet.

So, how can you find these keywords? Let’s show you-

1. Underperforming Keywords

Generally, underperforming keywords are the ones that don’t rank number 1. It can be any keyword ranking lower than it should.

• Open the first sheet on your spreadsheet (the first list) and select the column ‘Current position.’
• Sort the column from Z to A. Check the ones with high volume to see which ones get more searches

Those are the underperforming keywords you should target.

2. Mismatched Intent

Mismatched intents are keywords that rank number 1, but their top search results often don’t show what the users look for.

For example, if you search for any specific brand’s logo on Google, the first few results may show pages of that brand instead of a page with a high-quality logo.

Check for such mismatched intents on your first list.

3. New Keywords

New keywords are the ones that aren’t helping your pages rank yet but have the potential.

• Go to the second list.
• Select the ‘Are we ranking?’ column and filter it to display only ‘false’ results.

• It is optional, but you may want to sort the keywords by search volume to show the highest ones first.
• Explore the keywords and look for any with potential (you are confident that you can write valuable content targeting those keywords)

How to Optimize the Keywords You Find?

There are three ways you can optimize the keywords that you will target. It depends on the type of keywords from above.

For example-

• If the keyword is ‘mismatched intent’ or ‘underperforming’, you can optimize your existing content that includes those keywords.
• If the keyword is new and valuable, which you don’t rank for yet, creating new content will be better.
• In some cases, you should add extra sections to your existing content rather than creating new ones for new keywords.

Creating valuable content like this is a good way to get natural backlinks.

Finding ‘Linkable’ Modifier Keywords (Non-Branded)

Linkable modifiers keywords are variables like statistics, case studies, trends, values, etc. People look for topics like ‘SEO trends’ or ‘link building statistics’ for context or reference to their content.

So, when they search using these keywords, they will find your page and send a backlink (unless it is a mismatched intent). How do you find such keyword opportunities?

• Go to SEMrush and log in with your property
• Get to ‘Keyword Overview’ > ‘Keyword Magic Tool’
• In the keyword magic tool above, select a modifier (trend, stats, values). We have used stats in our example. Also, keep the filter ‘Broad Match’ on.
• Select the ‘Include Keywords’ filter and type in all the topics you are interested in. Select ‘Any Keywords’ here.

• Click on ‘Apply’

It will display all the keyword opportunities for the given topics. You can also check which ones are highly linkable.

• Select the ‘>>’ next to a keyword to get its SERP overview report.
• Check the ‘Domains’ section. When it displays multiple URLs with 100+ backlinks, it is an excellent linkable keyword.

Again, this is another method to get passive and natural backlinks.

Note that there are many other ways and methods for keyword research. You probably won’t even need most of them, depending on your approach.

If possible, we will try to discuss keyword research topics more in future blogs. We advise you to give ample time and effort to this process, considering its significance to link building.

How to Scale Your Backlinks with Syndicated Content

Picture this- you have put significant time and effort behind making high-quality content, but your site doesn’t get many visitors. By using content syndication, you can get new readership from that content.

Content syndication is an old tactic in the books, which has always been effective. It helps expose your content to a larger audience. People can also see your expertise on the matter.

While it sounds similar to guest blogging, there are some apparent differences. Syndicated content gives both sides free benefits, while the author doesn’t have to follow too many guidelines.

In this article, we explained syndicated content and scaling your backlinks with it. We also made a comparison between this method, guest blogging, and repurposing.

Also, note that this article describes things mostly from the point of view of the content creator, not the syndicator. So, when we say ‘you,’ we are referring to the syndicated partner.

What Is Content Syndication?

Content syndication is when a media or website republishes the content of another individual, institute, or site. It means that the content has already been published once elsewhere (unlike guest blogging).

The republishing happens with the consent of both parties, and it lets new readers find that content.

As we said, content syndication is an old technique. It dates back to the era before the World Wide Web. Newspapers, magazines, televisions, etc., used to perform content syndication, too.

Sometimes, the content republisher doesn’t publish the entire thing and only keeps an engaging bit. It encourages readers to find the full content on the original address.

Another thing to note is that the republishing site or media doesn’t have to be larger than the original publisher. They can be of the same domain authority. The main purpose of it is to get new readers, after all.

Benefits of Content Syndication

There are some grand advantages of content syndication. It helps almost all parties involved (if the content is high-quality). For example-

• It helps the author or publisher get new readers on their content and potentially get new followers or leads.
• It helps the syndicator site get free content, adding value to their audience.
• It helps the audience on the syndicator site get a new, high-quality, and helpful piece to read.
• It lets you get a backlink from the syndicated content, which can help your SEO.
• It is a great way to garner brand trust. Syndicating your content to a larger site may build trust in the audience on your content’s credibility.

Potential Disadvantages of Content Syndication

Content syndication does possess some risks. You must stay careful about them. Here are three examples of potential issues you may face because of this process-

• Since your content is republished on another site, you may lose some brand ‘juice.’ Sadly, not all readers will follow the post link and visit your site.

In fact, some will still take it as if that post belongs to the syndicator, ignoring the ‘source’ part.

• If you are successful with the process, it may bring too many backlinks. It may make Google suspicious about black hat SEO attempts (despite it being not).

As such, many prioritize guest blogging or repurposing over syndication since those don’t have this risk.

• Finally, when someone searches with the target keyword of the syndicated content, the SERP page may show the syndicated post way above your original post.

As such, the syndicated post may benefit from it way more than you. In this case, using the canonical tag to signal Google about the identity of the original post is a must.

Types of Content Syndication

You can divide content syndication in various ways, as there is no official categorization.

However, many believe the ‘content syndication tiers’ to be a valid division since it shows three types of syndication.

The general rule of thumb is to focus on Tier 1 first, followed by Tier 2, and then Tier 3. Let’s explain each tier below.

Tier One Content Syndication: Offsite Publishing

Tier one is the most well-known form of content syndication, where your content gets published on an already renowned magazine or website.

These websites, organizations, or magazines are the source material for many, allowing your content to get much exposure.

If you kept your content only on your site, the readership would be very low. If your site or brand is still new, your content will normally be limited to local readers and small-scale publishers.

Moreover, you can only publish your content in niche blogs instead of going for broad and national-level posts that popular magazines do.

Another way this syndication works is through citations. The syndicator doesn’t need to post your whole content but can only put excerpts of it or cite it. It works somewhat like backlinks but better.

However, in order for national-level magazines or news outlets to cite your works, it must include original research. For example, this is a news syndicated by Yahoo News-

Meanwhile, the content owner previously posted it on NextShark with a lower readership. Due to the sharing of Yahoo News, their readership skyrocketed.

Tier Two Content Syndication: Social Media Syndication

Syndication doesn’t always mean the republishing of your content by another publisher. It can also be you doing the republishing, which is how social media syndication works.

So, suppose you published your content on your website. Now, it is not getting the readership it deserves. You then follow these steps-

• Creating a summary or excerpt of your title or piece (one that creates curiosity)
• Post it on your social media profile or page
• Add a link to your original post so that people can go and read it

However, you don’t simply do it once. It is somewhat like an advertisement you repeat after a few weeks or months because many may have missed it the first time.

Some advantages of social media content syndication are-

• It is easier to get people’s attention on social media since there are standard ways to do it.
• You can redistribute your content several times to get a new audience.
• Most social media platforms have their own content-boosting offers you can pay for and use to promote your content to a broader audience.

Since each social media may have a completely different structure, environment, and user base, your content distribution and sharing approach must be suitable for each. Cater to your audience.

For example, the excerpt of your title on Facebook will differ from it on LinkedIn.

Tier Three Content Syndication: Influencers

People love to follow someone famous as part of a community, and that gives birth to influencers. You can get the former’s attention if the latter publishes or shares your content.

For example, suppose your blogs are about skincare products. You will find numerous influencers in this niche.

If one of them with a high follower count recommends your blog to their audience, you will get flocks of audience.

The way to approach this is-

• Creating short and bespoke pitches (like in influencer outreach)
• Following up if necessary
• Keeping an ongoing relationship with them.

Remember that an influencer won’t necessarily keep promoting your content but will only do so occasionally. So, you may have to target several at once through email bursts.

Email burst is the process of sending mass emails (mostly cold emails) to a high number of people, offering or requesting them on a deal or something.

Even after you complete these three types of content syndication, you may still have many things to do. For example-

• Subscriber Feed, AKA RSS feed, is the process of publishing notification or news of any new content on the website for the subscribers.

Imagine a news board in real life. You can subscribe to it and add specific authors to your list. When those authors post something, you will find new news posted on that board. An RSS feed is something like that.

The following icon represents an RSS feed. Clicking such a symbol on a site’s page will take you to its RSS feed.

• Paid organic traffic is another method for syndication. This traffic is people who come to read your content through online advertisements. Using social media boosters also falls into this.

Repurposing vs Guest Blogging vs Syndication

If you are familiar with repurposing or guest blogging, you may have found similarities between these two and syndication. However, they have differences in their intended use and execution method.

Let us introduce each below-

• Guest Blogging: Guest blogging refers to writing whole new content for a different site that never existed before.

You request permission from that other site, and once they give it, you follow their instructions to compose the piece. It often involves sending a backlink to your site.

• Repurposing: Repurposing is about taking one of your existing content and altering or changing bits and pieces, turning it into a different format.

For example, you can take a podcast episode, add footage, and make it a video. Another example is to turn a video into a blog post by mentioning all the key points.

• Syndication: Lastly, syndication means taking one of your existing content and getting it published on another site almost word for word.

You may have to change the title a bit, shift the structure, and some little touch-ups to make it follow the guidelines of the syndicator media or site. But that is all.

All three of the above have connections to SEO and digital marketing but are also dissimilar. You may need to use any or all of them at different phases of your business or site growth.

What Does Scaling Backlink Mean

Scaling backlinks is a successful point in your link-building campaign when your high SERP ranking grants you enough attention and visibility for your site to get regular natural backlinks.

At this point, your site probably gets high organic traffic daily, and backlinks come from websites with high domain authority (DA).

Content syndication is an excellent way to reach this point since it brings lots of organic traffic, boosting your online presence and visibility.

Scaling Your Backlinks with Syndicated Content

The following tips will help you create a strategy for your content syndication and give you a high value in return for your effort. Let’s begin.

Technical Aspects

Technical aspects are about optimizing your soon-to-be syndicating content to make it suitable for the process.

Fear of Google Penalties with Content Syndication

Many people are concerned about Google’s potential penalty for content syndication when they hear of it for the first time. It is understandable since Google does penalize repetitive content.

You see, many people used to post duplicate content in different domains to get more readership, and as a black hat SEO means.

So, you would often find the same article coming multiple times on the SERP. As a result, Google used to strike pages or sites that did that. However, things have changed.

Google understands the concept of content syndication now. It has gotten smart enough to differentiate legitimate syndication from nefarious duplication attempts.

So, how do you signal Google crawlers about your syndicated content? It is simple. Use a canonical tag (rel=’canonical’) on your original post. Google will consider it as the original piece afterward.

Nofollow Tags for Balancing Links

If done right, syndication will potentially bring many backlinks to your site. Meanwhile, your content may have lots of interlinking as well. It creates a massive number of links.

Google may suspect it to be a black hat link-building. Use the nofollow tag (rel=’nofollow’) on your internal links to prevent crawlers from crawling them. Your users can still use the links fine.

Off-Site Aspects

Off-site aspects include collaboration, networking, or negotiating with potential syndication partners. It also involves paying for syndication services or social media marketing boosters.

Brand Visibility

Yes, a syndicator site must mention the content source with the link. However, they often gloss over a proper promotion or shoutout. In most cases, you may not be capable of doing much about it.

However, try to get your brand mentioned on the syndicated content as much as possible. If possible, get your brand’s name, logo, etc., on the post.

It can boost your brand visibility significantly.

Paid Content Syndication

While Google usually dislikes paid things regarding backlinks, it is not a penalizable thing. After all, sponsored content exists. Most such sponsored content is actually paid syndication.

Yes, getting backlinks from these syndications won’t contribute to your SEO since Google doesn’t favor them. However, they can still send traffic your way.

Some common paid content syndication sites are Taboola, Outbrain, Dianomi, etc. If you are looking for more, check out Semrush Agency Partners service.

Another way you can find content syndication partners is via Google search. Use search terms like-

“republished from”

“syndicated from”

“Originally published on”

Focusing on Tier Two and Three Syndication

Many stop at tier-one syndication. However, tier two (social media) and tier three (influencers) are valuable tools you can’t miss. Use them as best as possible.

Share your content across social media platforms and make partnerships with many influencers.

Networking with Individuals or Industries within Your Niche

The point of content syndication is the republishing of your content on another site of similar or larger authority. Hence, you will almost always have to do the approach to syndicate your content.

Experts will advise you to create networking with many individuals and websites within your niche before going for any syndicating request.

Create a partnership, collaborate, and build trust. Afterward, propose to syndicate your content. It is the same process as guest blogging networking.

On-Site Aspects

On-site aspects include the creation and optimization of the potential syndication content and adding internal links.

Rework the Content as Necessary

The content on your site may not always be suitable for the new audience it will receive on the offsite platform. In that case, modifying it here and there may work wonders.

Also, ensure you add a call to action (CTA) in your content to attract the audience to your site.

Making Quality Content

Syndicating can become a successful technique because of quality content. It goes without saying that a site won’t want to feature a poorly written post.

Moreover, quality content will also boost your on-site SEO. It naturally promotes Google to rank you higher at SERP, making way for higher traffic and visibility. It is what syndicators look for.

Reverse Syndication

Reverse syndication is when you republish your guest blog from another site to your own site. In this case, you need to ask their permission to syndicate the content on your site.

When requesting them, you can promise them to add a link to their site to the syndicated post. Don’t forget to add the source part and link to the original guest blog.

Moreover, you must add a canonical tag on the guest post to signal Google bots that the guest blog is the original piece and the one on your site is syndicated.

While content syndication is a valuable method in scaling your backlink, there are other methods to try. Guest blogging, repurposing, and splintering don’t have many risks like syndication.

Splintering refers to dividing your content into many parts to distribute on various social media platforms or sites. It is like a mixture of repurposing and syndicating.

Before you splinter or syndicate your content, wait for a while for Google crawlers to index your site first. Syndicate it after that.

It reduces the chances of the syndicated content page ranking higher than your original content page.

How to Optimize Category Landing Pages for E-Commerce SEO

What is optimizing category landing pages about? On-page, off-page, or technical SEO? It turns out that it is a combination of all of them. And you got to do them all right.

Landing pages lead the audience to the products and encourage them to make a purchase. eCommerce category pages also serve as landing pages (apart from the homepage and product pages).

This page categorizes, displays, and optimizes the products the associated business(es) sell. When you think about it, more people may come to your site through this page than the homepage.

Take the eCommerce site as a mall. Then, the category page will be like a map that tells you the location of different products or store types.

Aside from getting tons of new traffic, optimizing the product page will also boost your SEO. So, let’s show you how you can do it in today’s article.

Why Optimize eCommerce Category Landing Pages?

Like how a restaurant owner will want their menu book to look appealing, so should an eCommerce website owner. Aside from pleasing your customers, there are other ways it can help your SEO,

For example-

Helping Google Crawlers Understand Your Content

The category page is like a link hub that links to all the types of products on the site. So, when submitting your website to search engines, the sitemap will also include it.

Thus, Google crawlers can use these links to understand your content quickly. It will realize the connection among all the pages on your site. It helps them rank your site quicker and guide people to your category page.

Helping with Broad Keywords

When someone is planning to buy a specific product, let’s say, skin lotion, this is how they usually search it online-

• They go for specific product pages saved on their browser beforehand. Or,
• They search ‘skin lotion’ or ‘best skin lotion for dry/oily skin’ online. Or,
• They search for ‘skin lotion price’ or ‘best skin lotion brands.’

The latter two will almost always show them search results of product category pages from different eCommerce websites related to pets.

Category pages may let you target search queries like ‘skin lotion’ or ‘buy skin lotion’ easily. It can even go to a broader search term, like ‘skincare products.’

As a result, the broad keywords on the product category pages have a higher search volume compared to specific product keywords in the product pages.

Optimizing category pages helps with keyword targeting and boosts your revenue.

The Two Types of Category Pages

When we narrow it down, there are only two types of category pages.

• The one that categorizes the different subcategories. It helps with broader search queries and keywords.
• The one that categorizes individual products. It helps with specific keywords or niche-focused search queries.

How to Optimize an eCommerce Category Landing Page

An eCommerce category page optimization involves all types of SEO, including on-page, off-page, and technical SEO.

Here are some tips on how you can optimize your eCommerce site’s category landing page for the search engines-

Structuring the Category Page Appropriately

Let’s bring up our earlier analogy. You have two restaurant menu designs. One includes coffee, fruit juice, soda, etc., under one category: drinks.

Meanwhile, the other ones divide the drinks into subcategories- coffee, soda, alcoholic beverages, etc. It goes without saying that most people will have a better user experience from the second design.

It is the same for product category pages on eCommerce sites. Organize the product types logically to help visitors quickly find what they want.

If you are running a site for school or office supplies and accessories, then you can categorize them into main types first-

1. School supplies, office supplies, furniture, printers and scanners, etc.

Then, you can subcategorize each section. So, office supplies may contain subcategories like-

2. Office basics, binders, planners, etc.

Afterward, you may even further have categories among them. For example, office basics can have-

3. Pocket folders, scissors, staplers, etc.

Finally, each section can lead visitors to the collection of products. Staples’s category page is an ideal example of what we said so far.

Having a Hierarchy of Category URLs

Each category and subcategory hierarchy in an eCommerce site, explained in our last point, should have a proper URL to help crawlers.

It prevents crawlers from missing out on any page or repeating the same page when crawling. An ideal URL hierarchy structure can be-

• Petstore.com/cats (the ‘cats’ here is a subfolder
• Petstore.com/cats/collars (the ‘collars’ here is a slug)
• Petstore.com/cats/collers?type=buckle (the ‘?type=buckle’ here is a parameter)

While short URLs don’t impede Google crawlers as much as many think, it is still ideal to have shorter URLs for various reasons. A clean URL is also pleasant to see for visitors.

Making Long Tail Categories

While long-tail categories have lower search volumes than broader keywords or short-tail ones, the former has a higher conversion rate.

A study by Embryo found that long-tail keywords offer a conversion rate of 36%, while short-tail ones are limited to 115%. Why is that, you may wonder? There are two large reasons.

• Firstly, long tail keywords are focused on a specific product within broader categories. So, the search engine understands what a buyer is looking for quicker than short-tail keywords.

For example, searching for home devices will give someone a whole lot of different products in the search results. However, if they search for speakers, it will pinpoint specific category pages about speakers.

• Secondly, long-tail keywords help with your site’s voice search optimization. Around 58% of smartphone users in the USA use voice searches, using Siri, Alexa, etc., to find their desired products.

Most of these voice searches utilize long-tail keywords. So, targeting long-tail search queries helps get these audiences on your site, too.

For example, Hoka’s ‘cold weather gear’ before the winter season is a wise move. Many people will be looking for cold-weather shoes during October and end up on their page.

If you search for ‘cold weather shoes’ and scroll down a bit, Hoka appears as the first eCommerce site.

It is happening because Hoka targets the long tail keyword- ‘cold weather gear.’

Optimizing Meta Data and Title Tags

After searching on the search engine for a product, the product category pages come with unique title tags and meta descriptions. So, what are they?

Title tags are the title of each result on the SERP that you see after searching. Meanwhile, the meta description is the summary under that title. Check the following image, for example-

Both title tags and meta descriptions must be keyword-rich. Here are some standards you should follow when making them-

Title Tags-

• Within 60 characters
• Relevant and keyword(s)-included
• Interesting (if possible)

Meta Description-

• Short (under 160 characters)
• Descriptive and keyword-rich

Aside from compelling the audience to enter your site, title tags and metadata also help Google understand the site’s context. Remember to update your category page metadata regularly.

Also, keep one H1 on the category page (only one), which is different from a title tag.

Uniform Layout

A consistent layout falls within the designing aspect, which is an on-page SEO. It helps customers navigate quickly through the category page and has a better user experience.

Your product category page, sub-category page, and sub-subcategory page should all have the same layout and design. Some points regarding this topic are-

Choosing the same color scheme

• Same fonts
• Same header and footer position and design
• Same organization of products and categories
• Same place for the buttons and call-to-action (CTAs) with same design, if possible

Using the same layout will also be easier for the designer team since they can copy-paste lots of stuff. Moreover, it is easier to design on WordPress.

However, if it ever comes to design vs functionality, choose the latter.

Faceted Navigation

Faceted navigation is filters on eCommerce sites that make it easier to find a product with specific details. It can include color, size, price range, rating, brand, etc.

From a user’s point of view, filters help them greatly, allowing for a better user experience. It also converts up to 26%. Some sites add it to the side on the category or product pages-

While others make a separate page for the faceted navigation, like eBay-

The issue with Google crawlers with faceted navigation is that the latter often have multiple URL combinations that point to the same product, confusing the former.

Moreover, the faceted navigation URLs tend to be long, which doesn’t contribute much to the technical SEO. You don’t search for a product like- ‘men’s shoes in black from Nike, priced between $60-$100.’

They are strictly for a higher conversion rate and better user experience (on-page SEO).

• You can edit your sitemap in the robot.txt file to prevent crawlers from indexing the faceted URLs.
• Otherwise, you can use the no-follow directive to do the same thing. Both processes take professional-level expertise in website development (especially backend).

Having a Compelling and Focused Copy

There won’t be much space for a copy on the category page. So, when adding one, it needs to be short (400-800 words) and include the necessary bits.

When we say necessary, we mean sentences that can compel visitors to make a purchase. So, only add information like-

• Your material sources
• The choosing process for your products
• Pain points and your solution to them

Adding a FAQ or Q&A Section

We often don’t see category pages having FAQ sections as much as there should be. After all, it increases the eCommerce site conversion rate up to 157.1%.

When people get the answers to their questions, they are satisfied with the experience. Their trust on the site increases.

It is a great on-page SEO tactic. Since it is a helpful part, Google bots also like this.

Category pages aren’t there to compare with landing pages, but they are landing pages themselves. So, we recommend not to neglect to optimize them like many new eCommerce site owners often do.

By optimizing them with means like adding URL hierarchy, FAQ, reviews, copy, uniform structure, etc., you can get three birds with one stone:

Higher conversion, better user experience, and improved SEO.

How to Submit Your Website to Search Engines – Guide for Google, Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, and Yandex

You probably have a website developed and ready at hand with some quality content. You want it to rank high. So, how will you add it to the various search engines?

Indexation is a vital point for SEO experts. No matter how well your content quality is, not submitting or indexing it correctly on the search engine may affect your SEO negatively.

Different search engines have specific ways to index content. Knowing these methods is borderline mandatory for an owner or moderator of a site or content.

We have explained how to submit websites to search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, Yandex, and DuckDuckGo in this article.

Do You Need Backend Access to Submit a Page or Website to the Search Engine?

In almost all cases, you will not require the backend access to a website or page for the submission. However, it is still better to have the access as there are moments when you need it.

For example-

• You may need the backend access if the site doesn’t have a robot.txt file. This file helps Google crawlers or other good bots to index your pages and give them various instructions.
• There is no sitemap to the website. It is somewhat similar to the previous point. If the robot.txt file is a guide, then the sitemap is a map to take the crawlers to the right places.

Why Is It Important to Submit Your Site to the Search Engines?

Many wonder whether submitting your site or pages to the search engine is important. After all, the search engines will find your website anyway in time. So, why bother doing it?

Well, there are various reasons we recommend doing it.

• It helps Google crawlers index your site and crawl every page faster. Otherwise, it may take time for the former to discover the latter. You don’t want to give your competitors the upper hand.
• When indexing your site to Google manually, you can add the sitemap, robot.txt files, and other instructions to help the crawlers rank the pages with relevant keywords.

Meanwhile, if the crawlers do it themselves, the result may not meet your expectations. For example, if there are two identical contents, you can specify which one to crawl.

However, leaving it to the crawlers will result in them choosing one at random.

• Manually submitting your site will assure you that your site is indexed. You don’t want to keep guessing whether or when the crawlers will find your site.

Preparing Your Website for Submitting to Search Engines

You should prepare the domain before submitting your website to various search engines. There are a few steps that you must finish-

• Creating a sitemap
• Uploading your sitemap to the site’s robot.txt file
• Optimizing the robot.txt file

Let’s show you the steps next.

Creating Your Sitemap Index

Unless your backend team has already made a sitemap index for the website, you should create one. It will help the crawlers know which pages to crawl or prioritize.

It can also help with generative engine optimization (GEO) and Image Search Optimization (Image SEO).

So, what is a sitemap? It is somewhat as it sounds. The sitemap is a file containing the structure (map) of the website with details about each page.

A sitemap can be an XML file, an image, a video, text, hypertext (HTML), or an RSS feed. For site indexing, you will need an XML sitemap.

For most websites, you may need to create a sitemap index and then multiple sitemaps to link them with the former. It is an XML file, so don’t confuse it with an HTML sitemap.

Now, there are three ways to make sitemaps-

• If you are using WordPress, you can use the Yoast SEO plugin. It creates your sitemaps automatically.

Otherwise, you can use different tools, such as Screaming Frog’s XML Sitemap Generator.

• Moreover, if you have access to your website’s backend, coding with languages like Python to create the sitemaps is ideal. It requires ample skill in coding, though.

Using FTP Server to Upload Your Sitemaps

You can use FTP (File Transfer Protocol) to upload your sitemaps. You will need FTP server access in that case.

• After creating your sitemaps and their index, connect to your team’s FTP server.
• Afterward, search and locate the public_html directory in the file manager of the cPanel. Open it.

• Upload the sitemaps to the directory.
• Test it by typing your site’s URL and adding the directory file name to the end. If it is a sitemap index, it may have names like sitemap_index.xml. You can find it in the robot.txt file (if your backend team has created it).

Optimizing Your Robots.txt File (Why You Should)

Optimizing your sitemap should already help crawlers crawl your site content. So, why should you optimize your robots.txt file?

It adds higher assurance that search engines will crawl your site quickly and properly. Simply put, it sends the crawlers to your site’s sitemaps. You can add links to your sitemaps in your robot.txt file for that.

• First, enter your robot.txt file.
• Add a link to your sitemap index or sitemap file in the robot.txt file.

Simply doing so may automatically promote Google or Bing to start indexing your site.

It is the right moment to check whether your site shows the Disallow Directives. It will say- ‘Indexed, though blocked by robot.txt.”

If it shows, no search engine will crawl your site! Check out the following video to solve this issue-

Submitting a Website to Google Search Engine

Let’s start with undoubtedly the most popular search engine, Google.

Opening Google Search Console and Verifying Website

You must open a Google Search Console account to submit your website to the Google search engine. The process is simple-

• Go to Google Search Console
• Use your Gmail account to log in to Google if you haven’t already
• Select ‘Domain’ or ‘URL Prefix’ on the page. The second option is to submit only specific pages.

• Verify your ownership of the website. You won’t have to do this if you are using the analytics account.

Note that you can submit multiple websites from the same account.

Submitting Your Sitemap to Google Search Console

There are several ways to submit your sitemap to Google Search Console. Use whichever one is the best for you.

First Method: It is the easiest method. Go to your robot.txt file and add the following text (sitemap directive) inside (the whole line, including the sitemap part)-

Sitemap: https://example.com/my_sitemap.xml

Second Method: This is the standard method.

• Go to Google Search Console and click on the ‘Sitemap’ Tab from the left.
• Copy-paste or type your submit URL in the ‘Add a New Sitemap’ box.
• Click ‘Submit.’
• Check the ‘Submitted Sitemaps’ box below to see if your added sitemap index shows a ‘success’ status.

Third Method: Go to Google Search Console API and request to submit your sitemap following their instructions.

Fourth Method: It is probably the best method.

• Use the Sitemap Reports tool in the Search Console.
• Go to the Search Console Help, and click on ‘Manage Your Sitemap Using the Sitemap Reports’ tab from the right (it may need some scrolling down).
• Then, click on ‘Open Sitemaps Report.’

• You will find the ‘Add a New Sitemap’ box there. Add your sitemap index URL.

(You may use the URL Inspection Tool first to check the page fetch and ensure it is okay. You can find this tool from the tabs on the right in Search Console Help.)

• Click on Submit.

Of course, you won’t see the result immediately as the crawlers will take time to crawl all the pages. However, you will get notified when they do from the Sitemaps Report.

This method will also help you test your URL and notice any errors faster.

If you want to index individual pages, you can use the URL Inspection Tool for that.

Submitting a Website to Bing

When submitting a website to Bing, you must complete almost all the steps above, except for the Google Search Console parts. So, like before-

• Create your sitemap
• Create the robot.txt file, if necessary
• Check if there are any disallow directives (if there are, fix them)

Once you finish these steps, head to Bing Webmaster Tool. It is Bing’s version of Google Search Console. In fact, all search engines have a webmaster tool to index sites and do other activities.

Upload Your Sitemap to Bing Webmaster Tool

• Open a Bing account. It is easy as Bing will ask you permission to automatically sync your email accounts or Facebook ID to create a Bing account.

After that, Bing will let you import all your websites indexed on your Google Search Console account. Unlike Search Console, you won’t have to verify your properties this time.

Of course, you can find the option to add your site or pages manually on the right side.

When manually adding, you must make some detectable changes to the site to help Bing verify you own it.

If you have added your sitemap to the Search Console and imported your sites from there to the Bing Webmaster Tool, your sitemaps will also get imported automatically.

Otherwise, you can manually add them from the ‘Sitemap Tool.’

The sitemap tool will let you see various details of your sitemaps, including the error ones.

• Click on ‘Submit Sitemap’ from the upper left. A small floating window will appear.
• Type in or copy-paste your sitemap URL and click on ‘Submit’ to submit the sitemap.

You can download your sitemap list from Bing if you need it.

Another method is to add the sitemap directive in your robot.txt file. We have already shown it earlier.

Submitting a Website to Yahoo

Since the Bing search engine powers Yahoo, you won’t have to submit your sitemaps here. Adding your sitemaps to the Bing Webmaster Tool will automatically index your site or pages to Yahoo.

You can also submit the URL of a specific page to Yahoo Search using the same webmaster tool. Follow these steps-

• Go to your website property in the Bing Webmaster Tool (the website that contains the page)
• Select the ‘URL Submission’ tab from the left.
• Click on ‘Submit URLs.’
• Copy-paste or type in the URLs. You need to list them one URL per line.
• Click on ‘Submit.’

If you own a business, Yahoo has an excellent business directory for it. You can enter your business using their directory site. You can add your website here for higher traffic.

Submitting a Website to DuckDuckGo

Similar to Yahoo, DuckDuckGo also gets its search results from Bing. As a result, your indexed site on the latter makes it appear on the former’s SERPs.

This search engine doesn’t let anyone manually add any sitemap or URL. Instead, they index the sites from other sources (primarily Bing).

Remember when we said that the search engines may eventually find your site even if you don’t submit it? Well, DuckDuckGo kind of does that, too. It has its own crawler named DuckDuckBot.

Note that SEO activities in Bing also influence DuckDuckGo. So, it is ideal to optimize your site for the Bing search engine to improve its SEO on DuckDuckGo and Yahoo.

Checking Whether Your Website Is Indexed on DuckDuckGo

• Go to the DuckDuckGo search engine.
• Search with your domain URL (i.e., yourdomain.net)
• Check the search results and see if your website appears. If it does, your site is indexed.

If your site doesn’t appear, it is not a big issue since it takes time for the crawlers to index your site to the search engine. So, wait a bit before checking again.

Submitting a Website to Yandex

Unlike the previous two, you can manually add your sites or pages to the Yandex search engine.

• First, head to Yandex Webmaster.
• Open an account by selecting ‘Add Site’ and verify it.
• Click on ‘Indexing’ from the left side of the screen. Then, select ‘Sitemap Files.’
• Type or copy-paste your sitemap URL into the ‘Add Sitemap File’ box. Click ‘Add.’

Your sitemap will be added to the Yandex queue, which can take up to a couple of weeks for the indexing to finish.

Note that overly long URLs often limit Yandex from indexing a page. As such, you may try making your URLs short. Also, large image files make their indexing progress slow or stop.

Checking Whether Your Site or a Page Is Indexed Using Google Search Console

Yes, you can search your domain or page URL using a search engine to know whether your site or a specific page is indexed on that search engine. However, it isn’t always as reliable.

There is another method you can try. Here are the steps-

• Go to Google Search Console
• Once you select your verified website, you will notice a search bar at the top of any page. It will read- ‘Inspect any URL in (your site).’ Use it to search for specific pages to check if it is indexed.

Here is what it will show if the page is indexed-

Meanwhile, this is what it will show if the page is not indexed-

Other Methods to Improve the Indexing of Your Sites

While the sitemaps and robot.txt files help the search engine bots navigate through your website, you can help them further. Check these points below.

Using Internal Links

Internal links help crawlers go from one content to another on your site and check the relevance of your content. They measure the value of each link, which also helps with your SEO.

Consider the internal links as tunnels that lead to different pages of your site.

Improving Your Link-Building

Link-building is necessary for SEO. It helps with indexing your website, too. For example, suppose you have forgotten to index a specific page to Google.

However, that page got a backlink from another page within or outside your website. Google crawlers can come through that link to your page and index it automatically.

4 Best Backlink Checker Tools and How to Use Them – Detailed Guides

You probably wouldn’t want to spend so much resource and time on link-building without ensuring it’s working. So, how do you check the fruit of your efforts?

Backlinks are one of the two major pillars of your SEO campaign (the other being your content). While checking your content is straightforward, doing so for backlinks is not so much.

Lucky for us, there are several backlink checker tools online to help us with it. You only need to identify the good ones among them. That is why we made this article today.

In this article, we will go into detail about backlink checker tools and suggest some of the best ones to make it worth every penny.

What Are Backlink Checker Tools?

As the name suggests, you can check your domain’s backlink profile using a backlink checker tool. However, things aren’t so simple. Some of them also let you track historical data.

Presenting the data as a graph makes it convenient for the site owner. It lets them know the performance of each backlink over a long time.

For example, the following is a link summary of a site from 07/26/2021 to 08/01/2021 on a link checker tool-

Image source: sitechecker.pro

Most backlink checker sites also contain various other tools to integrate many parts of SEO into one. As such, you can use one for your whole link-building project. Ahrefs is one example.

What to Check Before Choosing a Backlink Checker Tool?

You will find tons of backlink checker tools online with attractive user interfaces and so much more. Are they all worth it? Definitely not.

Not to mention, some of them come at a cost, so picking the most suitable one is mandatory for your SEO’s ROI. Let’s list down the factors that determine a good backlink profile checker tool-

• Accuracy of Data: You may check your site’s backlinks on several tools and find completely different data. The accuracy is one of the significant aspects you must consider when using a tool.

In that regard, popular ones such as Semrush, Ahrefs, Moz Pro, etc., are usually the safest options.

• Historical Data Tracking: As we explained before, you need to check your past backlink data to compare and track your progress. Top-tier backlink checker tool will give you that option.

Basically, they will start saving your backlink profile from the moment you first sign up for their service with your domain URL.

Every time you return to the tool, it will update the data and show you your progression as a graph, chart, or table.

Other normal trackers will only show you only your domain’s current DA and backlinks without saving them on the way.

• Competitor Backlink Analysis: This one is simple. The backlink checker tool must also let you check the backlink profiles of other websites to allow competitor analysis.
• Filters: You will find many filters on a good backlink checker tool, letting you narrow down your backlink list within a specific location, period, type, etc.

These features will prove to be useful more frequently than you may expect.

• Payment Options: Some backlink checkers will appear free, while others come at a cost. The latter usually provides better options and features.

If you want some quick checking during the initial phases of your link-building, a free tool will do.

Tools like Ahrefs have a free backlink checking option (like in the following image), while you can go for the premium version for a more thorough result.

• User Interface: Finally, the interface of the backlink checker should be comprehensive and easy to understand.

The navigation should be a smooth experience as you will spend a long time on these tools.

4 Best Backlink Checker Tools- Step-by-Step Guide

Here is our list of the best backlink checker tools in no particular order. It is often better to check your backlink profile on multiple tools if you are cautious about the result’s accuracy.

Ahrefs

Website: https://ahrefs.com/site-explorer

Cost:

The up-to-date nature of Ahrefs makes it one of the best. The site gets updated with new backlink data every 15 minutes. Not to mention, its web crawler count is second after Google.

Using the Ahrefs backlink checker tools is fairly easy once you are accustomed. Firstly, there is the free tool that we mentioned above. Then there is the premium option.

Here is how you can use Ahrefs premium version for backlink checking-

• Go to Ahrefs and their Site Explorer section.
• Sign up while providing your website’s information to let the tool track its backlink profile.
• Check the ‘Referring Domains.’

Referring domains are unique websites sending backlinks to your domain. As you can guess, the graph must show increases in referring domains over time.

This growth should be gradual and not sudden. Sudden growth may indicate spam or link farms linking to your domain, requiring inspection.

• Also, the quality of the links matter. Check the Domain Rating (DR) of each referring domain. You can check the DR of each in the ‘Backlink Report’ page within Ahrefs.

Most referring domains should have DR of at least 50 or higher. If you find too many ones with low DR, that may cause issues. Requesting the site owners to remove them is an option.

If that doesn’t work, then you can send a ‘disavow’ file to Google not to crawl these links. You can do that directly within Ahrefs. Otherwise, you can go to Google Search Console for it.

• While you are on the Backlink Report page, use the filter- ‘404 not found’ to find all the backlinks sent to pages in your site that don’t exist anymore or have been moved to a new URL.

In that case, you can redirect each link using the 301 redirect attribute.

• Next, check the ‘total backlink.’ It is the total number of all the backlinks to your site.

While most of them must be followed for a high link equity, a good chunk should be no-followed.

• Check ‘Best by Link’ and select ‘External Links’ at the top to find the pages in your domain attracting the most backlinks.

They need your maximum focus to eliminate any broken links.

• Finally, you can use the same methods as above to check the backlink profile of another site.

Although, you can’t make any disavowed request to Google for any backlink to that site for obvious reasons.

• You can also compare your competitor’s backlink profile with yours using Ahrefs’ ‘Batch Analysis’.

Semrush

Website: https://www.semrush.com/analytics/backlinks/?msockid=03c43c2641196b7b050b2f82406a6a11

Cost:

While not having as much web crawling as Google or Ahrefs, Semrush has one of the largest backlink databases online, if not the biggest. They have excellent features to help audit backlinks.

Here is how you can do it-

• Head to Semrush. Start a project with your domain URL.
• Select the ‘Backlink Audit’ tool on the left and click on the ‘Start backlink audit.’

• Check the toxicity level of your site. It should be low. Any higher than that, and you may need to identify the toxic backlinks and remove or disavow them.
• Also, check the referring domains, analyze backlinks (total number of backlinks), and the authority score.

The authority score refers to Domain Authority (DA), which is kind of the same as DR.

• You will find the ‘Audit’ tab on the navigation bar beside ‘Overview’. Click it next to get a detailed view of your backlink profile.

From here, you can check the anchor texts of the backlinks, the URLs of the linking sites, their authority, and toxicity score.

Like DA or DR, toxicity scores also range from 0-100. The higher it is, the worse.

• Use the ‘toxicity score’ filter above to limit it within 60-100. Use the ‘Remove’ button to add the linking sites with high toxicity scores to the remove list.

The remove button looks like a paper airplane.

• Next, go to the ‘Remove’ tab. You can add your email here.

• Write and send emails from within the tool itself requesting sites to remove the backlinks to your page.

If they ignore your emails, disavowing the backlinks is your next option. The disavow button looks like- Ø.

• Once you add enough sites to the disavow list, visit the ‘Disavow’ tab. Export the links in a .txt file. Then, import it to the ‘Google Disavow Tool.’

• Next, go to the ‘Link Building’ tool on the left side of the screen. Configure it.
• Select the ‘Prospect’ tab. Click on the ‘Lost backlinks.’

The links you see here are backlinks you used to have but were lost for various reasons like your page moving to a new URL.

You can use the 301 redirects here to direct the backlinks to the newly moved place. Otherwise, you may email the site owner to replace their backlink with another page you own.

• Afterward, go to the ‘Backlink Analytics’ tool on the left. Select ‘Indexed Pages.’

Here, you can see unique backlinks that each page on your site is getting. It also includes the referring domains.

• Check the pages with the highest backlinks and referring domains. It will give you the type of content in your site that gets the most attention. Now you know which content to focus more on.

• While you are in the ‘Backlink Analytics’ tool, select the overview tab. Here, you can add more root domains and compare your competitors with your site.

You can also use the ‘Bulk Analysis’ tool to do this and get a more detailed result.

While checking the backlinks sent to your site, don’t forget to notice whether they are followed or not. You can go to the ‘Backlink Analytics’ and use the ‘referring domains’ tab for this.

Simply use the filters above to check the followed or no-followed links.

Linkchecker Pro

Website: https://app.linkchecker.pro/links

Cost:

Linkchecker Pro is another convenient backlink checker tool, given its simplicity and pleasant visuals. The site gives you the vital information needed for your website’s link-building.

It is also one of the most cost-effective options among the paid backlink checker tools.

Let’s show you how to use Linkchecker Pro-

• Visit Linkchecker Pro and sign up.
• Select the ‘Links’ tool on the left. Then, create a project with your domain.
• Select the project from the list, and the tool will display your total backlink count, followed or no-followed ratio, and index ratio.

You will also find the list of anchor texts on the bottom of the charts.

• Select the content tab on the top right of the charts, and you can see the types of content you have on your site, such as articles, comments, infographics, etc.

• Click the tab with the graph symbol to get a graph with the link and index dynamics.

The first one shows the backlinks you got over time, and the second one is for the ones that were indexed.

• Scroll down a bit from any tab, and you will get a table of all the backlinks to your site.

• You can find advanced filter options above the table to pinpoint specific types of links.

As you can see, there are also options to import or export links from here directly.

You will also see a ‘Users’ filter. What’s up with that?

In Linkchecker Pro, each project can have several users. It helps you divide the link builders into several teams if needed. Moreover, you can also check the performance of each team here.

• Select the ‘Performance Review’ tab (the one with the symbol of two figures), and it will show you a graph of each team’s performance.

You can also turn on alerts and notifications on the tool to notify you when you get backlinks.

• Click on your profile in the top right corner and select ‘Account Settings.’
• Scroll down, and you will see the ‘Alert’ section.
• Toggle on the ‘Email Alert’ or ‘Telegram Alert’ as you see fit.

• Next, go to the ‘Report’ tool from the left of the screen. Scroll down a bit, and you will get a table full of error backlinks or toxic links to your site.

Focus on them and fix them as soon as possible. If needed, remove or disavow them.

If you want to make a competitor analysis and compare them with your domain, you can use the ‘Batch Analysis’ tool on the left.

• Go to the ‘Batch Analysis’ tool and select ‘New Analysis.’
• Then toggle the various filters on/off as necessary. Add all the domain links in the blank table below.
• Click ‘Analyze’.

• Select the newly created batch analysis, and you will find a table full of data of all the domains you have added.

There are various other tools in Linkchecker Pro that you can use. We suggest you check them as necessary to grasp the full thing.

Google Search Console

Website: https://search.google.com/search-console/welcome

Cost: Free

Google Search Console obviously has the highest number of crawlers online. So, you can rest assured that the information you find here is up-to-date and accurate.

Here is how to use it to check backlinks-

• Go to Google Search Console and sign up with your domain. Verify your property (website).

• Select the property.
• Click ‘Links’ from the side.

• Select ‘Top Linking Sites.’

These are the websites that link to your domain the most. It doesn’t necessarily mean they have high DA or DR. They just sent you the most backlinks.

• Select ‘Top Linking Text.’

You will find a list of the anchor texts others used the most when linking to your site.

It is important since having any specific anchor text used too many times is a red flag by Google’s Anchor Text Guidelines.

If you find one like that, sending emails to the appropriate linking site owners to use different anchor texts may solve the problem.

• Select ‘Top Linked Pages’.
• Check it for both internal links and external links.

Here, the ‘top linked pages’ with external links on the left are pages that got the highest backlinks.

Meanwhile, the ‘top linked pages’ with internal links on the right are pages that received the highest links from another page in your domain. They are not backlinks, but still necessary.

If you find any toxic links or link spam, then disavow it using Google Search Console. We have already mentioned how earlier.

Unfortunately, you can’t run competitor backlink analysis using Google Search Console. On the good side, the tool is free and suitable for quick backlink checking.

Is Backlink Checking Still Necessary in the Mid-20s?

Given the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) generated results and voice searches, backlink checking has become even more relevant.

You need to ensure that the backlinks you are getting are from sites with high DA since Google is becoming more sensitive about it.

Of course, you also need to focus on on-site SEO, too. On-site SEO is becoming more essential by Google’s standard policies.

However, that doesn’t mean that off-site SEO methods, like backlinks, have gone out of usefulness. Rather, they are more necessary in order to keep up with the race.

Simply getting backlinks doesn’t suffice now. The links must be relevant and of high quality. Moreover, the anchor texts mustn’t be too generic either.

If you want to ensure all these, backlink checking once a week is almost mandatory.

What Is YouTube Automation? – Increase Your Workflow on YouTube with Ease

Burnout sets in soon while handling a YouTube channel. That’s where YouTube automation saves the day. Use it to plan better and elevate the quality of your content.

It won’t necessarily record your videos for you but can help automate various steps of content creation. It especially works for channels with repetitive type content, such as one that only uploads cat videos.

In this article, we will help you with the automation process of your YouTube journey and create a roadmap to earn a lot without having to do repetitive work. We also suggested some tools.

What Is YouTube Automation?

YouTube automation is the process of automating some tasks of a YouTube channel in order to reduce the burden of the creator.

While it may sound like only the usage of artificial tools, that is not always the case. One may hire video editors, cameramen, designers, and scriptwriters, and it will also be YouTube automation.

However, in most contexts, YouTube automation refers to the tools (often AI) to automate some processes.

YouTube and YouTube Studios already allow you to schedule your videos. The latter also lets you monitor the analytics of your channel.

However, other tasks like editing your videos according to your suggestions, writing a script, or finding new content ideas are only possible with alternative tools or human workers.

AI Tools or Humans – Which Automation Process Is the Best for You?

There has been a debate over AI vs human work for a long time already in almost every sector. In light of the YouTube automation, both work fine.

However, according to experts, it is best to use both to maximize content creation quality. Most will advise leaving the editing and script to human workers while letting AI do the analytics tracking, scheduling, or research information.

Remember that both will cost you a good sum. The overall cost will depend on the number of tools you use or the people you hire.

Things You Can Automate on a YouTube Channel

There are several small to big tasks on a YouTube channel that you may automate using human or AI tools. Let’s list some of them below-

• Coming up with Video Ideas: We still think you should do this part yourself instead of automating.
• Writing YouTube Scripts: Possible by both humans and AI, but the former generally provides better results.
• Editing the Thumbnail or Videos: Thumbnails are one of the most important aspects of your channel. Leaving their editing to a human worker is still the better option. AI isn’t to that level yet.
• Dubbing Videos: If you are not ready to speak in your videos, a human or AI dubber can do the trick.
• Creating Subtitles: While many often let their fans do this part, you can leave it to AI.
• Moderation of Live Videos: You can keep a moderator to handle some tasks during a YouTube Live, such as restricting certain users from commenting, removing some messages, etc.
• Analytics Tools: While YouTube Studio itself has this tool, many use auxiliary ones to have a more thorough display of their channel’s analytics.

• Scheduling Your Videos: You can do this easily within the YouTube app itself.
• Social Media Cross Promotion: You can help advertise your brand throughout different social media platforms using various AI tools.
• Researching: Various videos may require ample research and information. Using AI tools for them can save you a good amount of time.

How YouTube Automation Can Improve Content Creation?

YouTube automation has the potential to save you valuable time and energy that you can spend elsewhere. Some other ways it elevates your content creation are as follows-

• Keeping consistency in posting content using the automation tools can ensure more audience engagement, value, and trust.
• Using AI tools to create subtitles for your videos in many languages will let audiences from various places enjoy your content. It is necessary if you make videos in your native language.
• Many automation tools will help you with your brand promotion, advertisement, marketing, etc. Moreover, it can also let you get sponsorships and ads on your videos. All these are easy passive incomes.
• While many only use YouTube Studio to analyze their content’s performance, a top-tier tool can show way more. Some even help monitor competitor behaviors and trends to help improve your content.
• If you are making videos almost regularly, using some AI tools can be less costly than hiring someone.

Most Useful and Powerful YouTube Automation Tools You Can Use

Not all automation tools have the same features, and you may have to use multiple together. However, their effective usage can save you time and utilize that time for other valuable tasks.

Here are some of the most useful YouTube automation tools we recommend-

invideo AI

invideo AI is an AI tool that helps create videos on any topic, given you provide it with the title and tone for the video. The tool crafts the videos with powerful CTAs and hooks, ensuring a good number of views.

You may be surprised to learn that even channels with millions of subscribers often use invideo for their content. Note that you don’t have to take the edited videos from the tool as themselves.

It is possible to edit the content totally or partially within the tool using simple prompts. There are also stock templates to check out if you aren’t sure about the prompts you should use.

Website: https://invideo.io/make/youtube-video-editor/

Maestra

Maestra has two very practical tools- one is for dubbing, and the other is for subtitles.

If you want to add dubbed voiceovers to your videos at specific timeframes, Maestra’s AI Video Translator can help. It allows you to choose from various AI-generated voices.

You can also sync them perfectly to the specific video timestamp you wish. There are more than 80 languages available for dubbing. The voices sound quite realistic, too.

Meanwhile, if you require subtitles on your videos in various languages, Maestra’s YouTube Transcribe Generator is one of the best tools.

It has more than 130 subtitles. Moreover, you can sync the subtitle to your video using the YouTube Integration feature of the tool.

Websites:

• https://maestra.ai/tools/video-to-text/youtube-transcript-generator
• https://maestra.ai/tools/video-translator

Jasper

Jasper is a good alternative if you don’t plan to hire a human script writer for your videos. Its YouTube Script Writer tool can help generate scripts with hooks and CTAs.

It also can suggest video ideas using the ‘Video Topic Ideas’ based on the topic you have given. Among the various ideas it provides, you may also sort them out using the ‘Video Script Outline.’

Another important feature of Jasper is its ‘Video Script Hook and Introduction.’ Many of us often write a good script only to struggle with a proper hook. Jasper can solve the issue.

The quality of the scripts is surprisingly top-notch, prompting many successful YouTubers to use Jasper for their videos.

Website: https://www.jasper.ai/tools/youtube-script-writer

VidIQ

Many people struggle to keep up with the trends, which is understandable. VidIQ helps YouTubers with information about the latest trends and provides keyword and topic ideas.

All you have to do is answer some questions from VidIQ, and they can help with vivid things. Aside from topics, keywords, and trends, it also can provide descriptions, titles, and tags for your videos.

However, that’s not all. VidIQ can also perform competitor analysis for you and keep track of your monetization stats. Moreover, the tool lets you promote a specific link to all your videos simultaneously.

Perhaps the biggest feature of VidIQ is its research. You don’t have to spend much time surfing the internet for the latest trends and brainstorm ideas. The tool can do all that for you.

Website: https://vidiq.com/

Headliner

If you own a podcast channel, then Headliner will be a valuable automation tool to integrate it with YouTube. It will help turn your podcasts into YouTube videos.

So, how does it work? Based on the topic and discussion in your podcast, Headliner will create a ready-made video for you. You only have to add your podcast RSS feed to the tool.

The elements for the video are either templates from the tool itself or your RSS feed. You can obviously edit any part of the video you want.

Using Headliner to turn your podcasts into YouTube videos will be a great way to earn some extra followers and money. Doing all these manually would be a lengthy process.

Headliner is pretty easy to work with, even for beginners. No wonder the tool has around 2.7 billion active users monthly.

Website: https://www.headliner.app/

PlaceIt

If you want to take the visuals of your YouTube content (video or thumbnail) to the top without hiring anyone, PlaceIt is your best bet.

It is mainly for displaying your brand to the world in a shiny and eye-catching manner.

This tool has an array of templates for different video niches. They come in different forms based on the type of content.

For example, there are templates for gaming streamers, and those also come for specific games. Another example is the attractive visuals for travel vlogs.

Each template is highly customizable- from the fonts to the color gradients.

Website: https://placeit.net/youtube/videos

How to Start with YouTube Automation?

Here are some simple tips to get you set with automating your YouTube channel-

Choose Trendy Automation Tools

Check what popular YouTubers are using. Not all automation tools will be up to the task and will be worth the cost. Know that most successful YouTubers are already using many automation tools.

You can use those same tools, and your goal should be to be as top as possible within your own niche.

Pick Less Competitive Topics

So, plan to find out how to make something unique. For this, you need to find the least-covered topics within your niche. Of course, the title needs to be attractive and have a good hook.

However, avoid clickbaits and go for genuinely attractive hooks and CTA.

Get Only the Required Tools

Determine where you require the tools. You may not need an automation tool everywhere. For example, if you know video editing or thumbnail design, you can do those yourself and save the cost.

Similarly, you can also use YouTube Studio to schedule any post without auxiliary tools. Only use automation to fill the gaps where you have the least skills or don’t feel like doing a task.

For example, you may not want to find people to voiceover every single video. Use a video dubber in that case.

Hire Your Team

Assembling a team is also a form of YouTube automation. Hire skilled individuals who can do various parts of your content creation. It may also help you to keep up your motivation.

Most popular YouTubers hire a video editor or stream moderator for this reason.

Create a Content Calendar

Share a calendar across your team to keep track of your schedule. Have some core topics and divide them into subtopics to distribute throughout your calendar. Google Calendar is a suitable tool for this.

For example, if your channel is about books, your core topics can be book reviews, book suggestions, manga reviews, character analysis, etc.

Meanwhile, the subtopics can be the different series, characters, genres, etc.

During your planning, you can analyze your past video performances and focus more on the specific topics or trends that got high views or got you the most subscribers.

Create, Upload, and Promote

Once the plan and the team are ready, start creating the content per the usual schedule. Afterwards, promote your content across different social media platforms.

100+ Free UK Directories – Updated List

Suppose you run a supply business and are looking for companies that can purchase goods from you. However, you can’t figure out how to find them within your location. That is where a business directory helps.

Consider a business directory like a phonebook but for businesses. They contain information about every registered company within a region.

So, a UK business directory holds the contacts for the businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a handy tool that you can find as a book, a website or an app.

Learning to use a business directory is crucial for businesses to find suppliers, partners, clients, or customers.

This article will cover the various aspects surrounding UK business directories and recommend many of them.

Brief Introduction to Business Directories

A business directory contains lists of businesses and their contact information, like name, location, phone number, email, etc. The businesses are usually categorized in their types or industries.

Moreover, they are usually sorted alphabetically, especially if it is a real-life book. You can also find them divided into different chapters of the book (or pages on a website), where each includes a specific location.

Online business directories are usually more convenient since you can use search options to find any specific company you want.

Meanwhile, you can also use various filters, like location, time-of-creation, type, etc.

Why You Should Use a UK Business Directory- the Benefits

Instead of trying to search on Google or asking people around, using a business directory will get you to your desired companies or corporations way quickly. Here are some of their benefits-

• Easy to Use: It is just like using a phonebook. Whether you are accessing one online or offline, you will find it very easy, even for the first time.
• Updated: Since UK business directories are updated routinely, you can expect to find only accurate results. If the company changes its phone number, it must inform the authorities, who later update the directory.
• Vast Inclusion: You won’t find any type of business or location excluded in the UK business directories. There are all kinds and sizes of business there.
• Suggestions: Suppose you were looking for a specific company in the directory. You can type in the category to learn about all the other similar companies nearby. It makes it highly convenient.

Different Types of UK Business Directories

Currently, there are two types of business directories available. They are a physical directory and an online directory.

Physical UK Business Directory

Physical directories used to be the traditional way of finding businesses in the previous decades. It is convenient if you’re only looking for businesses within specific locations.

You can purchase physical UK business directories in various bookshops, libraries, etc. The entries in them are usually arranged like a glossary.

There is one issue with the physical directories, though. They aren’t updated in real-time when any business changes its contact, rebrands, shuts down or opens.

They only appear on the new copy or version of the directory. So, it is better not to purchase a physical directory but to visit a library to read them.

Online UK Business Directory

Online business directories are the most popular now since everything shifted online. Moreover, they have various advantages over a physical copy. For example-

• An online business directory is easier to access from your home rather than having to go anywhere. There is no need to purchase any book. You still may need to subscribe to the website.
• They are updated in real-time without much delay so that you can get the latest information quickly, which is often crucial for many businesses.
• It lets you use search bars and filters, which makes finding any businesses within a specific type or location easier. You can also check their ratings.
• They may offer various other useful features. For example- notifying you of any changes to the business you have previously worked with or bookmarking a list of companies to check them out later.

An online UK directory can come in two ways. They are-

• A website
• A software or app

Some of them may have both a site and an app version, where both get updated together simultaneously.

How to Use a UK Business Directory?

It is easy to use a UK business directory.

For the Consumers

• First, enter the directory site or app.
• Use the search bar to search for any specific business. You don’t necessarily have to enter the name. You can also search using its address, contact, or other details.
• If it is not a specific business you are looking for but a general type, use the filters. For example, suppose you want a solar panel business for your rooftop. You can select that in the filter by finding that category after a short scrolling.
• If you are using a physical business directory, you will need to skim through the table of contents that includes the categories throughout several pages (usually in alphabetical order).
• Once you find your desired business in an online directory, you can click on it and access its description, ratings, and reviews. For physical ones, you can find it by reaching the right page.
• Compare several businesses by making a list. Then contact the one you finally decide to choose.

For the Business Owners

If you are a business owner who wants to list their business in the directory, that is also possible with some simple steps.

• Enter the business directory.
• Check for a button that usually says ‘list/add your business’ or ‘join as a business’.
• Fill out their form with the appropriate information.
• If the site asks for a payment or subscription fee, complete that process.
• Afterward, complete your business profile by adding all the necessary info, including videos, product descriptions, etc.
• If it is a physical directory, you will need to converse with the authorities. Collect their contact and talk to them regarding the procedures.

Online UK Business Directory- Tips

You can shorten your process of finding a business using a UK business directory by following some tips. For instance-

• Use filters. Choose specific locations, types, prices, and ratings. It will pinpoint your desired businesses. Some directories may also have a filter for the company size.
• Be careful about typos. You can use the search bar to search for any specific business. However, avoid typing mistakes, or the company may not appear on the list.
• Reviews are your best friends in this case. Even small businesses may have excellent reviews due to their service quality. Don’t go for a business unthinkably without knowing the opinions of its previous customers.
• Make a list. Don’t stick to a single business. It is better to list several companies within specific types and locations and check each. It will help you find the best among them.

Some online directories will even have a listing feature that you can check back at any time.

Choosing the Right UK Business Directory

You can’t really find all the businesses in a directory, as some may not have registered them yet. For that reason, it is better to check several ones. Also, some offer certain features that others don’t. You can use the following tips when choosing a business directory-

Physical or Online

First, choose whether you want a physical directory or an online one. We’ve already talked about the pros of the latter. Meanwhile, a physical directory has the following advantages-

They usually register small businesses in specific localities, too. So, if you only want to look for services within that area, get a local directory and search.

Online directories may miss many of those local small businesses.

A physical directory can be accessed when the power is out or when you don’t have a running device.

User Friendliness

Not all UK business directories will be as easy to navigate as you wish. So, check many and stick to the ones that are easy to use.

Accuracy

Some business directories update more frequently than others. The way to find out about this is to check the reviews. Going for them will help you get more accurate results.

Cost

Business directories can be free or paid. Usually, the ones with more features and high traffic or DA come at a cost. Moreover, they may require a monthly or yearly subscription.

Do note that the payment is almost always for the owners to list their business and not for the consumers looking for them. It is better to stick to free UK business directories if you are a small-sized company.

If you are a big business owner who needs to collaborate with other businesses or wants clients regularly, going for a paid version will be better for you.

Filters and Features

If some business directories offer more features and filter options, those are usually the better ones to target. Again, it depends on your usage.

Larger business owners looking for other businesses to collaborate may need to pinpoint their search more regularly, requiring more filters.

Meanwhile, if you are using the directory for personal reasons, like home repair, furniture shopping, or catering, you may need a directory with a listing or notification feature.

UK Directory List

We have covered the various aspects of UK directory lists. Next, let’s recommend some top-tier UK business directories to you.

Google My Business

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.google.com/intl/en_uk/business/

Domain Authority: 94

Yell

Cost: Freemium.

Website: https://www.yell.com/

Domain Authority: 72

Yelp UK

Cost: Free.

Website: https://www.yelp.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 71

Bing Places

Cost: Free.

Website: https://www.bingplaces.com/

Domain Authority: 94

TheBestofUK

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.thebestof.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 55

192.com

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.192.com/

Domain Authority: 66

Scoot

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.scoot.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 53

Hotfrog

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.hotfrog.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 48

All in London

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 59

Facebook Business

Cost: Free with some paid packages

Website: https://www.facebook.com/

Domain Authority: 96

Europages

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.europages.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 50

LinkedIn Company

Cost: Free

Website: https://business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions/cx/21/11/linkedin-pages

Domain Authority: 99

Central Index

Cost: Free

Website: https://admin.centralindex.com/add/

Domain Authority: 58

UK Small Business Directory

Cost: Free but has some paid features

Website: https://www.uksmallbusinessdirectory.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 38

Apple Business Connect

Cost: Free

Website: https://businessconnect.apple.com/

Domain Authority: 99

FreeIndex

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.freeindex.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 55

Nextdoor

Cost: Free

Website: https://nextdoor.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 52

Cylex UK

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.cylex-uk.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 57

Foursquare

Cost: Free

Website: https://business.foursquare.com/

Domain Authority: 93

Pissed Consumer

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.pissedconsumer.com/

Domain Authority: 71

Opendi

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.opendi.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 27

Kompass

Cost: Free

Website: https://gb.kompass.com/

Domain Authority: 68

Thomson Local

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.thomsonlocal.com/

Domain Authority: 49

Cybo

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.cybo.com/

Domain Authority: 55

Opening Times

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.opening-times.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 36

Houzz

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.houzz.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 60

Brownbook

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.brownbook.net/

Domain Authority: 61

Bizify

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.bizify.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 28

MisterWhat

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.misterwhat.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 40

AiLOQ

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.ailoq.com/

Domain Authority: 69

City Visitor

Cost: Free

Website: http://www.cityvisitor.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 38

Business Magnet

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.businessmagnet.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 37

Kapitol-Infobel

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.infobel.com/en/uk/

Domain Authority: 59

Storeboard

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.storeboard.com/

Domain Authority: 63

LocalLife

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.locallife.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 66

My Local Services

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.mylocalservices.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 38

Lacartes

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.lacartes.com/

Domain Authority: 59

Smart Business Directory

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.smartbusinessdirectory.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 71

TouchLocal

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.touchlocal.com/

Domain Authority: 47

ShowMeLocal

Cost: Free

Website: https://uk.showmelocal.com/

Domain Authority: 52

iBegin

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.ibegin.com/

Domain Authority: 50

WhoDoYou

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.whodoyou.com/

Domain Authority: 46

Bizwiki

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.bizwiki.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 34

FindTheNeedle

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.findtheneedle.co.uk/clients/

Domain Authority: 44

Approved Businesses

Cost: Free with standard and premium versions available

Website: https://www.approvedbusiness.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 54

The Evening Standards

Cost: Free

Website: https://local.standard.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 93

The Mirror

Cost: Free

Website: https://directory.mirror.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 94

iGlobal

Cost: $25 per year.

Website: https://www.iglobal.co/

Domain Authority: 48

UKListing.org

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.uklistings.org/

Domain Authority: 25

Dentons

Cost: Free with £99 for the enhanced version and £249 for the premium version

Website: https://dentons.net/

Domain Authority: 31

WalesOnline

Cost: Free

Website: https://directory.walesonline.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 90

Just Landed

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.justlanded.com/

Domain Authority: 77

DesignerListings.org

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.designerlistings.org/

Domain Authority: 20

Bark

Cost: Free with paid options

Website: https://www.bark.com/

Domain Authority: 70

Fyple

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.fyple.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 33

here.com

Cost: Free with paid options

Website: https://www.here.com/

Domain Authority: 86

N49

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.n49.com/

Domain Authority: 48

TomTom

Cost: Free with paid subscription option (for all users)

Website: https://www.tomtom.com/

Domain Authority: 79

Tupalo

Cost: Free with a premium option (verification fee)

Website: https://tupalo.com/

Domain Authority: 57

2FindLocal

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.2findlocal.com/en

Domain Authority: 46

Tipped.co.uk

Cost: Free with a paid listing option for quick listing

Website: https://www.tipped.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 36

Near.co.uk

Cost: Free with a paid listing option for quick listing

Website: http://near.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 33

TripAdvisor

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 88

Local Pages

Cost: Free with the Enhanced option (£20) and the Premium option (£40) monthly subscriptions.

Website: https://www.localpages.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 20

Just Eat

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.just-eat.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 76

HomeAdvisor

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.homeadvisor.com/

Domain Authority: 80

Paint Talk

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.painttalk.com/

Domain Authority: 38

B2B Directory

Cost: The free listing requires sending a backlink and takes up to 6 months. The Standard Plus+ option requires £19.99 yearly with seven days for listing, and the Featured Listing requires £34.99 yearly.

Website: https://www.b2b-directory-uk.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 20

Task Rabbit

Cost: Free with hourly rate for the taskers

Website: https://www.taskrabbit.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 49

Dentists in UK

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.dentistsinuk.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 26

Removal Reviews

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.removalreviews.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 36

Smooth Hound

Cost: Yearly subscription-based (£50 saved for the first year)

Website: https://www.smoothhound.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 49

OpenTable

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.opentable.com/

Domain Authority: 84

The Tradefinder

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.thetradefinder.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 25

Find a therapy.org

Cost: Limited time free listing. Payment is necessary for a permanent listing.

Website: https://www.findatherapy.org/

Domain Authority: 29

InUKLocal

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.inuklocal.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 26

ThreeBestRated

Cost: Free

Website: https://threebestrated.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 79

Health Staff Discounts

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.healthstaffdiscounts.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 77

Eat In Eat Out

Cost: Free with paid options

Website: https://www.eat-in-eat-out.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 10

netmums

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.netmums.com/local

Domain Authority: 78

Plymouth Herald

Cost: Free

Website: https://directory.plymouthherald.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 74

GetSurrey

Cost: Free

Website: https://directory.getsurrey.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 73

Home and Garden Listing

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.homeandgardenlistings.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 64

Recommended Company

Cost: £14.95 GBP (One-time payment)

Website: https://www.recommendedcompany.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 54

Manchester Evening News

Cost: Free

Website: https://directory.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 83

British Forces Discount

Cost: Free

Website: https://britishforcesdiscounts.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 73

Crunchbase

Cost: Free with paid options

Website: https://www.crunchbase.com/

Domain Authority: 90

dn.org

Cost: Free

Website: https://dn.org/

Domain Authority: 73

Clutch

Cost: Free

Website: https://clutch.co/

Domain Authority: 88

AbiLogic

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.abilogic.com/

Domain Authority: 65

Indie Retail

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.indieretail.uk/

Domain Authority: 34

121 Near Me

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.121nearme.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 55

AboutMyArea

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.aboutmyarea.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 68

Yellow Place

Cost: Free

Website: https://yellow.place/en/nearby

Domain Authority: 71

intently.co

Cost: Paid

Website: https://intently.co/

Domain Authority: 56

Locanto services

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.locanto.co.uk/g/Services/S/

Domain Authority: 53

ListedIn

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.listedin.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 33

Bunity

Cost: Free

Website: https://www.bunity.com/

Domain Authority: 47

ZipZapt

Cost: Free

Website: https://zipzapt.com/

Domain Authority: 48

First Directory

Cost: Free

Website: https://1stdirectory.co.uk/

Domain Authority: 44

County Council Directory

Cost: Free

Website: Find your specific county council directory on https://www.gov.uk/find-local-council

County Council Directory

Cost: Free

Website: Find your specific county council directory on https://www.gov.uk/find-local-council

Almost all counties will have a council business directory where people can go and list their businesses or find one. Most registered companies are often available here. However, you may not always find reviews there, making it slightly difficult to know which ones are the best.

However, they are definitely worth a check, especially because those are the actual official directories.

How to Use Influencer Outreach for Link Building

While influencer outreach sounds similar to guest post outreach, their strategies are not interchangeable. Besides the email structure, there are many unique parts of blogger outreach.

Influencer outreach surprisingly works well among various link-building methods that dropped in effectiveness. Doing it right boosts SEO even for newly created sites.

If you are building links for your website, you are probably trying many methods from the books. It should be apparent to you by now that link-building isn’t an easy task.

You are probably also thinking about guest blogging. In that case, influencer outreach should be another trick for you to try. The process is somewhat similar, except the results are different.

Today, we have explained an effective strategy for blogger outreach. Trust us; it is way less complex than you may think. The hardest part is to make your outreach email perfect.

Things You Should Know Before Influencer Outreach

When we said that influencer outreach helps new sites, too, it wasn’t just a simple statement. In fact, the process may help newer sites more than older ones. The reason lies in how it works.

Influencer outreach refers to contacting influencers within your niche so that they send backlinks to and share your content (and you help them, too, in different ways).

It is different from linkable asset building in one huge aspect. Linkable asset building involves making backlink-worthy content first before reaching out to sites for backlinks.

Meanwhile, for blogger outreach, you should contact the influencers before writing anything.

People usually will only collaborate with you, send backlinks, or share your posts if they feel like a part of it. What does that mean, you wonder?

While the blogger in question may be within your niche, they will still want to-

• Discuss the content’s topic or title before it is even created (It involves them giving ideas or collaborating throughout the whole thing).
• Give constructive criticisms or feedback on the ideas you may have come up with.
• Contribute to the making of the content.

If you already have blogs posted on your website, that is fine. However, if you suggest one of them to an influencer, the bloggers may-

• Not be interested or like the topic
• Not view things the way you do or not agree with your points
• Feel limited towards your perspective and not be able to give much opinion

When a blogger shares a post from someone else, their audience sees it as the blogger’s own opinion or statement. So, it is a very serious matter for them, and they don’t want to mess it up.

So, instead of convincing them to link to any existing content you own, try to convince them to collaborate with you in making one.

Newer sites have it easier since the owners can create something from scratch that the influencer will like. It is still possible for older sites with existing content to engage in blogger outreach, though.

Influencer Outreach- The Steps

Okay, now that we have covered the important topic, let’s discuss the steps you will take during an influencer outreach. This will give you a rough idea of the whole process.

The steps are as follows-

• Finding the right influencer within your niche and industry (prospecting)
• Sending them a personalized email (outreach)
• Following up

By the way, this is only the outreach part. The main process of writing the content, publishing it, etc., comes later.

Prospecting a List of Influencers or Bloggers for the Outreach

You can’t just choose anyone to work with; you need to find people who match certain criteria. Moreover, there are various ways to do it.

We also said in our link-prospecting strategy blog that you need to make a spreadsheet before prospecting to help you have a list. Make one in this case, too.

Afterward, start searching for potential influencers. The factors you must seek in them are-

• They must be within your niche or industry
• Their site or video must have a nice user interface
• They must routinely update their site’s blog or upload up-to-date videos on their channel.
• They should have enough audience or subscribers.

The last one isn’t as mandatory if all the previous ones check out. So, how can you find bloggers with the specifics we mentioned?

Simply make a Google search with your niche. So, if you are into the SEO industry, search with SEO or something similar. Check each site you see on the first 3-4 pages.

Also, another search on YouTube will be ideal, where you can check the videos that come on top.

Check their site or YouTube channel. If they meet all your criteria, add their name, site or channel URL, and email to your spreadsheet. Site owners often don’t reveal their email online.

In that case, you can try tools like Hunter. Type in the site’s URL and search, and the tool will display the emails connected to the domain.

Now, there is another important factor you must remember. While you should aim higher, it mustn’t be too high that your emails get ignored.

So, filter out big-profile corporations and go for only personal and lone bloggers or YouTubers. Of course, not every solo influencer will be easy to contact, either.

However, they will certainly be easier to convince than a big corporation. In most cases, if you try to reach a company for this, they will most likely not even check your email amidst all their spam mail.

However, in most cases, you won’t find big-name bloggers simply from your Google search. The search result often won’t tell the name of the author. So, checking each site is mandatory here.

When checking, you may see websites where a solo blogger has authored most (or all) of the blogs. Those are the best for you.

Solo influencers are easier to find on YouTube since you mostly come across them anyway.

You can also try another option to find these bloggers. Let’s discuss that in our next section.

Using the “Best Blog” in Your Search Query

When searching for the best bloggers, you can use ‘Best Blog’ or ‘Best Blogger’ in the search query. Trust us, it works wonders!

In most cases, you will find several blogs with suggestions about the best solo bloggers in the niche, including the best blogs you need to read. It will save you a lot of trouble from manual searching.

When searching, you can add the year, like ‘best (niche) bloggers in (year).’ This will allow you to find more up-to-date and popular bloggers.

You can also use Google search operators like Quotation Marks to pinpoint your results.

Using the Ahrefs Technique

Influencers within the same niche often collaborate between themselves. So, finding one of them can lead you to others of the same kind. Ahrefs can help you with this.

The process is simple-

• Go to Ahrefs and type in the influencer’s site in the bar.
• Check its backlink profile.
• Use the filter section to set ‘one link per domain.’
• Click on the ‘link type’ in the filter section and select ‘dofollow.’

Check out the list of sites that sent backlinks to the influencer with the dofollow command. Many of these can be worthy bloggers themselves, too. So, check each site one by one.

If there are too many results, check only the first 20 or so. Remember that you will probably do the same thing for all the other influencers you previously added to your spreadsheet.

Add any new blogger you find in this way to your spreadsheet.

As you can see, the process can be time-consuming and tiring. Of course, if you have SEO experts working for you, they may ask for a high fee.

The following video also talks about ways to find potential websites and influencers to reach out to, which you can try-

Pre-Outreach

You can perform some steps even before you start the official outreach, known as pre-outreach. The goal here is to make the targeted bloggers aware of your existence.

You can do it by commenting on their blog post, sharing their content, or talking in their site’s forum or threads. This video did a good job explaining pre-outreach, alongside some extra tips-

Reaching Out to the Influencers

What makes a perfect outreach email? Many SEO enthusiasts are still looking for the answer to that question. Instead, let’s focus on a suitable template before moving on to the case studies regarding this topic.

Unlike a guest blog outreach email, where you request them to accept your idea, a blogger outreach email will include you to persuade them to join your project in any way.

Obviously, they don’t have to create any part of the content for you (nobody will actually do that for free), but they can give you ideas in the reply email.

So, the email should include the following-

Subject and Introduction

Your Idea, Topic, or Project

Include one line mentioning that you are up to the topic or idea you came up with. So, it can be like-

Your Question or Confusion

Ask your question or request afterward. It can be like-

What You Want from Them

Your following line can be an acknowledgment of their busy schedule while adding that a short reply is okay. Add another line about what you expect from them.

Make sure to keep it formal and request-like.

Now, here is something. You may instead want to hear their review after you post the content. After all, that is also another way of joining the project. In that case, you can write-

The Closing Part

Add a line about how their suggestion will greatly help your current and future projects. Next, mention what you will do for them (sending backlinks and shoutouts).

P.S. Line

If other big-name bloggers have already contacted you, use that opportunity to mention it in your email. Most bloggers will be more interested if they find other popular bloggers joining.

The line can be like-

After the Post Is Live

Remember to send another email after the post is live. It is all the more important if the blogger replies to your initial email. In this email, you must send them a link to your post.

The mail can be like the following-

In the next section, include that you would want them to share your post with their audience in a polite and request-like manner. It should be something like-

Blogger Outreach Email for Existing Content

Okay, we have discussed the outreach email when you haven’t created the content in question yet. However, what if you already did and want them to share or mention it in their blogs?

In this case, the email should be different. For example-

Subject and Introduction

Then, add the introduction like before.

Main Body

Unlike before, you will now want to get their attention on your existing content and request feedback. Later, you may edit your post slightly based on their feedback. It will make them feel involved.

Notice how it includes that their article helped you get some new perspectives?

It is an effective method for making them feel like they also contributed to your content (without actually directly doing so). Also, don’t ask for any feedback on this initial email.

P.S. Line

Again, if you have had any help from other bloggers during the creation of the content or received their feedback after it’s live, mention that in the P.S. line.

After They Reply ‘Yes’

Let’s say they replied positively. Congratulations! On to the next email-

Remember that the small guest post implies only a piece with around 200-500 words suitable for the infographics. The same goes for the extra words you would add to their blog.

Now, note that the exemplary emails we’ve given so far should only be taken as a generic example. We highly recommend against copy-pasting them.

Using the same email everywhere isn’t the right strategy. Also, creating bespoke emails yourself is always better than copy-pasting online templates.

While you may have so many bloggers to contact, using the same generic email template for everyone will mostly result in your email being ignored or even deleted. What’s the solution?

The following Ahrefs video by Sam Oh mentions some ways you can deal with this issue-

Following Up

A follow-up is only viable after at least a 3-5 day delay from your initial mail without any reply from the blogger.

Busy individuals often see your email and decide to check it later by adding it to their schedule. Other times, they may forget about it or not even check their email (the latter being the majority).

Don’t expect a quick reply here. If it is more than three days after your initial email, they probably didn’t check their mail at all. In that case, you can try resending your previous mail.

However, if you feel there is a chance they did check your email but forgot to reply, you can alter your first email a bit. Make it more like a ‘checking in.’

Tools You Can Use for Influencer Outreach

There are tools like MailShake or Ninja Outreach, especially for link-building outreach. Make no mistake; they won’t create bespoke emails or pitches based on your target site or blogger.

Instead, they will help you with some features. For example, you can schedule your follow-up using MailShake beforehand, which will automatically be sent to them.

It will also inform you when someone opens or responds to your email. You can reply to the blogger on the platform itself. The issue is that this tool is mainly for sending mass cold emails.

Cold emails aren’t always the best for your outreach campaign. So, at least, make the template yourself based on your niche or industry.

Meanwhile, Ninja Outreach is an even more expensive tool with advanced features and many automation systems.

Using tools can become necessary, considering how many people you may need to reach.

When to Start Writing Your Piece

You probably noticed that the time it takes from the initial mailing to the follow-up, and afterward, can take around a week. The thing is, some people only check their email weekly.

Others do it once a couple of weeks. As such, running the whole outreach process for each article for around two weeks before you start writing your blog is best.

Of course, this is only viable if you don’t already have your content live.

An Interesting Case Study about the Timing of Outreach

When looking for information, we found exciting information about outreach timing. The timing of your email doesn’t matter in most cases since different bloggers live in different time zones.

However, there can still be particular times for specific niches where the bloggers are more active. According to Moz Statistics, most sports bloggers respond to emails in the late evening.

While you may not find the exact data for your own niche, getting replies from bloggers within your industry multiple times may give you a rough idea.

You can later use that info on your future outreach projects. 

Keeping a Balance

Note that you may often have to add around 100-200 potential sites to your spreadsheet for the outreach. More than half of them won’t even check your email, which still leaves a lot.

A blog’s standard number of backlinks is not a definitive number. It depends on your content’s niche, topic, and type. Too many links can make Google suspect it’s spam.

The following video shows how you can find the correct number of internal and external links for a blog post on your site-

Should you ask for a backlink from all your hundreds of bloggers? Not really.

In the email (after the post is live) template we added above, there was a section where you requested they share your blog. Here, you can remove that part and ask for their feedback instead.

The same goes for outbound links. Add only about 5 outbound links per 1000 words. So, what about the promise to all the bloggers about adding their site’s link to your post?

Well, you can certainly do that to around 50 bloggers (the best ones) on your list. For the rest, tell them that you would be happy to credit them for their contribution in the credit section.

Refrain from sending cold emails. Bloggers online are already often skeptical about guest blogging requests they receive all the time. Many are spamming it for building links, after all.

So, keep your email heartfelt, bespoke, and personalized as possible.

The Moz Statistics we mentioned before also discussed how bespoke outreach works better than personalized ones. Sadly, the former is more costly, effort-consuming, and time-consuming.

Image Credit: Moz

Use whichever works best for you at the time.