If you want to rank well in organic search, you need links.
Google has told us as much, revealing that links are one of the top 3 ranking factors.
Quality links increase the overall authority and trustworthiness of a page.
Quality links to multiple pieces of content regularly can increase domain-wide rankings with time.
Not too long ago, creating links went through a few dark seasons where almost every link we built was boring and spammy. No personalized email, content not needed, and only a dab of brand mentions.
Link building was all about quantity instead of quality.
But then the term “link building” began to transform.
We heard new terms like link earning, link giving, link acquisition, and relationship building.
Link earning is about building relationships, being a part of a community, and developing content ideas that are actually worth sharing.
This emphasis on quality, meaning, and engagement has restored balance to the link building universe.
But you also need a diverse link profile.
That’s where this link building checklist comes in.
What follows is a recap of everything discussed in the Link Building Guide so far, with tasks broken down by month and week.
Rather than rehashing all the same information again, I’ve provided links to the relevant chapters of the guide so you can get more detailed information about whichever topics interest you the most.
Happy link building!
Breakdown of Monthly Tasks
These are some link building tasks you should plan to do every month:
Month 1
Month 2
Month 3
Month 4
Month 5
Month 6
Month 7
Month 8
Month 9
Month 10
Month 11
Month 12
Breakdown of Weekly Tasks
Week 1 & 2
Link builder runs an internal backlink audit + competitor backlink audit to identify topics for different verticals of link building.
Week 3
Brainstorm article titles for creating content.
- Send article titles to client for approval.
Week 4
Prospect link opportunities.
- Build out email templates for client approval.
- Find opportunities for co-citation.
- Outreach to 50 high-quality prospects.
Week 5
Start writing
- Get client to review content.
Here is an example of my favorite link building spreadsheet.
Image Credits: Paulo Bobita