Category: Thoughts

Pay Close Attention to Keyword Quality Score

In the world of digital advertising, marketers often focus their efforts on bidding strategies, keyword selection, and audience targeting. There’s a lesser-known factor quietly influencing performance behind the scenes. This is Keyword Quality Score.

Many overlook it, assuming it’s just a technical detail, but in reality, Keyword Quality Score directly affects how much you pay per click (CPC), where your ads appear, and how efficiently your budget is spent.

In my role as a PPC Account Director, I’m tasked with driving measurable ROI from paid search, and improving Keyword Quality Scores is a strategic priority and not an afterthought, as it allows me to drive lower CPC’s more clicks and more leads for my clients.

Why Should You Care About Keyword Quality Score?

Google uses a 1–10 rating system to assess the quality of your keywords. This score reflects how relevant and helpful your ad experience is to users searching on Google.

While it doesn’t appear on your invoices, Keyword Quality Score directly impacts three critical areas:

• CPC (Cost Per Click) — Higher scores generally result in lower CPCs.
• Ad Rank — Your position on the page is determined by both your bid and your Keyword Quality Score.
• Ad Visibility — Higher scores increase your eligibility for ad extensions and impressions.

Put simply, better Keyword Quality Scores = more visibility, for less spend.

Its Three Core Components

Google evaluates your keyword’s Quality Score using the following factors, with an above average, average and below average rating system for each element below.

1.Expected Click-Through Rate (CTR)

This estimates how likely users are to click on your ad when it’s shown. It’s based on your historical performance, ad format, and keyword relevance.

Tip: Craft clear, compelling headlines with strong calls to action. Demonstrate value quickly and speak directly to user intent.

2. Ad Relevance

Google assesses whether your ad copy aligns with the keyword being searched. If your ad is vague or too broad, your relevance and your score will suffer.

Tip: Create tightly themed ad groups and tailor your ad copy to each group. This ensures better alignment and a stronger score.

3. Landing Page Experience

Your ad might attract clicks, but if your landing page is slow, unengaging or disconnected from the ad message, users will bounce and Google will notice.

Tip: Ensure your landing page is directly relevant, fast to load, mobile-optimised, and provides a clear user journey.

It Directly Affects Your Advertising ROI

It’s a common misconception that higher bids guarantee better ad placement. In fact, Google rewards advertisers who offer the best user experience, not just the deepest pockets.

This means that a competitor with a lower bid, but a better Keyword Quality Score can still outrank you and pay less per click.

By improving your Keyword Quality Score, you’re not just reducing costs. You’re creating a more efficient, high-performing account. Over time, this leads to:

• Higher ad visibility
• Increased conversions
• Lower cost per acquisition (CPA)
• Greater marketing ROI

As you see from the image below, a lower quality score will lead to a higher cost per click. If you push your scores higher, with solid improvement in click-through rates and a good landing page experience, you would see a sizable reduction in costs.

Practical Strategies to Improve Performance

Here’s how to take your campaigns from average to exceptional:

Restructure Your Ad Groups

Avoid large, generic keyword groups. Instead, group 5–10 closely related terms to enable highly relevant ad copy. Simply put, this allows you to tailor the ad copy for the keyword theme better, which will resonate better with your audience. You should see an increase in click-through rate.

You really need to think about the theme of each ad group and bucket keywords accordingly.

 

Embrace Responsive Search Ads

Use Google’s responsive ad format to test multiple headlines and descriptions. The system learns and adapts over time to improve performance.

You should have more than one responsive search ad in each ad group. A single ad holds 15 headlines, for instance, which is a lot of copy to test. However, a second or third ad allows you to test splitting our ads by theme. For instance, one ad has price point calls to action, while the second has “talk to a salesperson” calls to action. This will enhance your ad testing strategy.

Optimise Your Landing Pages

Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights and Hotjar to analyse load speed, content relevance and conversion paths. Align every page with the intent of your ads.

Consider using Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) to increase page speed across mobile. Tagging can also be an issue with page speed. Make sure that all your tags are configured correctly with a tag management system (we use Google Tag Manager).

Leverage Negative Keywords

Actively exclude irrelevant traffic that drags down your CTR. Negative keywords help preserve your ad’s integrity and improve your overall Keyword Quality Score.

Not only will this help your click-through rate, but it will also impact your conversion rate, which will lead to more leads and sales as you will be showing more ads to a better audience. We like to set the irrelevant term in the keyword (free, job etc) to a phrase negative as it allows you to stop other searches around this term from showing in the future, therefore giving you a lot of control over the keyword matching.

Also, don’t be afraid to add negatives at an ad group level to stop a single search term from triggering more than one keyword.

Your Underused Competitive Advantage

My clients regularly ask me: “How can we increase leads without increasing budget?”

The answer often lies in the Keyword Quality Score. It’s one of the few levers that rewards smart strategy over spend. It encourages more thoughtful campaign architecture, better user experience, and tighter messaging.

And the best part? It’s entirely within your control.

As a marketing professional who’s been deep in the trenches of PPC for years, I know exactly how frustrating it can be when your campaigns feel like they’ve plateaued. You’ve got the budget, the targeting, and the creative all lined up, but somehow, performance just isn’t where you want it to be. 

Over the years, I’ve tested, tweaked, and experimented with countless PPC strategies. Some were instant game changers, others however, not so much. But there are a few proven tactics I now go back to time and again because they consistently deliver better click-through rates, stronger conversions, and higher returns. 

Here are five optimisations I’ve personally implemented for clients that you can start using today. 

Location-Based Ad Copy – Speak Directly to Your Audience

One of the simplest yet most effective changes I’ve made in campaigns is adding location-specific copy to ads. For example, instead of saying “Get A Quote In Your Area”, I’ll say “Get A Quote In Rosedale”. It’s possible to include the location where someone is searching from in the ad copy. That single tweak can make a world of difference. 

Why? Because people respond when they feel like you’re talking directly to them. It gives your ad an instant sense of relevance.

Years ago, implementing this meant messing around with business data uploads and location feeds. Now, it’s much easier with built-in tools, so there’s no excuse not to try it. Every time I’ve rolled this out, I’ve seen higher engagement from local audiences.

Turn Off Search Partner Networks and Optimised Targeting

This is one of those “hidden budget drains” that I catch all the time in new account audits.

Search Partner Networks and Google’s Optimised Targeting often bring in clicks that look good on paper but don’t convert; many of them are even bots. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve seen spammy leads come from these placements.

The issue? You can’t see the performance of individual partner sites, so you have no control over where your ads appear. And Optimised Targeting can dilute your audience, especially on remarketing campaigns.

Whenever I switch these off, click quality improves immediately, and invalid click rates drop. That’s more budget going towards clicks that stand a chance of converting.

Don’t Over-Pin Your RSAs

I get why marketers pin headlines and descriptions in Responsive Search Ads. It feels like you’re keeping the brand message consistent. But I’ve learned the hard way that over-pinning can kill performance.

Google’s machine learning works best when it has flexibility. When I tested removing pinning entirely in a campaign, I saw a slight decrease in CTR, but conversion rates improved and CPCs went down.

 

Lesson learned: give the algorithm some breathing room.

Use Testimonials to Build Instant Trust

If your prospects don’t know you, they have no reason to believe your claims, unless you bring in proof.

I’ve had great success adding short testimonials or star ratings directly into ad descriptions. For instance, “Rated 4.9/5 by over 1,000 customers” gives instant credibility. People are far more likely to click when they see that others have already trusted you.

I’ve tested this multiple times across different industries, and every time, click-through rates increased.

Target Locations Individually for Smarter Bidding

This is one of my go-to budget optimisation tactics.

Instead of targeting an entire country, I’ll set up separate bids for individual cities or regions. This allows Google’s bidding algorithm to push harder where performance is strong and scale back where results are weaker.

The first time I tried this, I didn’t see a massive jump in CTR, but CPCs dropped and conversion rates went up. Cost per conversion decreased -17%. It’s a simple change that can have a big impact.

Final Thoughts

These aren’t just “best practices” I read online. Every single one of these tactics comes from hands-on testing and real client campaigns. And the best part? You can implement them quickly without a complete account overhaul.

If your PPC results have stalled, pick one of these strategies and test it this week. You might be surprised at how much of a difference a small tweak can make.

If you’d like to chat through your PPC challenges and get tailored recommendations, feel free to reach out to Shane, our PPC Account Director, at shane@legacycommunications.com.

As we enter 2025, the landscape of PPC advertising is changing, shaped by updates in data privacy, automation, and keyword targeting strategies. To remain competitive, we must stay ahead of these developments. With this guide you can refine your PPC strategy for this year, ensuring your campaigns are optimised for more leads and sales.

 

The Changing PPC Landscape

Data Privacy and Limited Insights

With tighter privacy regulations and Google’s ongoing data policy updates, advertisers now have less access to user data than ever. As Google puts less emphasis on third-party cookie tracking (after flip-flopping on the removal of 3^rd party cookies in mid-2024) and restricting granular insights, the importance of first-party data collection is increasing.

We are big fans of server-side tracking, which gives you more control over your data and therefore allows for better marketing insights.

 

Automation Speeds Up

Automation in PPC is no longer optional—it’s essential. From automated bidding strategies to AI help with ad copy, automation simply saves time and allows for great performance. However, you need to be careful of over us of AI and relying on it solely.

 

Shifts in Keyword Targeting

Google is moving more towards broad match and intent-based targeting, reducing marketers’ control over exact match keywords. Exact is no longer exact. This shift requires a continuous approach to keyword management, including refining negative keywords and continuously looking for new search terms.

 

Diversification Beyond Google Ads

With rising costs and growing competition on Google, many businesses are switching their PPC efforts by exploring other platforms such as Microsoft Advertising, Amazon Ads, and even TikTok.

The overall cost of the traffic can be on (for instance) Microsoft Advertising. This means it is possible to get a better return on investment when your budget is limited.

 

 

Actionable Steps for PPC Success in 2025

1. Strengthen Your Keyword Strategy

• Identify New Converting Search Terms – Use insights from the search term report but also Google Search Console and campaign data to discover high-performing keywords. Add them into your campaign on exact match, so that you can create a “kingpin” list of keywords to point budget towards.
• Keep Negative Keywords Updated – Regularly refine your negative keyword list to minimise wasted ad spend.
• Leverage 2025-Specific Keywords – Stay ahead of seasonal trends and industry changes by incorporating relevant 2025 keywords for the year ahead.

2. Refresh Your Ad Copy

• Update Offers and Promotions – Ensure your messaging aligns with current business objectives and customer expectations.
• Use AI for Ad Copywriting – AI tools can generate and test multiple versions of ad copy, optimising them for better performance. However, all AI-written content must be sense checked. It’s a tool that will speed up writing but it can make mistakes and your ads must feel authentic.
• Incorporate Ad Customisers and Countdown Timers – If you are running time-sensitive promotions, ensure countdown timers and dynamic content are properly set up.

3. Optimise Landing Pages for Conversions

• Ensure Consistency Between Ads and Landing Pages – A seamless transition from ad to landing page enhances conversion rates.
• Implement a Testing Plan – A/B test various elements such as CTAs, headlines, and form lengths to improve performance.
• Develop a Testing Calendar – Schedule experiments throughout the year to continuously refine your landing pages.

4. Leverage Forecasting for Smarter Budgeting

• Analyse Past Data – Review previous years’ performance to identify seasonal trends and set realistic budget expectations.
• Optimise Media Spend – Avoid overspending past the point of diminishing returns by strategically allocating your budget to high-performing campaigns.

5. Let Automation Do The Heavy Lifting

• Automate Bidding Strategies – Experiment with smart bidding options like Target ROAS or Maximise Conversions for efficiency.
• Budget Pacing and Reporting – Implement scripts and automation tools to track campaign spending and performance metrics in real time.

 

Final Thoughts

This year’s success will require a more strategic and data-driven approach to PPC. By refining your keyword strategy, optimising ad creatives, improving landing pages, and embracing automation, you can drive more leads and sales. The time to prepare is now.

Are you ready for the year ahead? Start optimising your PPC strategy with us today!

We like Microsoft Advertising. It has always been the smaller, little brother to Google Ads and therefore (especially in Ireland), often gets left behind. However, it can prove to be an impressive addition to your performance marketing tool kit.

Microsoft Advertising, formerly known as Bing Ads, is Microsoft’s online advertising platform that provides businesses with the tools to reach a global audience across the Microsoft network. This article explores the unique benefits of Microsoft Advertising and how it compares to other digital marketing platforms like Google Ads.

 

Introduction to Microsoft Advertising

Microsoft Advertising is a robust pay-per-click (PPC) advertising system that enables businesses to create ad campaigns on Microsoft’s network, which includes Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, AOL, and other partner websites. While often compared and looked-over in favor of Google Ads, it offers unique advantages that can unlock new opportunities for advertisers.

 

Expanding Your Reach with Microsoft Advertising

 

Accessing a New Audience

As we have mentioned, Microsoft Advertising gives you access to the Microsoft Search Network, which includes Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, AOL, and other search engines. This network boasts billions of monthly searches and hundreds of millions of unique users worldwide. By leveraging Microsoft Ads, you can tap into this potential market and expose your brand to a new audience segment.

 

The Power of Microsoft Search Network

The Microsoft Search Network may not be as expansive as Google’s, but it still commands a substantial audience. It provides a brand-safe environment for your ads, ensuring that your messaging reaches users in trusted online spaces.

While not as big as Google’s network, we have seen a sizable share within certain sectors particularly tech and B2B, due to its integration with Windows.

 

Lower Competition and Cost-Effectiveness

Microsoft Advertising typically faces less competition compared to Google Ads. With fewer businesses utilising the platform, there’s less competition for ad space, potentially leading to a lower cost-per-click (CPC).

The fact that you can buy traffic at a lower cost per click often gives you a better return on your investment. For this reason, there is a case for a Microsoft Advertising-First forecasting and budgeting model for your performance strategy. This is especially true if you are advertising outside of Ireland.

 

The Unique Benefits of Microsoft Advertising

 

LinkedIn Profile Targeting

Microsoft’s acquisition of LinkedIn in 2016 opened new advertising possibilities. With LinkedIn profile targeting, advertisers can target potential customers based on their LinkedIn profile information, including their company, industry, or job title.

This makes Microsoft Advertising great for any B2B campaigns where you might want to bid up on people in different industries. This coupled with the fact that Bing is the default search engine on the Windows operating system and in general users are more likely to use this feature at work, makes it a winner.

 

Microsoft Audience Network

The Microsoft Audience Network is an advertising network that allows you to reach a plethora of websites, apps and other digital platforms with text, display and video ads. Ads placed on this network can be targeted based on a range of criteria, including demographics, interests, and behaviours.

The system will automatically opt your paid search campaigns into the audience network. Microsoft allows you to monitor the URLs that are being sent to, so it is vital to exclude anything that is not driving performance.

 

Advertising on Xandr

Microsoft’s acquisition of Xandr in 2022 broadened its advertising reach further. Xandr offers programmatic advertising solutions for display, native advertising, video, and connected TV, thereby significantly expanding Microsoft’s reach.

 

User-friendly Campaign Management

Microsoft Advertising provides a user-friendly interface for managing your campaigns. If you’re familiar with Google Ads, you’ll find similarities in terms of usability and layout. The platform offers features for creating and controlling your campaigns, bids, and targeting options effortlessly.Microsoft Advertising Editor

Just like Google Ads, Microsoft Ads also has an Editor. This free tool offers many features, such as offline and bulk campaign creation and editing.

 

Smart Campaigns and Expert Mode

Microsoft Advertising offers the option to create smart campaigns that leverage Microsoft’s AI capabilities to generate and manage ads based on your website’s content.

 

Importing Campaigns from Google Ads

Microsoft Advertising allows for a seamless import of campaigns from Google Ads. This feature eliminates the need to set up campaigns from scratch, saving you time and effort.

 

Targeting Different Time Zones

Microsoft Advertising offers the flexibility to target different time zones with your ads. This feature is particularly useful when targeting large countries with multiple time zones or when running campaigns across different countries simultaneously.

 

Advertising Types in Microsoft Ads

Microsoft Advertising supports various types of ads, such as responsive search ads, dynamic search ads, product ads, Microsoft Audience Ads, App install ads, Vertical ads, and Multimedia ads.

 

Microsoft Advertising Policy

The Microsoft Advertising ad policy is similar to that of Google. However, it’s essential to monitor the rejections within your Microsoft Advertising account as ad texts or products can be rejected in Microsoft Ads while they are still valid in Google.

 

Microsoft Advertising Maturity Model

For advertisers who want to get the most out of Microsoft Advertising, the Microsoft Advertising Maturity Model provides a roadmap to improve accounts step by step, from basic settings to advanced strategies.

 

Conclusion

Microsoft is brilliant if you want to get profitable traffic. Simply put the CPCs are cheaper and in general the search traffic converts at the same (or better) rate than Google. This means that in a general sense, you can drive leads at a better ROAS. The main issue that we see is generally around scale. This is especially true for the Irish market where Google has a near monopoly on the search market. As we mentioned earlier, there is a solid argument for a Microsoft advertising-first strategy in terms of budgeting and forecasting.

 

Please note: All information in this article is correct to the best of our knowledge. Make sure that you consult a professional (cough cough) when making a decision on your performance marketing.

Welcome to the Legacy PPC training hub, where you can watch all of our past webinars on-demand.

 

How to Increase Conversion Rates & Drive More Business with PPC

This webinar covers everything you need to know about:

• How conversions rates affect performance?
• On page tactics
• In campaign ideas

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How To Structure A Paid Search Campaign For Ultimate Success

This webinar covers everything you need to know about:

• General campaign structure best practises
• Creative targeting
• Tracking your campaigns

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How A Single Search Strategy With Both SEO & PPC Can Boost Your Sales

This webinar covers everything you need to know about:

• A general intro to PPC and SEO
• Best practices
• Advanced strategies

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PPC for eCommerce – The Internet’s Shop Window

This webinar covers everything you need to know about:

• An intro to ecommerce PPC
• Text and shopping ads
• Advanced strategies

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Landing Pages – The Secret Ingredient For PPC Success

This webinar covers everything you need to know about:

• Intro & general best practices
• Example of “what to do” & “what not to do”
• The importance of testing

 

As an award-winning Digital PR agency we know that outreach is a vital aspect of acquiring links from other websites. But, you can’t secure high-authority links by sending average emails. 

Crafting the perfect pitch email is essential for successful outreach campaigns, both for link-building and Digital PR. 

If you expect to acquire links by sending the same generic email to everyone, you’ll quickly become frustrated and likely hit a wall. Every email you send out needs to be personalised. 

In this blog post, we’ll break down the process for Digital PR and link building, focusing on various forms and providing tips for writing the perfect email pitch that will land you great branded coverage and juicy links.

 

Digital PR Campaigns:

If you’re getting into Digital PR, it’s important to know about its different forms. Each campaign needs a different approach when you’re trying to get journalists interested in your story.

Digital PR campaigns include:

• Reactive Digital PR (Newsjacking)
• Expert Commentary
• Survey/Data-based PR
• Dream Job 

 

Reactive Digital PR (Newsjacking):

This involves seizing opportunities presented by existing conversations or breaking news stories relevant to your brand. Crafting a pitch email for reactive PR requires promptness and relevance. Keep an eye on news sites and social media for ideas. For example, TikTok is a good place to find trends. Earlier this year, “Drunk Elephant” skincare was trending on TikTok for the wrong reasons. 

Why?

Girls between the ages of 8 and 15 were using products like retinol on their faces without understanding the potential long-term effects.

If you’re a dermatologist, this was the perfect opportunity to react to this trend and point out the potential downsides. Even though it may seem entertaining at first to watch these girls have a 50-step skincare routine at only twelve, what about the negative effects it can lead to down the line in the future?

 

Crafting the perfect email pitch:

Tailor your email to provide valuable insights that the journalist might not be aware of. This gives you leverage as you’re offering something unique. Make sure your subject line references the “trending topic” you’re responding to for relevance.

Grab their attention with the subject line:

• Innocent Skincare Routine? How Drunk Elephant Is Damaging Young Girls Skin
• Teens Risk Skin Damage with Early Retinol Use According to a Dermatologist
• Expert Reveals: 75% of Premature Retinol Users Face Skin Issues Down the Line with Drunk Elephant Products

Adding numbers to your subject line makes the story stronger and more meaningful.

When searching for journalists to send your story to, it’s important to do your research. You don’t want to send your story to a journalist who covers sports when your story is about skincare.

How to find the right journalist?

• Go to Google
• Type in the trending topic – for example, “Drunk Elephant Skincare TikTok”
• Go to the News section
• Compile your list of journalists 

If some news publications don’t have the journalist’s email address when you click on the article.

Try this:

• Go to Hunter.io
• Create a FREE account
• Go to Finder
• Type in the journalist’s name and copy the news publication URL
• Voila their email should appear

 

Expert Commentary:

Establishing yourself  as a thought leader in your industry involves providing valuable insights on trending topics or issues. Reactive and Expert Commentary have a similar approach with only a few tweaks when it comes to crafting the perfect email pitch.

 

Crafting the perfect email pitch:

When crafting a pitch email for Expert Commentary, make sure to mention the word “Expert” in your subject line to add weight to the story. 

For example, if you’re a dermatologist or a skincare aesthetician, be sure to mention that in the subject line.

For example:

• Teens Risk Skin Damage with Early Retinol Use According to a Dermatologist
• Drunk Elephant’s Dilemma: Expert Warns Early Retinol Use Puts Teens’ Skin at Risk

In your email, if you want, you can even provide a snippet of a quote from the expert to grab the journalist’s attention. If you’re providing a quote, make sure you state the person’s name, position, and put what they said in quotation marks so it’s clear to the journalist that it’s a quote from the expert.

For example:

Ann Doe, Dermatologist at XYZ Clinic said “…..”

 

Survey/Data-based PR:

Leveraging internal data or conducting surveys can generate newsworthy insights. When pitching data-driven stories, focus on key findings and their implications. Provide journalists with access to your data or offer to provide additional insights or analysis if needed.

When creating your email pitch, it’s important to lead with the results.

For example,

One of our clients, had a data-led Digital PR release about the “Best counties to start a business in Ireland” which led to over twenty links on high-authority publications.

This was our email pitch:

 

Why it worked?

• We discussed the metrics we analysed that led to our results.
• We explained how our data is set up, making it easy for the journalist to understand. In this instance, 1 being the best and 0 the worst.
• We quickly outlined our results by listing out the counties that made the top 5.
• We provided a link to our raw data set for the journalist to review and extract anything extra they might need.

Samples of our coverage:

Make it as easy as possible for the journalist to find everything they need in your email pitch. If you have any images or infographics, ensure you use a Dropbox link instead of attaching them as files, as it makes the email look messy and overwhelming. Be sure to state in your email pitch what the Dropbox link includes.

 

Dream Job Stunt:

This is another form of a Digital PR campaign where you outline a dream job that is exciting and shareable. You’ve probably seen them before, but if you haven’t, here are some examples:

• Dream Job: Get hired as a professional cheese taster
• Get paid $2,500 to watch Christmas Movies? Your dream job is here
• Get paid $2000 to become a “Siminfluencer”

We did a dream job for one of our client’s who works in the influencer marketing space

The dream job was called “Calling all TikTok addicts – this company will pay you $50 an hour to watch TikTok!”. 

Our subject line: 

This Digital PR campaign led to amazing results of 136 links and 199 pieces of coverage. We also increased the client’s referral traffic by over 2000%.

This was our email pitch:

Why it worked?

• Our subject line, as outlined above, grabbed the journalist’s attention. After all, who doesn’t want to get paid for watching TikToks?
• We quickly outlined the job and its compensation.
• We included a link to the application page, ensuring easy access for them to swiftly locate all necessary information.

Quick tip: if you’re pitching your dream job to other countries, make sure you change the currency to reflect that country. For instance, when we sent our dream job campaign to journalists in Ireland, the UK, and the US, we had to ensure we changed the currency for each country to make the story relevant to them. If you want to learn more about this campaign, you can read the full case study here.

Samples of our coverage:

 

 

When you’re doing link-building, it’s important to personalise your email depending on what strategy you’re using. When you write your email, think about what the other person gets out of it. If you only talk about what YOU want, they might ignore you. Consider how your request benefits them.

 

Link-Building Strategies:

There is a variety of link-building strategies out there. Before you choose one, consider your brand and the industry you’re in. Some strategies might not work as easily as others.

Link-Building Strategies include:

• Guest Posts
• Resource Link Building
• Broken Link Building
• Unlinked Brand Mentions

 

Guest Posts:

Guest posting is a link-building strategy in which you write and publish articles or blog posts on other websites within your industry or niche. These posts typically include a link back to your website, aiming to improve search engine rankings and drive referral traffic. While guest posting offers benefits such as building backlinks, expanding audience reach, and establishing authority, it’s crucial to create high-quality, relevant content that aligns with the site’s audience and their guidelines.

 

Crafting the perfect email pitch: 

Explain how your guest post would help their audience, showing your expertise and unique view. Share examples of your past work to prove your writing skills. Make sure the links you provide are to guest posts you’ve done before, not just blog posts from your website. Also, talk about how your post fits their website and what their audience likes. 

For example, we once worked with a health supplement company and we reached out to pharmacies that stocked their products.

We highlighted the rationale behind our desire to contribute a guest post on their website.

• We analysed their blog posts and selected the ones that could be interlinked with our content.
• We informed them that it would be a collaborative process:
• We would suggest topics,
• They would choose the ones they wanted us to write about.
• It was FREE! 
• It would be a blog post written by our experts.

Make sure your email is clear, short, and professional to improve the chances of getting a positive response.

 

Resource Link-Building: 

Is a link building strategy used in to acquire backlinks from a website that creates valuable industry resources. It requires research as you need to find sites that are relevant.

Example of a resource page can be seen below: 

If your brand is free or offers a free feature related to web design, you can reach out to the author of that page and suggest its inclusion.

How to find these websites?

The easiest way to find relevant websites it to use search operators such as:

• web design intitle:resources inurl:links.html
• web design intitle:links inurl: resources.html
• web design inurl:.com/resources
• web design inurl:resources intitle:resources

 

Crafting the perfect email pitch: 

Explain why your product would be the right fit for that specific page. For example, if your web design product is not free or doesn’t offer a free feature, you should not be pitching it to this website. If it’s the right fit, highlight its benefits and try to use stats/figures to show how many people use your product on a regular basis and how they find it useful. Try to link to some testimonials if you can to add that bit of credibility.

 

Broken Link-Building:

Broken link-building is a strategy used to get links to your website by finding broken or dead links on other websites and suggesting replacements with links to your target page. It involves identifying relevant websites in a particular niche or industry, then searching for broken links within their content. Once broken links are found, the blog post author is contacted, and they are informed about the broken link. 

 

Crafting the perfect email pitch:

Address the broken link in your email and make sure to include a link to the specific blog post where the broken link is located. Also, mention the anchor text associated with the broken link so it’s easy for the recipient to locate. You don’t want them to go on a treasure hunt trying to find it. When offering a replacement link to your content, be specific about where the link would lead. Ensure that the link directs to your blog page rather than your product or home page. Finally, end your email by offering something in return.

For example:

• If you’re writing a new blog post, express your interest in featuring their product or service within it.
• If you have a newsletter, mention that you’d like to include them in it, providing details such as the number of subscribers, open rates, engagement etc.
• Offer them the opportunity to choose a link placement within your blog post in return.

Reciprocity goes a long way.

 

Unlinked Brand Mentions:

Unlinked brand mentions occur when online content references a brand but lacks a hyperlink to the brand’s website. In the realm of link building, identifying and pursuing these unlinked brand mentions represents a valuable strategy for acquiring additional backlinks.

 

Crafting the perfect email pitch:

Begin by expressing gratitude for the mention of your product or service. Then, provide the person with a direct link to the specific blog post or article where the mention occurred. Clearly indicate where you would prefer the link to be directed to on your website. This proactive approach helps streamline communication and eliminates unnecessary back-and-forth in email exchanges.

Sometimes this might happen when you’re doing Digital PR where you send out your release and the journalist forgets to include a link.

This is how you can approach it:

While this approach doesn’t guarantee that you’ll receive the link, it does increase your chances. Remember, if you don’t ask, you don’t get. However, if the journalist or website owner doesn’t respond to your initial email, refrain from sending follow-up messages. Journalists are busy individuals receiving thousands of emails daily, so bombarding them with follow-ups risks straining your relationship with them.

Perfecting your email pitch takes practice. It’s about trying different things and learning what works best. What works for one person might not work for someone else. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to writing emails. That’s why it’s important to try out different strategies and see what works best.

Go get them links!

Check out our guide if you’re interested in learning more about the link prospecting process, but if you want to take your Digital PR and Link-Building to the next level in 2024, get in touch with our amazing SEO team who will work with you to move your business up the rankings and help you build a ton of high-authority links.