Phillip has just launched his startup and is finally ready to dip into the world of link building. He knows a solid link building tool for startups will help boost his external page relevancy and external site relevancy, but the problem isn’t only knowing what to do — it’s finding the time to do it.

Phillip is inundated with requests and high-priority tasks that he finds just as important as link building when it comes to setting up a business. Everything from content creation, tracking down vendors or finalizing product changes pile up and his day-to-day schedule barely has any wiggle room. He knows he needs to get started on link building, but what should a startup owner like Phillip do when he barely has an hour each day to tackle it?

The simple answer is: get lean.

Strategies and Keyword Tools for Startups

There are plenty of link building tools and strategies out there, but not all of them are best suited for a startup. Startup marketing is notoriously difficult because you lack time, and time is such an important currency for a business. As a startup owner, you have less working hours to go around simply because it’s either a one-person operation or you have a very small, dedicated team to execute daily tasks.

While a more established company may have the time to do grassroots link building efforts or build relationships with influencers in the industry, a startup needs to ensure every initiative they try has some worth because time is valuable.

In order to maximize your link-building efforts, it’s important to understand that a link is like a vote when it comes to getting your page seen on search rankings. While it’s not the sole reason a page can rank high on Google, it is one contributing factor that can really boost your site strength and eternal relevancy. Those are two important scores on the CanIRank dashboard that, when optimized well, can inch you closer to that coveted number one spot on Google.

The Best Link Building Strategies for Startups

Traditionally, link building efforts require a lot of reputation management and relationship building. Don’t get me wrong: those are both key when building a brand and trying to sustain it long-term. But we’re talking about startups here. You may not have enough working hours to devote to carefully crafting relationships with top influencers.

Does that mean you still can’t build the foundation of a solid link building strategy? No. 

You just have to be more creative about it.

Time is of the essence, so let’s dive into the top 5 link building strategies for startups.

Find Quick Wins

If you’re short on time, take advantage of your keyword tool for startups and research quick wins that you can pursue. A quick win is anything that takes 20 minutes to an hour to complete and can be anything from submitting blurbs for Help A Reporter Out, or HARO, journalist requests to finding credible discussion forums to spread your link.

These opportunities aren’t only called quick wins because of the time it takes to execute them. In a larger SEO link building strategy, they may hold less clout or importance than deeper link building efforts and thus carry less weight. For example: pursuing a forum opportunity may get you a fast link, but the chances of your link being housed on a site with a high site external relevancy is low. Instead, look at quick wins as an opportunity to rack up a ton of initial backlinks that will then form the foundation of your mid- to high-level link building efforts.

Get Into a Directory

Many industries have their only specific directories that hold information from relevant sources. Potential consumers who are searching on directories are already on the lookout for your service or product, so getting your site onto one of these should be a priority.

An online business directory acts as a credible backlink that will help increase your overall organic traffic, let Google know that a user searching for your product has come to the right place when they find your site, and therefore, will, in turn, boost your site’s search engine ranking.

Start by doing a preliminary search on a link building tool such as CanIRank, where you can find top performing keywords in your industry. Run an array of searches on Google using this top keyword to find active and popular online directories in your industry. Many of these directories will live on the first two pages of search results, and in most cases, submitting to one can take no longer than 10 minutes.

Unlinked Mentions

If your brand is being mentioned online without a backlink to your website, then you’re losing out on valuable link juice that could help your site’s organic traffic numbers.

Rectify this issue by doing a quick search for your brand’s name and taking note of where you’ve been mentioned but not linked. A great tip is to search for variations and misspellings of your brand or product name, as these will help you better understand how consumers come upon your site. Once you’ve compiled a list, shoot a quick email to each site about the possibility of linking to the existing mention. If you’re short on time, this task can take anywhere from 30 minutes to one hour, depending on the number of unlinked mentions you find.

Build an Outreach Network

If you want to get started on relationship building right away, then this is a perfect time to build your outreach network. Think of your outreach network as relevant blogs or industry influencers who you can count on for things like blog exchanges, backlinking, or content sharing. These should be go-to people with who you can gain a point of mutual benefit from your promotions work.

A link building tool like CanIRank will allow you to search for relevant blogs by content and narrow down influencers through its intuitive design. Use keyword tools to build a network who is writing and promoting the same content as you and who would be interested in linking back to your site. Find a point of mutual benefit with your outreach network to grow its reach, and you could find yourself with steadily increasing organic traffic through these fruitful partnerships.

Create Linkable Content

Don’t overlook the importance of having great linkable content! Oftentimes when we talk about promotions work or link building efforts, we don’t highlight how important it is to have content worth linking to.

Think of your potential customer and what you expect them to find once they come upon your site. You might have a solid product and great landing page, but once a customer has browsed a little without making a decision, what other reason do they have to stay on your site? Great supporting content with high linkability will draw potential customers in, help educate them on your products or industry, and give them something to think about while they ponder your product or service. A great startup blog will also position you as a thought-leader in your industry, which will bring in a whole new crowd of customers to your site.

Link Building Doesn’t Have to be Hard

A link-building strategy can make or break your SEO efforts, and as a startup owner, there’s a lot of pressure to nail it the first time. Consider reaching out to an SEO agency like CanIRank to hone in on all your link building needs. CanIRank’s SEO team knows what it takes to increase your rankings organically through tried-and-tested link building efforts. Get a free trial today.