A lot of clients have been asking: “Should we approach link building/content promotion differently during this recession?”
Here’s a framework to think about this.
First, here’s a great analysis of the data by @Patticus In short, focus on:
1. survival
2. lifetime value (LTV)
I briefly discussed the importance of doubling down on content promotion during a recession here.
To quote my other article:
The trick here is to:
– Pause and zoom out – It’s an annual (or longer) investment paid monthly (see it as DCA’ing), not a monthly expense.
– Be strategic in how you invest your budget – See the situation for what it actually is, an opportunity to get ahead.
So, how do you double down in times like these while surviving and thinking about LTV simultaneously?
Here’s our 3-step “Crisis Promotion Battle Plan”:
This process is all about creating certainty instead of fear in difficult times.
1) SHIELD
Step 1 is about protecting what you already have and keeping things clean from a backlink standpoint.
Think about surviving before doubling down.
A. Monitor lost backlinks/mentions to plug the holes.
- Create alerts in Ahrefs for lost backlinks and brand mentions for your website/company.
- Create alerts in Ahrefs for lost backlinks and brand mentions for your competitors.
B. Monitor lost keyword rankings to be ready to get them back.
- Make sure you are tracking all your ROI-producing keyword
- Audit your lost/declined positions weekly
C. Monitor toxic backlinks/spammy anchor text to keep a clean profile.
- Negative SEO attacks can be pretty common during a recession, especially in competitive industries.
- Audit your new backlinks weekly to spot low DR/UR websites with spammy CTLDs and/or anchor text.
2) SCORE
Step 2 is about being proactive instead of reactive and taking advantage of other companies slowing down or dropping the ball.
Think about quick wins and low-hanging fruits.
A. Quick win campaigns to quickly increase rankings for low-hanging fruits.
Follow our Roadmapping process to pick the best pages to work on.
B. Steal lost backlinks/keyword rankings from weak competitors
- Keep track of companies that go out of business
- Acquire their expired domains to redirect them to your site
- Steal their lost backlinks.
- Monitor competitors that have recently seen a drop in traffic.
- Find broken pages on big competitors’ sites with lots of links and steal them. – Find sites that link to all of your competitors but not to you.
- Find new link insertions from competitors who are doubling down and get yourself in there.
C. ROI generating campaigns to get referral traffic and increase revenue.
- Follow our “top list placements” campaign strategy here:
- Try out some of my tips to increase traffic and leads via link building: https://trafficthinktank.com/link-building-strategies-traffic-leads/
3) SHIFT
Step 3 is about pivoting, trying new approaches, and being ready for the new “reality.”
Think about how your product can make an impact, be useful, and thrive during the recession.
A. Create unique resources/offers for customers and link targets
- Offer free subscriptions/longer trials in exchange for links.
- Create linkable assets and free tools/resources that position your product as indispensable.
- Distribute your content on other mediums (youtube)
B. Leverage existing partnerships (guest posts, link exchanges, communities).
- Reach out to your “fans” or partners to collaborate on themed initiatives.
- Leverage your existing connections to enter new spaces.
- Show others in a similar situation how you can help each other.
C. Switch up the communication medium and go where it’s less crowded.
- Use social media (Twitter/Linkedin DMs) instead of email for outreach.
- Call people on the phone to tell them about this new, timely resource you just published.
- Go to conferences and pitch in person.