How to Use Social Listening to Earn Backlinks
By Clinton on January 12, 2023 in Link Building, Maps & Directories SEO Social Media
Have you ever wondered how companies get mentioned with a backlink in an article published on a recent piece of news so quickly? They probably found it and were able to act thanks to social listening. Social listening can be a powerful tool to getting your website out there with backlinks to help your rankings.
What is Social Listening?
In short, social listening is the process of analyzing online conversations about your business specifically, or the industry as a whole. Most commonly used by brands for replying to customers, social listening can also help you build a strong backlink profile. This strategy can be applied to social media platforms, as well as to the search page to help you never miss a link opportunity.
How to Use Social Listening to Get Links for Your Website
1. Find unlinked mentions of your company.
This is the most simple tactic you can use. Most social listening tools have a function that allows you to enter a search for mentions of your company that do not link to your website. If you find any mentions from high-quality posts or sites, you can contact them asking for them to add a link.
2. Keep up to date on the latest developments in your field.
As an expert in your field, you can provide quality insights on any relevant current events. This makes you an attractive option for news outlets to publish your thoughts, whether it be in the form of an opinion piece, or a Q&A with a reporter. Getting published or quoted as an expert is not only a way to get your name out there for potential clients, but also one of the most effective methods to building high-quality backlinks.
The catch is, you need to be fast. Other experts in your field will be doing the same thing, and if you are a step behind the competition, you can miss out on these opportunities. Even worse, this may push them ahead of you in rankings.
You can use social listening to monitor certain keywords that may pertain to your practice and make sure you never miss out on an opportunity. For example, say you are a law firm specializing in medical malpractice. You could set a Google Alert to send you an email whenever it finds a news article featuring the phrase “collapsed during procedure.” Then you can reach out to the reporter asking if they are interested in your insights as an expert. Often times, they would be willing to publish a new article, or add a quote that will provide a high-quality backlink to your site.
3. Join the Conversation
Similar to the previous point, you can use social listening tools to find conversations happening online about your practice areas. This can apply to social media, online forums, and question boards. While you don’t want to go spamming your website across the internet, being an expert that offers helpful advice right when people are looking for it can occasionally allow you to share a link to your site if you have helpful and relevant content on the topic.
Examples of Social Listening Tools
While you could simply use the search feature on any platform to look for content and conversations on your topic of choice, there are also multiple tools available for convenience including but not limited to Hubspot, Buzzsumo, Buffer, Brandwatch, and Google Alerts.
Let PaperStreet Help
Link building is a key aspect of your SEO campaign, and worth the extra effort. If this all sounds like a lot, we can help make it even easier for you. Our link building specialists will search for options to contribute to share with you. All you need to do is what you do best: provide your professional insight. Contact us today to get started.
