Link insertion is a clever hack to attract organic traffic without upending your marketing budget.

In fact, today, I will be walking you through the process of link insertion with no capital investment – nil, nada, zilch! You read that right; here is a no-cost guide to no-cost link insertion!

What is Link Insertion?

Link insertion is one component of a link building strategy. It focuses on the natural placement of a link into already-published content on a relevant website. 

As an example, say you find an article with content around the latest link building strategies and trends. Such a piece would be the perfect host for a backlink to a detailed link building guide.

The primary objective of link insertion is to bring value to the reader. As such, every link has to be meaningful and deliberate. At the same time, it unlocks a channel for them to explore more resources surrounding the topic.

Improved domain authority and ranking are just a few by-products of earnestly implemented link insertion efforts.

If I were to round up the notable benefits of link insertion, it would be as follows:

• Link insertion is part of a grander scheme of link building activities under your white hat search engine optimization tasks. As such, it improves your website’s ranking and authority.
• Apart from gaining visibility through SERPs, link insertion funnels traffic from different websites to your webpage – a source of useful content – which means that you get relevant viewership.
• Identifying link insertion opportunities with high potential can be your window into the kind of content you need to produce. You can use it as a source of inspiration to create and diversify your content assets (more on this later).

Step-by-Step Guide for Link Insertion Success

At face value, the process of link insertion may seem pretty straightforward.

You find a host, perform link insertion outreach, negotiate terms, and wait for the link placement. But like all things link building (or digital marketing or SEO), it is not that simple. So, I have decided to systematically break down the link insertion process.

Here’s how you can go about it:

1. Identify the Keywords for Link Insertion

Unsurprisingly, we start by identifying the keywords.

What keywords?

Allow me to explain with an example. 

Say we’re working for ZoomShift, a company that is looking to build links using the link insertion strategy. 

Remember how at the beginning of this post, I mentioned that link insertion has to be deliberate? It wasn’t just a filler word. It means that you should purposefully insert a link against an appropriate term, aka keyword.

So, here’s where you need to decide the target keywords where you will seek placement.

After all, you simply cannot get a haphazard backlink; else, you will only undo all your link building efforts but also attract penalties! Double thumbs down!

Now there are three ways to decide on the keywords.

1. Based On Link Insert Priorities

The first is a system of direct correlation with assigned priority.

You get to insert a link to your product or landing page or to a blog. The former would actually be more beneficial, seeing as how it would convert to revenue. So, product and landing pages would carry more weight than blogs.

Now to the keywords. The keywords are directly related to the landing page or blog post.

For instance, if I am trying to link their landing page for the employee time tracking software, my keyword would obviously be “employee time tracking software.”

On the other hand, if I am looking to promote their post on employee appreciation day ideas, the keyword would simply be that – employee appreciation day ideas. Easy, right?

2. Targeting Low Hanging Fruits

While aiming for a primary keyword is great, it presents one problem – the keyword difficulty may be too high. Now, of course, if the difficulty is too high that means that you need to put in more effort to secure a link and get the desired ranking.

You can overcome this by pairing low difficulty keywords with low to moderate search volume. With this, you will be able to secure the first few links with less consumption of time.

So, in the case of ZoomShift, I set the keyword volume as greater than 200 along with the keyword difficulty that is less than or equal to 10. 

Notice how it gives me the following (low hanging fruits) keywords that I can aim for during link insertion:

• 9/80 work schedule
• Employee(s) profile(s)
• Grand opening for restaurant
• Restaurant blogs, etc.

3. Based On Keywords That Trigger Conversions

The final technique requires you to dig deeper into your Search Console and Google Analytics to identify the high-converting keywords and monitor KPIs like the click-through rate (CTR). 

Check out the “search queries report” from the menu on Google Search Console and sort the list by clicks. The query which gets maximum clicks is your link insertion keyword. 

Of course, this is a very simplistic explanation of how to go about it. You would still have to factor in search intent, keyword relevance with your industry, etc. But this is just the starting point.

2. Discover the “Link Insert” Prospects

By this point, you would have identified your link insertion keywords. So we now move on to the next part of link insertion – link placement.

Primarily, there are two link insert prospecting methods, and I’m going to explain each with an example.

Say we are looking to insert the link to the landing page for the Employee Scheduling App of Monitask. The keyword most appropriate for this link insertion would obviously be “employee scheduling software,” which ranks at #31 currently.

1. Keyword Research

One way to go about it is to find all the articles having “employee scheduling software” as the target keyword. List these down and review the ones where you can carry out link insertion outreach.

Naturally, you can’t outreach to competitors as they won’t even reply, forget about link insert possibility (and that’s why they are not highlighted).

You want a website that is neutral – a third-party review website, perhaps, as you can see marked in the screenshot above. And while searching along these lines, I came across this article titled: “10 Best Employee Shift Scheduling Software In 2023“ by People Managing People.

A detailed article talking about employee scheduling software and comparing the different options available in the market would be a perfect place to drop your link. And, of course, the probability of clinching a link insert here would be far greater than in an article by HubSpot, which already trails at the ninth spot (but hey, you can still try here too!)

2. Competitor Analysis

Another way to identify link insert prospects is through competitor analysis. Check out the top ten competitors that are trying to rank for the same keyword. In this case, “employee scheduling software.”

Now use them as references and understand their link insertion tactics using tools like Ahrefs. Look for indicators like their keyword difficulty, backlink numbers, etc., and compare them with your own. Then, follow in their footsteps. If it worked for them, it will work for you too!

3. Prepare a List of Sites for Outreach

In the previous section, I have briefly gone over the part where you eliminate link insertion prospects that will amount to nothing. After all, you need to follow a hyper focused and targeted strategy to gain link inserts.

I usually follow a three-point framework to filter in the sites that are worth link insertion outreach. Here are some of the parameters that I prioritize:

1. Relevance

The website should be relevant to your industry. For example, if we continue with the Monitask case study, the People Managing People website appears relevant for an article on employee scheduling software – right off the bat!

Once you have figured out the relevant host website, you can choose to explore it even further to identify any alternate articles that would be a greater contextual fit for your link insertion strategy. 

Take, for example, how the People Managing People site has two articles (both ranking at #1) for employee scheduling software. 

Had Monitask offered the employee scheduling software for free, the latter would obviously be a better fit.

2. Authority

Next, you take the website authority into account. You want a website with high DA/DR and a bouquet of backlinks leading to it. Just like the People Managing People page that I had picked out. 

Here’s how it performs:

You can see a respectable DR of 66 and approximately 460 backlinks. All in all, a good spot for a link insert.

3. Due Diligence

Finally, I recommend performing due diligence on the remaining websites. I follow a two-pronged approach for verifying whether the website is worth link insertion or otherwise.

First is a manual check, where I review who owns the website, whether it has the contact details available, does it only accept paid posts (warning: link farming), or does it have a healthy blend of contributors.

Most reputed and trustworthy websites will have such information readily available and accessible; you won’t have to dig deep. 

But if you have something like Style Motivation (see below), then you might want to run.

Then I run performance checks using tools like Ahrefs. You want to look at traffic trends, fluctuations in DR, and keyword ranking types. Look for a consistent uptick as it indicates persistent growth.

Random spurts of organic traffic and sudden shifts in DR are warning signs. So, if you thought I was judging Style Motivation a bit too harshly based on the website design and layout, the performance checks paint an even grimmer picture:

Remember, you are in charge of your website’s reputation, ergo duly vet every link insertion activity.

4. Locate the POC for Outreach

Now that you’ve laid down the groundwork – identified the keyword, zeroed down on the link potential, and shortlisted the options, it is time to get talking.

It is time for link insertion outreach – phase one.

Here, you will try to locate the  POC/webmaster/administrator – basically, anybody who has the authority and the say on link placement on your target website. I have found great success by using tools like Hunter.io to find out the contact details of the concerned parties.

Here’s what I dug up on Tim Reitsma, the author of the article where I saw the potential for link insertion:

You could go all out and start with your cold email pitch (phase two) or warm them up by connecting with them over networking sites like LinkedIn.

Source

Ease into their professional network and interact with them by commenting on their posts. It can be a great way to break the ice and introduce yourself before you get to the point.

5. Craft Customized Email Pitches

Here’s phase two of link insertion outreach – the actual pitch for link insertion.

Now there are a few ways in which you can broach the topic of link insertion, and your pitch will vary accordingly.

You can go with a direct, no-nonsense request for link insertion. Here’s a template that I follow, which has worked great for me:

Or you can shoot for a link exchange, which is basically bartering value:

Alternatively, you can offer your services to update outdated content in lieu of a backlink:

Apart from these, you can even propose a flat-rate payment for link insertion (but it would obviously not be free, so I’ll leave it at that) or even highlight broken links and pitch your own link as an alternative. 

Regardless of your pitch and the strategy, here are a few tips to keep in mind while getting into this phase of link insertion outreach:

• Always stay polite and respectful. Good etiquette can take you far, while a bad attitude is a dead weight. However, avoid flattery, or it will make you sound patronizing, which is quite a turn-off.
• Aim for a hyper-relevant page for link insertion. Basically, you shouldn’t have to justify why you’re pitching in the first place.
• Target recently published posts – unless, of course, you are revamping old content.
• Target blog posts that have high rank and high page authority (use the Ahrefs tool to measure this) so that you gain authority through the link. Steer clear of low-quality sites.
• Craft a pitch that is self-explanatory and puts the required information right there. You don’t want to make the webmaster work, or you’ll lose their interest.
• If required, follow up with the webmaster. As always, stay polite while doing so.

6. Be Proactive in Sharing Link Insertion Suggestions

Naturally, the journey from research to actually earning the link depends on your networking skills, persuasion, and persistence. Regardless, the payoff would be handsome. 

Once you have your foot in the door, feel free to share link insertion suggestions to the same target website.

After all, landing a link insert here and there is just the start of a fulfilling relationship.

For example, you can see my exchange below where I have pitched a few options for link placement.

Additionally, I offered alternatives to make content adjustments that suit both parties.

And if you’re thinking about how to maximize the impact of those links, understanding the difference between tier 1 vs tier 2 backlinks is crucial—it helps you plan strategic link layering for sustained SEO gains.

After a few iterations, you will find the right set of patterns and cadence that will finetune your overall link insertion strategy. And when you have it, rinse and repeat!

Conclusion

That’s a wrap on link insertion with a $0 investment. I hope that you will walk away wiser on the dos and don’ts of link insertion. Sure, it may seem like a lot of work, and honestly, it is, but once you get the hang of it, you will watch the results compound.

Just follow the motto quality over quantity, and all your link insertion (and link building) endeavors will amount to success!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the difference between a guest post and a link insertion?

As the name suggests, link insertion is link placement against a keyword or anchor text. It is a minor edit to existing/published content. 

On the other hand, guest posting involves writing a fresh article from scratch to get a link, either within the content body or through an author byline.

You can think of guest posting as a form of link insertion with the extra steps required to write content.

How much does link insertion cost?

The cost for link insertion varies from industry to industry and also depends on the DA/DR of the website. However, link insertion costs anywhere between $40 to $100 per edit.

If you’re looking to get link inserts for free, you can read the post above!

What’s the best link insertion strategy?

The best link insertion strategy factors in relevance, authority, and due diligence to assess the quality of link insertions. Once you have factored those in, you can pick any technique, be it broken link hunting or updating obsolete content, to ensure the success of your link insertion strategy.