What do you do after someone links to you?

Loren Baker has found the answer. And it’s pretty genius.

You shower your link devotees with a motherlode of thanks.

Baker has coined this action “link gratitude.”

How Can You Show Your Link Gratitude?

It starts with you emailing the webmaster to say thanks for the link.

Then, you could offer to:

Conduct an SEO audit for them.

Help them with their SEO (e.g., fix their 404 errors or an external broken link).

Read, follow, and share their stories.

Everyone benefits from link gratitude.

For the site linking to you: They’re getting free help on their SEO. Or, their content is getting exposed to a brand new audience: yours.

They’re getting free help on their SEO. Or, their content is getting exposed to a brand new audience: yours. For you: The better these websites perform that already link to you, the more valuable that link becomes. Getting the link is just the start of the relationship.

And, really, so much of link building starts with building relationships.

While you may not see the return immediately, it’s something the webmaster will always remember and you’ll be top of mind the next time that webmaster needs an external source.

Link gratitude is also a link building tactic I’ve used in the past when working with bloggers. If a blogger wants to work with me, but I can’t afford the price, I’ll provide an SEO audit of their site along with tips they can use to help their site rank better in the future.

Summary

Timeframe: Once every quarter

Results detected: 4-12 months

Average links sent per month: 10

Tools:

BananaTag (or Yesware)

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Benefits: