SEO
7 Ways To Use Google Trends For SEO & Content Marketing

Google Trends is a surprisingly useful tool for keyword research, especially when using advanced search options that are virtually hidden in plain sight.
Explore the different Google Trends menus and options and discover seemingly endless ways to gain more keyword search volume insights.
Learn new ways to unlock the power of one of Google’s most important SEO tools.
The Value Of Google Trends
While Google Trends is accurate, it doesn’t show the amount of traffic in actual numbers.
It shows the numbers of queries made in relative percentages on a scale of zero to 100.
Unlike Google Trends, paid SEO tools provide traffic volume numbers for keywords.
But those numbers are only estimates that are extrapolated from a mix of internet traffic data providers, Google Keyword Planner, scraped search results, and other sources.
The clickstream data usually comes from anonymized traffic data acquired from users of certain pop-up blockers, browser plugins, and some free anti-virus software.
The SEO tools then apply a calculation that corresponds to their best guess of how that data correlates with Google keyword search and traffic volume.
So, even though paid SEO tools provide estimates of keyword traffic, the data presented by Google Trends is based on actual search queries and not guesses.
That’s not to say that Google Trends is better than paid keyword tools. When used together with paid keyword tools, one can obtain a near-accurate idea of true keyword search volume.
There are other functions in Google Trends that can help dial in accurate segmentation of the keyword data that helps to understand what geographic locations are best for promotional efforts and also discover new and trending keywords.
How To Use Google Trends For SEO
1. Get More Accurate Data By Comparing Keywords
Google Trends shows a relative visualization of traffic on a scale of zero to 100.
You can’t really know if the trend is reporting hundreds of keyword searches or thousands because the graph is on a relative scale of zero to one hundred.
However, the relative numbers can have more meaning when they are compared with keywords for which there are known traffic levels from another keyword phrase.
One way to do this is to compare keyword search volume with a keyword whose accurate traffic numbers are already known, for example, from a PPC campaign.
If the keyword volume is especially large for which you don’t have a keyword to compare, there’s another way to find a keyword to use for comparison.
A comparison keyword doesn’t have to be related. It can be in a completely different vertical and could even be the name of a trending celebrity.
The important thing is the general keyword volume data.
Google publishes a Google Trends Daily Trends webpage that shows trending search queries.
What’s useful about this page is that Google provides keyword volumes in numbers, like 100,000+ searches per day, etc.
Example Of How To Pinpoint Search Volume
I’m going to use the search phrase [how to lose weight] as an example of how to use Google Trends to get a close idea of actual search volume.
The way I do it is by using known search volumes and comparing them to the target keyword phrase.
Google provides search volumes on its trending searches page, which can be adjusted for what’s trending in any country.
On this particular day (September 22, 2022), the actress Ana De Armas was trending with 50,000+ searches, and the American ex-football player (keyword phrase [Bret Favre News]) was trending with 20,000+ searches.
Step 1. Find Search Trends For Target Keyword Phrases
The target keyword phrase we’re researching is [how to lose weight].
Below is a screenshot of the one-year trend for the target keyword phrase:
As you can see, it’s a fairly stable trend line from September 2021 to September 2022.
Then I added the two keyword phrases for which we have a close search volume count to compare all three, but for a 24-hour time period.
I use a 24-hour time period because the search volume for our comparison keywords is trending for this one day.

Our target keyword phrase, with a red trend line, is right in the middle, in between the keyword phrases [Ana De Armas] (blue) and [Bret Favre News] (yellow).
What the above comparison tells us is that the phrase [how to lose weight] has a keyword volume of more than 20,000+ searches but less than 50,000+ searches.
The relative search volume of [how to lose weight] is 50% of the keyword phrase [Ana De Armas].
Because we know that [Ana De Armas] has a search volume of approximately 50,000+ searches on this particular day, and [Bret Favre News] has a search volume of 20,000+ queries on the same day, we can say with reasonable accuracy that the keyword phrase, [how to lose weight] has approximately a daily search volume of around 30,000 on an average day, give or take a few thousand.
The actual numbers could be higher because Google Trends shows the highs and lows at particular points of the day. The total for the day is very likely higher.
The above hack isn’t 100% accurate. But it’s enough to give a strong ballpark idea and can be used to compare with and validate extrapolated data from a paid keyword research tool.
Related: How To Do Keyword Research For SEO
2. Discover Insights From Time-based Trends
There are two general ways to look at the keyword data: stretched across over longer periods of time and shorter time periods.
Long Period Trends
You can set Google Trends to show you the traffic trends stretching back to 2004. This is valuable for showing you the audience trends.
- Upward Long-Term Trends: If a trend is consistently going up, this means you need to focus energy on creating content for this trend.
- Downward Long-Term Trends: If the trend line is steadily moving down, then it may be a signal that audience content consumption is changing.
For example, review this five-year trend for [WordPress] the search term, WordPress the software, and WordPress the website:

There’s a clear downward trend for WordPress in all three variations.
The downward trend extends to related phrases such as:
- WordPress themes.
- WordPress plugin.
- WordPress hosting.
There are many reasons why search trends go down. It can be that people lost interest, that the interest went somewhere else or that the trend is obsolete.
The digital camera product category is a good example of a downward spiral caused by a product being replaced by something else.
- The digital camera caused the downturn in searches for traditional analog cameras.
- The iPhone started the downward spiral of the digital camera.
Knowing which way the wind is blowing could help a content marketer or publisher understand when it’s time to bail on a topic or product category and to pivot to upward-trending ones.
Related: Content Marketing: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide
3. Related Topics And Queries
Google Trends has two great features, one called Related Topics and the other Related Queries.
Topics
Topics are search queries that share a concept.
Identifying related topics that are trending upwards is useful for learning how an audience or consumer demand is shifting.
This information can, in turn, provide ideas for content generation or new product selections.
According to Google:
“Related Topics
Users searching for your term also searched for these topics.
You Can View by the Following Metrics
Top – The most popular topics. Scoring is on a relative scale where a value of 100 is the most commonly searched topic and a value of 50 is a topic searched half as often as the most popular term, and so on.
Rising – Related topics with the biggest increase in search frequency since the last time period.
Results marked “Breakout” had a tremendous increase, probably because these topics are new and had few (if any) prior searches.”
Related Queries
The description of Related Queries is similar to that of the Related Topics.
Top queries are generally the most popular searches. Rising Queries are queries that are becoming popular.

The data from Rising Queries are great for staying ahead of the competition.
4. Short-Term Trends Can Bring Massive Traffic
Viewing keyword trends in the short view, such as the 90-day or even 30-day view, can reveal valuable insights for capitalizing on rapidly changing search trends.
There is a ton of traffic in Google Discover as well as in Google News.
Google Discover is tied to trending topics related to searches.
Google News is of the moment in terms of current events.
Sites that target either of those traffic channels benefit from knowing what the short-term trends are.
A benefit of viewing short-term trends (30 days and 90 trends) is that certain days of the week stand out when those searches are popular.
Knowing which days of the week interest spikes for a given topic can help in planning when to publish certain kinds of topics, so the content is right there when the audience is searching for it.
5. Keywords By Category
Google Trends has the functionality for narrowing down keyword search query inventory according to category topics.
This provides more accurate keyword data.
The Categories tab is important because it refines your keyword research to the correct context.
If your keyword context is [automobiles], then it makes sense to appropriately refine Google Trends to show just the data for the context of auto.
By narrowing the Google Trends data by category, you will be able to find more accurate information related to the topics you are researching for content within the correct context.
6. Identify Keyword Data By Geography
Google Trends keyword information by geographic location can be used for determining what areas are the best to outreach to for site promotion or for tailoring the content to specific regions.
For example, if certain kinds of products are popular in Washington D.C. and Texas, it makes sense to aim promotional activity and localized content to those areas.
In fact, it might be useful to focus link-building promotional activities in those areas first since the interest is higher in those parts of the country.
Keyword popularity information by region is valuable for link building, content creation, content promotion, and pay-per-click.
Localizing content (and the promotion of that content) can make it more relevant to the people who are interested in that content (or product).
Google ranks pages according to who it’s most relevant, so incorporating geographic nuance into your content can help it rank for the most people.
7. Target Search Intents With Search Types
Google Trends gives you the ability to further refine the keyword data by segmenting it by the type of search the data comes from, the Search Type.
Refining your Google Trends research by the type of search allows you to remove the “noise” that might be making your keyword research fuzzy and help it become more accurate and meaningful.
Google Trends data can be refined by:
- Web Search.
- Image Search.
- News Search.
- Google Shopping.
- YouTube Search.

YouTube search is a fantastic way to identify search trends for content with the word “how” because a lot of people search on YouTube using phrases with the words “how” in them.
Although these are searches conducted on YouTube, the trends data is useful because it shows what users are looking for.
A Google Trends search for how, what, where, when, why, and who shows that search queries beginning with the word “how” are by far the most popular on YouTube.
Google Trends limits comparisons to five keywords, so the following screenshot omits that word.

If your keyword phrases involve instructional content that uses words like “how to,” refining your research with the YouTube search type may provide useful insights.
For example, I have found that YouTube Search shows more relevant “related topics” and “related queries” data than researching with “web search” selected.
Here’s another example of how using different kinds of search types helps refine Google Trends data.
I did the same how, what, where, when, why, and who searches but this time using the News Search refinement.

The search trends in Google News are remarkably different than the search patterns on YouTube. That’s because people want to know the “what” and “how” types of information in Google News.
When creating content related to news, identifying the correct angle to report a news item is important.
Knowing that the words “what” or “who” are most relevant to a topic can be useful for crafting the title to what the readers are most interested in.
The above is the view of search queries for the past 90 days.
When the same keywords are searched using the 5-year perspective, it becomes clear that the “who” type keywords tend to spike according to current events.
As an example of how current events influence trends, the biggest spike in searches with the word “who” occurred in the days after the 2020 presidential election.
Every Search Type query refinement shows a different help to refine the results so that they show more accurate information.
So, give the Search Type selections a try because the information that is provided may be more accurate and useful than the more general and potentially noisy “web search” version.
Unlock The Hidden Power Of Google Trends
Free tools are generally considered to be less useful than paid tools. That’s not necessarily the case with Google Trends.
This article lists seven ways to discover useful search-related trends and patterns that are absolutely accurate, more than some search-related data from paid tools.
What’s especially notable is that this article only begins to scratch the surface of all the information that’s available.
Check out Google Trends and learn additional ways to mix different search patterns to obtain even more useful information.
More Resources:
Featured Image: Studio Romantic/Shutterstock
SEO
What It Really Is & How to Build One

Building a personal brand is undeniably hard work, but it isn’t as tricky as you might think.
I spoke with two influencers—Wes Kao and Matt Diggity—for their best tips on establishing a name for yourself online.
A personal brand is how people perceive you and what you’re known for. It’s the skills, experience, and values that give you an edge over others.
Neuroscientist Andrew Huberman is one example. He helms and hosts the science/health podcast Huberman Lab, lectures at Stanford Medicine, and has earned media mentions from the likes of BBC, TIME, and more.
Andrew’s personal brand is built on his credibility and areas of expertise. Many of his posts attract thousands of likes and hundreds of comments on X and LinkedIn.
If we want to dig deeper, Maven and altMBA co-founder Wes Kao has a somewhat alternative take on the definition:
In my opinion, it’s better to reframe ‘personal branding’ into ‘personal credibility.’ Personal branding has a superficial undertone. It assumes you have your work, then you tack on an artificial layer of ‘branding’ to shape perceptions.
She suggests that personal credibility is about substance: Showing people what you do, how you think, and how you can contribute. Wes adds:
In this way, you build deeper connections with people who believe in your work—which means stronger relationships, more control, and more opportunities.
In this podcast interview snippet with Nick Bennett, SparkToro’s Amanda Natividad echoes Wes’ sentiment:
People generally don’t like the term [personal brand] because it sounds disingenuous and icky. Acknowledging the existence of your personal brand is admitting that you care what others think about you, and that you find ways to manage those expectations at scale.
Wild as it sounds, building a solid personal brand gives you more control over your life.
A strong following could:
- Expand your realm of influence, particularly in your area of expertise (i.e., be viewed as a subject matter expert).
- Boost your credibility, in turn allowing you to promote your company/product better.
- Build a loyal following independent of the company you’re working for (or if you own that company, create more positive sentiment towards it).
- Open doors to job, networking, and investment opportunities.
Chiangmai SEO conference founder Matt Diggity shares some excellent points in his Facebook post on the topic, too.


There’s no linear path to building your personal brand.
As a precursor to the below steps, let’s first talk about finding your “voice.”
Wes and Matt both emphasize the importance of staying true to yourself. That means not crafting an online persona of who you think you should be.
I try to write like how I sound in person. Talking and writing are different media, so you shouldn’t try to match the two in a literal sense, but you want to capture your overall spirit. For example, I have a hint of snark in my writing because that’s how I sound in person.
Matt echoes this sentiment:
How I talk on the internet is how I talk IRL. If I’m not having a f**king blast on my YouTube videos, I won’t do them. It has to be fun.
Keep this idea in mind as you go through the steps below.
Step 1: Position yourself
Think of yourself as a product: What are your strengths, obsessions, and areas of expertise?
If you’re well-versed in technical SEO or a seasoned entrepreneur, these might be your unique selling points.
From there, double down on something you would be excited to think, write, and talk about for years—because “it will likely take years to get to where you want to go,” says Wes.
As an (optional) next step, consider solidifying your position with a spiky POV—a term coined by Wes, and which she cautions should be used with care.
A spiky POV is not about a contrarian hot take for the sake of it. In 2023, social platforms are flooded with hot takes and generic advice. I think about respecting the intelligence of my audience and teaching them something they don’t already know. A true spiky POV is rooted in deep expertise, including recognizing the limitations and counterpoints of your idea. This builds your reputation as someone who is rigorous and worth the time to engage with.
Here’s a LinkedIn post by Wes that combines all of the above: a unique perspective backed by her personal experiences, with a takeaway for the audience too. In other words—a spiky, worthy POV.
Step 2: Start sharing publicly
You already knew this, but social media platforms are one of the best ways to get growth and build your name. It’s your chance to build your reputation in a public arena.
Wes, Amanda, and Matt each utilized a combination of online channels to promote their voice and content. It’s one of the first things you should do—because your content is really only as good as its reach.
This is the first thing I did to build a personal brand and authority in the SEO industry, and I still do it to this day…
Take an hour a week, go to SEO social media hangouts (SEO Facebook groups, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc) and go from top-to-bottom answering people’s questions.…
— Matt Diggity (@mattdiggityseo) September 27, 2023
This doesn’t mean cross-posting your content across more platforms than you can manage, of course.
Study where your target audience spends most of their time, then hone in on those platforms (ideally, stick to no more than 2-3).
In Matt’s case, his followers are primarily on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube—and that’s where his SEO-led content thrives.


If creating whole posts from scratch seems daunting, start by commenting thoughtfully in relevant online communities. Obviously, do it with heart:
This is the first thing I did to build a personal brand and authority in the SEO industry, and I still do it to this day…
Take an hour a week, go to SEO social media hangouts (SEO Facebook groups, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc) and go from top-to-bottom answering people’s questions.…
— Matt Diggity (@mattdiggityseo) September 27, 2023
Here are some simple ways to start.
LinkedIn: Contribute to a collaborative article
You might have seen these articles floating around LinkedIn—perhaps even been invited to add your insights to them.
These blog posts are similar to Wikipedia pages: LinkedIn users build on each AI-generated article with their perspectives, and readers can choose to react to these additions or engage with the content.


Here’s an example of what a contribution looks like:


Reddit: Weigh in on discussions
- Go to a relevant subreddit, e.g. r/bigSEO
- Sort by “Top” and “This Week”
- Browse the questions or discussions and offer your two cents where relevant.


Ride on trending topics
Found an interesting insight on X or someplace else? Turn it into a poll, question, or post. (Be sure to also tag and credit the author!)
Bring it all together
If some of your responses or posts get traction, repurpose those answers into new content: a blog post, video, or series of social posts.
(PSST: Learn more about my process behind curating and repurposing content for Ahrefs’ X account.)
This segues into our next and final step:
Step 3: Double down on what works
By now, you should have an idea of which topics you’re most comfortable discussing at length—and what resonates most with your target audience.
You can further maximize your reach by doubling down on the things that have brought you success. Or, more specifically, by repurposing popular content in other formats and creating more content about similar things.
For instance, we turned this popular video on how to use ChatGPT for SEO into a Twitter thread and LinkedIn post—and later, a blog post.




Wes has also done this plenty with her “eaten the bear” analogy over the years. She first wrote about it in this 2019 blog post, rewrote it in 2023, and shares variations of the analogy on LinkedIn and X every few months.


Each time, these posts garner hundreds or thousands of likes
Too much backstory is one of the biggest killers of good stories.
Backstory scope creep is real. We’ve all been there: Long-winded, stream of conscious explanations—all in the name of “giving context.“
I’ve been guilty of it myself.
The solution?
Minimum viable backstory pic.twitter.com/XFe2wAJysg
— Wes Kao 🏛 (@wes_kao) October 3, 2023
Don’t let your success die there, though. You can find more content ideas that will resonate with your audience by doing some keyword research around your topic. Here’s how:
- Plug your target topic into Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer
- Go to the Matching terms report
For example, if we enter “chatgpt seo,” we see that people are searching for ChatGPT prompts for SEO and ChatGPT SEO extensions:


Given how our audience is interested in ChatGPT and SEO, these would be great topics to create content about—whether that be social media posts, videos, blog posts, or something else.
If you don’t have a paid account with us, you can plug your topic into our free keyword generator tool to view related phrases/questions.
Extra tips to build your personal brand
We mentioned some of these in some shape or form earlier, but they’re worth expanding on.
Maintain human connections
Who are you without the people who consume your content? Engage consistently with your followers and others’ content. Human connections are worth their weight in gold when you’re trying to get your personal brand off the ground.
Maintain consistency across your social media profiles
This means using the same profile picture across all platforms, and a standardized bio so others can quickly get a sense of who you are and what you often post about.
Jack Appleby is a great example. The creator/consultant is behind Future Social, an independent social strategy newsletter with 56,000+ subscribers.
Notice how he maintains consistency on X and LinkedIn:




Ahrefs’ Tim Soulo further explains the importance of your profile picture in personal branding here:
Your profile pic is your “personal branding” tool. (duh!)
My journey so far:
2009 – “I have no idea what I’m doing;“
2014 – I want to stand out & be memorable;
2018 – I want to look provocative;
2020 – I want to look professional.I can expand this into a thread if you want 😉 pic.twitter.com/W7FtZTcYGO
— Tim Soulo 🇺🇦 (@timsoulo) September 14, 2020
Be yourself
Remember how Wes and Matt shared the importance of staying true to yourself? We couldn’t emphasize that enough.
Final thoughts
These steps aren’t exhaustive, obviously. To truly stand out online, Wes suggests having a combination of these things: social proof, good design sense, strong writing, interesting insights, and a track record of contribution.
As she puts it:
All these things will make people think, ‘This person knows their craft.’
Have a thought about this blog post? Ping me on X.
SEO
SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research]
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research]](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.jpg)
Editor’s note
Here are the top takeaways:
- The median annual salary for SEOs we polled was $49,211
- The highest annual salary we polled was $229,652
- To earn the higher salaries in SEO you need be a technical SEO expert—Heads of SEO, SEO Directors and SEO Leads all said that their main specialization was technical SEO
- Only 5.4% of respondents learned SEO through a course—most learned on the job (52.3%) or by themselves (42.3%)
- 36.9% described themselves as content specialists, 30.6% described themselves as technical specialists, 6.3% described themselves as specializing in link-building
- 49.5% of respondents worked in SEO agencies, 42.3% in-house and 8.2% were self-employed
- Most respondents (28.8%) worked in companies that had 11-50 people
- The average SEO experience of our respondents was 6.9 years
- Self-employed SEOs earned the most on average ($60,232k)—the median annual salary for in-house roles was slightly lower at $56,789, and agency SEOs had the lowest median annual salary at $44,169
There were also a few surprises:
- Few SEOs in our survey said that they specialized in link building compared to technical and content. This is despite the fact that links are still one of the most important Google ranking factors.
- The average level of experience between SEO Directors and Head of SEO is not that different—10.4 years for a SEO Director and 10.6 years for a Head of SEO—but the salary difference between the roles was ~$11,552—quite substantial.
Overview
Role | Median annual salary ($USD) | Average experience (years) | Main specialization | Main work location |
---|---|---|---|---|
Head of SEO | $92,988 | 10.6 | Technical SEO | Agency and in-house |
SEO Director | $81,436 | 10.4 | Technical SEO | Agency and in-house |
SEO Lead | $38,289 | 7.4 | Technical SEO | Agency |
SEO Specialist | $49,229 | 5.8 | Content | In-house |
SEO Account Manager | $43,850 | 4.2 | Content | Agency |
SEO Consultant | $49,240 | 6 | All-rounder | Agency |
SEO Executive | $31,956 | 3 | All-rounder | Agency |
SEO Analyst | $56,393 | 5 | All-rounder | In-house |
Here’s how annual salaries broke down across our respondents:
According to the SEOs we polled, most of them learned SEO on the job or were self-taught.
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] Chart displaying how individuals learned SEO.](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228375_87_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] Chart displaying how individuals learned SEO.](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228375_87_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
Most of our respondents had a couple of years of experience under their belts. The amount of experience Head of SEOs had versus SEO Directors was not that different, at around 10 years.
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] Average level of experience by role](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228375_647_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] Average level of experience by role](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228375_647_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
- Across all respondents, the average experience was 6.9 years
- For Head of SEO, the average experience was 10.6 years
- For SEO Director, the average experience was 10.4 years
- For SEO Lead, the average experience was 7.4 years
- For SEO Account Manager, the average experience was 4.2 years
- For SEO Consultant, the average experience was 6 years
- For SEO Executive, the average experience was 3 years
- For SEO Analyst, the average experience was 5 years
Technical and Content were the two top skills that SEOs we surveyed specialized in.
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] Areas of SEO specialization](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228375_745_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] Areas of SEO specialization](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228375_745_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
The proportion of SEOs that said they specialized in links was much lower despite links being a major ranking factor.
Our survey showed an almost 50/50 split between the UK and Europe. 48.6% of respondents were from the UK—perhaps not surprising given that BrightonSEO is based in the UK.
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] Chart of countries SEOs are from](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228375_949_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] Chart of countries SEOs are from](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228375_949_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
Most of the respondents we spoke to worked in agencies or in-house. It does mean, however, that our salary data was mainly focused on these two employment types.
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] Chart listing where SEOs work](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228375_779_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] Chart listing where SEOs work](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228375_779_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
Across all respondents, the most common company size was 11-50. A large proportion of SEOs also worked for substantially larger companies that had over 1000 employees.
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] Number of people in the company](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228375_772_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] Number of people in the company](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228375_772_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
Here’s the full breakdown of each role.
Head of SEO salary
It’s probably not too much of a surprise that the Head of SEO role was our highest-paying SEO role surveyed. What’s more of a surprise was the variation in salary—our survey showed that a Head of SEO can earn anything from ~$25k to ~$229k.
Average experience
According to our survey, a Head of SEO has ~10.6 years of experience.
Type of company
46.7% of respondents worked for an agency, and 46.7% worked in-house. 6.7% were self-employed.
Education
66.7% of respondents said they were self-taught, 26.7% said they’d learned on the job, and 6.7% said that they had learned SEO from a course.
Specialization
40% said that they specialized in technical SEO, 33.3% in Content, and 13.3% said they were a generalist. The remaining 13.4% said they focused on people management.
This is surprising, as it implies that 73.3% of people in Head of SEO roles are actively providing SEO services for their clients rather than focusing on managing a team.
Company size
There were two company sizes that were most popular for Head of SEOs to work in. 40% of respondents said they worked in companies with 11-50 people, and 20% said they worked in companies with over 1001 people.
Location
40% of respondents were from the UK, 13.3% were from the Netherlands, and the remainder were from mainland Europe.
SEO Director salary
The salary variation wasn’t quite as extreme for SEO Directors, but salaries ranged from ~$42k to ~$121k—still quite a difference.
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] SEO Director salary](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228375_970_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] SEO Director salary](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228375_970_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
Average experience
SEO Directors in our survey had 10.4 years of experience on average.
Type of company
There was a 50/50 split between SEO Directors’ backgrounds, with 50% from agency and 50% from in-house
Education
62.5% of SEO Directors described themselves as self-taught, and 37.5% said that they learned SEO on the job.
Specialization
75% of them specialized in technical SEO, whilst 25% described themselves as generalists or Other.
Company size
According to our survey, SEO Directors typically work in medium to large companies. 25% said that they worked in companies that had over 1000 people, and 25% said they worked in companies that had 51-100 employees.
Location
Most SEO Directors we surveyed were from the UK (62.5%). The rest were equal splits between India, the U.S., and Germany (12.5%).
SEO Lead salary
SEO Leads typically have a lot of experience, but our survey shows that they only earn slightly more on average than SEO Specialists.
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] SEO Lead salary](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228376_68_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] SEO Lead salary](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228376_68_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
Average experience
SEO Leads in our survey had 7.4 years of experience on average.
Type of company
50% of SEO Leads came from an agency background, 41.7% came from in-house, and 8.3% were self-employed.
Education
69.2% learned on the job, 23.1% were self-taught, and 7.7% learned SEO through a course.
Specialization
30.8% of SEO Leads specialized in technical SEO, 23% specialized in content, and 23.1% specialized in links. 15.4% described themselves as generalists. The remaining 7.7% described themselves as specializing in SEO strategy.
Company size
46.2% worked in companies that had 1001+ people, and the remaining 53.8% worked in smaller companies.
Location
23.1% of SEO Leads came from the UK, with the remainder coming from the Netherlands, Italy, and Sweden (15.4% each) and 30.7% from other European countries.
SEO Specialist salary
SEO Specialists we surveyed had around 5-6 years of experience, but they typically got paid better than SEO Leads. Based on my experience, this may be due to in-house roles paying better than agency roles in the UK.
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] SEO Specialist salary](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228376_734_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] SEO Specialist salary](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228376_734_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
Average experience
SEO Specialists in our survey had an average of 5.8 years of experience.
Type of company
41.2% of SEO Specialists came from an agency background, while 58.8% said that they were from an in-house background.
Education
58.8% of SEO Specialists said that they had learned SEO on the job, 35.3% said that they were self-taught, and 5.9% said that they had learned SEO through a course.
Specialization
52.9% of SEO Specialists specialized in content, 29.4% focused on technical, 11.8% described themselves as all-rounders, and 5.9% described specialized in links.
Company size
41.2% of SEO Specialists said that they worked in companies that had 11-50 people. Only 17.6% of respondents said that they worked in companies that had 1001+ people. 23.6% said they worked in companies between 51-500 people. The remaining 17.6% worked in smaller companies with less than 10 people.
Location
23.5% of SEO Specialists said that they were from the UK, with the remainder from Europe.
SEO Account Manager salary
SEO Account Managers in our survey were one of the most consistent salary bands earning between ~$40k and ~$55k.
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] SEO Account Manager salary](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228376_314_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] SEO Account Manager salary](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228376_314_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
Average experience
SEO Account managers in our survey had 4.2 years of experience on average.
Type of company
85.7% of respondents worked for an agency, and 14.3% worked in-house.
Education
71.4% of respondents said they learned SEO on the job, and 28.6% said they were self-taught.
Specialization
42.9% said that they specialized in content, 28.6% described themselves as an all-rounder, 14.3% said they were technical SEO, and the remaining 14.2% said they specialized in links.
Company size
42.9% of respondents said they worked in companies with 11-50 people, and 28.6% said they worked in companies with over 1001 people. The remaining 28.6% was split equally between people who worked in companies with between 2-11 people or 51-100 people.
Location
85.7% of respondents were from the UK, and 14.3% of the remainder were from Europe.
SEO Consultant salary
SEO Consultants we surveyed earned up to ~$87k, which was lower than I was expecting—because our SEO pricing post suggested that SEO consultants charge between $100-150 per hour.
But as the data is UK-focused, the likely reason for this is the £85k VAT tax threshold.
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] SEO Consultant salary](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228376_411_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] SEO Consultant salary](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228376_411_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
Average experience
SEO Consultants in our survey had 6 years of experience on average.
Type of company
63.3% of respondents worked for an agency, and 36.7% worked in-house.
Education
45.5% of respondents said they were self-taught, 36.4% said they’d learned on the job, and 9.1% said that they had learned SEO from a course. The remaining 9% said they’d learned from other ways.
Specialization
27.3% said that they specialized in technical SEO, 27.3% in content, and 27.3% said they were a generalist. The remaining 18.1% said they focused on management and strategy.
Company size
SEO Consultants typically worked on their own or in smaller agencies according to our survey — 36.4% of respondents said they worked on their own, and 27.3% said they worked in companies with 51-100 people. The remaining 36.3% said they worked in companies with between 2-50 people.
Location
36.4% of respondents were from the UK, 27.3% were from the Netherlands, and the remaining 36.3% were from Europe.
SEO Executive salary
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] SEO Executive salary](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228376_756_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] SEO Executive salary](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228376_756_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
Average experience
SEO Executives in our survey had 3 years of experience on average.
Type of company
80% of respondents worked for an agency, and 20% worked in-house.
Education
80% of respondents said they were self-taught, and 20% said they’d learned SEO from a course.
Specialization
40% said that they specialized in technical SEO, 20% in Content, and 40% said they were a generalist.
Company size
80% of respondents said they worked in companies with 11-50 people, and 20% said they worked in companies with 1001 or more people.
Location
80% of respondents were from the UK, and 20% were from Belgium.
SEO Analyst salary
SEO Analysts typically had a few more years of experience than SEO Executives, but it looks like they earned roughly the same as them.
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] SEO Analyst salary](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228376_108_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
![SEO Salary Survey 2023 [Industry Research] SEO Analyst salary](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701228376_108_SEO-Salary-Survey-2023-Industry-Research.png)
Average experience
SEO Analysts in our survey had 5 years of experience on average.
Type of company
33.3% of respondents worked for an agency, and 66.7% worked In-house.
Education
33.3% of respondents said they were self-taught, and 66.7% said they’d learned on the job.
Specialization
33.3% said that they specialized in technical SEO, 33.3% in Content, and 33.3% said they specialized in News SEO.
Company size
33.3% of respondents said they worked in companies with 101-200 people, and 66.7% said they worked in companies with over 201 people.
Location
SEO Analysts came from a range of locations 33% of respondents were from Portugal, 33.3% were from Brazil, and the remainder were from Serbia.
Sidenote.
We didn’t get many respondents for the SEO Analyst role—so take these results with a pinch of salt.
Final thoughts
SEO salaries aren’t often discussed in detail within the industry, so getting a snapshot of their current state from one of the biggest SEO conferences in the UK was insightful.
For our next salary survey, we’ll be opening it up to all SEOs. If you’d like to take part—you can enter here.
Got questions? Ping me on X (formerly known as Twitter)
SEO
4 Tactics for High-Quality Backlinks That Move the Needle [+ Examples]
Many popular link building tactics produce low-quality links that don’t improve SEO performance.
Even if these techniques make an impact, it’s often for a short time, and Google can easily devalue them down the line.
Here are four tactics for building high-quality links that help you stay ahead of your competition, expose your brand to new audiences, and are less likely to be devalued in future algorithm updates.
Digital PR is the process of creating content that appeals to journalists and promoting it to them.
If they like the content, they’ll write a feature about it or include it in a piece they’re writing. This can land you many high-quality backlinks from big sites and news publications for free.
Examples
In the months following ChatGPT’s release, Fery Kaszoni and his team at Search Intelligence compiled statistics about Open AI’s popularity since launching ChatGPT and compared it to other popular platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
The result? 60+ free link placements, including mentions on Yahoo News (DR 92), The Wrap (DR 84), and Time magazine (DR 92).
![4 Tactics for High-Quality Backlinks That Move the Needle [+ Examples] A few examples of backlinks earned by a piece of content about Open AI’s popularity since launching ChatGPT](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/4-Tactics-for-High-Quality-Backlinks-That-Move-the-Needle.png)
In another campaign, Fery and his team calculated how much money beloved video characters would earn in real life. This campaign earned 20+ free links including a DR89 link from British newspaper, The Daily Express.
![4 Tactics for High-Quality Backlinks That Move the Needle [+ Examples] Example of a high-DR like from Daily Express](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701204971_586_4-Tactics-for-High-Quality-Backlinks-That-Move-the-Needle.png)
![4 Tactics for High-Quality Backlinks That Move the Needle [+ Examples] Example of a high-DR like from Daily Express](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701204971_586_4-Tactics-for-High-Quality-Backlinks-That-Move-the-Needle.png)
How to do it
Successful Digital PR requires some creativity, but this is the process in a nutshell:
- Find a trending topic
- Create relevant newsworthy content around that topic
- Tell journalists about it
For example, AI has been a major topic of conversation in all industries since it launched. Any new data or insights about it would go well in news cycles while it remains a topic of interest.
Once you have a topic, you need to come up with interesting content ideas that are relevant to your business.
![4 Tactics for High-Quality Backlinks That Move the Needle [+ Examples] The best topics for digital PR](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701204971_87_4-Tactics-for-High-Quality-Backlinks-That-Move-the-Needle.png)
![4 Tactics for High-Quality Backlinks That Move the Needle [+ Examples] The best topics for digital PR](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701204971_87_4-Tactics-for-High-Quality-Backlinks-That-Move-the-Needle.png)
This is the hard part. It’s really a case of brainstorming ideas until you land on something you think could be interesting.
For example, here are a few random content ideas for a company that sells furniture online:
- Have AI refurnish rooms from popular TV shows in new styles.
- Have AI design a new item of furniture, create it, and sell it.
- Ask 100 interior designers if they’re worried about AI taking their jobs, share the data.
After you find your winning idea, create the content, give it an attention-grabbing headline, and write a press release about the most interesting insights.
Then, promote your content to journalists. You can try services like Roxhill or Muck Rack to find journalists who might be interested in your content.
You can also use a tool like Ahrefs’ Content Explorer to find sites that have recently published content about your topic and reach out to them.
Here’s how to do that:
- Enter your topic into Content Explorer
- Filter for pages published in the last 90 days
- Filter for pages on DR70+ websites (big sites that you probably want links from)
For example, if we do this for the topic of “chatgpt,” we see thousands of well-known websites that have recently published about ChatGPT including Business Insider, Tech Republic, and Wired.
![4 Tactics for High-Quality Backlinks That Move the Needle [+ Examples] Finding websites that recently published about a topic with Content Explorer](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701204971_900_4-Tactics-for-High-Quality-Backlinks-That-Move-the-Needle.png)
![4 Tactics for High-Quality Backlinks That Move the Needle [+ Examples] Finding websites that recently published about a topic with Content Explorer](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701204971_900_4-Tactics-for-High-Quality-Backlinks-That-Move-the-Needle.png)
Data journalism is a way of enhancing or creating newsworthy content by analyzing unique data sets. It can fall under digital PR, though it typically requires more detailed research.
This technique works because reporters love a good statistic they can either quote or write an opinion piece about. Be the source of such data, and you can earn many high-quality links anytime your data becomes relevant to trending news topics.
Examples
Data journalism can be quite simple. For example, in another case study from Search Intelligence, Fery’s team used Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer as a data source for a cybersecurity PR campaign.
The study reveals the top UK banks where customers seek help with fraud, allowing journalists to report on which banks are more secure than others.
The data fuelling these insights is keyword search volume. That’s it.
![4 Tactics for High-Quality Backlinks That Move the Needle [+ Examples] Ahrefs' data that fuelled a cybersecurity PR campaign](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701204972_121_4-Tactics-for-High-Quality-Backlinks-That-Move-the-Needle.png)
![4 Tactics for High-Quality Backlinks That Move the Needle [+ Examples] Ahrefs' data that fuelled a cybersecurity PR campaign](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701204972_121_4-Tactics-for-High-Quality-Backlinks-That-Move-the-Needle.png)
This method doesn’t take very long, doesn’t need a data scientist and can very easily be replicated in other industries where search popularity can unearth interesting insights.
In another example (and perhaps one of our all time favorites), marketing firm Yard created a data study comparing the CO2 emissions of various celebrities and ranking the worst offenders.
![4 Tactics for High-Quality Backlinks That Move the Needle [+ Examples] Data study on the C02 emissions of celebrities](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701204972_951_4-Tactics-for-High-Quality-Backlinks-That-Move-the-Needle.png)
![4 Tactics for High-Quality Backlinks That Move the Needle [+ Examples] Data study on the C02 emissions of celebrities](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701204972_951_4-Tactics-for-High-Quality-Backlinks-That-Move-the-Needle.png)
If you follow celebrity news, there’s no way you missed reports of Taylor Swift’s private jet emissions being among the highest compared to other celebrities.
![4 Tactics for High-Quality Backlinks That Move the Needle [+ Examples] Just a few of the thousands of posts about Taylor Swift's jet emissions following a successful data journalism campaign](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701204972_692_4-Tactics-for-High-Quality-Backlinks-That-Move-the-Needle.png)
![4 Tactics for High-Quality Backlinks That Move the Needle [+ Examples] Just a few of the thousands of posts about Taylor Swift's jet emissions following a successful data journalism campaign](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701204972_692_4-Tactics-for-High-Quality-Backlinks-That-Move-the-Needle.png)
Every single one of these news stories originated from the data study.
When the study was first released, it went viral and earned links from almost 2,000 referring domains within the first month.
But that’s not all.
This topic trended in news cycles again when rumours spread that Taylor Swift attended a Jets game to bury the original negative publicity about her private jet usage, earning Yard a well-deserved second round of links.
![4 Tactics for High-Quality Backlinks That Move the Needle [+ Examples] Google Trends data for "taylor swift jet"](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701204972_809_4-Tactics-for-High-Quality-Backlinks-That-Move-the-Needle.png)
![4 Tactics for High-Quality Backlinks That Move the Needle [+ Examples] Google Trends data for "taylor swift jet"](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701204972_809_4-Tactics-for-High-Quality-Backlinks-That-Move-the-Needle.png)
Today, this post has 1,861 links from 1,155 referring domains, 77% of them are dofollow, and 38.4% are higher than DR 60.
![4 Tactics for High-Quality Backlinks That Move the Needle [+ Examples] DR distribution of backlinks to the celebrity C02 emissions content piece](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701204972_950_4-Tactics-for-High-Quality-Backlinks-That-Move-the-Needle.png)
![4 Tactics for High-Quality Backlinks That Move the Needle [+ Examples] DR distribution of backlinks to the celebrity C02 emissions content piece](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701204972_950_4-Tactics-for-High-Quality-Backlinks-That-Move-the-Needle.png)
Talk about drool-worthy results! That’s high-quality link building done right.
How to do it
Successful data journalism is similar to digital PR but relies on the intriguing, data-backed insights you can unearth.
In a nutshell, the process looks like this:
- Find a data-driven content angle that gets links and media attention
- Gather data to provide new or updated insights on the topic
- Tell journalists about your findings
Start by considering “your money or your life” content angles that everyday folk care about. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking too narrow or pitching ideas only a small demographic may understand.
For instance, cybersecurity is not a sexy topic journalists or their readers will likely care about. There’s also not a high degree of literacy about the topic among the general population.
But everyone cares about whether their bank is secure and how safe their money is.
This concept needs no explanation and that’s exactly why data that helps answer the question “how safe is your bank?” worked exceptionally well as a link building tactic in the example above.
You can also use Content Explorer to gather more ideas like:
- Evergreen yet stale topics that you can update with more recent data
- Data you can visualize better or repurpose into a different content format
- Trending angles in other industries you can apply to your industry
For example, on the topic of ChatGPT, we found Rand Fishkin’s post claiming usage has declined 29% between May and August 2023 and that 30% of its usage is by programmers.
![4 Tactics for High-Quality Backlinks That Move the Needle [+ Examples] Finding content ideas in Content Explorer](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701204972_373_4-Tactics-for-High-Quality-Backlinks-That-Move-the-Needle.png)
![4 Tactics for High-Quality Backlinks That Move the Needle [+ Examples] Finding content ideas in Content Explorer](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701204972_373_4-Tactics-for-High-Quality-Backlinks-That-Move-the-Needle.png)
You don’t need original ideas to succeed. If you’ve got the data to back it up, you can easily take the angles of a “useage patterns” or “most popular audience segments” and apply them to popular tools in your industry.
Some decent data sources you can start with include:
- Search data: Like Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer for uncovering interesting search patterns.
- Historical data: Like Google Trends for highlighting growth or decline patterns over time.
- Scientific research: Like on Google Scholar or in specific research journals.
- Public niche data: For instance, Yard’s study used the CelebrityJets Twitter page.
- Proprietary data: From within your (or your client’s) organization.
When you find an interesting insight or pattern worth sharing, write a press release about it and share it with journalists who frequently report on the topic.
Statistics pages are curated lists of facts and figures in a particular industry. These pages attract evergreen links for as long as the statistics remain relevant.
It’s one of our favorite link building tactics. Here’s how we’ve used it quite successfully over the years.
Example
We first launched a detailed list of SEO statistics in 2020 and it has been naturally earning high-quality links ever since.
![4 Tactics for High-Quality Backlinks That Move the Needle [+ Examples] Backlinks over time to our SEO statistics page](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701204973_615_4-Tactics-for-High-Quality-Backlinks-That-Move-the-Needle.png)
![4 Tactics for High-Quality Backlinks That Move the Needle [+ Examples] Backlinks over time to our SEO statistics page](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701204973_615_4-Tactics-for-High-Quality-Backlinks-That-Move-the-Needle.png)
Currently, the page has:
- 5,787 backlinks
- 2,282 referring domains
- 82% “dofollow” links
- 37.7% from DR 60+ websites
While we used some outreach techniques in the early days, most of the success has come from the page’s ability to maintain top position rankings for competitive keywords.
![4 Tactics for High-Quality Backlinks That Move the Needle [+ Examples] Rankings for our SEO statistics page](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701204973_872_4-Tactics-for-High-Quality-Backlinks-That-Move-the-Needle.png)
![4 Tactics for High-Quality Backlinks That Move the Needle [+ Examples] Rankings for our SEO statistics page](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701204973_872_4-Tactics-for-High-Quality-Backlinks-That-Move-the-Needle.png)
Do it right, and this tactic remains wildly effective for earning links naturally for many years.
How to do it
Start by entering a few broad topics related to your website into Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer. For example, we might enter the following for Ahrefs:
- SEO
- Content marketing
- Link building
Then navigate to the Matching Terms report and apply the inclusion filter for things like stats, statistics, facts, or figures. Make sure your filter is set to include any of these phrases.
Then it’s just a matter of checking out the results to find a relevant topic you want to write about.
We went for “SEO statistics”:
![4 Tactics for High-Quality Backlinks That Move the Needle [+ Examples] Finding statistics keywords in Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701204973_824_4-Tactics-for-High-Quality-Backlinks-That-Move-the-Needle.png)
![4 Tactics for High-Quality Backlinks That Move the Needle [+ Examples] Finding statistics keywords in Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701204973_824_4-Tactics-for-High-Quality-Backlinks-That-Move-the-Needle.png)
Once you pick your topic, it’s a just matter of curating linkworthy stats and publishing them on a page.
While you can earn some seed links with early outreach efforts, long term success comes down to keeping your content updated with the latest data. That’s the best way to compound performance year on year, earning many high-quality links with no ongoing outreach needed.
Relationship-based link building prioritizes long-term relationships with journalists, writers, and editors.
It is an effective addition to digital PR campaigns as you can shortcut the time it takes to find the right people to distribute your content.
Better yet, you can be a journalist’s first point of call when they write a story on topics you or your clients are experts in.
Example
Imagine having journalists contact you asking to feature your clients in upcoming stories. That’s exactly what growth marketing firm, EngineRoom, has achieved.
A journalist from Mamamia (DR 78) made a call out on Sourcebottle, the Australian equivalent of HARO, seeking expert advice on immigration law. EngineRoom’s link building expert, Don Milne, responded and won the story along with a high-quality link.
![4 Tactics for High-Quality Backlinks That Move the Needle [+ Examples] Example of a backlink built with relationship-based link building](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701204973_405_4-Tactics-for-High-Quality-Backlinks-That-Move-the-Needle.png)
![4 Tactics for High-Quality Backlinks That Move the Needle [+ Examples] Example of a backlink built with relationship-based link building](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701204973_405_4-Tactics-for-High-Quality-Backlinks-That-Move-the-Needle.png)
Then, the real magic started.
Instead of ending things there, Don also shared a client list with the journalist in case they ever wanted to collaborate on future stories again.
Sure enough, a few weeks later, the journalist reached out, asking to connect with another client in the drug rehab space to develop a story on heroin addiction. The client is featured in about 30% of the completed article with detailed quotes from the founder and (of course) a link back to their website.
![4 Tactics for High-Quality Backlinks That Move the Needle [+ Examples] Example of a backlink built with relationship-based link building](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701204973_499_4-Tactics-for-High-Quality-Backlinks-That-Move-the-Needle.png)
![4 Tactics for High-Quality Backlinks That Move the Needle [+ Examples] Example of a backlink built with relationship-based link building](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1701204973_499_4-Tactics-for-High-Quality-Backlinks-That-Move-the-Needle.png)
No pitching. No outreach. Just a genuine partnership and collaboration now earning multiple high-quality links for their clients.
How to do it
This technique is all about the follow-up after you collaborate on your first story with a journalist.
If getting the first foot in the door is where you’re stuck, you can check out our detailed guide on relationship-based link building by Irina Maltseva, the former Head of Marketing at Hunter.
Once you get that first story, make sure you keep the relationship going.
If you have a list of websites or clients you represent, create a professional document with a mini bio about each client. Make sure it’s also easily searchable for writers in a hurry and makes your contact details clear and easy to access.
Then, share it with journalists, writers, and editors you collaborate with so they can refer to it in the future if they need an expert on a specific topic for their content.
Final thoughts
Earning high-quality backlinks can be much easier than many people realize and cheaper too! All the examples shared in this post earned free link placements on high-authority websites and with minimal outreach.
These techniques have more staying power. They are also far less likely to be seen as “link manipulation” or devalued in future Google updates.
And, if you get your content angle just right, they also have the potential to be earning links many months, if not years, down the track!
Got questions? Ping me on LinkedIn.
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Google Testing “Simple Search” Refinement Option
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