SEO
Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices)
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices)](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966769_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.jpg)
Struggling to find time for essential SEO tasks? Outsourcing SEO might be the solution.
Outsourcing SEO allows you to leverage expert knowledge and free up time for other critical aspects of your business.
To outsource effectively, you’ll need to hire an SEO freelancer or an SEO agency and decide what parts of your SEO campaign you want to delegate.
In this beginner’s guide, I’ll explain what SEO outsourcing is, share services often outsourced, and discuss best practices based on my agency experience.
I’m guessing you clicked on this post to see if outsourcing SEO is right for your business. But what is it exactly?
SEO outsourcing involves hiring an external agency or freelancers to handle SEO tasks. Whether you need a freelancer for keyword research or a full-service agency to handle every aspect of SEO, outsourcing can be tailored to your specific needs.
For example, it could look like this—with a single SEO freelancer supporting your company.
But, if your business needs more support, a lone freelancer may not be enough, and you may need to outsource SEO to a dedicated agency, which might look like this.
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) Company Outsourcing Parts of Its SEO Campaign to an SEO Agency Illustration](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966766_536_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.jpg)
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) Company Outsourcing Parts of Its SEO Campaign to an SEO Agency Illustration](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966766_536_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.jpg)
And sometimes, a company may outsource parts of its SEO campaign to a mix of freelancers and agencies, as illustrated below.
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) Company Outsourcing SEO Campaign to Mix of Freelancers and Agencies Illustration](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966766_890_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.jpg)
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) Company Outsourcing SEO Campaign to Mix of Freelancers and Agencies Illustration](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966766_890_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.jpg)
The reality is outsourcing SEO takes different forms and depends on your business needs.
So, when should you consider outsourcing SEO? There are two main reasons:
- The first is urgency – If you need a project delivered within a short timeframe, outsourcing SEO is usually the best option because hiring a full-time employee takes time to hire and train them
- The second is budget – Outsourcing SEO is usually more cost-effective than hiring a full-time employee because you can hire freelancers for specific tasks and not have to pay benefits or salary
There are also more specific reasons where SEO outsourcing can be beneficial.
For instance, if you:
- Need very specific SEO expertise – e.g., Law firm SEO, plumbing SEO, dental SEO, etc.
- Need to reduce the workload for in-house teams quickly
- Need speed and efficiency of delivery
- Have a new client but don’t have time to hire an FTE
- Want a hands-off approach to SEO
- Want to focus on an area of SEO you’re good at rather than something you’re not
If these feel like familiar challenges, it’s worth considering outsourcing SEO.
If you want to outsource your entire SEO strategy and don’t have much knowledge of SEO yourself, then an agency is probably the best option (assuming you’re willing to pay $1001+ per month.)
Here’s why.
- You get access to an account manager and a team of SEO experts
- You also get access to the best tools in the business – Although agency fees are typically higher than a freelancer’s, agencies often have access to many different tools, some of which could be unaffordable for either your company or a freelancer
- You get expertise – Agency SEOs don’t just work on one client. They work on many different client accounts spanning many different industries – they bring this expertise to the table in every meeting
However, if you’re looking to outsource a specific part of your SEO strategy, such as content, keyword research, or link building, and you’re working on a tight budget, then it could be better to start talking to a freelancer.
- Freelancers are usually more cost-effective – They usually have fewer overheads than agencies. According to Josh’s SEO pricing study, SEO agencies charge 138% more than freelancers
- Freelancers are often faster to work with – Due to less paperwork and onboarding processes
Both agencies and freelancers can meet your SEO needs, but your choice depends on your desired level of involvement and budget.
To summarize, SEO agencies are ideal for businesses with a hands-off approach or a larger budget. Freelancers are best for accessing specialized knowledge within a tighter budget.
Outsourcing allows you to delegate time-consuming or complex SEO tasks without overburdening your team.
Here are some key services you can outsource in SEO.
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) SEO Outsourcing Examples Illustration](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966766_741_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.jpg)
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) SEO Outsourcing Examples Illustration](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966766_741_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.jpg)
As there are at least 67 types of SEO, I can’t cover every service here, but you get the idea—almost everything in SEO can be outsourced for a price.
Here are the most common outsourced SEO services based on my previous agency experience.
Content creation
Sometimes content creation can become overwhelming, and you may need extra support. Outsourcing parts of your content creation can help ease the workload.
So, what do you need to know when outsourcing content? These are the most important considerations:
- What it costs to outsource content
- What to look for when outsourcing content
- What risks are there with outsourcing content
Cost
The cost of outsourcing content can vary a lot. You can pay as little as a few dollars or thousands of dollars per article. It depends on your budget.
Ahrefs’ study into cheap vs expensive freelance writers revealed that the median cost of a writer was ~$0.15 per word. It may be more or less depending on what region you’re in, but this gives you a benchmark of what you can expect to pay for content.
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) Cost Of A Content Writer Illustration](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.png)
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) Cost Of A Content Writer Illustration](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.png)
In my experience, I’ve never hired a writer for as cheap as $0.02 per word. I usually pay ~$0.20 upwards for content. The reason: I’ve learned through experience that very cheap content, although tempting, often requires a lot of editing.
This, in my opinion, defeats the purpose of outsourcing SEO in the first place—as you either have to edit yourself or hire an editor. Sometimes, it’s just better to get a decent writer the first time around.
What to look for
Here are the key things I looked for when hiring content writers at my previous SEO agency:
- Understands the content brief and requires minimal “hand holding”
- Native-language speaker
- Proven experience in writing about the topic
- Responsive to feedback
Potential risks
There are three key risks of outsourcing content:
- AI or automation – The cheaper your content writer is, the higher the chances they may be using automation or AI to create the content. Ask your writers how they create their content. Using AI doesn’t mean your content won’t rank in Google, but it is something to be aware of because your writer may not have even reviewed the content themselves
- Yawn-inducing content that sends your readers into a coma – Freelance writers are less invested in your brand, so they may not convey much personality in their writing. Counteract this by creating detailed briefs instructing the writer on your brand’s tone of voice
- Over-optimized SEO content – Sometimes, writers go overboard mentioning specific keywords or having an H2 heading every three sentences: “FoR tHe SeO.” Counteract this by instructing them what the headings should be and how they should mention keywords
Finding content creators
Need a reliable content writer? Here’s where I usually start looking.
If you need a longer-term commitment on a bigger scale, working with a content agency might be a better option.
Tip
Keep a spreadsheet of your favorite freelance writers and agencies, including their rates, your review, and their specialization.
Link building
Like content, link building is often outsourced for the same reason—it’s time-consuming.
So, what do you need to know when outsourcing link building? These are the most important considerations:
- What it costs to outsource link building
- What to look for when outsourcing link building
- What risks are there with outsourcing link building
Cost
Sure, you can buy links from Fiverr for five bucks, but these links won’t help you rank in Google for long—or at all.
So, what’s the average cost of link building? Well, it depends…
For example, it depends on your location:
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) Average Price of Links Across Europe Illustration](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966766_582_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.jpg)
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) Average Price of Links Across Europe Illustration](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966766_582_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.jpg)
And the type of link building you’re doing.
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) Most Popular Link Building Tactics Illustration](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966766_335_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.png)
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) Most Popular Link Building Tactics Illustration](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966766_335_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.png)
Sidenote.
Before we proceed, it’s worth noting that Google considers buying links for ranking purposes a link spam technique — so take my advice here at your own risk.
What to look for
Here are the key things I looked for when hiring link builders at my previous SEO agency:
- Can build high-quality links that help improve rankings
- Has a reputation for ranking websites in the industry I was looking for
- Understands what a high-quality backlink looks like
- Creates the links themselves in-house
Potential risks
The number one risk of outsourcing link building is getting low-quality links. So, how can you avoid this?
Here’s what I check:
- Is the site a legitimate website? Does it look like a website you would trust?
- Is the site getting actual organic traffic? Check the Overview report in Site Explorer
- Do the Ahrefs metrics align with other sites of a similar authority? Check anchor text, and referring domains
- Does the website look like it’s selling links? Look for anchor text with high commercial intent that looks suspicious, like the below example
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) Example Of Suspicious Anchor Text](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966766_136_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.png)
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) Example Of Suspicious Anchor Text](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966766_136_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.png)
In the image above, there are two examples of commercial anchor text in red that look unnatural.
Finding link builders
My go-to place for finding link builders is freelance platforms like Upwork.
If you need to scale faster, an agency might be a better option. There’s no shortage of link-building agencies out there, and for a fee, they will help you get links for your website.
Technical SEO
When your site has a serious technical issue and performance has dropped, you may need to hire a technical SEO. The first indicator that something could be wrong is if you notice a significant drop in the health score of a tool like Ahrefs’ Site Audit.
That may look something like this.
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) Technical SEO Health Score, via Ahrefs' Site Audit](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966766_10_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.png)
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) Technical SEO Health Score, via Ahrefs' Site Audit](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966766_10_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.png)
If this is combined with a drop in organic traffic on Site Explorer’s Overview, you may need to find a technical SEO freelancer—fast.
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) Site Overview Performance Decline Example](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966766_614_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.png)
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) Site Overview Performance Decline Example](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966766_614_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.png)
Cost
Technical SEO varies in complexity and cost, making it crucial to choose an experienced partner who can quickly address issues to prevent sustained traffic loss. After looking at Upwork, you can get a freelancer for as little as $8 to $200 an hour.
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) Upwork Technical SEO Cost Screenshot](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966766_714_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.jpg)
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) Upwork Technical SEO Cost Screenshot](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966766_714_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.jpg)
It’s a huge variation, so to avoid disappointment I normally stay clear of the lower end of pricing.
What to look for
Look for someone with:
- Significant proven experience in technical SEO — Check to see what level of experience they have
- Knowledgeable about your area of search — Check to see if they’ve worked on similar websites before
Potential risks
Unfortunately, like links and content, there are also risks associated with outsourcing technical SEO.
So what are they?
- Bad advice – Incorrect advice could lead to more problems
- Wrong prioritization – The wrong issues may be prioritized, leading to prolonged loss of organic traffic
- Communication breakdown – If a technical SEO leaves mid-project, it could cause further ongoing issues
Finding technical SEOs
Look through LinkedIn and message technical SEOs for advice. One of the big advantages of using LinkedIn is that it’s free to message people.
For example, here’s a snapshot of a LinkedIn profile from one of my former colleagues. You can see this person has solid technical SEO experience. This is what a good profile looks like—but it will cost you.
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) LinkedIn Resume Example For Technical SEO Specialist](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966767_40_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.jpg)
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) LinkedIn Resume Example For Technical SEO Specialist](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966767_40_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.jpg)
With an SEO of this caliber, you only need to spend a few hours consulting with them to work out your technical SEO issues. However, if you continuously spend money at the lower end of the spectrum, you may never get your technical SEO issues resolved.
Keyword research
If you want to rank on Google, you can try guessing what keywords will bring you traffic. Or you can reverse engineer what is already working in Google using data from tools like Ahrefs Keywords Explorer.
For one or two keywords, you can research using our free keyword generator. But if you need a lot of keyword research, for instance, for a new website, then it could be a good idea to outsource it.
Cost
Keyword research on Upwork starts at ~$50, cheaper than most other SEO services mentioned here. But like many of the other SEO services mentioned here, there is good keyword research and bad keyword research.
What to look for
- They use a trusted keyword research tool like Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer
- They go beyond just search volume and the keywords and look at metrics like Traffic potential and Keyword Difficulty
Potential risks
Here are the risks of outsourcing keyword research based on my experience:
- Targeting the wrong keywords – Sometimes, after you’ve written an article, you’ll find that it doesn’t get much traffic. Often, the reason is the article that you’ve written doesn’t completely fulfill the search intent for that precise keyword
- Data is inaccurate due to using a low-quality SEO tool
- Data is too simplistic – e.g., only keywords and search volume. In my experience, I would expect metrics like Keyword Difficulty and Traffic Potential to be included as well to help make an informed decision of whether the keyword was worth targeting
Finding keyword research experts
Keyword research is usually provided as a standard part of an agency’s SEO services, but if you’re not with an agency, you can either hire a freelancer to do it or do your research using a tool like Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer.
Over the years, I’ve spent a small fortune on freelancers. Some have been incredible, and some have been incredibly bad. Avoid the bad ones by following my hard-earned best practices.
Request these things when working with outsource partners
I’ve worked with many outsourcing partners in my agency career, from freelancers to external agencies. If I want to work with them, I always request three things:
- An SEO proposal for the work. Ask for an SEO proposal of what they are going to do, check out my article on SEO proposals to get a rough idea of what one should look like
- References from their recent work. Ask for references. Don’t have any? That’s an instant red flag. This is less about the references themselves and more about seeing how fast a potential outsource partner can share a glowing reference. Look for someone who has a good track record in your industry or particular niche
- A video call interview. If they’ve passed the first two tests, it’s time for a quick 30-minute interview. Again, this is less about talking about what they’ve achieved but rather about seeing whether you could work with this person or group regularly
Use a Kanban board to track progress toward your goals
Kanban boards are the perfect way to track tasks when outsourcing SEO, but many people overcomplicate them.
When I worked in an agency, I had a simple setup like the one below.
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) Kanban Board Example From Agency](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966767_851_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.jpg)
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) Kanban Board Example From Agency](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966767_851_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.jpg)
I ran and managed a ~$50k pm enterprise SEO account, several external agencies, and a development team using this exact Kanban board format.
The lesson here: don’t overcomplicate things. You can use many tools, but my favorites are Notion and Trello.
Tip
Combine a Kanban board with a tool like Slack to quickly resolve queries from external agencies and freelancers.
Create standard operating procedures (SOPs)
Without clear SOPs, work can be easily misinterpreted, leading to last-minute revisions. Define tasks clearly from the start to ensure desired outcomes.
Create SOPs to define exactly what you want delivered. Otherwise, you will not get the desired output.
For basic tasks, you can create a basic SOP for free using a tool like Google Docs, Trello, or Notion. You can even use ChatGPT to create one.
Here’s an example of a prompt I used to create an SOP for Keyword Research using Ahrefs.
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) Using ChatGPT To Create Keyword Research SOP](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966767_257_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.png)
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) Using ChatGPT To Create Keyword Research SOP](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966767_257_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.png)
Or, for more complicated tasks that involve multiple tools, techniques, or processes, use a tool like Scribehow—it’s useful for quickly building more detailed SOPs that involve multiple tools or processes.
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) Using Scribehow To Create A Detailed SOP](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966767_42_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.jpg)
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) Using Scribehow To Create A Detailed SOP](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966767_42_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.jpg)
Set clear goals and monitor progress using Ahrefs
Once you’ve hired your outsource partner, you should establish clear delivery deadlines and schedule regular check-ins to ensure your delivery date is achievable.
But if you do not know SEO, how can you ensure the job has been completed well? You can use tools like Ahrefs to check.
Use Site Explorer’s Overview to check organic traffic and links and correlate the impact of content changes.
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) SEO Performance Increase, Via Ahrefs' Site Explorer](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966767_488_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.png)
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) SEO Performance Increase, Via Ahrefs' Site Explorer](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966767_488_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.png)
Use Site Audit to check technical SEO performance.
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) Site Audit Example Screenshot](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966767_82_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.png)
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) Site Audit Example Screenshot](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966767_82_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.png)
Use Keywords Explorer to double-check keyword research.
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) Keywords Explorer Screenshot](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966767_175_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.jpg)
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) Keywords Explorer Screenshot](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966767_175_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.jpg)
Use Rank Tracker to monitor important keyword rankings over time.
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) Rank Tracker Screenshot](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966767_63_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.jpg)
![Here’s How You Can Outsource SEO Easily and Effectively (+ Best Practices) Rank Tracker Screenshot](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724966767_63_Heres-How-You-Can-Outsource-SEO-Easily-and-Effectively.jpg)
If you have a copy of Ahrefs, you can monitor almost every aspect of what your outsource partner is doing. So, even if you aren’t doing SEO yourself but want to keep track of progress, it’s a useful tool.
Final thoughts
If you want to outsource SEO, there’s no shortage of people to fill the role, but finding your perfect outsourcing partner(s) is usually the biggest challenge.
To get the right partner, vet thoroughly, create SOPs, and set clear expectations and goals, and you won’t go far wrong. If you are unsure of the quality of the work delivered, you can double-check using tools like Ahrefs to monitor their progress.
Got questions? Let me know on LinkedIn.
SEO
I Disavowed “Toxic Backlinks”: Here’s What Happened
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943369_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.jpg)
On July 26th 2024, I exported all “toxic” and “potentially toxic” backlinks to three of our blog posts from a well-known SEO tool. There were 129 URLs in total, which I disavowed in Google Search Console.
After disavowing, traffic (as reported by GSC) fell by 7.1%:
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened Traffic fell by 7.1% after disavowing](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943365_485_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened Traffic fell by 7.1% after disavowing](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943365_485_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
Sidenote.
Google began rolling out a Core Update on August 15th, which is why I cut the experiment short to only 20 days. My plan was to leave it running for a full month, but I think just shy of three weeks is enough time to see results anyway.
Before disavowing, according to GSC, traffic to these posts was trending slightly upward:
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened 1724943365 582 I Disavowed Toxic Backlinks Heres What Happened](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943365_582_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened 1724943365 582 I Disavowed Toxic Backlinks Heres What Happened](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943365_582_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
After disavowing? Slightly downward:
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened 1724943365 608 I Disavowed Toxic Backlinks Heres What Happened](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943365_608_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened 1724943365 608 I Disavowed Toxic Backlinks Heres What Happened](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943365_608_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
However, Ahrefs’ organic traffic estimates tell a slightly different story. Visibility is trending slightly downward before disavowing…
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened 1724943365 511 I Disavowed Toxic Backlinks Heres What Happened](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943365_511_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened 1724943365 511 I Disavowed Toxic Backlinks Heres What Happened](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943365_511_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
… and after disavowing:
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened 1724943365 641 I Disavowed Toxic Backlinks Heres What Happened](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943365_641_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened 1724943365 641 I Disavowed Toxic Backlinks Heres What Happened](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943365_641_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
I asked Patrick Stox how he’d interpret this. Here’s what he said:
I would personally look at Ahrefs data here. Average search volume in Ahrefs will show if it impacted rankings and visibility, although our data may be slower to update than GSC. GSC can have seasonality, luck, etc. involved, so it’s not as consistent of a measure.
Makes sense. In this case, it looks like disavowing had little to no impact on rankings/visibility overall. But let’s take a closer look at the data…
Test pages
The data above is for all three pages combined, so let’s take a look at what happened to each page individually.
This page was our SEO pricing guide.
For the 20-day period before the disavow, the post got 574 organic visits. This fell by 12% to 505 visits in the following 20 days (when the disavow was in place).
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened Traffic fell by 12% after disavowing](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943366_191_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened Traffic fell by 12% after disavowing](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943366_191_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
Before disavowing, organic traffic to this post was flatlining:
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened GSC organic traffic trend before disavowing for our SEO pricing post](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943366_227_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened GSC organic traffic trend before disavowing for our SEO pricing post](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943366_227_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
After disavowing, it’s still flatlining:
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened GSC organic traffic trend after disavowing for our SEO pricing post](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943366_924_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened GSC organic traffic trend after disavowing for our SEO pricing post](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943366_924_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
Ahrefs data tells a slightly different story…
Before disavowing, estimated organic traffic was trending slightly downward:
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened Ahrefs organic traffic trend before disavowing for our SEO pricing post](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943366_753_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened Ahrefs organic traffic trend before disavowing for our SEO pricing post](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943366_753_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
After disavowing, it’s flatlining:
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened Ahrefs organic traffic trend after disavowing for our SEO pricing post](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943366_633_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened Ahrefs organic traffic trend after disavowing for our SEO pricing post](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943366_633_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
Long story short? Disavowing might have had a small positive impact, but I believe it’s more likely that a long downward trend is just finally leveling off.
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened Ahrefs 6 month traffic trend for our SEO pricing post](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943366_154_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened Ahrefs 6 month traffic trend for our SEO pricing post](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943366_154_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
This page was our list of top YouTube searches.
For the 20-day period before the disavow, the post got 291 organic visits. This fell by 8.25% to 267 visits in the following 20 days (when the disavow was in place).
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened Traffic fell by 8.25% after disavowing](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943366_287_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened Traffic fell by 8.25% after disavowing](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943366_287_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
Before disavowing, organic traffic to the post was trending upward:
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened GSC organic traffic trend before disavowing for our list of top YouTube searches](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943366_542_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened GSC organic traffic trend before disavowing for our list of top YouTube searches](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943366_542_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
After disavowing, it’s trending downward:
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened GSC organic traffic trend after disavowing for our list of top YouTube searches](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943366_913_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened GSC organic traffic trend after disavowing for our list of top YouTube searches](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943366_913_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
Ahrefs’ data tells the same story…
Before disavowing, estimated organic traffic was trending upwards:
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened Ahrefs organic traffic trend before disavowing for our list of top YouTube searches](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943366_152_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened Ahrefs organic traffic trend before disavowing for our list of top YouTube searches](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943366_152_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
After disavowing, it’s trending downwards:
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened Ahrefs organic traffic trend after disavowing for our list of top YouTube searches](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943366_741_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened Ahrefs organic traffic trend after disavowing for our list of top YouTube searches](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943366_741_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
The results seem pretty clear: disavowing likely had a negative impact—especially with a big drop in estimated traffic around ten days after.
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened Traffic drop after disavowing](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943366_577_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened Traffic drop after disavowing](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943366_577_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
This page was our list of top Bing searches.
For the 20-day period before the disavow, the post got 156 organic visits. This grew by 12.82% to 176 visits in the following 20 days (when the disavow was in place).
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened Traffic grew by 12.85% after disavowing](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943366_785_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened Traffic grew by 12.85% after disavowing](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943366_785_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
Before disavowing, organic traffic to this post was trending upward:
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened GSC organic traffic trend before disavowing for our list of top Bing searches](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943366_63_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened GSC organic traffic trend before disavowing for our list of top Bing searches](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943366_63_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
After disavowing, it’s still trending upward:
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened GSC organic traffic trend after disavowing for our list of top Bing searches](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943367_619_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened GSC organic traffic trend after disavowing for our list of top Bing searches](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943367_619_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
Ahrefs tells a slightly different story here…
Before disavowing, estimated traffic was trending ever so slightly (it really is slight!) downward:
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened Ahrefs organic traffic trend before disavowing for our list of top Bing searches](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943367_923_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened Ahrefs organic traffic trend before disavowing for our list of top Bing searches](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943367_923_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
After disavowing, it’s the same story:
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened Ahrefs organic traffic trend after disavowing for our list of top Bing searches](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943367_811_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened Ahrefs organic traffic trend after disavowing for our list of top Bing searches](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943367_811_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
So, disavowing seemed to have little or no impact here…
What does all of this mean?
My interpretation of these results is that disavowing “toxic backlinks” basically did nothing. It seemed to hurt one page a bit, maybe slightly help another, and have no impact on another.
In short, blindly disavowing “toxic backlinks” reported by SEO tools is unlikely to have much if any positive impact—at least according to our data.
Is this a surprise? Not really. Google has been saying this pretty much forever:
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened John Mueller on Reddit](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943367_824_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened John Mueller on Reddit](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943367_824_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
That said, while the most likely outcome of disavowing is basically nothing, it’s definitely still risky. Disavowing “toxic backlinks” could tank your traffic, as this reply to John on Reddit illustrates:
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened Reply to John Mueller on Reddit](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943367_312_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened Reply to John Mueller on Reddit](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943367_312_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
Does this mean that disavowing is always a bad idea? No. If you already have a manual penalty for unnatural links or a very large number of manipulative links (e.g., paid links), then you should absolutely disavow.
Google recommends this…
You should disavow backlinks only if:
You have a considerable number of spammy, artificial, or low-quality links pointing to your site,
AND
The links have caused a manual action, or likely will cause a manual action, on your site.
… and so does Marie Haynes:
There are two situations where we will recommend to our clients a thorough link audit followed by filing a disavow:
- The site has a manual action for unnatural links in GSC.
- The site has a very large number of links that we feel the webspam team would consider to be “manipulative”.
If that’s not you, then disavowing “toxic backlinks”—especially those reported by SEO tools—probably isn’t the best idea or use of your time. As Marie Haynes said, they’re unlikely to be truly toxic anyway:
I find that the truly toxic links…the ones that could have the potential to harm your site algorithmically are rarely returned by an SEO tool.
That said, plenty of SEOs don’t agree with this advice and are convinced that disavowing “toxic backlinks” helps. If that’s you and you’re seeing good results from disavowing, fantastic! Don’t let me stop you 🙂
For everyone else, it’s probably not the best idea…
This isn’t the first time we’ve studied this either. My colleague Patrick disavowed all links to these same three posts back in 2021—and traffic fell off a cliff:
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened Impact of disavowing all backlinks from our previous study](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943367_341_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
![I Disavowed "Toxic Backlinks": Here's What Happened Impact of disavowing all backlinks from our previous study](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1724943367_341_I-Disavowed-Toxic-Backlinks-Heres-What-Happened.png)
We didn’t specifically disavow “toxic” backlinks here, but links clearly still help pages rank. If an SEO tool wrongly labels some of these helpful links as “toxic” and you disavow them, it could harm your traffic.
My advice? Spend your time improving your SEO, not disavowing “toxic backlinks” that might actually be helping you!
Got questions? Disagree? Ping me on LinkedIn (or X if you insist!)
SEO
How To Find The Right Long-tail Keywords For Articles
![How To Find The Right Long-tail Keywords For Articles How To Find The Right Long-tail Keywords For Articles](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/How-To-Find-The-Right-Long-tail-Keywords-For-Articles.jpg)
This week’s Ask An SEO question comes from Carrazana in Cuba, who asks:
“How do you find the right, long-tail keywords for articles? I can not find the right keywords and long tail keywords for my post and articles. I use keywords everywhere.”
Great question, Carrazana! Lots of content professionals struggle with finding long tail keywords, and many worry about cross-over between posts, also known as keyword and topic cannibalization.
The way to find long tail keywords and prevent cannibalization is to change your mindset on needing keywords by article and incorporate non-traditional research tools. So, let’s solve this so it is no longer an obstacle for you.
I’m going to start by addressing cannibalization, then jump into using non-traditional keyword research methods like LinkedIn hashtags and strategies our agency uses to generate ideas for our clients.
One thing I’d like to emphasize is to not focus on keywords; focus on the topic, and providing the best possible user experience for the intent of the topic.
Cannibalization
Instead of thinking about the keywords that are needed, think about the topic that you’re writing for.
The same words and phrases could mean different things and have different intent based on the topic, even if they’re used in the same way. Not in the sense of a homonym or double entendre, but as in search intent.
The same phrase for the service should exist in multiple pages of content, including product or service pages for conversions, and in guides to help consumers learn more, decide where to purchase, or how to prepare. The difference here is the topic changes based on the intent.
On the conversion page, the phrase needs to reinforce that this is a page that the consumer can take action on. For a how-to guide, it is more informative and should help the consumer know how to do it themselves, prepare for the professional to come and visit, or learn how to hire the right person for the job.
Search engines are smart enough to know the intent of content and can show it as needed. This is why you want to have a clear intent when creating content.
If you sell apples, do not define what an apple is on your product or service page.
The person already knows; instead, define it on a blog post about “what an apple is.” The product or service page should be about the benefits of using the specific apple, like baking, eating it directly, or feeding it to specific animals as a treat.
Your blog posts can include definitions, guides, and comparisons of which apples are better for specific purposes and why, as well as other non-conversion-oriented content.
Both the product page and at least one guide will have “apples for horses,” but the intent is different.
One page clearly shows where you can buy an apple to feed a horse, while the other explains why that particular apple is better for horses, which may be its nutritional value or the way a horse’s tastebuds and body respond to the sugar or fiber content.
I’m making this up for the example; don’t take it as factual advice. You can deploy schema to let the search engines know when to show each page based on search intent.
Product and service schema goes on the pages where you want conversions, and article or blog posting schema can go on the guides and informative ones. The machine learning portions of the search engine will look at the associations around the text while other aspects read the schema to determine what the purpose of the page is.
Proper implementation and clear wording make the search engine’s job easy and reduce the chance of cannibalization. Now that you know how to prevent cannibalization, let’s go into finding long tail keyword topics.
Finding Long-Tail Keyword Phrases
Finding long-tail keyword phrases is simple when you step outside of the normal tool sets. You have data points your competitors and third parties don’t have access to using customer data, and there are non-traditional places you can search.
Customer Support
Start by reading customer service and live chat transcripts. See if you can extract questions that mention specific products or services or by a category like blue t-shirts or red apples. With this information, you can see the words and language your customers are using, and how frequently.
These become long tail phrases for content on all forms of pages. You can also see the questions they have, reasons they return product, and recommendations customer support offers to guide them to the correct option to purchase.
These data points lead to sizing guides and comparison shopping content, articles about one fabric being better than another for a purpose like cocktail parties or running a marathon, and answer questions for the shopping and checkout process.
You may also find that these are questions being asked about your competitors like which of their models is similar to a specific product on your website.
You can create solutions on your site to bring in this type of traffic by answering their customers’ questions and optimizing your site for them via search.
LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, And Other Hashtag Sites
Social media sites that power part of their search and algorithm with hashtags are a goldmine of topics.
Go to LinkedIn and click on a hashtag like #SEO or #business. You’ll see how many people subscribe to it, how often it is used, and engagement on new content published within the hashtag’s feed.
If the hashtag is being used regularly and has engagement, look at the posts that exist within it. By knowing which gets the most comments, activity, and other signals, you can use them as a basis for new content on your own website.
As a bonus, they can be shared on these social platforms and hopefully get social media engagement too.
Bonus tip: The most engaged may only be engaged because the person or company that shared has an active following. Look for three that are similar in topic and see if two of the three have engagement to determine if it has the potential for a bit of virality on social media.
Forums And Q&A Sites
Next, use forums and question-and-answer sites. Take a Reddit forum and plug it into an SEO tool like Semrush, Ahrefs, or Moz to see the keywords and phrases they’re ranking for.
You may find a lot of long tail that could be relevant to your own product or service offerings.
Then look at the specific threads showing up for these phrases and see if there are new long-tail keyword phrases being used by the community. This gives you insight into their mindset – compare it with your own live chat and customer service data.
Q&A Keyword Tools
There are some great tools out there to find long-tail phrases, like AlsoAsked.com and AnswerThePublic.com. When you type a keyword phrase in you can see the ideas these tools come up with for topics to write about and the keywords the tools feel are related to the main topic.
Use Autocomplete On YouTube And Search Engines
The last tip is to use auto-complete on search engines, including YouTube. Once on YouTube, type in a portion of a phrase or a keyword and you’ll see it begin to autofill potential matches.
When there’s one that is relevant for your audience, click it and then look at the titles and descriptions from each video.
Many creators use chapters, and these chapters are what the content creator found to be helpful and relevant to the phrase. Each can become topics and phrases for you as well. Next, watch each video, listen to the wording and phrases the YouTuber uses, and read the comments section below.
You’ll learn the questions that weren’t answered in the video, the jargon users use, and find more content ideas as well as gaps you can fill in to bring new information into the mix. This same strategy applies to TikTok, Instagram Reels, and other video content platforms.
There’s no shortage of ways to find long-tail keyword phrases; the only limit is your own creativity.
As a content writer and SEO professional, you have tons of it! I hope this post helps you find more to write about.
More resources:
Featured Image: Paulo Bobita/Search Engine Journal
SEO
Is Value-Based Bidding Your Ticket To Higher Quality Leads?
![Is Value-Based Bidding Your Ticket To Higher Quality Leads? Is Value-Based Bidding Your Ticket To Higher Quality Leads?](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Is-Value-Based-Bidding-Your-Ticket-To-Higher-Quality-Leads.png)
For lead gen marketers, we know it’s not just about generating leads; it’s about attracting the right leads – those that are most likely to convert into valuable customers.
Value-based bidding is a strategic approach that allows businesses to focus on optimizing campaigns for conversions that truly matter.
We’ve seen value-based bidding work for online sales and brick-and-mortar businesses as well, but here we’re going to focus on using it for driving higher quality leads.
This is the first of five articles I’ll be sharing weekly to delve in deeper and build on each episode of our new video series on value-based bidding for lead generation.
As you’ll see in this first video below, each is short enough to take in over a quick coffee break.
We’ll start from the beginning and cover what it is and whether value-based bidding could be the right strategy to elevate your lead generation efforts in Google Ads.
The Power Of Quality Leads
Not every customer brings the same value to your business. High-quality leads are more likely to engage with your brand, convert into paying customers, and contribute to long-term business growth.
Value-based bidding is particularly beneficial for businesses that typically need to nurture relationships with customers between an initial online conversion and a final sale.
By focusing on quality leads, you can streamline your sales funnel, improve conversion rates, and ultimately boost your bottom line.
So how can you do that with value-based bidding?
Bidding To Value
Value-based bidding allows you to prioritize specific value goals that align with your business goals.
These goals could encompass sales, revenue, profit margins, or even the lifetime value of a customer.
With this strategy, Google’s AI uses billions of combinations of signals along with your first party data to identify conversions that are most likely to deliver on your defined value objectives.
It then optimizes bids to focus your ad spend on reaching those higher value customers.
The Basic Mechanics Of Value-Based Bidding
Value-based bidding offers two primary pathways to optimize your campaigns by bringing values into Smart Bidding:
VALUE-BASED BIDDING | |
Maximize conversion value with a target ROAS Drive as much conversion value at a particular ROI. |
Maximize conversion value (no ROAS target specified) Get as much value within a set budget. |
- Maximize conversion value: If you’re working with a fixed budget, this option focuses on extracting the maximum lead conversion value from your campaign within the constraints of your budget.
- Set a ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) target: This option enables you to optimize for conversion value at a specific target ROAS to help ensure your ad spend generates a desired level of return. When you set a ROAS target, the system will optimize to find as much value as possible on average at your target. There are data thresholds to using target ROAS which we will cover later in this series, but this is the preferred strategy when you want to achieve specific ROAS goals and be able to respond dynamically to shifts in demand. Target ROAS is available for single campaigns or a portfolio strategy applied to multiple campaigns.
Value-based bidding will maximize the conversion value based on budget constraints and ROAS targets where applicable, so higher value customers will be prioritized over volume alone.
Keep this in mind when comparing target CPA performance, which optimizes for conversion volume irrespective of value.
While the emphasis will be on attracting high-value customers, it’s important to note that you might still see some medium to low-value customers depending on the dynamics of the ad auction.
When using ROAS targets, the higher your target, the fewer auctions your ads are likely to enter. In other words, ROAS targets are your lever to make your ads more or less likely to enter the auction.
Is Value-Based Bidding The Right Fit For Your Business?
Value-based bidding has seen success across a spectrum of industries, but whether it’s the right fit for you depends on your specific business needs and capabilities.
Before embracing this strategy, you’ll need to address these key questions:
Can You Assign Meaningful Values To Your Conversion Actions?
You are likely already differentiating your customers’ value in some facet, formally or informally.
You’ll need to set a concrete value to each conversion, whether through static proxy values like lead scores or dynamic economic values such as total profit. (We’ll cover proxy values more in the third article in this series.)
Do You Need To Strike A Balance Between Volume And Value Goals?
Bidding to value means your campaigns likely will not generate the same volume of conversions as they would using Maximize conversions with an optional target CPA bid strategy. This strategy is designed to return a higher total value of conversions. Bid simulators can help you to understand this tradeoff.
If you want to maintain a certain level of traffic, use the Smart Bidding bid simulator to help you gauge the optimal ROAS target that will yield your desired volume of leads while maintaining a focus on quality.
Lowering your target ROAS will increase your reach, and raising your target ROAS will decrease reach while seeking out higher value conversions.
Are You Able To Measure And Connect Your Value Data To Google Ads?
Access to accurate and comprehensive value data is a must for implementing value-based bidding effectively. To start, this means having proper site tagging to track conversions.
Feeding the right first-party data values into Google Ads is key to training the system to identify and differentiate predicted customer value for each auction.
If your value objective is sales value, for example, you’ll need to be able to measure and connect that data back to your Google Ads account. We’ll cover how to do that later in this series.
Reaping The Rewards Of Value-Based Bidding
The initial setup of value-based bidding typically requires some effort up front, but don’t let that intimidate you.
You can start with a more basic set up and adopt more sophisticated approaches that have more technical requirements, such as optimizing for margin or lifetime values for example, later if you wish.
Value-based Smart Bidding gives the system the flexibility to set each bid based on the predicted value of the conversion and target higher value conversions. Over time, it learns which users are more likely to be higher value and more profitable, then bids accordingly.
Bidding to find the most valuable customers can deliver incremental revenue uplift and profitability. Businesses that have found success with this strategy report a marked improvement in lead quality.
On average, advertisers that switch their bid strategy from a target CPA to target ROAS can see 14% more conversion value at a similar return on ad spend.1
Beyond The Basics
While we’ve covered the foundational aspects of value-based bidding, we’re just getting started.
In the upcoming articles in this series, we’ll dive deeper into this strategy, including how to identify and leverage the right data and values for your business, and how to share your value information with Google Ads.
By aligning your campaigns with the conversions that truly matter most to your business objectives, you can optimize your ad spend, maximize your return on investment, and achieve sustainable business growth.
Up next week, we’ll talk about figuring out the right data and values.
SOURCE: Google Internal Data, Global, March 2021
More resources:
Featured Image: BestForBest/Shutterstock
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