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If there’s one piece of advice I would give to new search engine optimization (SEO) specialists and business owners investing in SEO, it’s this: Don’t underestimate the power of link building for your website. Having spent many years building links and optimizing websites, this is perhaps the most important lesson I have learned.
But experts also know how arduous and time-consuming the link building process is. This is why integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) tools into your processes can speed things up. As such, they should not be overlooked in the increasingly competitive search engine ranking space.
Below, this is exactly what I will cover to give you a breakdown of the essential elements you should master as you accelerate your processes towards faster and more powerful link building.
Related: How to Leverage Artificial Intelligence to Boost Your SEO Efforts and Stay Ahead of the Competition
Understanding artificial intelligence and machine learning in link building
Link building, when done the right way through white-hat link building strategies, is one of the best ways for your website to get better rankings, more traffic, higher conversions, more sales, better credibility, and a series of other benefits, which I’ll go into more depth below.
In short, when your site links to and receives links from other high domain ranking (DR) sites, it becomes more “powerful” in a sense and also more authoritative. By exchanging this so-called “link juice” between your site and other authoritative sites, you can benefit from numerous commercial advantages.
Now, this process can be simplified by incorporating artificial intelligence into your link building efforts. Let’s explore this in more detail below.
The role of artificial intelligence in SEO and link building
Those who are into the game already know that link building, until recently, was a process that involved long and tiring hours spent in front of the PC.
Typically, link building specialists had the unenviable task of researching authoritative sites, studying the competition, researching appropriate keywords, fixing broken links, doing raids, sending outreach and follow-up emails, commissioning article writing for guests, writing strong proposals for Help a Reporter Out (HARO), creating content for skyscrapers, designing infographics, publishing your own research and collecting data for publication, and the list goes on.
However, with the advent of artificial intelligence tools, SEO and link building, which are inextricably linked, have become a streamlined process that can save you a lot of time and valuable resources through the automation of many of the above-mentioned tasks. And with machine learning, algorithms become smarter and give us even better results. Therefore, it is definitely worth considering incorporating AI into your link building strategies.
Benefits of integrating artificial intelligence into link building strategies
Still not convinced? Here are just some of the reasons to use artificial intelligence in link building:
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Greater efficiency and automation
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Fast and better analysis of large amounts of data and insights
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Automated outreach activities
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Improved link quality and relevance
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Greater scalability, identifying and protecting more links faster
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Personalization of user experiences
Related: 10 Powerful Link Building Tactics to Boost Your Website’s SEO
Implementing artificial intelligence and machine learning in link building
Ready to implement AI and ML in link building? The answer lies in using and understanding the right AI-based tools and software available on the market.
Here are just a few of the tools I’d like to highlight as you begin the journey towards streamlined link building processes.
ChatGPT:
I generate ideas for presenting websites using ChatGPT with the WebPilot plugin. This combination allows ChatGPT to crawl a website and suggest relevant topics. For example, if I want to guest post on a specific site, I ask for 10 unique and engaging titles.
You can also specify the topic for more personalized suggestions. Here’s my suggestion: “Suggest 10 engaging topics for [target website] which have not yet been treated. They just have to be SEO related.”
AI doubts:
After a topic is selected by editors, I use Perplexity AI to present them with an outline with the following message: “Suggest a detailed outline for an article I would like to publish as a guest contributor on [website name] on the “subject”. This forms the basis of my draft. Based on my experience and the best articles on the topic, I can create a great draft in 5-10 minutes.
SEMrush:
SEMrush AI Writing Assistant can also help me with my SEO and link building efforts. Through its 75 tools, I really have my pick of content options. Entering prompts is simple and the content I need can be generated in minutes.
Some of its most impressive features relevant to my link building efforts include: adding keywords, generating multiple ideas from a single suggestion, choosing creativity levels, adjusting tone of voice, and many more.
Presentation box:
PitchBox’s AI keyword assistant helps you generate relevant keywords for your outreach campaigns. You can also find relevant websites for link building. Additionally, the AI tool allows me to write better link building emails via AI Template Assistant.
There are over 20 outreach prospecting options you can choose from. These include: blogger outreach, roundups, skyscraper outreach, product reviews, guest posts, competitor backlinks, and much more.
ARPA IA:
And then there’s HARPA AI, which is available as a Chrome extension and lets you get AI insights into any web page you’re on. Here you will start by opening a search engine and defining the anchor text and destination URL. Type in site followed by your keyword, then search for relevant articles where your keyword would naturally fit.
Once you’ve identified a relevant article, open it to check for placement opportunities. If the anchor text doesn’t exist in the article but the article is niche and the keyword can add value, suggest an edit. You can also use HARPA to type: “Suggest a relevant location for my ‘your keyword’ anchor text in this article [[page]].”
Through these AI link building tools and techniques, I can proudly share that my website has reaped the rewards. What started as a DR of 49 quickly rose to 62 in the space of just one month. The reason behind this? Post high-quality content that has received numerous strong links naturally. Furthermore, our team has saved a lot of time and resources, optimizing our efforts for the company while ensuring the optimization of our processes.
Related: 5 Link Building Tips That Help You Rank on Page 1
The future of link building with artificial intelligence and machine learning
Artificial intelligence and machine learning in SEO and link building are believed to still be in their infancy. This means we can expect big, bold moves from industry leaders in the near future, as algorithms get “smarter” and help us work better and faster. That’s why it’s great to look into the future and see some of the expected developments and AI advances we can expect.
So, without further ado, here’s what I think we can expect from AI and ML tools in the link building space in the future:
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Continuous evolution and improvement of AI and ML technologies
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More sophisticated algorithms that analyze even larger amounts of data
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Improved ability to make more accurate predictions about backlink effectiveness
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New link building tools that can automate and simplify many aspects of the process
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Automate keyword research and backlink analysis, resulting in a change from traditional approaches
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Increased reliance on automation and data-driven decision making, from link acquisition to analysis and optimization
All in all, based on my predictions for the future, I can only add that any effective SEO strategy will continue to rely heavily on link building.
For this reason, it will be essential for businesses and SEO experts to stay up to date on new developments and ensure they are using the right tools to help them boost their efforts in a highly competitive space.