If you’re a link builder, you know how tough it can be to persuade other site owners to link to your site[1] with “out-of-the-blue” pitches. This is true even if you have great content or have been building links for years.
That’s why the mantra “link building is relationship building” exists. Often, before you build a link, you have to build a relationship with the site owner first. This means anything from following them on Twitter, commenting mindfully on their posts, writing emails to them to discuss their content without pitching links, etc. It’s a productive strategy, but also a time-intensive one.
However, there’s another — relatively quick — link building strategy.
Is your ear itching? If you’re the superstitious type, this means that someone is talking about you.
Sometimes a webmaster will publish your brand name, products, or target keywords on their site without actually linking to your site. In SEO, these are known as “fresh mention” opportunities. These are typically some of the easiest link building opportunities available, since you don’t really have to explain yourself to the site owner. Mostly, you just have to ask them to put an <a href> tag in the code.
But how do you find these fresh mentions? There are multiple methods and tools, but today I’m going to highlight the one I use most often: Google Alerts.
Google Alerts is beneficial in a myriad of ways beyond the world of link building and SEO, but there’s no doubt that it’s the best way to stay on top of your fresh mention opportunities. Allow me to explain how you can use it!
Setting up Google Alerts
First off, the obvious: you need the correct link. To start using Google Alerts, head over to Google Alerts[2].