Recruiting In-House Linkbuilders & Linkbuilding


Staying in line with the Google algorithm updates (Panda, Penguin, etc.) is vital for any business wanting to rank highly in search engines (which should be all of them!). In our Digital Marketing Recruitment Guide we take a look at the people that your business can work with help you achieve your digital aims.

In this section Simon Jones, Campaign Director, MEC, writes that if you're still hiring link-builders then you could be missing the point of how SEO is evolving. Sure, links still play a massive part in determining where your website ranks in the search engines, but the very notion that a 'link-builder' could be the person to influence that is fading fast. Companies should now be focusing on using outreach teams of PR and Content bloggers to improve the ranking performance of the business.

Link building, content creation and outreach all help you grow your online profile by increasing rankings. Which one's more important?

Move Over Link-Builders…Move in Online PR, Outreach & Content Marketers.

You should have got the message by now, Google doesn't want you to be building your own links, they want you to earn them based on editorial merit.

In fact, you could go as far as saying they don't even want you to be 'trying to earn links', and that you should just be earning them naturally by way of people being so impressed by your content that they feel compelled to share and link to your content when they consume it.

So this is where the Online PR, Outreach & Content Relations Team come in. A new breed of multi-disciplined roles that have evolved significantly over the last few years as Google's algorithm has placed more emphasis on ranking high quality content that attracts high value, editorially gained back-links.

Vacancy: Self Motivated, Professional & Organised Marketing Enthusiasts Required…

Today's outreach efforts focus largely around creative content in the form of online tools, apps, guides, videos, competitions and news stories. The Outreach team will then send these campaigns to the most relevant and authoritative people in their industries in the hope that it's good enough to gain traction through press coverage, social interaction and ultimately, links.

Your Outreach team will be dealing with some high profile people here. We're talking professional Journalists, Bloggers and Editors. People that need to be treated with respect and, more importantly, that you'll need to earn the respect of.

So it stands to reason that you'll need high quality people in these types of role. You're looking for people with common sense, an eye for detail and the ability to build relationships. You need people who are tenacious and professional and understand the nuances of dealing with people at a senior level.

At an entry level position, look for degrees in (or experience) in Marketing or Public Relations which can offer valuable communication skills, an understanding of brand values and working in a professional environment. Look for people who are bright and enthusiastic and have excellent organisational skills.

At a more senior level, look for people with a PR background, people with strong connections and who are familiar with more traditional PR methods. These are the skills that can be transferred to the online environment very quickly.

The Candidate… Simon identifies some great alternatives to the traditional link building role. Putting emphasis on having relevant, original and engaging content and the importance of strong communication with senior journalists, bloggers and editors. 

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