Enterprise Link Building Strategies for Complex Websites

Enterprise link building for complex websites requires a strategic approach to drive meaningful results. This approach involves identifying the right opportunities and executing a well-planned campaign.

To start, it's essential to understand the complexity of enterprise websites, which often involve multiple domains, subdomains, and microsites. According to our research, a single enterprise website can have up to 10,000 pages, making it challenging to manage link building efforts.

Effective link building for complex websites involves creating a comprehensive plan that accounts for the unique characteristics of each subdomain or microsite. By doing so, you can maximize your link building potential and achieve better results.

Enterprise link building is a strategy that's all about scale and improvement. It's not about small websites trying to improve their rankings, but rather large businesses that already have a strong online presence.

These enterprises require deep links to key product verticals to drive sales cycles, a fact that's evident in the example of the Coca-Cola Company, which produces content that creates link-building opportunities. They leverage their brand to earn comments on YouTube and get high-quality domains like The Drum to publish articles linking to their content.

Enterprise link building is different from traditional link building, which focuses on securing backlinks from authoritative sites. It involves similar strategies like guest posting, content marketing, and outreach, but with a focus on scalability. This means creating dedicated strategies that can handle the sheer amount of competition.

To put it simply, enterprise link building is about promoting large-scale and complex websites, which is not something for small town businesses. It requires a different approach, one that's focused on improving what already exists.

Here are some key differences between traditional and enterprise link building:

By understanding these differences, you can better approach enterprise link building and create strategies that meet the needs of large businesses.

Enterprise link building is a game-changer for businesses looking to establish credibility and improve their search rankings. Credibility is non-negotiable when establishing your client as an authority in their industry, and backlinks build the credibility of a website to rank for the industry.

A high volume of backlinks from credible sources gives Google a thumbs up about your client's content, making it more likely to show their website on search rankings. This is backed up by data showing that the first website on Google's search page has 3.8 times more backlinks than other search results.

Properly done, link building can increase website traction, translate to real-life actions such as store visits and in-person booking appointments, and even impact conversion and referrals. However, the improper use of backlinks can hurt your rankings if you don't know what you're doing.

An effective link building strategy includes creating relevant and informative content that other credible sources find tremendous value in, reaching out directly to authoritative sources for backlinking and networking opportunities, and collaborating with other industry leaders for guest features on blogs and other related marketing collateral.

Here are the key capabilities of a link-building tool that can support your client's link building efforts:

Ultimately, the best link builders have great PR and content writing passion, not technical passion. This focus on creating excellent content and strategizing link-building programs can increase your client's keyword ranking over time.

You should start a link building campaign when your agency can't rely solely on generating organic content to secure backlinks. This can happen in situations where it's challenging to create content that may or may not result in backlinks.

A long-term link acquisition campaign is required for enterprise-level businesses in competitive markets, relying on human effort, meaningful connections, and strategic marketing. These businesses need to stay up to speed with their competitors, who are acquiring links at rapid rates.

Increasing domain authority is a best practice for an enterprise link building campaign, which will help establish your client's credibility and improve their search rankings.

Your agency may face situations where relying solely on organic content for backlinks isn't enough. This is especially true when creating authoritative content may not result in backlinks.

Your agency may face particular situations where it's a bit more challenging to rely solely on generating organic content that may or may not result in backlinks.

Building internal links is a crucial aspect of enterprise link building, and it's essential to excel at it alongside your link-building strategies. According to Example 6, internal links allow search engines to better understand the structure and hierarchy of your content. Good internal linking helps new content get indexed and rank faster.

In big organizations, different content development teams may have their own approach to building links internally, which can lead to inconsistencies and missed opportunities. To avoid this, you need to make sure that internal link building follows the same guidelines throughout your company.

It's also a good idea to diversify the anchor text that's chosen. Many companies default to similar calls-to-action (CTAs), such as “read more,” “download now,” or “get started.” For example, Apple is known for consistently using specific CTAs like “shop now,” “learn more,” and “buy.”

Here are some tips for building internal links:

By following these tips, you can improve your internal linking and help search engines better understand your website's structure.

Enterprise link building requires specialized tools to manage large volumes of backlinks and monitor competitor performance. Ahrefs' Site Explorer can show you all links of any website or URL, sorting and filtering by important SEO metrics.

For large-scale link building, tools like Ahrefs' Site Explorer, Ahrefs' Content Explorer, and Ahrefs' Web Explorer are essential. These tools help you find relevant websites for link requests, guest posting, and discover linkable assets on any topic.

Some popular enterprise link building tools include Ahrefs, Semrush, and Majestic. Ahrefs offers features like Backlink Checker, Rank Tracker, and Site Audit, while Semrush provides Backlink Analytics and a dedicated Link Building Tool. Majestic focuses on backlink checking with features like Bulk Backlink Checker and Topical Trust Flow.

Here's a comparison of these tools:

These tools can help you streamline your link building process, track competitor performance, and identify new opportunities to capitalize on.

Link building can be a daunting task, especially for large enterprises with multiple clients and projects. Google Alerts is a free link building tool that can help track new developments, such as recent blog posts, with your client's keywords or mentions from other web sources.

To use Google Alerts, create a custom alert for a specific keyword or phrase, which will deliver regular updates to your inbox. This tool is particularly useful for tracking competitor activity and staying on top of industry trends.

BuzzStream is another tool that can help streamline the outreach process and build relationships with other businesses. It's primarily focused on building stellar email campaigns and can help track client campaign progress, team member updates, and the status of received backlinks.

Here are some key features of BuzzStream:

If you're working with multiple staff members on a given account, BuzzStream is a great tool to have. It functions as a CRM, making it easy to track the progress of different links and manage multiple clients.

The cost of BuzzStream varies depending on the package you choose, with a starter package available from $24/month to $999/month for a customized solution.

As an agency, having the right tools can make a huge difference in your enterprise link building efforts. AgencyAnalytics is an excellent option for monitoring backlinks and streamlining SEO tracking processes, including automated client reporting and backlink monitoring.

Ahrefs is another powerful tool that offers a range of capabilities, including competitor tracking, identifying broken links, creating alliances with other businesses, finding influential websites and contacts, and identifying new opportunities to capitalize on. With over 3 trillion backlinks on their index, Ahrefs is a great choice for agencies with many clients and a large volume of links to build and monitor.

Majestic is a specialized tool that focuses exclusively on backlink checking, making it a great option for agencies who want to pinpoint broken links and link building opportunities for a large number of backlinks simultaneously. Its 'Tropical Trust Flow' feature is a great built-in feature to source influencers within a particular industry.

Hunter.io is a useful tool for finding critical contacts at an organization, which is especially handy when looking for endorsements from influential people to bolster your clients' backlinks and increase website traction. BuzzStream is a tool primarily focused on building stellar email campaigns, relationship building, and streamlining the outreach process, making it a great option for agencies with more than one staff member managing any given account.

Here are some key features of these agency tools:

By using these agency tools, you can streamline your enterprise link building efforts, monitor backlinks, and track progress in a more efficient and effective way.

Managing complex websites is a significant challenge for enterprise-level businesses. Their websites often resemble a complicated maze due to the diversity of products, services, and content.

One way to understand this complexity is by looking at the number of pages an enterprise website has, which can be seen on their sitemap. Independent teams managing so many pages can lead to an unbalanced link profile.

This might raise red flags with search engines, making them think you're trying to manipulate rankings. A cohesive link-building strategy is essential to avoid this issue.

Big organizations may have several content development teams, each with their own approach to building links internally. This can lead to inconsistencies and missed opportunities.

To address this, it's crucial to ensure internal link building follows the same guidelines throughout the company. Regular audits of the internal link structure can help identify areas for improvement.

For example, Apple's consistent use of specific CTAs like "shop now", "learn more", and "buy" can be a good practice. However, diversifying anchor text by adding descriptive phrases can provide additional context to search engines and improve user experience.

Enterprise-level businesses already have high-authoritative websites with many sales, blogs, and landing pages. This makes it difficult to identify all the pages that can be influenced through link building.

The sheer scale of websites can make it hard to know where to begin in a link building campaign. Starting small and using keyword research can help identify opportunities for non-branded search traffic.

Large companies face unique challenges in link building due to their scale and resources. They can afford to hire top talent and leverage their brand influence, but this also creates problems.

One of the main challenges is that they need to navigate politics, sales, and project management, in addition to subject matter expertise. This requires a broader set of skills than just SEO knowledge.

Enterprise link building is not without its challenges, despite the advantages of name recognition, a larger budget, and resources. Some of the inherent challenges include managing a large organization and navigating the complexities of enterprise link building.

To run a successful link building campaign, it's essential to follow some best practices. Increase domain authority by creating high-quality content that attracts links from other reputable websites.

Link diversity is also crucial, as having links from the same type of site won't help your rankings as much. Aim for links from industry blogs, news sites, educational resources, and influential brands.

To create linkable content, refresh existing content on your website by including better keywords and making it more relevant to reflect current industry developments. Write new content that showcases your expertise and is better than your competitors. Research content is also a great way to create linkable content, especially if you're a large brand.

Collaboration opportunities can also lead to high-quality links. Consider partnering with other businesses to create joint success stories or case studies that highlight positive experiences. This can result in cross-linked content on both websites, significantly boosting your domain authority.

Another effective strategy is to aim for low-hanging fruit, such as unlinked mentions. Large-scale enterprises are often being talked about online, and it's easier to convince these websites to link back to your site. To successfully secure these links, quality outreach is vital, and crafting personalized outreach can help build positive relationships with other sites.

Here's a list of unbranded terms that could lead to mentions that result in links:

Remember to create useful, linkable content even if it's not expected to generate links. Internally linking to informative pages within your content helps improve your website's search engine rankings and organic traffic.

Large companies face unique challenges in link building due to their scale and resources. They can afford to hire top SEO talent and leverage their brand influence to set up partnerships.

Their extensive business connections can be both a blessing and a curse, making it harder to manage and maintain relationships. This is especially true for teams in enterprise companies that need to navigate politics, sales, and project management.

Having a larger working budget and more resources can make a big difference, but it also creates new challenges. For instance, the more links you have, the more difficult it is to maintain a consistent quality.

Enterprise-level businesses often have a harder time scaling their link building efforts due to the sheer size of their organization. This can lead to a lack of cohesion and consistency in their outreach and content creation.

Despite their advantages, enterprise companies still face many of the same challenges as small businesses, including the need to increase domain authority and establish themselves as trusted sources in their industry.

Tracking metrics is a crucial part of enterprise link building. You need to measure the success of your efforts to see what's working and what's not. Use a link tracking tool to monitor key metrics for your new links like domain authority, click-through rate, and link equity.

Make sure those numbers are going up over time. If they start to drop, it may be a sign those links have become less valuable. Consider doing some link maintenance to boost them again.

To track your progress, you can use metrics like the number of new backlinks generated per month, the number of unique domains linking to your content, and the average monthly cost per link. These metrics will give you a clear picture of your link building efforts.

Here are some key metrics to track:

By tracking these metrics, you can see how your link building efforts are impacting your business. It's also a good idea to track historical trends to understand what keywords and links work best for your client. Over time, you can use this data to refine your link building strategy and improve your results.

Enterprise link building can be a challenge, but it's not impossible.

Having abundant resources is a major advantage, allowing you to assign tasks like identifying broken links to interns or dedicated personnel.

Enterprise websites have extensive page inventories, making it easy to find alternative links to replace broken ones.

Fixing broken links can significantly improve the efficiency of your link-building campaign.

With software like Ahrefs and Check My Links, you can scan websites for broken links and spot opportunities more efficiently.

Having a recognized and respected brand holds weight in convincing site owners to link to you.

Competitive markets can be tough to navigate, especially for enterprise-level businesses. They often have prominent competitors that are also vying for links and attention.

Enterprise-level businesses like T-Mobile and Verizon, or Microsoft and Apple, are great examples of this. They have large, well-established brands that make it difficult to stand out.

To stay competitive, these businesses need to invest in large-scale link building campaigns that involve human effort, meaningful connections, and strategic marketing. This is especially true in competitive markets where rival companies are acquiring links at rapid rates.

By understanding what their competitors are doing, businesses can identify gaps in their project strategies and find areas for improvement.

In competitive markets, businesses like T-Mobile and Verizon must keep pace with their rivals. Think of the intense competition between these enterprise-level companies as a never-ending game of catch-up.

To stay ahead, they need to acquire links at a rapid rate, which requires a long-term link acquisition campaign. This campaign relies on human effort, meaningful connections, and strategic marketing.

Enterprise-level businesses must invest in large-scale link building to keep up with their competitors. This is especially true for companies like Microsoft and Apple, which are constantly vying for attention.

Links from authoritative sites like major media publications or industry leaders carry significant weight. These reputable domains are like "votes" that boost a site's authority in Google's eyes.

Enterprise-level businesses have high-authoritative websites with many sales, blogs, and landing pages, making it difficult to identify all the pages that can be influenced through link building.

The sheer scale of these websites can be overwhelming, with thousands of pages to manage, and it's often best to start small before expanding efforts.

Keyword research is critical to help enterprises find opportunities for non-branded search traffic and provides insight into what target audiences are actually searching for.

A large website structure can evolve into a complicated maze due to the diversity of its products, services, and content.

The number of pages on an enterprise website can be seen on their sitemap, which lists all its URLs.

Independent teams managing so many pages can lead to an unbalanced link profile, raising red flags with search engines.

A cohesive link-building strategy is essential to apply to a website as a whole, rather than focusing on individual sections.

Competitor analysis is a huge part of enterprise link building. Understanding what your competitors are doing helps identify gaps in project strategies and means of improvement.

To monitor competitors, consider utilizing tools such as a link intersect report, which shows the links that competitors share, but can be noisy for large sites. A better option is the Best by links report in Site Explorer, which shows the most linked pages on a website.

Enterprise-level businesses like T-Mobile and Verizon have intense competition, and their competitors are acquiring links at rapid rates. This requires a long-term link acquisition campaign that relies on human effort, meaningful connections, and strategic marketing.

To stay ahead, analyze your competitors' link building strategies and identify gaps in your own approach. You can also use competitor analysis tools like Site Explorer to quickly see which pages on your competitors' sites are well linked.

By understanding your competitors' strengths and weaknesses, you can create a more effective link building strategy that sets your business apart.