This post first appeared in our newsletter in early 2024, click here to see the original and to subscribe

With our SEO Audit Service, we’re focussed largely on technical and on-page SEO but we still do look at backlinks as they’re a key SEO ranking factor.
It’s surprising how many sites are missing backlinks that are easy to get, extremely powerful and super safe. In this email I’ll share some of simple link building tactics that can move the needle for your SEO in a substantial way.
Our SEO Audits are delivered in a similar style to our Site Speed Audits with a focus on a clear action plan vs dumping a ton of raw data and reports on you like most other SEO Audit Services. Click here if you want to learn more about this service or on the screenshot image below to zoom in and see more detail.

Above: an example screenshot from our SEO Audit
Table of Contents
HARO – Help a Reporter Out & Other Request for Comment Sites
It’s still surprising that a large number of customers we work with haven’t heard of HARO or Help a Reporter Out.
HARO is essentially a mailing list where journalists and content writers ask for comments and input from experts. It’s a simple way to get media mentions and high quality backlinks at low cost and low time investment.
This blog post is an excellent walk through of how to use HARO and get maximum benefit from it with very little effort.
*There’s plenty of other sites just like HARO that are industry specific or country specific. For example sourcebottle.com is essentially a HARO for Australia and https://helpab2bwriter.com/ is focussed largely on technical and online business related topics.
NOTE!! – HARO was shutdown in mid 2024 however there are a number of replacement services such as featured.com
Social Profiles
Social profiles are exactly that, social media properties with high domain authority that will give you a link back to your site.
Top tier social profiles on LinkedIn, Youtube, Facebook and Instagram provide extremely powerful backlinks and provide authority for your site but there are 100s of other second and third tier sites that can also provide similarly powerful links.
Typically we recommend the Social Profile Service from SEOBuilder.com for these type of links.
Citations or Directory Links
Citations or Directory Links refer to the online references to your business that usually comprise your business name, address, and phone number aka NAP.
Submitting your website to various online business directories can significantly increase the number of quality backlinks to your website.
Examples of these directories include Yelp, Merchant Circle, and Yellow Pages. Not only do these directory links boost your SEO, but they also increase your online visibility and credibility.
Typically we recommend using either SEOBuilder.com or Brightlocal for these type of links.
**Most of the businesses we do audits for are also missing or haven’t claimed the Google, Bing or Apple Maps listings. You can claim these at https://google.com/local/add, Bingplaces.com or https://businessconnect.apple.com/
If you’re an online business or don’t have a physical location you can usually sign up to a local coworking space for a few months and use that location as your mailing address to get the listings verified.

Need SEO Help?
If you’re looking to get more proactive with your SEO efforts and want some help, submit your site for a free audit and review on the homepage of our site. We’ll take a look at your site in conjunction with your goals and come back to you and tell you exactly how we can help.