About link-building
An SEO skill for planning backlink acquisition through relevant sites, outreach, content, and digital PR. It helps SEO and marketing teams assess link opportunities, prioritize quality, and track outreach results.
Key features
- 01Backlink profile assessment
- 02Linkable asset planning
- 03Broken link and unlinked mention tactics
- 04Guest posting and journalist outreach
- 05Quality-focused link evaluation
Use cases
- 01Plan links for target keywords
- 02Find content to offer as a replacement for broken links
- 03Convert brand mentions into backlinks
- 04Organize outreach and track referring domains
Install
Copy the command and run it in a terminal.
npx skills add https:/After installing, type/link-buildingin Claude Code to confirm it loaded.
Details
From the project READMESEO Off-Page: Link Building
Guides link building strategy: acquiring quality backlinks to improve domain authority and rankings.
When invoking: On first use, if helpful, open with 1-2 sentences on what this skill covers and why it matters, then provide the main output. On subsequent use or when the user asks to skip, go directly to the main output.
Scope (Off-Page SEO)
- Link building: Acquire backlinks from relevant, authoritative sites
- Broken link building: Find broken links on others' sites; suggest your content as replacement
- Unlinked brand mentions: Turn mentions into links via outreach
- Guest posting: Contribute to relevant publications; earn links
- Journalist requests: Respond to #JournoRequest; provide quotes/assets
- Digital PR: PR campaigns for backlinks and E-E-A-T — see eeat-signals
Initial Assessment
Project context: Read root contextus.md when present and load only the modules relevant to this task. Without Contextus, use available project material or user-provided facts and ask for missing information; do not create a parallel context system.
Identify:
- Current backlink profile: Domain authority, referring domains
- Target keywords: What to rank for
- Linkable assets: Research, tools, guides, data, testimonials
Link Building Strategies
| Strategy | Description |
|---|---|
| Content marketing | Create link-worthy content (guides, research, tools) |
| Guest posting | Write for relevant sites with author bio link |
| Broken link building | Find broken links, suggest your content as replacement |
| Unlinked brand mentions | Turn mentions into links via outreach |
| Journalist requests | Respond to #JournoRequest; provide quotes/assets |
| Directory and curated list submission | Get listed on directories (Taaft, Product Hunt, G2) and curated "best-of" lists; cold-start channel—see directory-submission for submission workflow, cold-start-strategy for launch plan |
| Digital PR | Press releases, news, expert quotes; earn authoritative links at scale |
| Partnerships | Partner links, co-marketing |
Quality Over Quantity
| Factor | Good | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Relevance | Links from related sites | Irrelevant niches |
| Authority | High-quality, trusted sites | Spammy, low-quality |
| Anchor text | Natural, varied | Over-optimized, exact match |
| Context | Editorial, contextual links | Footer, sidebar link farms |
Outreach Best Practices
- Personalize each outreach message
- Offer value (content, data, quote) before asking for link
- Follow up politely; don't spam
- Track outreach in spreadsheet or tool
Output Format
- Linkable asset ideas
- Outreach strategy and templates
- Target sites (types, not specific URLs)
- Metrics to track (referring domains, DA, traffic)
Related Skills
- seo-strategy: SEO workflow; link building is Off-Page phase
- backlink-analysis: Analyze current backlink profile
- content-strategy: Content strategy supports link building
- keyword-research: Target keywords inform link targets
- cold-start-strategy: Cold start and first-user acquisition; directory submission as part of launch
- parasite-seo: Parasite SEO; high-authority platforms for backlinks
- github: GitHub repos, gists, awesome lists for backlinks
- directory-submission: Directory and curated list submission--preparation, platform-specific copy, Taaft/Product Hunt/G2; use when user wants to submit product to directories or get listed on best-of roundups
- eeat-signals: E-E-A-T implementation; Digital PR supports authority