Why link outreach teams have the most difficult job in the agency

Good outreach is crucial to link building, but it's not easy. Columnist Ian Bowden explains why it's a tough, yet essential, element of a strong SEO campaign.

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After spending several years in a media agency, I’ve come to the opinion that link outreach teams have the most difficult job in the agency.

Imagine telling a programmatic trader that he had to get impressions for a client, but he wasn’t allowed to pay for any of them. Or imagine telling a TV buyer that they had to get some spots based on some “exceptional” creative. Again, no money was allowed to be exchanged.

The life of someone in outreach has become very challenging. Long gone are the days of emailing travel, mommy and lifestyle bloggers and slipping them a cheeky $50 payment to publish a link within their content under the guise of merchandising or a guest post.

Compliance with Google Webmaster Guidelines is higher than ever, and outreach teams are expected to deliver the same number of links as they were before. They are expected to get influencers to talk about a brand on the strength of some content that the brand alone has. Following are a few of the reasons I think they have the most difficult job in the agency.

[Read the full article on Search Engine Land.]


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily MarTech. Staff authors are listed here.


About the author

Ian Bowden
Contributor
Ian Bowden is Head of Search at Ecselis (Havas Group) and is ultimately responsible for Search operations in the UK. Ian joined Havas Group in 2010 and has ten years of experience, having first started in SEO building affiliate websites to pay his way through university. Today, he leads one of the biggest UK Search outfits, and is passionate about driving both performance and integration for clients. In 2012, he was named in Media Week’s "30 under 30" list in recognition of his results for clients.

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