Link Building Through Giveaways and Contests – Generating Buzz and Links
Giveaways and contests have long been a popular marketing tactic for engaging audiences. When incorporated into a link building strategy, they can also be an effective method for earning high quality backlinks.
The exposure and buzz generated by giveaways presents websites and influencers natural opportunities to reference your contest as they promote it to their own audiences.
Benefits of Giveaways for Link Building
Well-structured giveaways offer multiple link building advantages:
- Referral traffic – Influencers sharing your contest to their followers will link to drive them to the contest page or opt-in.
- Brand awareness – Your brand name will be mentioned by those partaking and spreading the word about the contest.
- Domain authority – The more reputable sites that link to your contest, the more SEO authority is passed.
- Social amplification – Contests that go viral on social media multiply the link earning potential.
- Lasting assets – The contest page itself, winner announcements, and recap blog posts create future linking opportunities.
As mentioned on StartupNoon, 25% of SEO budget allocated to links in the US goes toward giveaway and contest campaigns due to their powerful ROI.
Best Practices for Running Link-Generating Giveaways
Follow these tips for maximizing links from your next giveaway:
Offer Enticing Prizes
- Give away exciting products, experiences, or services that your target audience will be enthusiastic about.
- For physical prizes, consider exclusives or limited editions to make it more share-worthy.
- For services, leverage your own offerings or partner with recognized brands that align to your industry.
Promote Creatively
- Employ tantalizing copy and visuals that grab attention while conveying the value being given away.
- Sequence teasers and announcements across channels to build anticipation.
- Encourage entries by highlighting the odds of winning with the expected number of participants.
Make Sharing and Following Easy
- Incentivize social sharing by offering extra entries for sharing contest links.
- Enable easy one-click entry and notifications to fuel ongoing word of mouth.
- Follow up with contest participants after with thanks, discounts, and next contest news.
Announce Winners to Sustain Momentum
- Send winner announcements and thanks to everyone who participated and helped spread the word.
- Publish recap posts detailing contest highlights and linking back to participating sites.
- Monitor contest link mentions evergreen opportunities for reclamation outreach.
Rally your audience around exciting prizes while activating your networks for maximum exposure. Contests convert visitors into links when executed creatively and strategically.
