# Link Building Strategy (the written plan)

> A strategy is a written plan that says which pages need links, from which kinds of sites, with which anchors, in what order — agreed before anything is bought. If you can't say which page each link is for, you don't have one.
> Online version and Excel sheet: https://huskyhamster.com/knowledge-base/checklists/link-building-strategy/

## Page audit
- [ ] Every commercial page listed and classified: sells (pricing, alternatives, integrations), ranks (close to moving), or neither
- [ ] Indexability verified per page (no noindex, canonical, migration flags)
- [ ] Pages that are NOT ready flagged honestly — links to a thin page are money burned
- [ ] One target URL per intent (no two pages cannibalising "alternatives" searches)

## Competitor gap
- [ ] Referring-domain gap mapped between the client and named competitors (Ahrefs or equivalent)
- [ ] Gap read at page level, not just domain level (which of THEIR pages hold the links)
- [ ] The gap sets the prospect list — it's not a number, it's a to-do list
- [ ] Shortlist searches checked manually: which roundup pages rank, who's on them, who's missing

## Placement mix
- [ ] A placement type assigned per target page, with the reason
- [ ] Insertions where a suitable existing page exists; guest posts where a topic is worth an argument; international where localised pages exist; brand mentions where AI answers are the goal

## Anchor plan
- [ ] Anchor approach per page agreed: brand / URL / descriptive mix
- [ ] No repeated exact-match keyword anchors across placements
- [ ] Descriptive anchors written for readers (and in-market language for international)

## Priority, budget, review
- [ ] Order of operations set: which page first, why
- [ ] Budget mapped to the plan at the standard per-placement cost where applicable
- [ ] Pacing agreed (links per month) — no "as many as possible"
- [ ] Walkthrough with the client completed; nothing bought before approval
- [ ] Deliverable format fixed (document + tracker), client owns the plan

---
**Husky Hamster**: link building for SaaS, AI products and software houses
Questions about this checklist? Andreea Paluszak, Head of Outreach: hello@huskyhamster.com · Book 30 minutes: https://huskyhamster.com/book-a-call/
20-22 Wenlock Road, London N1 7GU, United Kingdom · huskyhamster.com