Joshua Hardwick
Believe it or not, customers and clients are often a great source of links.
Not only are they already familiar with your brand, but also (hopefully) like whatever it is that you sell.
With so many people having their own blogs these days, a good chunk of your customers/clients probably have the power to link to your website.
They just need an incentive to do-so.
Here’s how to do it:
- Find any customers/clients with their own blogs
- Give them an incentive to link to you
Finding clients with their own blogs is most likely easier than finding customers (unless you’re in the B2B retail space), as nearly all companies have their own blogs these days.
Use these Google search operators to check if your customers/clients have their own blogs:
[ecko_wide]
[/ecko_wide]
And:
[ecko_wide]
[/ecko_wide]
If any of your clients do have their own blogs, there are a few incentives you can use to obtain a link:
- Ask: If you have a good enough relationship (and it makes sense for them to link to you), simply asking your client to link to you from their website may be enough.You’ll need great rapport with your client(s) to pull this one off, though.
- Offer free/discounted work: Many clients may be willing to trade a link on their website for some free/discounted work.Get in touch with them and make an offer (e.g. “I’d me more than happy to give you a 20% discount on your next order if you would consider linking to us on [INSERT PAGE]”
- Affiliate Link: Most clients will probably be open to linking to you if they believe it will make them money.If you have an affiliate scheme set up, let your client(s) know that they can make money by “recommending” people to you.
Explain that the easiest way to do this would likely be to link to you from their website (perhaps on a “recommended suppliers” page)
For customers, things can be more difficult, but you can sometimes figure out which customers have blogs by using an “are you a blogger?” “feeler” email.
Here’s a template:
“Hey [NAME],
It’s [YOUR NAME], [POSITION] at [WEBSITE].
I was just on your site and noticed you have a company blog.
I know we’ve been working together for a while now, and I was wondering if you’d consider adding a link to us on your blog?
I’d me more than happy to give you a 20% discount on your next order if you would consider linking to us on [INSERT PAGE]
Let me know.
Thanks,
[YOUR NAME]”
Note: Even if some of your customers happen to be bloggers, they may still choose to ignore your email. Therefore, it’s important to make it clear to customers that there will be “something in it for them” should they reply.
Here’s how to get customers to link to you:
- Ask: Much like with clients, you may be able to obtain a link from a customers’ blog simply by asking. Again, you’ll need good rapport with that customers to do this.
- Offer a free/discounted product/service: Consider giving your customer(s) something for free in exchange for a link. Asking for a review in return is the easiest method.
- Affiliate link: Customers (like clients) who run blogs will most likely be open to placing an affiliate link on their website, as this will make them money and – considering the fact that they’ve already bought from you in the past – they know you’re worthy of a recommendation.
It’s important not to be too “pushy” with customers and clients. It’s not worth losing their business for the sake of a simple backlink, so don’t keep hassling them if they don’t respond (or are simply not open to the idea of linking).
