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SEO is always changing. What worked a few years ago may no longer be effective, and new strategies are constantly emerging. One such strategy that has been gaining popularity in recent years is link reclamation. But what is link reclamation? How do you do it? And most importantly, what are the benefits of reclaiming links?
Read on to find out more about this underutilized SEO strategy and how you can start using it to improve your website’s search engine ranking.
What is link reclamation?
Link reclamation is the process of identifying and then correcting broken links on your website. A “broken link” is simply a link that no longer works. This can happen for a number of reasons, but most often it occurs when another website that you’re linked to changes their URL structure or removes a page altogether.
When a broken link is found, the first step in the reclamation process is to identify where the link is coming from. This can be done using a tool like Screaming Frog, which will crawl your website and identify all of the outgoing links. Once you know where the broken link is located, you can then correct it.
There are a few different ways to do this, but the most common method is to simply redirect the broken link to a working page on your website. This ensures that visitors will still be able to find the information they’re looking for, even if the original link no longer works.
How do I reclaim links?
There are a few different tools that you can use to find and fix broken links on your website. The most popular of these is Screaming Frog, which we mentioned earlier. This tool will crawl your entire website and identify all of the outgoing links. Once you have a list of all the broken links, you can then start the process of fixing them.
Another option is to use a tool like Xenu’s Link Sleuth. This tool works in much the same way as Screaming Frog, but it’s a bit easier to use and it’s free.
Once you’ve found all of the broken links on your website, the next step is to fix them. This can be done by redirecting the broken link to a working page on your website. You can also try contacting the owner of the website where the broken link is located and asking them to update their link.
What are the benefits of link reclamation?
There are a number of benefits that come with reclaiming links. One of the most important is that it helps to improve your website’s search engine ranking. This is because search engines view links as votes for your website. The more high-quality links you have pointing to your website, the higher your website will rank in search results.
Link reclamation also helps to improve the user experience on your website. This is because broken links can be frustrating for visitors, and they may give up and leave your website if they encounter too many of them. By reclaiming links, you can help to ensure that visitors can always find what they’re looking for on your website.
Conclusion
Link reclamation is a powerful but underutilized SEO strategy that can help to improve your website’s search engine ranking and user experience. If you have any broken links on your website, start the process of fixing them today. Your website will thank you for it!
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Jamie Fallon is an SEO expert who lives life to the maximum, redlining every day on a rollercoaster straight to the grave.
In an SEO career of almost ten years, he’s seen it all, he’s done it all, and he’s not impressed: from white text on a white background to today, when you can have robots paint or write for you like some kind of sick science fiction come true.
No matter what life throws at him, Jamie always manages to come out on top. He’s an expert at seeing the silver lining in every cloud and making the best of every situation. His positive attitude and unshakable faith in himself have seen him through tough times. For some people, success goes to their heads; but Jamie never forgets what got him to wherever he thinks he is.
When he’s not busy gaming the system, you can find him writing angry thinkpieces on how Google is ruining everything good about the internet, or hanging out with his wife (pictured).