Link Building Tools

It’s no secret that links are still one of the most important ranking factors for Google.

In fact, with over 200 different factors Google considers, it’s up there in the top 3.

google ranking stat

So it’s really simple. To rank your website higher, building high-quality links using white hat strategies needs to be part of your SEO strategy.

This can be a difficult task, and there are a lot of link-building tools on the market today. But only a few of them are worth your time and money.

I’ll be sharing my top seven picks for the best link-building tools you need in 2023. And trust me, these are all essential!

By the end of this article, you’ll know link building software to:

Find link building opportunities;

  • Run a backlink analysis;
  • Find and contact info for prospects;
  • And manage your outreach campaign

Let’s dive in.

The best link building tools

The best link building tools are:

  1. Ahrefs
  2. Hunter.io
  3. Seamless.AI
  4. Check My Links
  5. Buzzstream
  6. Haro
  7. Linkody
Tool$ (starts from)Find Backlink Opportunities?Find Contact Info?Manage outreach campaign?
Ahrefs$99Analyze competitors’ backlink profile
Hunter.io$49Finds emailsLaunch and track email campaigns
Seamless.ai$99Finds emails, contacts and LinkedIn profiles
CheckMyLinksFreeDiscover broken links
HAROFreeConnect with reporters
Buzzstream$24Find possible influencersFind emails
Linkody$14.90See competitor’s backlinksTracks your backlink profile

Most businesses use these tools to build links, and I’ll show you why.

1. Ahrefs for competitor and backlink analysis

ahrefs home page

Ahrefs has many tools to help your SEO strategy and link-building process.

One of them is the Backlink Checker, which allows you to explore a site’s backlink profile from an index of up to 395.5 billion pages. This extensive index is more than any other tool can offer.

When using this tool, first find the keywords you want to rank for. For example, let’s say you want to rank for the keyword “artificial intelligence statistics.”

First, head into the Keywords Explorer, and put in your keyword:

ahrefs KW explorer

Your competitors will appear on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP).

ahrefs SERP

Alternatively, you will get the same results with a google search.

However, to analyze your competitors’ backlink profiles, you’ll need to copy the top competitor’s website to analyze their backlink profile. Like this:

For the paid tool:

Link Building Tools
Ahrefs site explorer

Or through the free tool here: Ahrefs Backlink Checker.

ahrefs free backlink tracker

On the free version, you can see the competitor’s link profile, including:

  • URL Rating (the quantity and quality of backlinks that the specific page receives)
  • Domain Rating (the quality and quantity of backlinks the domain receives)
  • Total backlinks
  • The exact pages linking to that page (if a site links to your competitor, they can link to you). For these linking pages, you’ll also see their link metrics:
    • Domain Rating
    • URL Rating
    • Traffic
    • Anchor text used
ahrefs free backlink explorer

If you analyze the domain name instead of the specific page, you’ll see which pages get the most backlinks.

That way, you can have similar (but better) content that people already want to link to.

Notable features

Of course – you’ll get a tonne more features that will help your link-building strategy out of the paid version of Ahrefs, such as:

  • Link intersect tool – helps find sites that are likely to link to you because they link to your competitors.
  • SEO toolbar – a free chrome extension that will show you broken links in your prospect’s site.
  • Content Explorer to find unlinked mentions (pages that mention your site without linking to you).
  • Content Gap tool to find guest post opportunities.

And much, much more:

ahrefs features 1

And did I say more?

ahrefs features 2

Pricing

Pricing starts at $99 per month with a $7 free trial for 7 days. You can also pay annually and get 2 months free.

ahrefs pricing page

Similar link-building tools

💬 The bottom line

Ahrefs should be your #1 paid link-building tool in your SEO arsenal. I use it to identify backlink opportunities, do keyword research & site audits, find content ideas, and track my ranking progress.

Plus, it’s super easy to use.

2. Hunter.io to find emails

hunter home page

You can use Hunter to find, verify and send email addresses to your prospects.

Once you’ve identified link-building opportunities, Hunter allows you to search for emails associated with the domain.

Hunter showing emails

Notable features

  • Email verifier & Bulk email verifier: handy for massive outreach campaigns.
  • Leads database: Once you find a verified email, you can add it to your list of leads with one click. You can create different lists for different leads.
  • Hunter Campaign: Connect to your Gmail or Microsoft account to start composing, scheduling, sending, and tracking emails from Hunter.
  • Integrations: You can import your leads directly to your CRM.

If you install the Hunter extension in your browser, you can check for emails as you surf different websites and add them to your leads list with one click.

Pricing

Pricing starts at $49 per month for 500 searches and 1,000 email verifications. 

However, you can start a free plan for 25 searches and 50 verifications per month or get 30% off all plans when you pay upfront.

Link Building Tools

Similar link-building tools

💬 The bottom line

I use Hunter for link-building campaigns because you find and send emails in one place. And it’s the easiest tool to use. 

So, run your 25 searches and 50 verifications on the free version, and upgrade it as you need more emails!Try Hunter.io

Need help drafting your outreach email?

Check out my email outreach guide, complete with email scripts for requesting backlinks.

3. Seamless.ai to find your prospect’s LinkedIn profile

Seamless Homepage

Where Hunter lacks, you can complement with Seamless.ai, which helps with B2B link-prospecting.

As you browse, it shows you a prospect’s LinkedIn profile, email, phone number, and other personal details.

I like how Seamless.ai first helps you build your target prospect’s profile; the department you wish to connect to, the number of employees, and the industry.

And after setting up your ideal prospect profile, Seamless.ai will recommend some contacts.

Seamless.ai contact database

When you click on Find, you’ll see their contact details.

As you browse web pages with Seamless.ai browser extension, you can see every LinkedIn profile associated with the company’s domain.

Seamless.ai extension showing LinkedIn profiles

The bulk export is especially handy, where you get details like a prospect’s LinkedIn profile and 4+ different emails, including their primary one, and the validation on other potential emails.

seamless bulk export

You can also view the company’s details, including:

  • Industry
  • Revenue
  • Number of employees
  • Location

And along with that, the company’s complete digital footprint, including:

  • Social media mentions and posts
  • Website audit
  • Alexa score
  • News
  • and much more

Notable features

  • Massive contact database to find any prospects you need.
  • Data enrichment to validate your contact’s information.
  • Job change alerts to know when the contact changes their job.
  • CRM integration, among other integrations.

Pricing

Pricing starts at $99 per month for 5 users.

Seamless pricing page

Similar link-building tools

💬 The bottom line

Seamless.ai is geared toward generating B2B leads, making it a favorite link-building tool. 

And with its very comprehensive contact database and email verification, this is a tool you need for campaigns that scale.

Seamless pricing page

4. Check My Links for broken link building opportunities

Check My Links extension page

Replacing broken links is a famous backlinking strategy, and that’s where Check My Links helps.

With this browser extension, you can scan for broken links in, for example, a statistics page.

CheckMyLinks showing a broken link

The invalid links will be highlighted in red, while the good links will be in green.

You can then use Hunter or Seamless.ai to find the website owner’s contact details. At the same time, use the tool to verify that the links on your web pages are valid.

Pricing

Free

Similar link building tools

💬 The bottom line

Check My Links sole purpose is checking for broken links, and it does that perfectly.

5. BuzzStream to manage outreach email campaigns

BuzzStream homepage

BuzzStream streamlines outreach campaigns when building links. It allows you to find contacts, create and send emails and track the campaign.

It’s an excellent alternative to manually adding backlink profiles to Google Sheets and sending emails on Gmail, especially when you’re running a massive outreach campaign.

You simply import your links into BuzzStream and handle the rest of the campaign within the tool.

You can also import backlink profiles from Ahrefs, Majestic, and Moz.

And if you find a resource page with an excellent link-building opportunity, you’ll be glad that you’ve installed the BuzzStream extension, Buzzmarker.

Buzzmarker helps you find contacts on a webpage, compose an email with one of your templates, and send the email without leaving the page.

Buzzmarker showing contact details

Notable features

  • Search for prospects with your target keyword. BuzzStream will analyze the web or social media platforms to show you potential influencers and metrics like Domain Authority.You can visit the pages to see if they’re good link opportunities, then approve the link and send an email using Buzzmarker.
BuzzStream dashboard
  • Custom fields and many filters: you can see as much data as you want in your backlink profile, outreach list, and more.
  • Complete email outreach management: composing, scheduling, tracking, and follow-up sequences. You can also view reports of how your subject lines and email templates perform.

Pricing

Pricing starts from $24 per month for one user, with two weeks free trial.

BuzzStream pricing page

Similar link-building tools

💬 The bottom line

BuzzStream is suitable for managing your email campaign. You easily compile your email list and track the campaign’s progress in one place.

But for finding emails, Hunter does a much better job, and Seamless.ai works better to find Linkedin contacts.

6. HARO to build links from reporters

If you’re an expert in your niche, you can get quoted by an Inc. reporter through HARO.

HARO (Help A Reporter Out) connects journalists (and bloggers) to experts.

HARO homepage

So, if you’re a thought leader in your niche, you simply sign up on HARO as a source.

You’ll then receive questions from reporters right in your email, from Monday to Friday.

Sample HARO question

But note that using HARO for mining backlinks solely is a violation of the service’s rules. You need to contribute meaningful content even as you find backlinks.

Notable features

  • You can get questions within your industry.
  • It’s suitable for crowdsourcing content for your blog – and the people you quote can end up linking to your post.
  • Incredible networking opportunities

Pricing

Free version gives you access to three emails per day (each has many questions).

Subscriptions start at $19 per month to create a profile and target specific keywords.

HARO pricing page

Similar link-building tools

💬 The bottom line

It might be weeks before you get a relevant question to your industry, and the competition is stiff. 

Nonetheless, HARO’s a link-building tool that could land you free PR on a 70+ DR site.

7. Linkody to track your backlinking efforts

Linkody homepage

After you’ve launched your link-building campaign, Linkody helps you see what’s working and what isn’t.

It’s a simple backlink management tool that does what it needs.

Notable features

Linkody will help you:

  • See the pages linking to you, the anchor text they use, their domain authority, Alexa rank, spam score, hosting country, and the link’s rel attribute (nofollow or follow).
  • Disavow backlinks that seem spammy or unnatural
  • See competitors’ backlinks and what’s working for them
  • See if your guest post backlinks are still active

Pricing

Starts from $14.90 per month to track two domains.

Linkody Pricing

Similar link-building tools

💬 The bottom line

Linkody is only built for backlink management, a feature that other SEO tools like Ahrefs offer. Yet it’s still quite limited. But it’s cheaper and with a 30-day free trial.

FAQs

Which is the best link building tool?

There is no single “best” link building tool, as the most effective approach will vary depending on your website and goals.

In general, though, the best tools should be ones that make your link-building campaign process easier and more effective. While there are many options on the market, the seven listed here are the best and most essential.

These tools will help you analyze external links and get high-quality links that will improve your website’s ranking.

Which is the best link building type?

The best link building type is one that adheres to Google guidelines. To build links, you should always use white hat methods to get high-quality backlinks, such as through guest posts.

What is a link-building tool?

A link building tool generally refers to any software or service that helps with generating or acquiring links – typically for search engine optimization (SEO) purposes.

The most common use of link building tools is to help identify potential websites to acquire links by searching for specific keywords or phrases. 

Once you identify potential sites, the tool can help evaluate their value and suitability based on various SEO metrics such as domain authority, spam score, and more.

Most tools also offer email outreach features, which allow you to contact site owners directly and request a link exchange. Again, this can be an effective way to build high-quality links, as long as the requests are polite and well-crafted.

Wrap up

The best link-building tools I use are all listed here.

You can use these tools to find guest post opportunities and other link-building opportunities. 

In addition, they help you analyze your competitors’ backlink profiles, find your prospects’ contact information, and launch and manage your outreach campaign.

But suppose you had to pay for only one tool. In that case, I highly recommend Ahrefs because it’s an all-in-one SEO tool that can help you identify precisely where you need to strategically take your content and SEO direction.

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