Whenever I am tasked with starting on a link development campaign for a client, I’ve found I get things done much more quickly, and get a much better ROI for clients, if I get to have a good old chinwag with them first; ideally face to face and with a nice cuppa and small pastry selection.

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With that in mind, I thought I’d share a little ‘checklist’ for some of the questions I like to ask.

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I start by running through some very general stuff. This allows me to compile a ‘client fact sheet’, which will be an at a glance document that I can read to refresh and re-familiarise myself with the client’s products and services, which will be particularly useful if I‘m dipping in and out of the project on a monthly basis.

 

I’ve also found this to be super helpful in an agency environment, as the same overview can be passed between different teams who have responsibility for that client.

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Your starter for 10

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• Client overview: full name of business, number of years in business, industry type and other pertinent details

• Main contact names and contact details

• Some history and background, description of product(s) and / or service(s)

• What are your USPs? What makes you unique and / or different to your competitors?

• Who are your primary and secondary markets?

• Who are you audiences? If the customer hasn’t already worked on their marketing personas I’ll often work on some quick personas, using this Kick Point post to guide me 

• Who do you consider to be your competitors – both offline and online?

• What social media presences do you have? How active are you in these places?

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If I know I’ll also be working on a Local SEO strategy, I’ll make sure that we’ve confirmed a consistent address, phone number and contact details in order to make sure that I’m building a consistent citation footprint.

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Ok, on with the questions, mmmm, pass the macaroons

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Just a few more questions...they're wafer thin

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•  What are your linkable assets? This can include the aforementioned USPs, people, stories, special offers, giveaways and competitions amongst other things.​

• Who already links to you, and why?  This also gives you a tremendous insight into linkable assets, and also existing relationships.  I always like to quickly run through the client’s backlink analysis – highlighting different types of links that they already have gives them a meaningful peek into the processes involved with link development, and will often provide many ‘aha’ moments for the client and myself!​

• What are your industry affiliations and associations, memberships and awards?  This might include investors in people or green business awards.  Once you’ve compiled a list of these, you can identify the underutilised (or not utilised at all) linking opportunities that exist on those websites, and niche content opportunities also become apparent.​

• What are your strongest offline relationships?  These could be with businesses, people, publications, almost anyone and nearly always there is a way to leverage this relationship from a linking perspective.  Sometimes you can turn a sales or product oriented client into a ‘link oriented’ client; where they consider the link opportunities presented in their relationships and interactions, both offline and online. ​

• Where are your jobs currently advertised? Once you know this, you can check to see if linking opportunities exist within job sites in their niche.​

• Are there any CSR initiatives in place?  Do you sponsor any local causes? Linking opportunities a go go.​

• What do you already know about where your audience and potential audience ‘hang out’ online?  What do you think are the ‘go to’ sites for your target market (including forums)?​

• What are the governing bodies for your industry?  Again, linking opportunities often exist on these websites, and additional affiliations can be sought and gained if the link opportunities are good.

•  What are your industry magazines and / or websites online and offline, if known?​

Credit must go to Garrett French and Julie Joyce, the writings of whom have definitely influenced the above, and the approach I like to take when starting work with a new client.  

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NB This content was originally posted back when dinosaurs roamed the earth (2011) on State Of Digital.  I still use this process, and I got Julie Joyce to check it and see if it stands the test of time.  She said yes.  Thanks Julie, you’re my favourite.