Image link building

DEEP DIVE

Back in 2023 I started a new project. The goal was to make it my only business for the rest of my life. It would start off as an affiliate site and transition into info products within the fitness niche.

You see, SEO is not my passion. It’s cool . . . but I don’t get off thinking about it. It’s simply a means to an end. 

I’m sure as shit not going to sleep each night thinking of backlinks and the correct TF-IDF ratios within my content.

Instead, I’m typically thinking about fitness and all things related to it: technique, recovery, supplements, nutrition, and 100 other things. I’m not a personal trainer but it’s what I’m passionate about. 

So, I wanted to build something within the niche that would contribute to the space; thus, I created This Supplement Sucks.

The TL;DR on the brand is that most supplements suck and 99% of people just need to focus on the basics if they want to gain muscle or lose fat.

I spent over $1,000 on different pre-workouts and tested them all. I spent an additional $1,000 to get high-quality images of me testing the products so people could trust that I tested them myself.

Then the September 2023 HCU came and wrecked everything.

As much as it pains me, I’ve put the project on hold indefinitely until I see a clear path forward in SEO and affiliate marketing.

On the bright side, since I had already invested over $1,000 on photography, I thought, “Why not try this whole image link building thing?” 

The strategy is fairly simple. You create or take high-quality images which you allow journalists to use. And in exchange you get a high-quality backlink.

And that’s what we’re talking about today. It’s actually quite simple (and fun!).

Step 1: Keyword research

Before you start creating or snapping photos, you need to perform keyword research to make sure people are actually searching for your photo.

No one is searching for “Alex Horsman drinking pre-workout,” but they just might be searching for “man drinking pre-workout.”

I’m not going to go deep into keyword research here because Stewart over at Linkbuilder.io already has an amazing article on the topic. Go give it a read (or save) and come back here when you’re done. 

Step 2: Take or create images

Now that you know what images people are searching for and using within their content, create them! 

The way I see it you have three primary options. 

1. Statistics and graphs

This is perhaps the easiest way to go. You just need solid keywords, e.g., “domestic violence statistics over time” and a graphic designer.

Gather the data, create a graph that visualizes the data, and boom! You’re all done.

2. Product images

This is killer for e-commerce but will take more work than the above. You’ll need to order all the products or send them to a photographer and make sure they are high quality.

If your photos are shit, no one will be interested in them. 

Product images are actually what got the most views and downloads for me.

3. Lifestyle images

In my particular instance, I decided to create lifestyle images. 

(Again, this is largely because I had already taken the photos so I didn’t have much of a choice).

Snap photos of what a journalist would be looking for, e.g., “man drinking pre-workout” or “person doing dumbbell curls.”

Writers, journalists, and editors are constantly on the hunt for high-quality images to add within their articles. Makes their job easy.

Step 3: Upload

Once you have your graphics or images created, upload them to all the free stock photo platforms.

I’m talking about Unsplash, Flickr, Deposit Photos, and about five others. You want to get them in as many places as possible.

It’ll take a couple of hours but once they’re up, you’re done, and they’ll forever be discovered.

Here’s a link to my Unsplash account if you want to take a look.

Step 4: Monitor

Now create an account at Pixsy to keep an eye on where your images are being used.

Simple as that. Create a reminder to download your Pixsy report once per month. 

Then proceed to the final step, where you actually start getting benefits.

Step 5: Outreach

Once you start seeing your images used online, find the contact info of websites using them and reach out asking them to link back to your site for attribution.

Don’t be a dick though. You catch more flies with honey. Just say:

And there you have it! 

It’s a bit of up-front work but this can work for years. Remember, approximately 7.5 million articles are published every day on the web.

And the vast majority need unique images and graphics to enhance their stories.

Your next steps

Reading articles and theory is cool, but you know what will actually move the needle for your business?

Action. Don’t just read this. 

Implement it or send it to a team member.

Here’s what to do next:

1. Find keywords in your niche that are solid candidates for image link building.

2. Take or create images.

3. Upload them to all the free databases.

4. Monitor who uses them on the web.

5. Send emails asking for a backlink for attribution.