Finding websites is usually the easy part of link building.
Finding websites that are actually worth contacting takes considerably more work.
You can export hundreds of domains from an SEO tool in a few minutes. But once you start opening the pages, you often discover that many aren't relevant.
Some websites haven't published useful content in years. Others cover the wrong topics. And plenty have no obvious reason to link to your resource.
This is where link building prospecting becomes important.
The goal isn't to create the longest spreadsheet possible. It's to find websites where your content could genuinely be useful.
What is link building prospecting?
Link building prospecting is the process of finding and evaluating potential websites or pages that might link to your content.
It's the research stage before outreach begins.
A prospect could be a blog covering your industry, a journalist researching a relevant topic, or a resource page that helps readers find additional information.
A good prospect has three characteristics:
- The website reaches a relevant audience.
- A specific page has a reason to reference your resource.
- There is a suitable way to suggest your content to the publisher.
Without those elements, sending an email may not accomplish much.
1. Start with the resource you want to promote
Before searching for websites, decide which page you want people to link to.
This could be a useful guide, an original study, a calculator, or another resource that answers a particular question.
For example, imagine you've published a detailed guide about remote employee onboarding.
Potential prospects might include websites covering HR management, remote teams, employee productivity, and workplace software.
That's a useful starting point.
Searching for websites related to your resource is usually more productive than searching for websites willing to link to absolutely anything.
2. Use Google to discover relevant pages
Google can help you find prospecting opportunities without requiring a paid SEO tool.
Start with searches related to your subject.
For example:
remote employee onboarding checklistremote team management resources"employee onboarding" "useful resources""remote onboarding" "recommended tools"
You can also use the site: operator to explore a particular website.
For example, site:example.com onboarding helps you find pages about onboarding within that domain.
Open relevant results and look for articles where your resource might provide additional information.
The question isn't simply whether a website mentions your keyword.
It's whether you can identify a reason your content belongs on a particular page.
3. Study websites linking to similar content
Competitor backlink research is another useful prospecting method.
Choose an article that covers a similar subject to yours.
Using a backlink research tool, examine which websites link to it.
Then visit those linking pages individually.
Why did they include the original link?
Was it supporting a statistic? Explaining a concept? Providing a resource for readers?
That context matters.
A website that links to a competitor isn't automatically interested in linking to you.
But its previous editorial decisions can help you identify the kinds of resources it finds useful.
4. Look for resource pages
Some websites maintain curated collections of useful links.
These might be called resources, recommended reading, helpful tools, or further learning.
A good resource page usually serves a clearly defined audience.
For example, a university career center might maintain a page about preparing for remote interviews.
If you've published a genuinely useful interview-preparation resource, that page could be relevant.
The same approach works for business websites, professional associations, and educational publishers.
Avoid targeting every resource page you encounter.
Look for collections where your material adds something that isn't already covered.
5. Check for unlinked brand mentions
Sometimes another website has already mentioned your business without linking to it.
These mentions can be worth investigating.
Search for your brand name and look for relevant references on third-party websites.
If an article mentions your company but doesn't provide a way to learn more, you may have a reasonable opportunity to suggest a link.
Keep the request simple and respect the publisher's editorial choice.
A brand mention doesn't create an obligation to add a backlink.
6. Qualify each opportunity before outreach
Once you've collected potential websites, start filtering.
Check whether each website is still active, whether its content is relevant, and whether your resource adds value. Our guide on how to check backlink quality walks through the eight things to look at.
A useful prospecting spreadsheet might include:
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Website | example.com |
| Relevant article | Remote onboarding guide |
| Target resource | Employee onboarding checklist |
| Reason to pitch | Missing a practical checklist |
| Contact status | Not researched |
| Decision | Review further |
This is an illustrative entry, not a real prospect.
The most useful column is often the reason to pitch.
If you can't explain that reason in one sentence, you may need to research further.
7. Prioritize prospects instead of contacting everyone
Not every prospect deserves equal attention.
Start with the websites where relevance is obvious and where you can identify a genuine improvement your resource might provide.
Keep less certain opportunities for later.
Remove websites that are clearly unrelated or appear to exist mainly for selling links.
This helps you spend more time writing thoughtful pitches and less time chasing opportunities that were never a good fit. When you are ready to write, see our link building outreach email templates, and for the contact research step, how to find email addresses for link building.
8. Review your list after every campaign
Prospecting improves when you learn from the results.
Which types of websites responded?
Which topics generated useful conversations?
Which opportunities looked promising but turned out to be irrelevant?
Use those observations to improve your next prospect list.
A smaller list based on genuine relevance can be more manageable than a large collection of websites you haven't properly reviewed.
Final thoughts
Link building prospecting is more than collecting domain names.
It involves understanding an audience, identifying specific pages, and finding a reason your content deserves consideration.
The best prospect isn't always the website with the highest authority metric.
It's the website where the right resource could genuinely help the right reader.
Want to spend less time chasing irrelevant backlink opportunities? See how BacklinkBuddy finds and places links, with every site sent to you for approval first.
