Old Competitor's Backlinks

Ever wondered how to turn your competitors' past failures into your marketing success? The "old competitor's backlinks" tactic offers a clever way to do just that. This approach involves finding and leveraging the digital footprint left behind by defunct competitors in your industry.

At its core, this strategy is about identifying websites that still link to or mention products similar to yours that no longer exist. These outdated mentions present a golden opportunity for you to step in and offer your product as a current, relevant alternative. It's a win-win situation: you gain valuable backlinks and exposure, while the website owners get to update their content with accurate information.

What makes this tactic particularly appealing is its low-effort, medium-impact nature. You don't need to create new content from scratch or invest heavily in outreach campaigns. Instead, you're simply tapping into existing conversations and relationships, making it an efficient use of your marketing resources.

For businesses looking to boost their online presence and search engine rankings, the old competitor's backlinks tactic is worth considering. It's a practical way to gain quality backlinks, increase your brand visibility, and potentially attract new customers who are already interested in products like yours. Plus, it helps clean up outdated information on the web, providing value to both website owners and their readers.

Why this works

This tactic works particularly well for internet businesses because it taps into an existing digital ecosystem of links, mentions, and recommendations. Here's why it's so effective:

1. Leveraging established credibility. When a website links to or mentions a product, they've already vetted it to some degree. By replacing an outdated reference with your product, you inherit some of that trust and credibility.

2. Targeting pre-qualified audiences. The websites mentioning your defunct competitors are already interested in your type of product. This means you're reaching an audience that's more likely to be receptive to your offering.

3. Improving user experience. By helping website owners update their content with current, relevant information, you're providing value to both the site and its visitors. This goodwill can lead to stronger relationships and potential partnerships.

4. Boosting SEO. Acquiring backlinks from established websites in your industry can significantly improve your search engine rankings. These links are often more valuable because they're contextually relevant and from authoritative sources.

5. Cost-effective outreach. Instead of starting from scratch with cold outreach, you're offering a solution to an existing problem (outdated information). This approach often leads to higher response rates and more successful link placements.

6. Competitive advantage. By systematically replacing mentions of defunct competitors, you're not only gaining visibility but also preventing new competitors from doing the same.

7. Content discovery. This process can uncover valuable content ideas and potential partnerships that you might not have found otherwise.

8. Brand positioning. Positioning your product as the successor to a known brand can help establish your credibility and market position quickly.

Examples of how different internet businesses can apply this tactic:

• SaaS company. A project management tool could search for mentions of discontinued software like Basecamp Classic or Google Wave, offering their solution as a modern alternative.

• E-commerce store. An online fashion retailer could look for links to defunct clothing subscription services and suggest their curated collections as a replacement.

• Digital product creator. A course creator specializing in SEO could find mentions of old link-building tools or services and offer their up-to-date training as a valuable resource.

• Marketplace app. A freelance platform could search for references to closed marketplaces like Fiverr Pro or Envato Studio and present their platform as the go-to alternative for high-quality freelance services.

By systematically applying this tactic, internet businesses can efficiently build their online presence, improve their SEO, and attract relevant traffic without significant investment in content creation or paid advertising.

How you can steal this

Here's how you can implement the old competitor's backlinks tactic:

1. Identify defunct competitors. Create a comprehensive list of companies in your niche that have gone out of business or discontinued their products. Include both direct competitors and adjacent solutions that solved similar problems.

2. Use advanced search techniques. Leverage Google's advanced search operators to find mentions of these defunct competitors. Try combinations like:

   • "competitor name" + "review"
   • "competitor name" + "alternative"
   • "competitor name" + "vs"

3. Utilize backlink analysis tools. Use SEO tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz to find backlinks pointing to your defunct competitors' websites. This can uncover valuable mentions you might miss through manual searching.

4. Categorize the opportunities. As you find mentions, categorize them based on the type of content (blog post, product comparison, tool directory) and the website's authority. This helps prioritize your outreach efforts.

5. Craft personalized outreach emails. When contacting website owners or content creators, focus on providing value. Explain that their content contains outdated information and offer your product as a current, relevant alternative. Be concise and helpful, not pushy.

6. Prepare replacement content. Make it easy for the website owner to update their content by providing a brief description of your product, relevant links, and even suggested wording for the update.

7. Follow up strategically. If you don't hear back after your initial outreach, send a polite follow-up email after a week or two. Sometimes, a gentle reminder is all it takes to get a response.

8. Track your progress. Keep a spreadsheet of your outreach efforts, including contact dates, responses, and successful updates. This helps you measure the effectiveness of your campaign and identify areas for improvement.

9. Offer additional value. If appropriate, suggest other ways you can contribute to their content, such as providing expert quotes, updated statistics, or even offering to write a guest post on a related topic.

10. Monitor for new opportunities. Set up Google Alerts for your defunct competitors' names to catch any new mentions that appear over time. This allows you to continually apply this tactic as new opportunities arise.

11. Leverage social proof. If you've successfully replaced mentions on high-authority sites, mention this in your outreach to other website owners. It can lend credibility to your request.

12. Expand your search. Don't limit yourself to exact product names. Look for mentions of specific features or use cases that your defunct competitors were known for, as these can also lead to valuable opportunities.

13. Create comparison content. If you notice a trend of people searching for comparisons between your product and a defunct competitor, create a dedicated page addressing this. It can help capture search traffic and provide context for your outreach efforts.

14. Engage with online communities. Forums, Q&A sites, and social media platforms often contain discussions about products. Look for mentions of defunct competitors in these spaces and offer your solution where appropriate.

15. Analyze success patterns. As you implement this tactic, pay attention to which types of websites or content creators are most receptive to your outreach. Use these insights to refine your approach and focus your efforts on the most promising opportunities.

By systematically applying these steps, you can effectively leverage the digital footprint left by defunct competitors to boost your own online presence and attract potential customers who are already interested in solutions like yours.

Examples of old competitor's backlinks

Here are some detailed examples of how different internet businesses can apply the old competitor's backlinks tactic:

• SaaS company. A team collaboration platform discovered that a once-popular project management tool, TeamForge, had shut down. They used Ahrefs to find all websites still linking to TeamForge and reached out to update those mentions. In their outreach emails, they highlighted specific features that made their platform a suitable replacement, resulting in a 30% success rate for backlink acquisition.

• E-commerce store. An online sustainable fashion retailer identified that eco-friendly clothing subscription service Wear the Change had ceased operations. They searched for blog posts reviewing Wear the Change and offered their curated collections as an alternative. By providing bloggers with sample products and affiliate links, they secured updates on 40% of the targeted posts.

• Digital product creator. A UX design course provider noticed that UXPin, a popular prototyping tool, had discontinued its learning resources. They used Google's advanced search operators to find mentions of "UXPin courses" and offered their comprehensive UX curriculum as a replacement. This approach led to valuable backlinks from design-focused websites and increased course enrollments by 15%.

• Marketplace app. A freelance platform for creatives discovered that CreativeAlly, a niche talent marketplace, had shut down. They used SEMrush to identify websites that still listed CreativeAlly in their "Top 10 Freelance Platforms" articles. By reaching out with updated information and offering exclusive sign-up bonuses for readers, they secured placements in 60% of the targeted listicles.

• Fintech startup. A personal finance app learned that budgeting tool LevelMoney had been discontinued. They used Moz to find all backlinks pointing to LevelMoney's website and reached out to financial bloggers and websites. By offering a migration guide for LevelMoney users, they not only gained backlinks but also attracted a significant number of new users looking for an alternative.

• EdTech platform. An online learning marketplace discovered that Udemy had shut down its corporate training program, Udemy for Business. They searched for case studies and testimonials mentioning Udemy for Business and contacted the featured companies. By offering a tailored solution and migration support, they secured both backlinks and new enterprise clients.

• B2B software. A customer relationship management (CRM) tool identified that Streak, a Gmail-based CRM, had discontinued its free plan. They used BuzzSumo to find content mentioning Streak's free tier and reached out to bloggers and review sites. By highlighting their own robust free plan, they secured updates in 50% of the targeted content, driving a surge in free user signups.

• Subscription box service. A meal kit delivery company learned that competitor PlateJoy had ceased operations. They searched for food bloggers who had reviewed PlateJoy and offered them a free trial of their service. By providing unique recipes and high-quality ingredients, they secured updated reviews and recommendations, leading to a 25% increase in new subscriptions from those sources.

• Cloud storage provider. A secure file-sharing platform noticed that Wuala, a once-popular encrypted storage service, had shut down. They used Ahrefs to find all websites still recommending Wuala for secure storage and reached out with information about their enhanced encryption features. This targeted approach resulted in backlinks from high-authority tech websites and a boost in security-conscious users.

• Social media management tool. A scheduling and analytics platform discovered that Buffer had discontinued its Pablo image creation feature. They searched for tutorials and articles mentioning Pablo and offered their own enhanced image creation tool as an alternative. By providing bloggers with custom graphics showcasing their tool's capabilities, they secured updates in 70% of the targeted content.