seo-backlink-outreach

Backlink Outreach Strategy Generator

Analyze site content, discover high-value backlink prospects, and generate personalized outreach email templates. Operates in two modes: single-page (target one slug) or full-site audit (analyze all pages and prioritize).

References

Read before starting (relative to this skill's base directory):

• ../../references/backlink-outreach-guide.md
• ../../references/dataforseo-workflows.md
• ../../references/eeat-signals.md

Inputs

1. Mode — user specifies one of:
   • /seo-backlink-outreach <slug> — single page mode
   • /seo-backlink-outreach --full-site — analyze all pages, prioritize best candidates
   • /seo-backlink-outreach (no args) — default to full-site mode
2. Content directory — user-provided path → ./landing-page/ (if present) → CWD
3. Brand voice — docs/seo/brand-voice.md (required — need company name, domain, and niche for outreach)
4. Topical clusters — docs/seo/topical-clusters.md (optional)
5. Existing keyword data — docs/seo/<slug>/keyword-data.md (optional, reuse when available)
6. Target market — default US (location_code: 2840, language_code: "en"); ask if different

If brand-voice.md is missing, ask the user to create it first — outreach cannot be personalized without knowing the brand name and domain.

Browser Capabilities

Check the project's CLAUDE.md (or .claude/CLAUDE.md) for mentions of:

• Browserless (typically localhost:30000) — headless Chrome for JS-heavy sites
• Splash — alternative JS rendering proxy

If available, use these for prospect qualification when standard web fetches are blocked by anti-bot measures or when pages require JavaScript rendering. This expands the skill's reach against sites with aggressive bot detection.

Process

Phase 1 — Content Exploration (MANDATORY — NON-NEGOTIABLE)

This phase MUST be thorough. Skimming is not acceptable. The quality of prospect discovery depends entirely on how well we understand the content.

Content Discovery

Detect the site framework and locate content files:

Framework	Content Location	File Types
Astro	src/content/, src/pages/	.md, .mdx
Hugo	content/	.md
Next.js	app/, pages/	.md, .mdx
Gatsby	src/pages/, content/	.md, .mdx
Jekyll	_posts/, _pages/	.md, .markdown
VitePress	docs/, root .md files	.md
Nuxt Content	content/	.md, .yaml
Eleventy	src/, root content dirs	.md, .njk
Generic	Scan for .md/.mdx in project	.md, .mdx

Detection order: Check package.json or config files (astro.config.*, hugo.toml, next.config.*, etc.) for framework identification. Fall back to directory structure heuristics.

Also check docs/seo/*/draft.md — these are pipeline-produced articles that may or may not be in the content directory yet.

Dispatch Exploration Subagents

Dispatch exploration subagent(s) via the Task tool.

For sites with ≤ 20 content pages: dispatch a single Explore subagent. For sites with > 20 content pages: split by directory, cluster, or content type — one subagent per group.

Each subagent extracts per page:

Field	Source
File path	File system path
URL slug	Derived from file path and framework routing
Title	H1 or frontmatter title
Primary keyword	From frontmatter, H1, or inferred
Content summary	2-3 sentence description of what the page covers
Search intent	Informational / Commercial / Transactional
Content depth	Thin (< 800w) / Standard (800-2000w) / Deep (2000w+)
Unique angle	What makes this page different from competitors
Linkable assets	Original data, tools, infographics, templates
Existing backlinks	From keyword-data.md if available
Word count	Approximate

Phase 2 — Backlink Worthiness Assessment

Rate each page's backlink potential (do NOT delegate this):

Criterion	Weight	Score 1-5
Content depth	High	5 = comprehensive deep-dive, 1 = thin/shallow
Unique data/research	High	5 = original research/data, 1 = nothing original
Linkable assets	High	5 = tools/calculators/infographics, 1 = text-only
Fresh angle	Medium	5 = contrarian/novel take, 1 = same as everyone else
Search intent value	Medium	5 = high commercial value, 1 = low-value informational
Current backlink count	Medium	5 = few/no backlinks (opportunity), 1 = already strong

Priority score = weighted average. Pages scoring < 2.5 overall are skipped for outreach (note in report as "not recommended for outreach — reason: {{reason}}").

In single-page mode, skip this scoring — the user already chose the page.

In full-site mode, present the priority matrix and select the top 3-5 candidates for prospect discovery.

Phase 3 — Prospect Discovery

For each target page (top candidates from Phase 2, or the single specified page):

Step 3a — SERP Analysis (DataForSEO)

Use serp_organic_live_advanced for the page's primary keyword:

keyword: "{{primary keyword}}"
location_code: 2840
language_code: "en"
device: "desktop"
depth: 10

From top 10 results, identify:

• Listicles: titles containing "best", "top", numbers, "tools", "resources"
• Resource pages: titles containing "guide", "resources", "links", "directory"
• How-to/informational: pages that mention our topic but link elsewhere for depth
• Roundup posts: weekly/monthly compilations in our niche

Step 3b — Competitor Backlink Analysis (DataForSEO)

Use backlinks_summary on the top 3-5 SERP results:

target: "{{competitor URL}}"

Identify domains linking to competitors but not to us — these are warm prospects.

Use serp_competitors to find additional competing domains:

keywords: ["{{primary keyword}}", "{{secondary keywords}}"]
location_code: 2840

Step 3c — Web Mentions (DataForSEO)

Use content_analysis_search to find pages mentioning our brand or topic:

keyword: "{{brand name OR topic}}"
search_mode: "as_is"

Pages mentioning our brand without linking = easy wins (ask for link attribution).

Step 3d — Prospect Qualification (WebSearch / Firecrawl)

For each candidate prospect (aim for 10-15 per target page):

1. WebSearch for: site:{{prospect-domain}} about or site:{{prospect-domain}} contact to find about/contact pages
2. Fetch the prospect's page to confirm:
   • Content is still live and relevant
   • There's a natural placement for our link (specific section, list, or context)
   • The site looks legitimate (not a link farm or scraper)
3. Extract contact info (if findable): author name, email, social profiles
4. Note personalization hooks: specific quotes, positions, or insights from their content that show we actually read it

If a site blocks standard web fetches and browserless/splash is available per CLAUDE.md, use that for rendering.

Step 3e — Existing Data Reuse

If docs/seo/<slug>/keyword-data.md exists for the target page:

• Reuse competitor analysis data (don't re-fetch what's already known)
• Supplement with fresh prospect-specific searches

Phase 4 — Outreach Template Generation

For each qualified prospect, generate:

Template A — Casual / Peer

Subject: {Quick question|Thought on|Regarding} your {{topic}} {article|post|guide}

{Hi|Hey|Hello} {{first_name}},

{I came across|I was reading|I found} your {article|piece|post} on {{their_article_topic}} — {{personalized_compliment_about_specific_detail}}.

{I noticed|It occurred to me that|I thought} our {{content_description}} on {{our_topic}} might {complement|add to|be a useful addition to} your {{specific_section_or_list}}. {{one_sentence_on_what_our_content_adds}}.

{Would you consider|Do you think it'd make sense to|Happy to share if you think it'd be worth} {adding a link|including it|mentioning it}?

{Cheers|Best|Thanks},
{{sender_name}}
{{sender_title}}, {{company}}

Template B — Professional / Formal

Subject: Resource suggestion for your {{topic}} {article|guide|page}

{Hi|Hello} {{first_name}},

{{personalized_intro_referencing_their_specific_work_or_achievement}}.

We recently published {{content_title}} ({{URL}}) which covers {{specific_angle_or_data_point}}. {Based on|Given} what you covered in your {{their_section_name}}, {I believe|I think} our {research|guide|data} could {provide additional depth|offer a complementary perspective|give your readers more detail} on {{specific_subtopic}}.

{Would you be open to|Would it make sense to} including {a reference|a link} in your {{specific_section}}? {Happy to|I'm also glad to} return the favor if there's content of yours that fits our coverage.

{Best regards|Kind regards},
{{sender_name}}
{{sender_title}} at {{company}}

Follow-Up Sequence (3 touchpoints per template)

Follow-up 1 (Day 3-4):

Subject: Re: {{original_subject}}

{Hi|Hey} {{first_name}},

{Just floating this back up|Wanted to quickly follow up} — {I know inboxes get busy|I know you're probably swamped}.

{One thing I didn't mention|Also worth noting}: {{new_angle_or_data_point_not_in_original}}.

{No rush at all|Happy to discuss if you're interested} — {just thought it might be useful|let me know what you think}.

{{sender_name}}

Follow-up 2 (Day 7-8):

Subject: Re: {{original_subject}}

{Hi|Hey} {{first_name}},

{Came across|Found} {{related_resource_or_stat}} that {relates to|ties into} your {{their_article_topic}} — thought you might find it {interesting|useful} regardless of our previous note.

{{one_sentence_sharing_the_insight}}

{Cheers|Best},
{{sender_name}}

Follow-up 3 (Day 14 — final):

Subject: Re: {{original_subject}}

{Hi|Hey} {{first_name}},

{Last note from me on this|Just a final check-in} — {completely understand if it's not a fit|no worries at all if the timing isn't right}.

If you ever {update that piece|revisit that article} and {think our resource could add value|want to add more resources}, {the offer stands|happy to chat}.

{All the best|Cheers},
{{sender_name}}

Phase 5 — Generate Output

Full-Site Mode

Write docs/seo/backlink-outreach/strategy-overview.md:

# Backlink Outreach Strategy

**Date**: {{YYYY-MM-DD}}
**Site**: {{domain/project}}
**Pages analyzed**: {{N}}
**Pages recommended for outreach**: {{N}}
**Total prospects identified**: {{N}}

## Priority Matrix

| #   | Page     | Primary Keyword | Depth Score | Unique Assets   | Current Backlinks | Priority  |
| --- | -------- | --------------- | ----------- | --------------- | ----------------- | --------- |
| 1   | {{slug}} | {{keyword}}     | {{1-5}}     | {{description}} | {{N}}             | 🔴 High   |
| 2   | ...      |                 |             |                 |                   | 🟡 Medium |
| ... |          |                 |             |                 |                   |           |

## Pages Not Recommended

| Page     | Reason                                                            |
| -------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| {{slug}} | {{Thin content / No unique angle / Already has strong backlinks}} |
| ...      |                                                                   |

## Campaign Metrics to Track

| Metric                       | Baseline | Target (3 months)        |
| ---------------------------- | -------- | ------------------------ |
| Total referring domains      | {{N}}    | {{N + realistic growth}} |
| Emails to send               | —        | {{N}}                    |
| Expected responses (10-15%)  | —        | {{N}}                    |
| Expected links earned (3-5%) | —        | {{N}}                    |

## Next Steps

1. Review individual outreach files in `docs/seo/backlink-outreach/`
2. Customize email templates with your sender details
3. Load into your outreach tool (Lemlist, Woodpecker, etc.)
4. Track responses and update this strategy monthly

Per-Page Outreach Files

Write docs/seo/backlink-outreach/{{slug}}-outreach.md for each target page:

# Backlink Outreach: {{Page Title}}

**Target page**: {{slug}} ({{URL if known}})
**Primary keyword**: {{keyword}}
**Content summary**: {{2-3 sentences}}
**Unique selling point**: {{What makes this page link-worthy}}

## Prospects

### Prospect 1: {{Site Name}}

| Field                | Value                                                           |
| -------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| URL                  | {{prospect page URL}}                                           |
| Type                 | {{Listicle / Resource page / How-to / Roundup / Brand mention}} |
| Contact              | {{Name, email if found}}                                        |
| Relevance            | {{High/Medium}}                                                 |
| Outreach angle       | {{Why they'd include us — specific section or context}}         |
| Personalization hook | {{Specific detail from their content}}                          |

### Prospect 2: {{Site Name}}

...

(10-15 prospects per page)

## Email Templates

### Template A — Casual

**Initial outreach**:
{{Full Template A with spintax, personalized per this page's context}}

**Follow-up 1 (Day 3-4)**:
{{Casual follow-up}}

**Follow-up 2 (Day 7-8)**:
{{Value-add follow-up}}

**Follow-up 3 (Day 14)**:
{{Graceful close}}

### Template B — Professional

**Initial outreach**:
{{Full Template B with spintax, personalized per this page's context}}

**Follow-up 1 (Day 3-4)**:
{{Professional follow-up}}

**Follow-up 2 (Day 7-8)**:
{{Value-add follow-up}}

**Follow-up 3 (Day 14)**:
{{Graceful close}}

## Per-Prospect Customization Notes

| Prospect | Personalized Intro | Specific Section to Reference | New Angle for Follow-up   |
| -------- | ------------------ | ----------------------------- | ------------------------- |
| {{name}} | {{custom intro}}   | {{their section name}}        | {{data point or insight}} |
| ...      |                    |                               |                           |

Quality Checks

Before saving output, verify:

• Every email template is 3-5 sentences max (excluding subject line)
• No spam trigger words: "free", "exclusive", "guaranteed", "act now", "limited time"
• Every prospect has a specific outreach angle (not generic "we wrote something similar")
• Spintax is syntactically correct: {variant1|variant2|variant3}
• Each follow-up adds something new (not just "bumping this")
• Personalization hooks reference specific details from prospect's content
• Pages scoring < 2.5 on worthiness are excluded with documented reason
• Templates A and B are genuinely different in tone (not just word substitutions)
• Contact information is real (not fabricated or guessed)
• All DataForSEO data is from current run (not stale)

User Action

After generating, tell the user:

Review your outreach strategy in docs/seo/backlink-outreach/. The strategy overview shows which pages to prioritize. Each page's outreach file has 10-15 qualified prospects with personalized email templates in A/B variants plus 3 follow-ups each. Customize the sender details, load into your outreach tool, and start sending. Track responses and re-run monthly to discover new prospects.