If your link building strategy hasn’t evolved with the times, you may be stuck with ineffective backlinks or wondering if “links are dead.” Meanwhile, top brands are leveraging powerful linkable assets to earn high-quality links that truly impact search rankings. Your brand can too. Watch us as we unveil Resolve Marketing’s proven approach to earning incredible links from authoritative domains using data-driven linkable assets. Here’s what you’ll learn: -Link Diversity & Relevance Are Key – Learn why a strategic mix of high-quality links matters more than ever. -Digital PR Will Help You Move the Needle – Discover how digital PR can secure impactful backlinks. -The Keys to Building Your Own Digital PR Campaign – Walk away with a step-by-step framework to implement immediately. With Michael Johnson from Resolve, we’ll dive into the state of link building in 2025, exploring evolving trends and Google’s latest ranking factors. You’ll also hear the key elements of great content that’s converting this year, with the strategies that worked for Resolve.

2. Winning The Link
Game: How To Create &
Pitch Content That
Attracts Incredible Links
MICHAEL JOHNSON | CEO @ RESOLVE

3. WHO AM I?
• Michael Johnson
• CEO @ Resolve Marketing
• 13 Years in the SEO Industry
• Developed Strategies for 100’s of companies
• From SMBs to Fortune 500 Brands
• Husband, Dad, Tragic Sports Fan.

4. I HAVE URGENT AND HORRIFYING NEWS!
LINK BUILDING IS DEAD.
RIP LINK BUILDING
1998?-2025

5. PSYCHE!
LINK BUILDING IS DOING GREAT!
(With or Without You)

6. LINK BUILDING
IN 2025....
• It’s still VERY MUCH alive.
• But it’s changed
⚬ Just buying a bunch of guest posts... DEAD.
⚬ Brute forcing your way to rankings with just
links... DEAD.
⚬ Selling links based on easily manipulated
metrics (DA/DR, etc)... DEAD.
• It’s about demonstrating the value your content,
website, and your brand at-large provides to the
web.

7. GOOGLE ALGO LEAK -
MAY 2024
With the 2024 Google document leak, we
discovered that one of the primary ranking
factors behind Google’s algorithm is not
the number of links a site builds, but the
quality of the links it builds. This means
you’ll see more positive effects when you
build a link with one highly authoritative site
versus 10 low-quality sites.
https://searchengineland.com/google-search-document-leak-ranking-442617

8. A 2025 Study from
SEMRush shows that
Backlink Related
Factors Make up 8 of
the top 20 most
strongly correlated
ranking factors.

9. LINKABLE
ASSETS:
What They
ARE and What
They ARE NOT

10. ● Content created for the primary purpose of earning links
○ Original, accurate, and tailored to a well-defined audience.
● Informational/educational in nature
○ NOT created to primarily lead to sales or conversions
● Connects your website with relevant audiences/niches
○ EXPAND YOUR SPHERES OF RELEVANCE beyond your buying
audience
● Top of the Funnel
○ This means the primary focus of the piece is to provide value to the
searcher.
○ This can then strengthen a searcher’s relationship with a business’s
company or product, but this is not the primary goal.
What is Linkable Content?

11. Eyeglasses Eye
Conditions
Parenting
Students/Education
Seniors
SPHERES OF RELEVANCE

12. SPHERES OF RELEVANCE
With good prompting, ChatGPT can help you identify these relevance
spheres that you should be tapping into!

13. ●
WAIT, IS LINK BUILDING
ALTRUISTIC?
It can be… kind of.
- At its core, good link building is a mutually beneficial
situation for THREE parties:
- The User gets introduced to valuable information
- The Site Owner Positions Themselves as a Source for
Providing Valuable Resources
- The Creator Gets a Backlink That Sends SEO Signals and
Relevant Traffic

14. GUT CHECK.
Ask yourself these questions:
- Who does this content apply to?
- Why should they care?
- What unique information does it provide?
- What problems does this solve?
- Is this page promotional?
- BELIEVE IT OR NOT, MOST PEOPLE DON’T LIKE GIVING AWAY FREE
ADVERTISING.
- How would someone link to this?
- Can they mention it in an article?
- Can they include it in a list?
- Add it to a resource page?

15. Great But How Do I Make
My Money Pages Rank?
…. INTERNAL LINKS!!!
If you commit to a philosophy of developing linkable content. You will
have a sustainable approach to earning organic links, a constant flow of
authority coming into your website.
Channel that authority into your money pages through internal linking.

17. Tools/Calculators
Resource Guide
Survey/Poll
Article
How-To Guide/Tutorials
List of Resources
Infographics
White Papers
Videos
Podcasts
What Kind of Content Can You
Create To Get Links?

18. 1. This is tough sledding…. but you can still get some pretty sweet
links. .edu’s, .gov’s, .org’s, & more!
2. What kind of business are you running?
a. Payday Loans → Likely doesn’t matter how good your guide
is… resource pages won’t link to it.
3. In general, when we create a guide we can usually get 5-15 links for
each guide.
Resource Guides

19. 1. Long-Form: 2,000 - 3,000 words long
2. Audience-Focused: They cannot be about your product, company, or even your
industry. It needs to be about a group of people that has resource pages dedicated
to them ie. Veterans, People with Disabilities, Mental Health, College Students, etc.
3. Solves a problem or provides unique valuable information
4. Should include plenty of links to external resources. Think of it as a hub!
ex. https://www.developersforhire.com/career-guide-for-women-developers
https://www.tebra.com/theintake/checklists-and-guides/patient-care/helping-retirees-na
vigate-the-healthcare-system
Resource Guides

20. Women’s Career Guide
for Software
Developers
17 Backlinks (13 from .edu)
Retirees & Medicare Guide
This guide pulled in 27 links. Including:
Here’s a few examples!

21. LGBTQ Guide for
Coming Out at Work
13 Backlinks, including:
College Student Addiction
Resources
Just 5 links (so far) but really good start:
Here’s a few examples!

22. NOW WHAT YOU REALLY CAME FOR…
HOW DO I CREATE LINKABLE
ASSETS THAT HELP ME GET
LINKS FROM TOP TIER
PUBLICATIONS?!?!

23. WHAT IS DIGITAL
PR LINK BUILDING?
Digital PR is a marketing strategy in which you contact
journalists, news agencies, and other authoritative media
outlets to build brand awareness and authority and earn
authoritative backlinks.
Digital PR takes link building to the next level — instead of
reaching out to website and blog owners, you contact
journalists by presenting them with press releases,
infographics, and data from your own content that
will incentivize them to cite your brand on their own
publication.

24. Earning a link from a highly authoritative news source
nowadays is no simple task. Around 75% of journalists receive up
to 100 email pitches a week — that’s a lot of emails! These emails
come from other brands, think-tanks, commentators, and
everyday people, so you must find every way to stand out.
Journalists get A LOT of emails

25. WHY DIGITAL PR
MATTERS
When well-respected online
publications feature a brand,
they lend credibility and trust in
the eyes of readers, making it a
more reliable source of
information in its industry.
Build Credibility STRENGTHEN
VISIBILITY
Improve Rankings AI Search Success
Digital PR is a mix of quick wins and lasting impacts.
When you publish topics covering trending news,
you can boost visibility to your website. Covering
recurring themes or publishing data-driven content
can intrigue high-authority news websites, which
can provide stable and consistent authority over a
long period of time.
Search engines derive value from
who you connect with. When
authoritative sites, like news
agencies, link to you, it signals to
search engines that other users
can trust you, as well, when
searching for relevant keywords.
Google notably uses AI
overviews now, primarily using
reputable online sources to
provide users with accurate
information. With digital PR, you
can increase your chances of
being included in these same

26. GIVING THEM WHAT
THEY WANT.
Surveys, reports, meta-ranking,
and other unique insights for
data-driven storytelling and PR
effectiveness.
Proprietary Data &
Research
JOURNALIST-FRIENDLY
FORMATS
MULTIMEDIA
Compelling stories with media
hooks that align with journalist
interests.
Data visualizations, interactive
charts, and expert commentary.

27. DIGITAL PR MAGNET
• EXCLUSIVE
According to a 2024 Cision report, 61% of journalists want
original research reports. This allows them to write unique
stories that engage readers.
• NEWSWORTHY
If journalists know that your data-driven content is trending in
the news, they’ll want to cover it to gain more readers.
• WHO CARES?
Who actually cares about the information that you are
providing?
Is it a beat that is regularly covered by journalists?
Does it affect the readers of these journalists?
What Should It Include?
DATA-DRIVEN INSIGHTS
EXCLUSIVE INDUSTRY REPORTS, SURVEYS, ETC.
EXPERT COMMENTARY
INTERACTIVE VISUALS
TIES INTO RELEVANT STORIES IN NEWS CYCLE
And sometimes....
IT’S JUST A LOT OF FUN.

28. WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE IN THE WILD?
Here’s an example of a piece that CouponFollow.com used to
get some incredible Digital PR Links. Including:
1. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/01/30/thrifti
ng-best-worst-cities-how-to-thrift/77903703007/
2. https://www.mentalfloss.com/best-cities-for-thrift-shoppin
g
3. https://www.aol.com/news/design-volunteering-program-
workplace-121208585.html
4. https://www.azcentral.com/story/money/business/consum
ers/2025/02/05/thrift-shopping-in-arizona/78100104007/
5. https://www.gobankingrates.com/saving-money/shopping
/things-to-avoid-buying-at-thrift-stores/

29. WHY DID THIS WORK?
1. Thrift/Vintage shopping is something that is trendy and has a dedicated/passionate audience.
2. They used a LOCAL angle to create more spheres of relevance to tap into. A local culture writer for one of the cities
could easily pick up on this, along with the more nationwide journalists who cover budgeting, personal finance, fashion,
style, etc.
3. Interactive table and graphics:
Creates an opportunity for
what DigiPR Expert Hailey
Neff calls “Multiple #1's”

30. WHY DID THIS WORK?
Multiple data sources including Yelp and
Survey Data:
Having this proprietary data means you
are providing the journalist something
that is exclusive and fresh.... thus helping
to make it newsworthy.

31. Sometimes… You can just be weird.

32. 1. What are the relevant beats that are relevant to my
piece and the data/headline we uncovered?
2. What journalists are in the cities/states/regions that
rank well/poorly on my list?
3. Does the journalist cover studies/surveys, data, etc?
4. Use tools like: Muckrack, Prowly, Buzzstream, or
Buzzsumo to find relevant journos.
FINDING JOURNALISTS

33. 1. PERSONALIZED
OUTREACH
Just like Link Building is about quality over the
quantity, so is outreach. No journalist wants
to read a generic template that you’ve sent
to hundreds of other journalists. Your pitch
should be personal to them and their
publication.

34. 2.TIMELINESS
While time can be an insignificant factor behind
a response, it can be influential depending on
the journalist. According to the 2024 Muckrack
report, 22% prefer to receive pitches on a
Monday.

35. 3.FOLLOW UP!
Most importantly, don’t forget to follow up!
Follow-ups can be a gentle reminder that
journalists need to respond. Muckrack
additionally noted that 51% of journalists prefer
only one follow-up, and 48% are more likely to
respond if they receive it within three to
seven days after the initial pitch.

37. MEDIA MONITORING & AMPLIFICATION
Use tools like Ahrefs, MuckRack,
and Buzzsumo to measure
media pickups, backlinks, and
audience engagement. These
tools can be the pulse-check
you need to rework your digital
PR efforts.
Tracking Media
Pickups & Links
ENGAGE WITH
JOURNALISTS
LEVERAGE SOCIAL
MEDIA
INTERNAL LINK
OPPORTUNITY
Building long-term PR relationships involves more
than just pitching. Regularly engage with journalists
by commenting on their articles, sharing their work,
and providing valuable insights to become a
trusted source.
Share earned media placements
across social platforms. By doing
this and tagging journalists and
publications, you can amplify the
reach of the original placement
and engage more people on
different channels.
In digital PR content, you can
link to other pages on your
website, increasing link equity
and visibility for both pages.

38. BOOK SOME
TIME
FOR A FREE
DIGIPR CONSULT
Email : Michael.Johnson@growresolve.com

39. LET’S MAKE SOME DIGIPR CONCEPTS
I'M WORKING ON COMING UP WITH A DIGITAL PR
LINK BUILDING CONCEPT FOR (INSERT WEBSITE) I
NEED TO FIND SOME COMPELLING ANGLES IN THE
(INSERT INDUSTRY) INDUSTRY THAT WE COULD DO
SOME RESEARCH ON TO COME UP WITH A
HEADLINE THAT JOURNALISTS WOULD WANT TO
WRITE ABOUT. CAN YOU HELP ME IDEATE SOME?
CAN YOU ALSO PROVIDE A BREAKDOWN OF
METHODOLOGY FOR HOW WE COULD GO
ABOUT FINDING THE DATA AND AN
EXAMPLE OF A DATA CHART FOR THE
FOLLOWING TOPICS
THE PROMPT I USED!