E-Commerce Link Building That Actually Works with Kai Cromwell

E1029: How e-commerce brands should build backlinks, especially Shopify brands. Kai Cromwell, an e-commerce SEO legend, joins the show for his second time. We cover what links are worth paying for, what links to avoid, how to evaluate link marketplaces, when to use cold email, and why most e-commerce brands should be careful about building too many links directly to product pages. Topics covered: - Where e-commerce brands should build backlinks from - When a new brand should avoid spending money on links - How much Kai recommends spending if you use link marketplaces - Why link insertions are often better than guest posts - How to check whether marketplace metrics are outdated - Red flags to look for before buying a link - Why traffic history matters - How to evaluate a site's outbound link ratio - What topical relevance should look like - What makes a link insertion look natural - How Kai uses cold email for link building - Why niche sites are often more useful than big news sites - How to think about building links to the homepage, collection pages, blog posts, and product pages - Why Kai usually avoids building links to product pages - Anchor text ratios for e-commerce sites - How smaller brands can build links without a large budget - Why free foundational links still matter - How link exchanges, journalist requests, and PR can fit into a link building strategy - What makes one backlink more valuable than another - Why having a real brand and useful content makes link building easier Kai also shares a few link building stories, including one involving a food blogger, a cookie company, and a fake cookie recipe made with ChatGPT. If you're in e-commerce, this episode is a must. ⭐️ Kai's first time on the podcast - Full Shopify SEO breakdown - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pu8J3ldS9mQ ⭐️ Kai Cromwell on 𝕏 - https://x.com/KaiCromwell ⭐️ Kai Cromwell on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kai-cromwell/ ⭐️ Kai Cromwell on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@searchnewseas ⭐️ Kai Cromwell's Shopify SEO Agency, New Seas - https://newseas.co/ 🎯 The AI System to Find Relevant Journalists, Land Coverage, and Earn Ongoing High-Authority Backlinks - https://edwardsturm.com/articles/articles_ai-system-find-journalists-earn-high-authority-backlinks/ 💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/ 00:00 Backlinks for Ecommerce 00:24 Choosing Link Sources 01:52 Best Marketplaces and Pricing 03:14 Buying Links Mistakes 06:53 Red Flags to Avoid 09:15 Topical Relevance Checks 10:18 Great Link Insertions 12:32 Cold Email Link Building 15:46 Natural Link Profiles 17:53 Where to Point Links 19:03 Blog Links and Internal Juice 20:57 Branded Search and Anchors 22:39 Branded Anchors Only 22:57 Why News PR Is Hard 24:33 Press Releases And Tools 26:33 Scaling Outreach With Rechecks 28:50 Link Building On A Budget 31:16 HARO And Reporter Platforms 32:45 Picking High Value Links 35:44 Creative Link Building Stories 39:28 Make A Site Worth Linking 40:38 Viral Assets And Trend Surfing 43:05 Brand Quality Beats SEO 45:31 Wrap Up And Where To Find Kai The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ #ecommerceseo #shopifyseo #linkbuilding #searchengineoptimization