Step 1: Define relevant campaign ideas for off-site campaigns that work across your entire digital landscape
We all know that relevance is key in link building. In 2024, Google leaks confirmed that one of the strongest ranking signals in determining a “good” link is relevance.
The question is: if we want our campaigns to work across multiple platforms, how can we actually define what is relevant and what will truly engage users? This has long been one of the industry’s biggest challenges. In my experience, most brands and agencies tend to define relevance off-site and connect in one of two ways.
1. Topical alignment
How people currently measure relevance like this: Is the positioning or link present within content in line with the products or services offered by the brand?
The challenge of measuring relevance this way: The problem with this approach is quality. For example, if I work with a brand that sells kitchens and the linked content discusses kitchen trends, it might seem relevant on the surface. But if the site hosting that content is low quality or openly accepts paid links, is that really a good ranking? In most cases, the answer is no.
2. Authority-first placements
How people currently measure relevance like this: Is the placement or link on a high authority website or profile?
The challenge of measuring relevance this way: The challenge here is the opposite. If the content itself is completely irrelevant to the user’s intent, authority alone does not make it a strong or meaningful placement. For example, if we work with a brand that sells kitchens and we receive a link from a national newspaper, it might seem like a good link on the surface, but what if the content is about something your customers would never engage with, like patio furniture? This means that the link does not convey relevance, regardless of the site hosting the content.
For advice: Moz’s Keyword Explorer tool can help you identify the search intent of a keyword so you can ensure your content meets your audience’s needs every time.
How to measure real relevance within off-site campaigns: For me, the real relevance lies in the customer journey itself. Rather than looking at relevance in isolation, we should map the journey our audience goes through and identify the questions they ask and the channels they use as they move towards a purchasing decision.
This is strictly in line with Google’s concept of “medium disordered”: the phase between trigger and purchase, in which users alternate between exploration and evaluation. During this phase, people compare options, read reviews, look for social proof, and consume content across multiple platforms before committing.
This behavior is no longer limited to Google. Users could be:
- Search TikTok for product recommendations
- Read discussions or reviews on Reddit
- Watch the comparisons on YouTube
- Ask questions directly into the LLMs
The key is to understand what questions are asked, where they are asked, and at what stage of the messy process they appear. A visual example of this journey is shown below.
