How to Find and Choose Outreach Targets

Not every website you find through Google is a website you should contact for link outreach.

Think about what happens when you come across a website that publishes articles about the same subject as yours. At first, it might seem like a good place to suggest an article of your own.

But when you take a closer look at the articles it publishes, you notice that they cover a much narrower part of the subject than the article you have in mind. Your idea might still be relevant, but it may not be something the website’s readers are looking for.

So before contacting the editor, it makes sense to understand what the website actually covers and whether your proposed article would belong alongside its existing content.

And once you find several websites where your idea could fit, another decision comes up. Which of those websites should you contact first?

You do not have to make all these decisions at once.

You can begin by finding websites that might be relevant, then look more closely at each one to see whether your proposal makes sense. After that, you can decide which website owners or editors you want to approach first.

These three steps are called discovery, validation, and prioritization. In simple terms, you find possible websites, check whether they are suitable, and choose where to begin.

Step 1: Find Websites That Might Be Worth Contacting

You already know that you want to find websites related to your subject, but where should you begin looking?

Google is one place to start. You can search for subjects related to your website and explore the publications that appear in the results.

For example, if your website teaches people about link building, you might search for articles about backlinks, outreach, or other related SEO subjects. As you browse the results, you may discover websites that regularly publish content in those areas.

At this stage, you are simply trying to find possible websites to investigate. You do not need to decide whether to contact every website the moment you discover it.

You can also explore different link prospecting methods when a regular Google search is not giving you enough useful possibilities.

As you discover websites, keep a simple record of their names, addresses, and the subjects they cover. This will make it easier to return to them when you are ready to take a closer look.

Step 2: Check Whether Each Website Is Actually Suitable

Now that you have some websites to investigate, you can return to the question we started with: does your proposal really make sense for the people who read them?

Open one of the websites you found and spend some time looking through its articles.

You might discover that the website covers the same general subject as yours but focuses on a different audience. For example, your proposed article might explain link building to complete beginners, while the website mainly publishes advanced SEO discussions for experienced professionals.

That does not make either website better or worse. It simply means your article may not be suitable for the readers of that particular publication.

You should also look at whether the website appears active, who publishes its content, and whether there is a reasonable way to contact the person responsible for it.

If you are hoping to contribute an article, check whether the publication accepts outside contributors. If you want to suggest an existing resource, consider whether that resource would genuinely add something useful to the website’s content.

This closer examination is called validation, or qualifying an outreach prospect.

It is also where the difference between relevance and authority becomes useful. A website may have impressive SEO metrics, but those numbers alone cannot tell you whether your proposal fits its content and readers.

By the end of this step, you should have a clearer idea of which websites are worth considering and which ones you can leave out.

Step 3: Decide Which Website Owners to Contact First

Suppose you have checked several websites and found that more than one could be suitable for your outreach.

You now have a different decision to make. Rather than asking whether a website belongs on your list, you are deciding where to spend your time first.

Imagine that two publications cover your subject and both appear open to outside contributors.

One regularly publishes beginner-friendly guides, including articles similar to the one you want to propose. The other covers your subject too, but its recent articles are less closely connected to your idea.

You might reasonably choose to contact the editor of the first publication before approaching the second.

That does not mean the second website is unsuitable. It simply means the first gives you a clearer reason to begin there.

This is called prioritization.

If you have many suitable prospects, you can use a simple prospect scoring process to compare them. But you do not need a complicated scoring system to get started. Even a short note explaining why one website is a stronger match than another can help you make a sensible decision.

Keep Track of What You Have Learned

Once you begin contacting website owners or editors, it becomes useful to keep your research and outreach activity together.

A simple spreadsheet can help you remember which websites you have already checked, why you considered them suitable, and whether you have contacted anyone.

For example, you could record:

These are fictional examples, but they show how a few notes can prevent you from repeating the same research or forgetting why you considered a website in the first place.

Your decisions can also change as you learn more. An editor might explain that a proposed article is not suitable but suggest another subject. A website that once accepted guest contributions might stop accepting them.

Keeping your notes up to date allows you to make your next decision using what you actually know, rather than relying on your first impression.

Finding outreach targets becomes much easier to manage when you give yourself time to understand the websites you discover before contacting the people behind them. You can explore different possibilities, narrow your choices based on what you learn, and begin with the opportunities that make the most sense for what you want to offer.