Step 1: Define relevant campaign ideas for off-site campaigns that work across the entire digital landscape
We all know that in link building, relevance is king. In 2024, the Google leaks confirmed that one of the strongest ranking signals when determining a “good” link is relevance.
The question is: if we want our campaigns to perform across multiple platforms, how do we actually define what is relevant and what will genuinely engage users? This has long been one of the biggest challenges in the industry. In my experience, most brands and agencies tend to define off-site and link relevance in one of two ways.
1. Topical alignment
How people currently measure relevance this way: Is the placement or link featured within content that is topically aligned with the products or services the brand offers?
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 may appear relevant on the surface. But if the site hosting that content is low quality or openly accepts paid links, does that really make it a good placement? In most cases, the answer is no.
2. Authority-first placements
How people currently measure relevance this way: Is the placement or link featured 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 doesn’t make it a strong or meaningful placement. For example, if we work with a brand that sells kitchens and we get a link from a national newspaper, it may appear a good link on the surface, but what if the content is talking about something your customers would never engage with such as garden furniture. This means the link is not passing relevance no matter what site hosts the content.
Pro tip: Moz’s Keyword Explorer tool can help you identify the search intent for a keyword so you can make sure your content meets your audience’s needs every time.
How to measure true relevance within off-site campaigns: For me, true relevance sits within the customer journey itself. Rather than looking at relevance in isolation, we should be mapping the journey our audience goes through and identifying the questions they ask and the channels they use as they move towards a purchase decision.
This aligns closely with Google’s concept of the “messy middle”: the phase between trigger and purchase, where users loop between exploration and evaluation. During this stage, people compare options, read reviews, seek social proof, and consume content across multiple platforms before committing.
That behaviour isn’t limited to Google anymore. Users might be:
- Searching TikTok for product recommendations
- Reading Reddit threads or reviews
- Watching YouTube comparisons
- Asking questions directly in LLMs
The key is understanding what questions are being asked, where they’re being asked, and at which stage of the messy middle they appear. A visual example of this journey is shown below.
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