Do you want to rank better in search engines? Do you want more traffic coming to your website? If so, then you should not be ignoring other link building tool.
There are many different strategies that SEOs use to generate links for their clients such as link building strategy, but some are much more effective than others. In this article, we will review the best paid or free link building tools/link builders for SEOs and how each one can help improve your rankings.
Responsa is a link-building service that has been around for many years and offers great customer support. Using Responsa, SEOs can help bring backlinks or broken links to websites that have few or no links pointing to them.
The best thing about this tool is the fact it’s all automated – just type in your URL (or competitor website) and they’ll show you insightful data to improve your link building campaigns.
If you’ve got limited time on your hands or don’t know how to get started with other tools, then this might be a good choice for you.
Majestic SEO is another link-building tool that allows users to analyze backlinks and get a lot more information about where they’re coming from. It has been around for many years, so it’s very popular among SEOs who are looking for reliable and trusted software.
A great feature of this program is the ability to find websites linking to your competition by entering their website URL into the Majestic interface (or vice versa).
In addition, you can use this tool to see how fresh links are in relation to other sources as well as what type of anchor text was used when they were created.
For those reasons, we think that Majestic may be one of the best tools out there if you want to use an amazing tool with higher-end features.
MozBar is another popular tool with SEOs. It’s a browser extension that you can use for free to access/day free trial their features and data from the toolbar in your browser window.
This program allows users to see how many backlinks they have, rank on search engines like Google or Bing, as well as get an idea of what type of content might be attracting visitors at first glance Also link building efforts, broken link building & outreach campaigns.
It also gives users information about website authority, domain authority, keyword research tool & seo metrics – something which may help them decide whether or not they want to invest any time into building links for it.
For these reasons, MozBar could be one way to generate valuable insights when looking over your link building campaigns if you don’t already know where else to start off with this process or link building process.
Raven is a tool that lets you know how popular your website or webpage is on the internet.
This means it can show SEOs what search terms are driving traffic to their site, who might be linking back to them, and more all in real-time!
For those reasons, Raven could be something worth checking out if you want never-before-seen data for insights as well as an all-inclusive dashboard with tons of information at once.
Ahrefs is another reliable link-building software for those who want to spend some money.
It’s a tool that provides users with an overview of their backlinks, broken links as well as the ability to find new ones/ link building opportunities, link prospecting, referring domains, link building outreach efforts and track them over time.
This means you can see how long it takes before they start driving traffic, when the links were created, etc. You’ll be able to gather more insight into what content has been working on your site too – this will help SEOs decide where they should invest resources next!
For these reasons, we think Ahrefs may have one of the best link building tool, most in-depth features around for anyone looking for something robust that offers all kinds of metrics at once (including pages indexed) than other link building tools.
Screaming Frog might be the most robust link-building tool on this list.
It’s a desktop program that lets you crawl through your site or competition and find any links pointing to them – which is great for SEOs who need something easy-to-use but also incredibly powerful at the same time!
You can choose from different types of crawls, use filters when searching for anything by keyword (which helps with accuracy), and automatically export all information in an Excel file too.
For those reasons, we think Screaming Frog might be a good choice if you want more control over what type of data you’re looking for during your research process without needing some kind of complicated software.
BuzzSumo is a tool that can help you find out what content has been most popular on social media.
This means users will be able to see which types of blog post are generating the most attention, who created them in the first place, and where they were shared too.
For those reasons, we think BuzzSumo might be one way for SEOs to get an idea of how content performs in this channel. It could also be a good tool if you’re looking for some content marketing inspiration as well.
SEMrush is an SEO software that lets you find keywords/keyword research for SEO campaigns.
This means it can generate long-tail search phrases, tell users how popular they are on the internet, and even show what percentage of traffic goes to them – which could be immensely valuable information for anyone who wants in-depth data about their site’s performance!
For those reasons, SEMrush might have one of the most exhaustive functions out there when it comes to finding new ideas for content or anything else related to your campaign. It also has tons of metrics at once which may make this tool one worth checking out if you want something with lots of different features.
Link-building is the most important aspect of digital marketing because it’s a major driver of website rankings on the internet. Using the right free tools (google search console) will help you maintain a competitive edge in your industry and elevate your website’s ranking.
Still, managing a build links/link-building campaign takes a lot of time, effort, and SEO knowledge. Do you want to learn more about how we can help? If so, contact us today to speak to a member of our team.
Throughout his extensive 10+ year journey as a digital marketer, Sam has left an indelible mark on both small businesses and Fortune 500 enterprises alike. His portfolio boasts collaborations with esteemed entities such as NASDAQ OMX, eBay, Duncan Hines, Drew Barrymore, Price Benowitz LLP, a prominent law firm based in Washington, DC, and the esteemed human rights organization Amnesty International. In his role as a technical SEO and digital marketing strategist, Sam takes the helm of all paid and organic operations teams, steering client SEO services, link building initiatives, and white label digital marketing partnerships to unparalleled success. An esteemed thought leader in the industry, Sam is a recurring speaker at the esteemed Search Marketing Expo conference series and has graced the TEDx stage with his insights. Today, he channels his expertise into direct collaboration with high-end clients spanning diverse verticals, where he meticulously crafts strategies to optimize on and off-site SEO ROI through the seamless integration of content marketing and link building.
Throughout his extensive 10+ year journey as a digital marketer, Sam has left an indelible mark on both small businesses and Fortune 500 enterprises alike. His portfolio boasts collaborations with esteemed entities such as NASDAQ OMX, eBay, Duncan Hines, Drew Barrymore, Price Benowitz LLP, a prominent law firm based in Washington, DC, and the esteemed human rights organization Amnesty International. In his role as a technical SEO and digital marketing strategist, Sam takes the helm of all paid and organic operations teams, steering client SEO services, link building initiatives, and white label digital marketing partnerships to unparalleled success. An esteemed thought leader in the industry, Sam is a recurring speaker at the esteemed Search Marketing Expo conference series and has graced the TEDx stage with his insights. Today, he channels his expertise into direct collaboration with high-end clients spanning diverse verticals, where he meticulously crafts strategies to optimize on and off-site SEO ROI through the seamless integration of content marketing and link building.
When this apartment complex client partnered with PPC.co, their goal was clear: generate more qualified leads through Google Ads. In just 60 days—from January to March 2025—we transformed their paid acquisition performance. Total conversions more than tripled, jumping from 10 to 32, while the overall conversion rate soared by over 300%. At the same time, we drove down the cost per conversion by 44%, delivering significantly more leads at a much lower cost.
By strategically combining Performance Max and high-intent Search campaigns, we not only increased lead volume but improved overall efficiency and ROI. This rapid and measurable improvement underscores the value of data-driven optimization and expert campaign management.
This case study is a testament to what can happen when a well-structured campaign meets expert strategy and continuous optimization. Whether you're launching a new property or looking to boost occupancy in a competitive market, PPC.co delivers real results—fast.
Ready to grow your leads and lower your cost per conversion?
Contact us today to schedule a free audit and discover how we can help you achieve similar results.
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If you’re running an e-commerce or retail business, you already know that visibility is everything. The best product in the world won’t sell if no one sees it. That’s where paid ads for ecommerce comes in.
Done right, they drive traffic, conversions, and repeat customers.
Done wrong, they drain your budget and leave you wondering what went wrong.
Whether you’re spending $500 a month or $50,000, your goal is the same: profitability. Not just clicks, and certainly not just impressions. You want to turn ad dollars into real, predictable revenue.
So how do top-performing e-commerce and retail brands make their paid ads work?
What are they doing that you’re not?
This guide breaks it down step-by-step, so you can start running profitable ads with confidence.
Before you launch a single campaign, you need clarity on your audience and goals. Are you trying to boost first-time sales? Increase average order value? Each objective requires a different strategy and metrics for success.
Don’t fall into the trap of launching ads just to “see what happens.” Paid media works best when it’s part of a bigger strategy. So before you log in to Google Ads or Meta Ads Manager, get specific about what success looks like.
If you want to run profitable paid ads, knowing your numbers is the foundation of your entire strategy. Without a clear understanding of your margins, break-even points, and how much you can afford to spend to acquire a customer, you’re essentially gambling with your ad budget.
And in e-commerce, that can get expensive fast.
Let’s start with the most critical numbers you need to know:
Your break-even ROAS tells you the minimum return you need on your ad spend to not lose money. It’s calculated by dividing 1 by your gross profit margin.
So if your margin is 50 percent, your break-even ROAS is 2.0. That means for every $1 you spend on ads, you need to make $2 in sales just to break even.
For example, let’s say you’re running Facebook Ads and spending $1,000 on a campaign. If your break-even ROAS is 2.0, you need to generate at least $2,000 in revenue to avoid losing money. Anything above that is profit. Anything below that eats into your cash.
Once you know your numbers, you can reverse-engineer your ad strategy instead of throwing money into the void and hoping for results. For instance, if your AOV is low (say $25), you might struggle to profit from ads unless you have a very low COGS or high conversion rates. In that case, you might want to:
On the other hand, if your AOV is $150 and your margins are strong, you have more room to compete in ad auctions, bid more aggressively, and test multiple audiences and creatives without instantly wiping out your profit.
A lot of beginner advertisers focus entirely on immediate return from ads. That’s understandable – but short-sighted. If you’re breaking even or slightly losing on the first sale, that might still be a smart move if you’re building long-term customer relationships.
That’s where Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) comes in. If you know that your average customer places three orders a year, each worth $60, then their LTV is $180. If you spend $40 to acquire that customer with your first ad, but earn $140 more over the next 12 months, that ad was extremely profitable in the long run.
Top e-commerce brands build their paid strategies around LTV-to-CAC ratio – how much they earn over time compared to what they paid to acquire the customer.
A healthy ratio is usually 3:1 or higher. So if you’re spending $50 to acquire a customer, you want to earn at least $150 from that customer over time.
Once you understand your numbers, you can plan your ad spend with precision. You’ll know exactly:
Let’s say you want to make $5,000 in profit this month, and your product has a 50 percent gross margin. That means you need $10,000 in sales. If your target ROAS is 2.5, you can spend up to $4,000 in ad spend to hit that goal. With those numbers in hand, you now have a roadmap for campaign budgeting, not just a shot in the dark.
Every ad platform has strengths. But if you try to use them all at once, you’ll burn through your budget without learning much. Instead, pick one or two that align best with your business model and customer behavior.
If you’re selling visually appealing products like apparel, skincare, or home goods, platforms like Instagram and TikTok can deliver strong returns – especially with the right creative. If you’re focused on high-intent buyers, Google Search and Shopping Ads are goldmines. And if you’re targeting professionals or B2B retail buyers, LinkedIn may offer surprising results.
Test channels strategically. Start with the one that matches where your customers spend their time and scale from there. The best platform for you is the one where your ideal customers are already shopping, scrolling, or searching.
One of the biggest mistakes retailers make is casting too wide a net. You don’t want everyone to see your ad – you want the right people to see it.
On Google, this means targeting high-intent keywords that signal buying behavior. Focus on terms like “buy,” “best,” “free shipping,” or product-specific searches. On Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok, you’ll want to dial in your custom audiences using demographic data, lookalikes, interests, and behavior.
Don’t forget retargeting. Most people won’t buy the first time they visit your site, but retargeting brings them back when they’re ready. Set up ads that follow people who viewed a product, added to cart, or engaged with your brand but didn’t check out.
The more relevant your targeting, the more efficient your spend and the higher your return.
Creative is the make-or-break factor in most e-commerce ad campaigns. You can have perfect targeting and the right product, but if your ad doesn’t grab attention in the first two seconds, it won’t convert.
Your creative needs to do three things quickly:
Use high-quality product photos or videos. Show your product in action. Highlight a clear benefit or solve a specific problem. Incorporate customer reviews or user-generated content to build trust.
For paid social, test multiple creatives at once – video vs. image, UGC vs. branded, short-form vs. long-form – and let performance data guide your iterations. On search platforms like Google, focus on copy that’s compelling and packed with relevant keywords. Test different headlines and descriptions to see what gets the best click-through rate.
Sending paid traffic to your homepage is a rookie mistake. You want every click to land on a page that’s designed to convert. That means fast load times, mobile optimization, and a clear call-to-action.
If you’re promoting a specific product, send users to that product page and not your full catalog. If you’re offering a bundle or a seasonal deal, create a dedicated landing page with copy, visuals, and layout tailored to that offer.
Remove distractions. Reduce friction. Make it stupid-easy for people to buy. The less effort it takes, the more sales you’ll see. And don’t forget to A/B test. Sometimes a simple tweak to your headline or CTA can double your conversion rate overnight.
Once your ads are live, your job isn’t done. In fact, this is where it really begins. You need to monitor performance regularly, looking at more than just the surface-level metrics.
Click-through rate (CTR) tells you how well your ad is capturing attention. Conversion rate shows how well your landing page is sealing the deal. ROAS tells you how profitable your campaign is. And CPA helps you compare efficiency across different products or audiences.
Watch for early indicators of success – or failure.
Treat your campaigns like living systems. Tweak, test, and improve them continuously.
Once you find a winning combination – an ad, offer, and audience that works – it’s time to scale. Increase your budget gradually while keeping an eye on performance. Scaling too fast can tank your results, so go step by step.
Duplicate high-performing campaigns to test new audiences or creatives. Experiment with upsells, bundles, or time-limited offers to increase AOV. Layer in email or SMS marketing to retarget paid traffic and drive repeat sales.
And just as importantly, don’t be afraid to kill underperforming ads. If something isn’t working after a reasonable test period, cut it. Your budget should be flowing to what works – not what you hope will work.
One of the biggest mistakes in paid advertising is chasing one-off sales without thinking about the bigger picture. Winning e-commerce brands think in terms of customer lifetime value.
If your first sale breaks even, that’s fine. (As long as you have a plan to turn that customer into a repeat buyer. ) You can use post-purchase emails, loyalty programs, and retargeting ads to bring people back.
At the end of the day, when you view paid ads as the beginning of a customer relationship – not the end – you unlock real long-term profitability. And at PPC.co, that’s where we want to help you! We offer industry-leading PPC management services for ecommerce and retail brands who want to stop wasting ad spend and start generating real ROI.
Contact us today to learn more!
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