Link reclamation guide: How it works and why you need it
Link building is the backbone of content marketing for most iGaming brands, but it isn’t a permanent guarantee of success. Many of the links leading to your website may break over time, which can impact your site’s visibility and search engine authority. That’s where link reclamation comes in: to restore broken links and improve your website’s discoverability.
You can lose valuable backlinks in many ways, either because the site they were published on was updated or it simply became inactive over time. Regular link audits are crucial for identifying these problems promptly and determining the best way to address them as part of your digital asset management. Find out more about what to do in this situation by reading ahead:
What is link reclamation in SEO?
Link reclamation in search engine optimisation (SEO) is a backlink recovery strategy to restore lost backlinks and their value to your site. These links may break due to deleted pages, incorrect redirects, or content changes. Unlike link building, which seeks new backlinks, link reclamation focuses on regaining the link equity you’ve already earned.
This process helps protect domain authority, keeps SEO steady, maintains crawlability, and prevents drops in organic search traffic. An SEO audit often reveals broken or missing links that no longer pass link equity. Fixing them aids web indexing and strengthens site health.
Restoring links also helps sustain search engine trust, which can improve rankings on the search engine results page (SERP). Link reclamation SEO is not about chasing new gains, but about repairing what already belongs to you. It is a vital step in improving SERP visibility and can enhance discoverability in ways that new link building cannot match.
Unlinked mentions vs link reclamation
Unlinked mentions and link reclamation both play roles in a backlink plan, yet they deal with different cases. Link reclamation aims to recover backlinks that once existed but were lost due to page removal, redirect errors, or changes in content. The goal is to restore the value those links had previously passed to your website.
Unlinked brand mentions are different. These happen when your name appears online in articles, citations, or posts, but there is no hyperlink back to your site. Since the link never existed, it cannot be reclaimed. In this case, outreach or negotiation may convert those mentions tracking results into live links, which support content attribution and improve your online reputation.
Both tactics need clear analysis and methods. Link reclamation restores lost equity, while unlinked mentions expand reach through fresh linking. Guides on how to find unlinked mentions show ways to locate these gaps, but the process differs from fixing old links. Together, both steps strengthen link value in separate yet linked ways.

Common causes of lost backlinks in iGaming
Backlinks in iGaming can vanish for many reasons, creating risks for site growth. Common causes include page removal, URL redirection errors, website restructuring, or 404 errors that break both internal and external links. Content may also disappear due to domain expiration or natural link rot.
Such issues lead to lost backlinks, which can weaken SEO performance and reduce visibility in search results. When link equity drops, rankings may fall and trust with search engines weakens. Knowing the root causes helps you plan fixes that protect traffic, maintain authority, and keep link value active across your site.
Technical issues
Technical problems are a frequent cause of lost backlinks in iGaming. They often occur during site migrations, URL changes, or when errors affect how a page is reached or indexed. Key examples include:
- Broken links: When a URL changes without proper redirects, backlinks lead to 404 errors. This breaks the link path and removes value from both internal and external links.
- Redirect chains: A long or looping chain of redirects slows down page access and can confuse the search engines. Over time, this reduces link equity and weakens trust during web indexing. Streamlined redirects keep backlink value intact.
- Canonical errors: When pages exist under multiple versions, such as HTTP and HTTPS or with and without trailing slashes, search engines may split equity. Incorrect canonical tags cause duplication and dilute performance. Correct use of canonical tags avoids this risk.
- Server downtime: When servers fail, backlinks pointing to affected pages may not pass value. If downtime persists, search engines may stop indexing those pages, which harms rankings and visibility. Reliable hosting reduces this risk.
Run a web crawler to spot 404 errors, broken internal links, and long redirect chains or loops. Canonical errors may lead to duplicate URLs being indexed, which splits link equity and confuses the search engines during web indexing.
Content lifecycle issues
Web content lifecycle changes often lead to lost backlinks in iGaming. As websites evolve, updates, deletions, or structural changes can break link value and reduce authority. Common examples include:
- Content removal: When a page is deleted, all backlinks pointing to it lose value. This may happen after site redesigns, page clean-ups, or when a resource is no longer needed. Redirects can preserve some link equity, but unmanaged removal leads to complete loss.
- Outdated pages: Old articles, expired offers, or retired product listings often result in content pruning. While this improves site focus, it can also remove links that once drove traffic. Refreshing or repurposing these pages before removal helps retain their backlink strength.
- Content duplication: When the same material appears in multiple places, search engines may struggle to decide which version to index. This splits link equity and weakens performance. Proper canonicalisation avoids dilution and ensures the right version holds backlink value.
Strong content marketing that keeps key resources evergreen helps limit these risks. Treating the homepage and high-value landing pages with care preserves authority and sustains link equity.
External factors
External causes can also lead to the loss of backlinks in iGaming. These risks often lie outside of your control, yet may affect domain authority, rankings, and long-term visibility. Common examples of key external factors include:
- Expiration of low-quality links: Links gained from weak sites, such as link farms or private networks, may vanish when search engines devalue them. This form of link decay can affect your domain authority, as low-quality links often harm reputation more than they help.
- Competitor activity: Rivals may use competitor link-building tactics to replace your links with theirs. In some cases, negative SEO campaigns seek to harm your backlink profile. Keeping track of backlinks and reinforcing brand awareness through social signals helps defend against these tactics.
- Website owner’s activity: Referring domains may shut down, remove content, or change editorial rules. Entire sites can go offline or cease maintenance, causing links to disappear permanently. These shifts, along with social media impact, reshape how content is valued. Use this with insights on 2025 social media trends for better results.
- Regulatory changes: When gambling laws change, links may be removed if the content no longer aligns with new compliance rules. Compliance demands often lead to deindexed pages or revised anchor placements, reflecting iGaming regulations and how they affect operators across markets.
Monitoring activity and adjusting strategy helps reduce their impact. You should also build strong ties with reliable publishers to help reduce these losses.
How to implement a link reclamation strategy
A strong link reclamation strategy protects link equity and supports steady SEO growth. It forms part of a broader backlink recovery strategy that restores value lost from broken or missing links. When applied correctly, it can improve rankings, increase traffic, and maintain the credibility of your content across different platforms.
The process fits naturally into your ongoing marketing content and referral marketing efforts. It works best when integrated into your editorial calendar, ensuring planned reviews and content refresh efforts align with backlink recovery strategies. Regular audits help identify new opportunities to reclaim or reinforce lost links.
Each stage in the workflow, from finding issues to outreach and promotion, also supports content optimisation. A structured plan ensures that every recovered link adds lasting benefit to site visibility and authority, turning link repair into a consistent growth practice.
Here are the steps to implement link reclamation in your SEO link-building strategy:

1. Conduct backlink profile analysis
Start your link reclamation strategy with a full backlink profile analysis using tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush. They scan your link data and flag missing or broken links, then export the report to sort the results to see which pages have lost links or now return errors. This first review shows where the lost backlinks recovery should begin.
- Run a factor analysis on the collected data to identify and rank links based on their SEO value.
- Focus on backlinks with a high domain authority score and low spam score.
- Review backlink history to track when and how links disappeared.
- Measure link velocity to check if your site is losing links faster than it gains them.
Note link quality patterns and keep your findings tied to your regular business process. Repeat this review after each major algorithm update to keep your backlink data reliable.
2. Prioritise high-value lost backlinks
After identifying lost links, the next step is to prioritise high-value lost backlinks. Not every link is worth reclaiming, so ranking them based on impact helps you use time and resources effectively. Here are the factors to consider when evaluating link value:
- Domain authority and page rank: Links from trusted high-DR sites usually pass stronger link equity. These should be prioritised since they directly influence your ranking in SERPs.
- Referral traffic value: Assess how much traffic the lost link brought before. A backlink that drives steady visits or conversions holds more weight than one with minimal clicks.
- Relevance and conversion potential: Links from sites aligned with your niche or business goals often support stronger engagement and sales. They also lead to strategic partnerships that build long-term reach.
Some cases do not require reclamation, such as when the linking domain name no longer exists or the content is outdated. In these cases, create new opportunities to regain similar value elsewhere.
3. Search for unlinked brand mentions
Search for unlinked brand mentions using content monitoring tools like Google Alerts, Mention, or BuzzSumo. External content that mentions your brand but does not include a link is a great backlink source because its visitors already show interest. Working with these platforms improves your public relations (PR) efforts as it gives you more options for outreach.
Rank mentions using audience insights and site authority to pick the best chances for link recovery. Craft a short outreach note with your digital PR team that points to the exact line and suggests a specific URL. It can also be an updated or newly published page.
Successful replies boost brand awareness and aid reputation management while adding new backlinks. This method turns passive mentions into active links and supports your wider link reclamation plan.
4. Reclaim through outreach and content updates
Focus on lost backlink recovery through targeted outreach and clear communication. Start by listing valuable links and finding the site owners or editors who manage them. Write a short, polite message framed as a public relations request. Explain where the link was placed, why it added value, and give the correct URL to restore.
Offer updates such as a content refresh, guest posting, or content syndication to strengthen your pitch. Show that restoring the link improves audience experience and keeps information up to date. This creates a fair exchange that often leads to stronger relationships with the platform owner.
Use this outreach process as part of your internal linking strategy to track responses and refine your next steps. It can also open doors for influencer collaboration and targeted advertising, turning link recovery into lasting digital partnerships. Knowing influencer marketing risks before collaborations helps keep those partnerships ethical and effective.
5. Apply redirects and technical fixes
Start the process by running a full backlink audit through website monitoring tools. Identify broken or missing URLs and note which ones hold the most link equity. Create a redirect mapping plan that connects each lost page to the most relevant live page. Use permanent 301 redirects when pages are removed or replaced.
Adjust your server configuration to make sure URL redirection works as intended. Test each fix using a web query to confirm that links lead to the right page and not a 404 error. Avoid long redirect chains, as they slow down the crawl process and waste link equity.
Apply URL normalisation to keep links consistent across your site. This prevents duplicate pages from splitting link equity. Schedule regular link reclamation SEO checks to keep track of new errors and ensure your redirects remain clean and functional.
How to prevent future link loss
Preventing link loss starts with consistent backlink monitoring and a clear content strategy. Keeping pages evergreen through regular content updates helps maintain their value and visibility in search results. Routine maintenance also reduces link decay caused by broken URLs or outdated pages.
Routine link audits
Regular link audits play a key role in preventing link loss and maintaining SEO strength. Backlink profile monitoring allows early detection of broken, low-quality, or harmful links before they affect rankings or crawl performance. A consistent schedule of link audits keeps your SEO link-building strategy stable and effective.
Follow these steps to maintain a clean and healthy backlink profile:
- Run backlink reports – Use reliable tools to collect link data and start your analysis.
- Perform link quality assessment – Check domain relevance, authority, and anchor text accuracy to gauge trust value.
- Conduct spam detection – Identify links from spam-heavy or irrelevant sites that may lower credibility.
- Perform indexation checks – Confirm that valuable backlinks are indexed properly and still pass link equity.
- Remove or disavow harmful links – Contact webmasters or use Google’s Disavow Tool for toxic domains.
Keeping website health in check
Maintaining a healthy website helps preserve link value and encourages steady link retention. Regular updates, strong security, and smooth performance signal reliability to search engines and linking domains. Each part of your website contributes to sustaining authority and preventing backlink decay.
Follow these steps to keep your website in good condition:
- Publish fresh content – Update pages, blogs, and guides often to show activity and relevance. This keeps backlinks valuable and attracts new organic ones.
- Fix broken links – Use crawlers to locate and repair broken internal or outbound links. Early prevention avoids harm to usability and SEO strength.
- Enhance site speed performance – Improve load times through Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), image compression, and browser caching. CSS optimisation keeps users engaged.
- Apply schema markup – Help search engines read your structure accurately and improve click appeal in results.
- Review core web vitals – Measure stability, load, and interactivity to ensure smooth user experiences across devices.
Common difficulties in link reclamation
Recovering lost backlinks is not always simple. Even an SEO expert can face many challenges when trying to reclaim links that once helped build site authority. Some issues come from webmasters, while others arise from lost pages or a lack of time and tools.
Here are the main challenges you’ll face in link reclamation:
- No reply from webmasters – Many ignore outreach emails as they get too many or see no gain in fixing old links. This slows link recovery and weakens your strategy.
- Deleted or changed pages – Some links point to pages that no longer exist. If the page was removed or replaced, your link is lost unless you can suggest a new one.
- Content irrelevance – Redirects that lead to off-topic pages reduce the link’s value. Keep the link target close to the theme to hold search value and trust.
- Indexation issues – If a linking site is no longer indexed or has gone offline, then its links lose all effect. Finding a new platform is often a better alternative.
- Resource limitations – Link reclamation needs time, outreach, and follow-up. Without enough help, progress slows and results drop.
Strong planning, smart outreach, and good link audits protect brand reputation and keep SEO authority stable. Keep these in mind so you can find workarounds when faced with common difficulties in your link reclamation strategy.
Tools and methods for backlink recovery
Backlink recovery relies on using the right tools and following a clear, structured process. Platforms with link monitoring software, backlink audit tools, and website crawling software help you trace lost links and identify areas that affect your rankings.
These tools boost site performance and increase return on investment (ROI) by reducing the need for new link building. Here are key steps to make the most of these backlink recovery tools:
- Finding domains that no longer link to your site – Identify domains that no longer link to your site to restore authority and recover lost referral traffic.
- Checking the link status – Determine the status of each link; whether it’s live, broken, or redirected. Quick action limits ranking loss and preserves link value.
- Reviewing anchor text – Assess if the link supports your topic to preserve overall link relevance and quality.
Use reporting dashboards and data tracking tools to monitor progress and refine your process. Regularly track the link health of your blog and create site reports to keep your backlink recovery strategy effective and consistent.
Why is link reclamation important in SEO?
Link reclamation plays a vital role and strengthens overall SEO performance. It helps boost domain authority improvement, improve search visibility, and support referral traffic growth by restoring lost backlinks. Recovering lost links drives steady web traffic and delivers a clear SEO performance boost without the high cost of fresh link building.
This process also supports conversion marketing and conversion rate optimisation (CRO) by keeping valuable traffic channels active. Each recovered link adds measurable value that contributes to long-term growth in SEO ROI. This approach links technical recovery with real business growth, driving stronger search stability and broader digital reach.
SEO performance metrics
Track clear KPIs to see the direct SEO gains from reclaiming links. Start with reach and organic traffic: compare users and sessions from organic search before and after you restore links. Track keyword rankings for pages that regained links to identify rank changes.
Check click-through rate on SERPs to see if snippets drive more visits. Monitor bounce rate and other engagement metrics, such as time on page and pages per session, to determine audience relevance. Tie these signals to backlink profile checks so you know restored links are live and passing value. Set regular reports to spot trends and if there are improvements.
Business impact metrics
Reclaiming lost links can yield clear business gains. Link restored pages to conversions and sales to measure value and revenue impact. Map recovered links to lead generation forms, product pages, and sales funnels to track shifts in profit and customer flow. Count new leads and note improvements in customer sign-ups to prove the effect.
Use simple rules to assign worth to each recovered link and to surface any business opportunity. Report ROI by comparing the cost of outreach and fixes with the gains in sales or sign-ups. Keep a clear dashboard so leaders can see how link reclamation activity moves the needle.
Build your link reclamation strategy with QWERTYLABS
A strong link reclamation strategy keeps dormant iGaming content alive and continues to generate traffic and establish authority. Restoring lost backlinks rebuilds trust signals, raises search strength, and recovers referral paths that fuel growth. Revived pages regain visibility and draw new traffic without starting from scratch.
Smart audits and outreach turn forgotten assets into steady performers that boost ROI. At QWERTYLABS, our services cover every step of this process, from link recovery to full SEO support. We help operators unlock the real value of their existing content and stay ahead in a fast-moving market. Contact us today if you’re ready to reactivate your lost links.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Learn more about link reclamation from these frequently asked questions:
How long does the link reclamation process take?
It usually takes weeks to a few months, depending on your backlink volume, webmaster response times, and how quickly technical fixes are applied.
How to find unlinked mentions?
Use tools like Google Alerts, Mention, or BuzzSumo to track brand mentions without links and reach out for backlink opportunities.
Is link reclamation the same as link building?
No. Link reclamation restores lost backlinks, while link building focuses on gaining new ones to expand your website’s authority and reach.
Are low-quality backlinks worth reclaiming?
No. Low-quality backlinks may harm your SEO, so focus on reclaiming links from trusted, high-authority domains that strengthen your site’s performance.
Can regular link audits prevent future link loss?
Yes. Routine link audits detect issues early, letting you fix broken or missing backlinks before they harm rankings or site visibility.
Does link reclamation replace a full link-building strategy?
No. Link reclamation supports link building but doesn’t replace it. Both are vital for maintaining authority and achieving consistent SEO growth.
