Event Link Building: How to Find Events to Sponsor

Event Link Building: How to Find Events to Sponsor

Farzad Rashidi

Farzad Rashidi

Lead Innovator at Respona

Event Link Building: How to Find Events to Sponsor

Whether you’re hosting an industry conference, sponsoring a local charity event, or organizing a virtual summit, event link building offers a unique opportunity to gain quality backlinks while amplifying your brand’s reach. 

In this article, we’ll explore:

  • How sponsoring and hosting events can enhance your link profile 
  • Which kinds of events you can sponsor
  • How to find them

Let’s get started.

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Event link building is a strategic approach in content marketing where businesses leverage events to acquire high quality backlinks for their websites. 

In essence, it involves associating your brand with relevant events — whether by hosting, sponsoring, or partnering — to gain visibility and attract links from various online platforms. 

This method not only enhances your website’s search engine authority but also helps you build valuable relationships within your industry and reach a broader audience.

At its core, event link building focuses on capitalizing on the buzz and attention that events naturally generate. 

When your brand is linked to an event, it can be featured in press releases, event listings, blogs, and social media mentions, all of which contribute to an organic and diverse backlink profile. 

ahrefs evelve conference
Image source: Ahrefs

This not only improves your site’s SEO but also raises brand awareness and establishes your authority in the field.

Moreover, event link building goes beyond mere online connections; it creates an opportunity for genuine engagement with potential customers and peers. 

Types of Events to Sponsor

Industry Conferences and Trade Shows

berlin events
Image source: Berlin.de

These events attract a concentrated group of professionals and enthusiasts within your industry, making them ideal for networking and establishing authority.

Local Community Events

local events in pennsylvania
Image source: PSACF

Sponsoring charity runs, festivals, or local fairs can boost your brand’s local SEO presence and generate links from local news outlets, community blogs, and event directories.

Digital and Virtual Events

profitled podcast with farzad rashidi
Image source: eWebinar

Webinars, online workshops, and virtual summits have gained traction, offering global reach without geographical constraints. 

These events often come with opportunities for backlinks from digital platforms and influencers.

Niche Meetups and Workshops

la seo meetup
Image source: Meetup

Engaging in smaller, specialized gatherings can position your brand as a leader in a specific niche, attracting links from focused blogs and industry publications.

Academic Events and Public Lectures

washington university public lectures
Image source: University of Washington

Universities and educational institutions regularly host seminars and talks. These provide an opportunity to link with credible academic sources.

How to Find Events to Sponsor

Utilize platforms like Eventbrite, Meetup, and Facebook Events to discover upcoming gatherings that align with your brand.

Many industries have professional bodies or associations that regularly host events. Joining these associations can provide insider access to sponsorship opportunities.

eventbrite in washington
Image source: eventbrite

Building relationships with event organizers and planners can offer firsthand insights into sponsorship opportunities and tailor events more suited to your brand’s needs.

Check your local chambers of commerce – these are invaluable resources for identifying local events and gaining opportunities for sponsorship and local link building, often at discounted rates for members.

Track hashtags and join groups relevant to your industry on platforms such as LinkedIn and Twitter to stay updated on potential events.

Many events openly call for sponsors on their websites or promotional materials. Keeping an eye on such calls can lead to lucrative sponsorship opportunities.

Crafting a comprehensive link building strategy can amplify the reach of your event and enhance your website’s authority. 

The following approaches offer a multi-faceted plan to attract valuable event links.

Owned Media

solidworks masterclass on linkedin
Image source: LinkedIn

Owned media refers to the digital properties that you control, such as your website, blog, and social media channels. Here’s how to leverage them:

  • Create a detailed, optimized landing page for your event featuring all relevant information—such as the schedule, speakers, and sponsors. Ensure it’s SEO-friendly with targeted keywords, meta tags, event schema and internal links pointing to related content on your site.
  • Write engaging blog posts leading up to the event, covering topics such as behind-the-scenes preparations, speaker highlights, or industry trends related to the event. Encourage shares and links by providing valuable and useful content.
  • Use your social media platforms to promote the event. Share regular updates, generate discussions, and create backlinks by encouraging attendees and speakers to share your content with their networks.

Event Sites

dc events on eventbrite
Image source: eventbrite

Utilize event platforms to list and promote your event, tapping into their wide-reaching user base:

  • Submit your event to directories like Eventbrite, Meetup, or specialized sites that cater to your industry. Ensure your listing includes a quality link back to your event page for maximum exposure.
  • Post details about your event on relevant online community boards, such as industry-specific forums or local community discussion groups. Engaging with these communities can lead to.
  • Ensure your event is listed on popular online calendars like Google Calendar or Apple’s iCalendar, which can increase its visibility and accessibility.

Relevant Bloggers

Last but not least, industry bloggers can help you spread the word about your event. 

This strategy involves finding relevant bloggers along with their contact information, and reaching out to them with a link pitch. 

Here’s how you can do so with Respona. 

respona blogger outreach campaign template

Start by selecting a campaign template. Respona offers a “Blogger Outreach” template, which is perfect for this purpose. 

You can also explore other templates for link building or guest posting.

Enter the keywords that are relevant to your event. Respona allows you to input multiple keywords, performing simultaneous searches for each.

You can also use AI keyword suggestions to greatly expand the search. 

Next, define an incentive for bloggers to collaborate with you, such as offering a guest article mention or a sponsorship opportunity. This will be automatically included in your email sequence.

Once your template is ready, click “Use this template,” and customize the email as needed.

respona email sequence builder

Let’s add an AI Icebreaker variable, which will automatically generate unique personalizations for every single one of your link opportunities. 

Let’s also add an unsubscribe link and check for spam words

When ready, move on to the next step – opportunities. 

Respona’s search engines efficiently finds relevant bloggers through simultaneous searches using Google. Here’s how to refine your search:

Your keywords are transferred automatically, and the “inurl:blog” operator is applied to target blog content.

respona search engine

Set domain authority, spam score, and page authority filters. You can integrate tools like Moz, Semrush, or Ahrefs for advanced filtering.

Proceed by setting up contact search automation to locate the right bloggers.

contact finder, ai personalization and recurring search settings

Because we used a campaign template, our contact finder is pre-set to find out target bloggers’ contacts automatically. 

But you’re more than welcome to specify the job titles and seniority levels of your desired contacts, such as blog writers or SEO experts.

Enable “Skip catch-all domains” and “Use generic emails as needed.”

You can also provide additional instructions for your AI personalization here.

Last but not least, you can choose to make searches recurrent, saving time by automatically updating opportunities.

Run the automation to start generating opportunities.

found results in respona

Before sending out your emails, review each one’s AI personalization and make manual edits where necessary. 

Respona helps ensure you’re not contacting anyone previously reached or on your unsubscribe list.

review & launch

Respona’s shared inbox allows you to manage responses from bloggers efficiently. Track and reply to all communications in one place, ensuring seamless follow-ups without the hassle of switching tabs.

Link building cheat sheet

Link building cheat sheet

Gain access to the 3-step strategy we use to earn over 86 high-quality backlinks each month.

Download for free

Now Over to You

In conclusion, event link building can be a great way to both boost your SEO and get some more eyes on your conference, webinar, trade show, etc.

Need help getting backlinks to your events? 

Don’t hesitate to start your 14-day free trial with Respona to see how we can help. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Event link building not only provides quality backlinks but also enhances your brand’s visibility and credibility within your industry. 

By associating your brand with reputable events, you gain organic exposure and establish authority, attracting both human engagement and algorithmic favor.

Success can be measured through various metrics such as an increase in referral traffic, higher search engine rankings, and an uptick in social media engagement. 

Additionally, monitoring the number and quality of backlinks acquired can provide insights into the effectiveness of your strategy.

Yes, small businesses can significantly benefit from event link building by focusing on local community events or niche gatherings. 

These opportunities allow for targeted engagement and often come with less competition, making it easier to stand out and create meaningful connections.

It’s advisable to start planning your event link-building strategy well in advance, ideally at least 3-6 months before the event. 

This allows ample time to create and distribute content, connect with influencers, and capitalize on promotional opportunities to maximize exposure.

Avoiding poor targeting is crucial; ensure the events and sponsorships align with your brand and audience. 

Additionally, neglecting follow-up with partners and media can result in missed event participation, so maintain consistent communication before, during, and after the event.

Farzad Rashidi

Article by

Farzad Rashidi

Farzad Rashidi is the lead innovator at Respona, the all-in-one digital PR and link-building software that combines personalization with productivity. He also runs the marketing efforts at Visme, where he helped the company gain over 12 million active users and pass 2M monthly organic traffic.

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