The Moving Man Method is a link building approach that identifies links pointing to outdated, moved, or defunct resources and suggests your content as replacement. The technique builds on broken link building principles while expanding to situations where original resources have moved or become outdated rather than just completely broken. Strong implementation produces links from sites that have already linked to similar content, making the approach more effective than starting from scratch.
For business owners pursuing serious link building, the Moving Man Method offers approach with higher success rates than many alternatives. The work involves finding moved resources, identifying sites still linking to old locations, and reaching out with your content as appropriate replacement. The benefits show up in link acquisitions from sites that other approaches struggle to access.
This guide covers what the Moving Man Method actually involves, how to find opportunities, and how to execute campaigns that produce results.
What the Moving Man Method Is
The Moving Man Method, popularized by Brian Dean of Backlinko, identifies situations where resources sites have linked to have moved or become outdated. Rather than the links being completely broken, the resources might have changed URLs, businesses might have closed, content might have become outdated, or other situations that make original links less useful than they once were.
The method works across several specific situations. Sites that have changed names or URLs. Tools that have been discontinued. Services that no longer exist. Content that has become outdated. Companies that have been acquired or merged. Each represents potential moving man opportunity.
The approach helps site owners maintain quality by updating links to current relevant resources. Your content serves as the replacement when it genuinely fits what the original link was meant to provide.
Strong implementation requires finding both the moved resources and the sites still linking to old locations. The combination produces specific opportunity lists for systematic outreach.
Why the Moving Man Method Works
Several specific reasons make the Moving Man Method effective when executed well.
Helps Site Owners Genuinely
The approach helps site owners maintain quality by updating outdated links. The genuine help creates receptiveness to outreach that purely promotional approaches lack.
The mutual benefit makes recipients more likely to engage with outreach than approaches that only serve the sender.
Easy Justification for Updates
Site owners have clear justification for updating links when original resources have moved or become outdated. The justification removes the objection about whether to update links at all.
The reasoning makes the actual link addition straightforward rather than requiring extensive convincing.
Higher Success Rates Than Cold Outreach
The Moving Man Method typically achieves higher conversion rates than cold link building outreach. The combination of helping recipients and clear justification produces better responses.
Quality Site Access
The method works at sites that ignore most other outreach. The differential access produces opportunities at quality sites that other approaches cannot reach.
Scalable Opportunity Volume
Many moving man situations exist across the web. Strong campaigns can find substantial opportunity volumes. The scalability supports sustained link building rather than just occasional acquisitions.
How to Find Moving Man Opportunities
Several specific approaches identify moving man opportunities.
Industry Site Changes Monitoring
Monitoring industry news for sites changing names, URLs, or operations reveals opportunities to find sites still linking to old locations.
Acquisitions. Mergers. Brand changes. Site shutdowns. Each can produce opportunities when previous links remain in place after the changes.
Discontinued Tools & Services
Tools and services that have been discontinued often had backlinks pointing to them. The remaining links to discontinued resources represent moving man opportunities.
Strong implementation researches discontinued resources in your industry that previously attracted linking.
Outdated Resource Identification
Resources that previously served as references but have become outdated represent opportunities. Old guides. Outdated statistics. Discontinued products. Each can have remaining links that warrant updates.
Dormant Site Recognition
Sites that previously operated but have become dormant produce moving man opportunities. The dormant sites still have inbound links that could be redirected to active relevant resources.
Industry Knowledge Application
Industry knowledge often reveals moving man opportunities better than purely automated tools. People who know their industries identify situations where resources have changed.
The knowledge based approach catches opportunities that automated discovery might miss.
Wayback Machine Research
The Wayback Machine archives old versions of sites. Comparing old archived versions to current sites reveals what resources have moved or disappeared. The historical comparison produces opportunity identification.
Specific Domain Tracking
Tracking specific domains over time reveals when changes happen that create moving man opportunities. Strong implementation tracks domains worth knowing about.
How to Find Sites Linking to Moved Resources
Once moved resources are identified, finding sites still linking to them becomes the next step.
Backlink Analysis of Old URLs
Backlink analysis tools show what sites link to specific URLs including old URLs for moved resources. The analysis identifies specific outreach targets.
Tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, and Majestic provide this analysis efficiently.
Search for Mentions of Old Resources
Search queries for old resource names, products, or services can reveal sites that reference them. Some of those mentions might still include links worth updating.
Industry Database Research
Industry databases sometimes maintain lists of relationships and references. The databases can reveal sites referencing moved resources.
Manual Site Investigation
For high value opportunities, manual investigation of likely linking sites reveals connections that automated tools might miss.
How to Execute Moving Man Outreach
Outreach execution determines whether identified opportunities convert to actual links.
Verify Each Opportunity
Before outreach, verify that the link still exists pointing to the moved or outdated resource. Strong implementation checks each opportunity rather than relying on outdated data.
The verification prevents wasting outreach effort on opportunities that have already been addressed.
Personalize Each Message
Generic outreach templates produce weak results. Strong implementation personalizes for each specific situation. Reference the specific page. Mention the specific link. Explain the moving man situation.
The personalization signals genuine effort that respects recipient time.
Identify the Specific Issue
Outreach should identify the exact issue clearly. Resource X has moved to URL Y. Service Z has been discontinued. Tool A has been replaced by B. Each specific identification supports recipient verification.
Suggest Your Content as Replacement
After identifying the issue, suggest your content as appropriate replacement. The suggestion should be obvious fit rather than tangentially related.
Strong implementation suggests content that genuinely serves the purpose the original link was meant to serve.
Provide Implementation Details
Make implementation easy through specifying the new URL, suggesting anchor text, and providing other details that simplify the recipient’s task.
Maintain Professional Tone
Professional tone supports response rates. Strong implementation maintains appropriate tone regardless of how clear the moving man situation is.
Follow Up Appropriately
Single outreach often misses recipients. One follow up after appropriate interval typically supports better conversion without being annoying.
What Makes Strong Replacement Content
The replacement content quality affects conversion rates significantly.
Genuine Fit With Original Purpose
Strong replacements serve the purpose the original link was meant to serve. The original might have linked to a specific tool, a definitive guide, or other content type. The replacement should be the same type of resource.
Quality That Justifies Linking
Replacement content needs to be quality worth linking to independent of the moving man situation. Sites accepting replacements still evaluate replacement quality.
Current & Maintained
Replacement content should be current and well maintained. Outdated replacement content creates the same problem the original link had.
Comprehensive Coverage
Strong replacements often cover topics more thoroughly than originals did. The improvement justifies the replacement beyond just current existence.
Common Moving Man Mistakes
Several patterns weaken Moving Man Method effectiveness.
Failing to verify opportunities before outreach wastes effort on links that have already been updated. Strong implementation verifies first.
Suggesting replacements that do not actually fit original purposes produces rejection. Strong implementation matches replacements carefully.
Mass identical outreach produces weak results. Strong implementation personalizes thoroughly.
Treating moving man outreach identically to other link building misses what makes the approach work. Strong implementation acknowledges the specific situation.
Pursuing opportunities at very low quality sites wastes effort. Strong implementation focuses on quality sources.
Failing to provide easy implementation details reduces response rates. Strong implementation makes implementation simple.
Treating Moving Man as one time campaign rather than ongoing activity limits cumulative results. Strong implementation maintains ongoing campaigns.
Skipping follow up after initial outreach misses many potential conversions. Strong implementation includes appropriate follow up.
Specific Moving Man Variations
The basic Moving Man Method has several variations worth considering.
Acquired Company Outreach
When companies acquire others, links to the acquired company often remain pointing to old locations. Strong implementation identifies these specifically and pursues opportunities.
Discontinued Tool Outreach
Tools that have been discontinued have inbound links that can sometimes be redirected to alternative tools. If your tool fills the gap, the opportunities are worth pursuing.
Outdated Statistics or Data
Sites linking to old statistics or outdated data can sometimes update to your current data. The replacement requires having current data worth citing.
Old Guide Updates
Sites linking to outdated guides on topics can update to current alternatives. If your content provides current coverage, the opportunities work.
Defunct Business References
Sites referencing businesses that no longer exist sometimes still have those links. The outdated links can be updated to active alternatives.
How to Scale Moving Man Outreach
Strong Moving Man building works at scale rather than just individual opportunities.
Build Process Documentation
Documented processes for finding opportunities, verifying them, and conducting outreach support scaling. Strong implementation creates systems rather than relying on ad hoc work.
Use Appropriate Tools
Tools support scaling significantly. Backlink analysis tools. Outreach management tools. Each supports productive scaling.
Track Conversion Rates
Tracking what outreach succeeds informs ongoing strategy. Strong implementation maintains data on conversion rates and patterns.
Build Content Inventory
Maintaining content inventory that can serve as replacements supports faster opportunity matching. Strong implementation organizes content by topic.
Identify Patterns
Identifying patterns in what moving man situations exist in your industry supports targeted opportunity discovery. Strong implementation builds knowledge of industry specific patterns.
What This Means for Your Business
If the Moving Man Method fits your link building strategy, several specific actions help.
Identify moving man opportunities through industry knowledge and systematic research.
Find sites linking to moved or outdated resources through backlink analysis.
Build outreach capability that personalizes effectively while operating efficiently.
Maintain content inventory that can serve as replacements for common situations.
Track results to refine approach over time.
For business owners pursuing legitimate link building with strong success rates, the Moving Man Method offers approach that produces links from sites that other approaches struggle to access.
Capturing Opportunity From Industry Change
The Moving Man Method produces links by helping site owners address links to resources that have moved or become outdated. The genuine help creates receptiveness while clear justification supports actual link updates. Strong implementation produces sustainable results through systematic application.
For business owners, the practical move is to include the Moving Man Method as one approach within broader link building strategy. The approach complements other methods through accessing opportunities other approaches miss while producing higher success rates on opportunities pursued.
The link builders who achieve strong results consistently usually use multiple complementary approaches including Moving Man Method tactics. Match your approach to this multi method discipline, and your link building produces results across the variety of legitimate opportunities your industry presents. Take the Moving Man Method seriously as the systematic opportunity it represents, and your business benefits from links earned through genuinely helping site owners maintain their content quality.