Resource pages are one of the best link targets in SEO.
They exist for one reason: to link to useful things.
That's it. Someone built a page, organised it by topic, and filled it with links to resources their readers should know about. No complex editorial decision-making. No "what do we get in return?" They just want good stuff to link to.
Your job is to show up with something worth linking to.
A resource page is any page specifically designed to collect and link out to external resources.
They come in many forms:
What they have in common: they're not monetised, they're editorially curated, and the site owner actively wants to link to helpful things.
University resource pages are particularly valuable. A university department page linking to your content is a DR 70–90 link that you could never buy. For an example of how to get those, see the university backlinks playbook.
Compare resource page outreach to cold link requests.
With a cold link request, you're asking someone to create a new link they weren't planning to create, potentially disrupting their content, for essentially no reason from their perspective.
With resource page outreach, you're asking someone whose literal job (for that page) is to maintain a list of good links to consider adding one more good link.
The mental barrier is much lower. They already believe in linking out. You're just suggesting a candidate.
There are three main methods: Google search operators, Ahrefs, and browser prospecting.
Search operators let you find resource pages precisely.
Basic resource page operators:
[your keyword] + "useful links"
[your keyword] + "resources"
[your keyword] + "helpful links"
[your keyword] + "further reading"
[your keyword] + inurl:resources
[your keyword] + intitle:resources
[your keyword] + "recommended websites"
[your keyword] + "best websites"Educational and government resource pages (higher authority):
[your keyword] + site:edu + "resources"
[your keyword] + site:edu + "useful links"
[your keyword] + site:gov + "resources"
[your keyword] + site:ac.uk + "useful links"Variations that work well:
"links" + "resources" + [keyword]
"our favourite links" + [keyword]
"web resources" + [keyword]
"link roundup" + [keyword]Search operator cheat sheet:
| Operator | What it does |
|---|---|
site:edu |
Limits results to .edu domains |
site:gov |
Limits results to .gov domains |
inurl:resources |
URL must contain "resources" |
intitle:resources |
Page title must contain "resources" |
"useful links" |
Page must contain the exact phrase |
-site:wikipedia.org |
Exclude Wikipedia from results |
Mix and match these based on your niche. A keyword like "digital marketing" + inurl:resources + site:edu will surface university marketing department resource pages.
Alternatively, use Link Intersect in Ahrefs: enter your competitors' URLs and see what pages link to multiple competitors. Pages that link to two or three competitors are more likely to add your site if you pitch well.
Install the Ahrefs SEO toolbar or MozBar. Then manually browse industry associations, conference sites, university departments, and professional organisations in your niche.
Click through to their links or resources pages. Check the DR. If it's 40+, it's worth adding to your prospect list.
Not every resource page is worth targeting. Run through this quick checklist:
The resource page must cover the same topic as your content. A resource page about "photography equipment" is not relevant to your cybersecurity blog, even if the DR is 80.
Relevant means: your resource belongs on this page. A visitor to that page would genuinely find your content useful.
Check when the page was last updated. A resource page that hasn't been touched since 2017 may have an unresponsive webmaster. Look for:
Check DR (Ahrefs) or DA (Moz). You're looking for at least 30–40 for the link to be worth the effort.
Higher authority is better. But don't overlook niche-relevant sites with lower authority if they're highly relevant and well-maintained.
Some pages labelled "resources" are really internal content hubs. They link to their own articles, not external sites. These pages won't add you.
Confirm the page already links out to third-party sites.
A resource page with 200 links on it is not passing much value per link. These also tend to be poorly maintained link dumps rather than curated resources.
Prefer pages with 10–40 listed resources. Still curated. More link equity per listing.
Resource page outreach is some of the most straightforward outreach in link building.
You're not asking them to replace a link. You're not asking them to cover your story. You're suggesting a resource for a page specifically built for resources.
Keep it simple.
Here's a template that works:
Subject: Resource suggestion for your [topic] page
Hi [first name],
I came across your [topic] resources page at [URL] and found it really useful.
I've been running a guide on [topic] at [your URL] that I think would fit well alongside the other resources you've listed. It covers [one specific, relevant thing your content covers that their page doesn't already have].
Worth a look?
[Your name]
That's the whole email. Under 80 words. Clear, direct, and respectful of their time.
Notes on the template:
Avoid:
Sometimes you find a great resource page in your niche and you don't have existing content that fits.
You have two options.
Option 1: Pitch anyway with your best match
If your best existing content is 70% relevant, pitch it. Be honest about what it covers. Sometimes "close enough" gets listed, especially if you genuinely fill a gap in their current links.
Option 2: Create the resource
If you find 10+ resource pages in your niche all missing a specific type of resource, that's a signal. Build the resource first, then pitch all 10.
This approach takes more time upfront. But pitching a resource that perfectly fills a gap in a curated page is much stronger than pitching something tangentially related.
Send one follow-up email 5–7 days after your first if you haven't heard back.
Keep it short:
Hi [name], just following up on my previous message about a potential resource for your [topic] page. Happy to share more detail if that's helpful.
That's it. One follow-up. Not three. Not a monthly check-in.
The limitation of resource page outreach is volume. There are only so many resource pages in any given niche.
To scale:
The combination of broken link building and resource page outreach is particularly powerful. Find a resource page, check for broken links, pitch your replacement. One email, two angles.
For more on outreach mechanics and deliverability, see the link building outreach playbook.
Resource page outreach pairs well with:
It fits into a balanced link building strategy as a reliable, repeatable source of mid-to-high authority links with relatively low effort per link compared to guest posting or digital PR.