Link Building Strategies & Content Marketing
filed in Uncategorized on Nov.10, 2009
Link building strategies aren’t just for SEO. The true purpose of building links is to market your content…
Your content may be a sales page, a product review, an article or tutorial with a strong call-to-action, or even a blog post or article that links to one of those pieces of content.
Regardless of what type of content it is, you need inbound links to market that content. Those links are a means of communicating with your target market, and an open door inviting them to view your content.
It’s too easy to get caught up in the mechanics of web content development and seo, and forget the true purpose – and the human element…
When we research keywords, we see search volume and profit potential. But behind those phrases are real people with real needs, typing those phrases into their favorite search engine. Someone’s mom, brother, or daughter. Maybe even yours.
Connecting with that image will help you frame your content, and your links in the best possible way. A way that answers their question, or offers them the solution they’re searching for. It will help you communicate with them more effectively.
Creating content isn’t a business. SEO isn’t marketing. These are simply tools to achieve your real objective: to reach and interact with your market on the internet.
Get your ideal visitor in mind. Are they a certain age? A specific gender? What do they need or want? What ways do they use to research and find that?
How can you best serve them?
Keeping these things in the forefront of your mind as you work on your business will bring you the success that you’re looking for.
It’s not about using all the right plugins, all the right link building strategies, or writing with an exact word count in mind. It’s not about on-page and off-page factors, or search algorithms. It’s about the people that surf and search.
Twitter is a good micro-example. You can set up auto-tweets to push your content out to Twitter, you can pull your tweets into web pages, you can automatically follow and unfollow people by the masses. There are all kinds of plugins and programs and tips and guides…
But unless you are out there actually having a two-way conversation with your target market (and their mother, and their friends), all that pushing and pulling is going to get you nowhere. Social properties aren’t just for inbound links, they’re an opportunity to interact with your ideal visitors and your potential buyers.
The same can be said for link building strategies. It doesn’t matter if you know the algorithms down to an exact science. If your links don’t ’speak’ to the reader in the right way, or if your content doesn’t open and close the conversation they are having in their mind, your conversion rate is going to tank.
Meet them where they are (find out where they are and place your links strategically). Engage them by addressing the thoughts and questions they already have (with well-written content that matches the intent of their search).
Lead them to a solution (with a strong call-to-action). Then keep that conversation going, even after the sale, by following up and continuing to address any ongoing needs they may have (via your customer list or autoresponder).
Your inbound links and your content aren’t just for search engines. Your customer isn’t just a sale. Put the human element into your marketing, and your link building strategies, to really make it work – both for you, and for them.
Best,
Original post by Lynn Terry and software by Elliott Back
