You’ve heard it said many times, “create good content.” Some scoff at this statement, claiming it’s either part of a Google conspiracy to tame webmasters. Others look down on proponents of this philosophy, accusing the adherents of being poor SEOs.
I’m here to tell you that this works. In fact, I have an example for you.
I forgot about this, and moved on to other things.
A month or so ago I noticed a spike in traffic to my site. When I investigated I found that someone had used my pretty little illustration in an article they wrote on Search Engine Watch. AWESOME! Not only did they cite my site as the source, they gave me a nice backlink, too.
So, as it turns out, I was link building without knowing it. Or, to put it another way, I took the time to create some good, unique content and I was rewarded for my efforts.
Now, if we’re honest, you might conclude that I’m making a big deal out of one link. Just because I got one, little link from this doesn’t mean much. The fact is, this shouldn’t be your entire link building strategy. My point here is that you can get links in this way- and those organic links will last the test of time (despite any Google algorithm change).
In the case of my article, it wasn’t even that complicated. What created the link? Not the article, per se, but one of the illustrations. I have to wonder: if I hadn’t “watermarked” my graph with my website’s URL, would I have even gotten the link? Even busy companies are creating images for their blog posts. Perhaps by adding a watermark with your website’s URL is a simple step anyone can take to start attracting links.
Even the most limited business can take this a step further and write good content in light of a linkbait campaign. As long as you’re taking time to write good, quality content do a little research to turn your content into intentional link bait. There are a couple good ways to do this: broken link building or outdated article link building.
This kind of link building starts by identifying an existing web resource that already has backlinks (whether or not those links are broken- to a 404ed resource- our outdated). Then you recreate and improve on that resource, but publish it on your website. Once it’s been published, you can then attempt to reach the websites that linked to the broken or outdated resource, inviting them to link to your new resource, instead. If they were interested in that old resource, why wouldn’t they be interested in a new and improved one?
If you want to take this a step further, include the websites who were linking to the old resource in the creation of your new resource. This will not only make your resource even better (and, frankly, make it a little easier to write) but, when you publish it, you’ve got a bunch of people who have ego-involvement in it- increasing their chance of linking to your resource.
Now, without a whole lot of additional effort, you are suddenly doing an active link building campaign.
Don’t be discouraged by the haters out there. The Internet is full of trolls. Take your time and create good content. It might not give you a treasure-trove of backlinks each time but it will pay off for you, in the long time.
The Story of a Backlink
A few months ago I was looking into my client’s analytics account, as I prepared my monthly report. I noticed that the majority of their increased sales were not coming from their major, competitive categories. Instead, most of their sales were coming from specific pages, with only a few visits. In fact, the sum total of sales from the large number of pages with few visits was much greater than the sales from pages with more traffic. This is an excellent example of The Long Tail. I wrote-up a blog post about this and created a nice little graphic to illustrate my point.
I forgot about this, and moved on to other things.
A month or so ago I noticed a spike in traffic to my site. When I investigated I found that someone had used my pretty little illustration in an article they wrote on Search Engine Watch. AWESOME! Not only did they cite my site as the source, they gave me a nice backlink, too.
So, as it turns out, I was link building without knowing it. Or, to put it another way, I took the time to create some good, unique content and I was rewarded for my efforts.
Now, if we’re honest, you might conclude that I’m making a big deal out of one link. Just because I got one, little link from this doesn’t mean much. The fact is, this shouldn’t be your entire link building strategy. My point here is that you can get links in this way- and those organic links will last the test of time (despite any Google algorithm change).
Hope in Your Limited Resources
That being said, this can offer hope for companies with limited resources (and whose business couldn’t be described in that way). This is good news because if you do only one thing, make sure you’re creating good, unique and helpful content on your website. By taking the time here, you might find yourself getting links- even without an active link building campaign.In the case of my article, it wasn’t even that complicated. What created the link? Not the article, per se, but one of the illustrations. I have to wonder: if I hadn’t “watermarked” my graph with my website’s URL, would I have even gotten the link? Even busy companies are creating images for their blog posts. Perhaps by adding a watermark with your website’s URL is a simple step anyone can take to start attracting links.
A Little More Effort, A Lot More Benefit
Even the most limited business can take this a step further and write good content in light of a linkbait campaign. As long as you’re taking time to write good, quality content do a little research to turn your content into intentional link bait. There are a couple good ways to do this: broken link building or outdated article link building.This kind of link building starts by identifying an existing web resource that already has backlinks (whether or not those links are broken- to a 404ed resource- our outdated). Then you recreate and improve on that resource, but publish it on your website. Once it’s been published, you can then attempt to reach the websites that linked to the broken or outdated resource, inviting them to link to your new resource, instead. If they were interested in that old resource, why wouldn’t they be interested in a new and improved one?
If you want to take this a step further, include the websites who were linking to the old resource in the creation of your new resource. This will not only make your resource even better (and, frankly, make it a little easier to write) but, when you publish it, you’ve got a bunch of people who have ego-involvement in it- increasing their chance of linking to your resource.
Now, without a whole lot of additional effort, you are suddenly doing an active link building campaign.
Don’t be discouraged by the haters out there. The Internet is full of trolls. Take your time and create good content. It might not give you a treasure-trove of backlinks each time but it will pay off for you, in the long time.
David Zimmerman is an internet marketing consultant with Reliable Acorn. When he’s not diving into his client’s analytics accounts, you might find him serving his cat.
