Following on from SEO 101 Tip 1: Build Relationships and Tip 2: Guest Blogging, John from Fusewave‘s third tip is how to create quality content for natural links
Easy link building tip 3: Create quality content for natural links
In my last post I talked about the value of guest posts for link building, and how top quality content can bring you fantastic links. Producing great content for your own domain is hugely important too if you want to attract natural links – which of course you do!
Natural links can be incredibly valuable and they require no outreach from you, so investing in quality content really is worthwhile. But what is link-worthy content? What is the secret to getting natural links?
The secret to securing natural links…
Ok, there is no secret. Sorry. The truth is that different people will link to different pages based on their perception of the value of a piece of content. There is no magic formula, but there are things you can do to give your content the best chance of impressing people and subsequently being linked to.
Have a laugh
Whether you are writing about fashion or finance you can still make it fun, so throw in the odd joke and lighten the mood of your content. Comedy titles and puntastic wordplay often go down better than dry, matter-of-fact articles that offer little by way of entertainment.
Aim to inspire
If you are sharing advice and top tips then try and be inspiring. Tell people what they could gain from following your guidance. This post, for instance, could help you secure excellent backlinks, which in turn could see your domain rise up the rankings.
Make yourself useful
Again, offering tips and guidance is a great way to engage your audience and encourage natural links. Web pages should offer value and be of use to visitors.
Be social
Social media is a great way to increase the exposure of your content to people who may subsequently link back to it. Don’t be shy, get your content out there and use Twitter hashtags (for instance #linkbuilding for this post) to help the appropriate people find you.
Examples of irresistible content
If you really do want to create outstanding articles and brilliant blog posts then it is worth looking at sites that consistently attract natural links.
They include Tamebay, SEOMoz and Econsultancy – sites that constantly publish quality posts written by themselves and guest authors. Content offered by these websites is current, useful and engaging, so attracts loads of natural links. It is also aimed at a certain audience and in the case of these sites, an internet-savvy audience that is likely to share quality content with their online community.
Wikipedia is a good example of a site that is linked to countless times on the internet thanks to the value it offers users. Despite the fact that Wikipedia is not infallible when it comes to accuracy, it’s seen as a valuable resource and people happily link to it in everything from business reports to newspaper articles.
In conclusion: quality counts
Think about the content that the above sites publish when you are producing your own and consider the kind of posts that you would happily link to. And remember above all, quality counts.
Stick around for my Easy link building tip 4: Piggy-back on competitors’ links coming soon…
