'Commentary,Search Engines'
Creating content that generates links over time
7 JUN 2017 0
Link building can be exhausting. The endless cycle of creating content, reaching out to other sites that may be interested, and seeing what kind of response you get over and over again can get results, but it can also chew up time and energy. Wouldn't it be better if you could create content that would naturally acre links over time without you having to constantly "knock on doors” as it were?
It's not as hard as you might think. The key to creating long-term links is to create content that can be used as a source.
What do I mean by that? I mean you need something that other bloggers, writers, and sites will find in the course of their own writing. Think about your blog. How many times have you linked back to the source of some interesting tidbit or statistic to back up the validity of what you were saying? Become the source of a handy stat or piece of information, and next thing you know, other sites will be linking back to you naturally.
So what kind of content does this include? We'll go over a few examples.
Original research
Providing your own research numbers and findings can be a quick way to cultivate links in your industry. It also has the positive effect of positioning your business as an authority on the topic, after all, you're the people with the numbers.
Stats and research tend to be infectious. One site uses your numbers to back up a claim or comment on something, another site sees that and uses you as a source as well, and so on. The term "ever green” is kicked around a lot, but this is almost self-propagating.
Conducting research can be an intimidating proposition for smaller businesses, but never underestimate the resources you have at your own finger tips. Even stats based on your own experience can prove helpful to others.
Case studies and internal benchmarks
Similar to research, having the inside scoop on how a particular idea, practice, or piece of equipment helped or hindered a business can be tremendously interesting to other parties. It can be used as an example to validate or debunk assumptions, touted as supporting evidence, and shared by other sites in the same field as you.
Think about your business and who you work with. You're likely already keeping track of core KPIs and internal stats. Think about ways to turn that into a narrative or report you can use on your blog.
Useful links and resources
Don't have the time or resources to conduct your own research? Why not borrow from others? It might seem like cheating, but a good curated list of helpful resources can draw plenty of attention.
Where do you go for your information? Are there any particular sites or groups you find yourself frequently citing as a source? Are there any insightful luminaries in your field that you turn to for inspiration? What other blogs do you read? All of these ideas can be turned into compilation source that gets links and traffic.
Entry level content
This is another rich area of opportunity that doesn't require as much work as large-scale research or case studies. Everyone has to start learning somewhere, and content that explains the very basics of a topic or technique will always be of interest to somebody.
Mind you, you're going to encounter more competition for this kind of content that others. Being both easier to produce and popular, it's likely you won't be the only one out there trying to claim this space. That's why you need to pay more attention that ever to the quality and polish of your content. Including instructive images, easy to follow guides, or other features to make your post stand out is a definite must.