The best way, by far, to attract links in the modern world of search is to get other people linking to your SEO content. These links are 100% natural and primarily people with quality websites provide them.
Sure, some crummy article directories Google doesn’t like slip in there, but for the most part, the reputation of websites linking to your content rocks. Those links could be good for years.
So, of course you’re wondering what you should do to make your content as sharable as possible. Well, here’s a few things:
- Know What the Hell You’re Writing About
You can’t pick a new topic and expect to create an exceptional blog article in the first few weeks of your writing. However, blogging does have a lower barrier to entry, so within months to a year of learning about your topic, you can probably write something that really stands out.
Writing quality SEO content always begins with some level of experience.
- Write In-Depth
Most people fall in to the “you have to write short, 500-word articles” camp. Hey, this is how we structure our pricing too. We do that because that’s how most people understand web writing.
But, I always try to educate customers about the importance of quality over quantity. If you can create a piece that goes farther in-depth (1000 words+), you have a great chance of sticking out online. But, those words have to provide valuable information – they can’t just be there to fill space.
The more specific and actionable the content is too, the better. Web readers want to be able to improve their lives or knowledge immediately after reading your SEO content.
- Distribute Your Content Properly
You can write the best content in the world, but if it doesn’t get promoted properly, it’s unlikely to attract many links. The qualification to that of course is if you already have a popular blog, but if you have that, you’re probably not reading this article!
For example, I did a guest post for a PR 2 or 3 blog, and a few weeks later Ragan, PR 6 and fairly notable in its niche, picked up the article.
You can do websites like HubPages, Squidoo, EzineArticles, or even submit to social bookmarking sites like StumbleUpon, Digg, and Reddit. It’s pretty easy to land opportunities on PR 2-3 blogs as well, and if you can get the attention of bigger blogs, like PR 4 and above, that’s even better. Promote them on all your social media profiles too.
As you build relationships, your opportunities to build links grows too.
- Know Your Space
The more you know what’s going on in your niche, the better off you are when you create SEO content. If there’s big news going on, you can capitalize on all the new searches for that by writing on the same topic (but be sure to take your own perspective).
If you’re truly fearless, take a counter perspective to the predominating perspective. As long as you appear reasonable, you’ll be okay. Don’t worry too much about appearing like the crazed lunatic.
- Focus on Relationships, Not Links
The more people you know, the better off you are. A virtual link is really a representation of a social connection that could exist in the physical world.
You can make your content more sharable by having good relationships in place with other people. You can build those relationships by providing quality SEO content as guest posts – other bloggers love that. In return, they’ll happily supply you with a link.
In the end though, always focus on what you can do for the other person. It’ll come back to you in the long run in the form of links and better positioning in the SERPs.
- Use Pictures in Your Content
Honestly, this is one I don’t do so well. But, pictures help make content much more engaging. People will read your words regardless, but if you have a handy picture in your content, they’ll love it even more. You’ll get many, many more links if you use pictures to break up your web content a little more.
- Hire a Pro SEO Content Writer
Hey, if all else fails, hire a pro to do the job. And, don’t skimp on cost because you get what you pay for. It’s as much of a profession as anything else on the web, but it’s becoming much, much more valuable to your business as Google demands more and more quality content on all websites.
