Using Content To Boost Your Link Building Efforts

Creating relevant quality content and building or attracting relevant links are two of the biggest pieces of the SEO jigsaw among many other factors. However, both of these vital components in any SEO campaign are often two of the most difficult to carry out well. In this article we are going to look at some tips on content creation and link building and which of these you need to focus on to increase your results...

“Content Is King”

A saying you must have heard time and time again. But it really is true. A keyword that has a targeted page with useful and relevant content on it, has a lot more chance of ranking than a page that isn't as relevant. Let's take the keyword “Content Creation” as an example. This would stand a far better chance of ranking on a page just about content creation with the ideal meta tags and URL structure, than another page that isn't as relevant i.e. the home page. Find out more about best on site optimisation practices here – 9 Different On Site Optimisation Factors for your Website 

A few tips to keep in mind when producing quality content:

• Always carry out keyword research and competitor analysis to ensure there is good opportunity for the content you are producing.
• Include links in the content to trusted external resources (when possible) as well as internal links to relevant places on your website.
• Don't write for search engines, write for humans.
• If the content is a blog post, then the more content the better.

A few tips to keep in mind when thinking of what content to write:

• What problems do your customers and others interested in your industry need solving? Answer this question and then do some research and write a great blog article.
• What content is trending in Google trends or on Social Media? Discover the “hot” topics in your niche and write about them.
• What content has performed well? If you know of a piece of content that has performed really well from a competitor or someone in your niche then write another post based on that topic but take it to the next level.

A King Without Power

As we have said previously “Content is King”, but how can a king succeed if he is without power. A powerful King has followers and he has authority, however a King without followers has no authority and no power at all. The lesson here is that creating quality content is great and can work really well. However, it will perform much better if you have more followers that you can share it with.

Some useful tips:

• Be active on Social Media – Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Linkedin and Pinterest – to name a few. Learn more about Social Media marketing for businesses by reading our article here: Social Media 101 for Business: How to Use Social Media Marketing for B2B Businesses
• Follow the right people and get your content in front of an audience that cares.
• Promote your content further if necessary, with advertising and outreach.
• Add your business profile to relevant directory sites .
• Ask! Ask your network of suppliers for links to your website.
• Ask for reviews.
• Reach out to journalists with press releases.
• Create compelling content including infographics, slide share presentations etc

Relevant Link Building

Now, moving onto the importance of relevant link building. It is by far the most discussed topic in the SEO community and agencies, like ourselves, are constantly striving to find the best ways to obtain natural backlinks. With the way SEO has evolved over the last few years, building relevant links has proven to be a bigger task than it once was, and Google are clamping down on this now more than ever. If they feel you have violated their guidelines when it comes to links you will more than likely receive a penalty, resulting in your rankings falling and your “King” (content) being dethroned. 

Make The Shift From Building Links To Earning Links

Don't take risks with your online strategy. Building links is becoming more tricky, as many are often considered unnatural by Google. If you are building links today that are not natural and don't meet Google's guidelines then you need to start earning them. Well, you can continue with your retro, old school tactics if you want but is it worth the risk? The question is “how do you start earning and attracting links?” 

It really does take time and effort but at least you are playing by the rules. Earning links can be done through sharing content on Social Media, sending emails to people who are interested in your industry and would be interested in sharing your content or linking to it. A few simple steps you can take to attract links are:

• Make your content shareable by having Social Media share icons.
• Use a good main image in your content that draws attention and makes people want to click on the post or share it.
• Make sure your content is current, relevant and useful.

Content Or Links – You Decide

Choosing between writing content or building links is a difficult choice. Content can work really well without any links in some cases, however with link juice the content will perform much better.

If you need to make a decision between the two then focus on creating quality blog posts that will gain interest from potential customers and attract Social shares. But remember, content with links is more powerful than content without links and a King without followers is powerless and isn't really worthy of his crown.

With a remote team and a fully digital arsenal of marketing tools ready to use on your behalf, it’s business as usual at the JDR Group. Please call 01332 982197 to find out more.

Article by Matthew Tudge