Finding the balance between link building and SEO
There is a fine balance between link building for SEO and traffic. Building links is a never ending battle and the sooner you come to grips with that, the more productive you will be at it. I think one of the best ways to get this balance is to get your content published on other web sites. Here are some tips and examples:
- You have got to be passionate about what you’re writing about. For me, I love golf and like search engine marketing. I can sit down and talk about it or write about it and really enjoy it. Find those topics that inspire you and have some fun with it.
- Have somebody proof your articles. We all make typos from time to time and it is important that you make sure the articles you are offering to other web sites are gold plated. Would you want any less on your site?
- Find a professional writer if needed. There are great places to find quality and cost effective freelance services like Elance. You will probably have to go through a few freelancers to find the right one but it is well worth it.
- Keywords before content! You have to write about topics people are searching for and want to know about. A great article about the principles of embalming may have a few people interested but an article about the top 10 conversion killers for your website is going to drive much more interest.
- Guest blogging to start with. I don’t do as much of this as I should but it is a great way to get your name out there while driving links and traffic to your site.
Where to publish your content
- I like knowledge sites or Wikis to start. Places like Squidoo, Work.com, Google Knol, About.com, and others are a great place to start.
- Turn your article into a presentation and sign up for an account with slideshare. You will get one link from your profile page and no links from your content but you will get direct traffic from the visitors who view your slides. Just good Internet marketing best practices being used.
- Find quality article sites to submit to. I am not talking about the 1,000s of free for all article sites but sites like Buzzle.com, Goarticles.com, Articlesbase, and such.
Keywords before content
I touched on this in one of my bullet points above but I think this is the most important part of the post. You must design your content based on what people are searching for. Use free keyword discovery tools such as Google’s Adword Keyword Tool, WordTracker and Keyword Discovery.
Look for those terms that suggest people are searching for an answer to something like “how to become a teacher”, “repairing a flat tire”, or “learn Internet marketing”. I like to use answer sites like Yahoo Answers or Answers.com to find good suggestions to start with and if you do know a lot about the question being asked, don’t be afraid to sign up for an account and start answering!
Remember, good link building is just good marketing.
