Oct 22 2008
How to get links
Having great content in your website is useless if no one knows about it. You may have informative content in there – something worthy of links – but if you don’t work on eliciting exposure for it, your efforts go to waste. Here are some of the many ways by which you can promote your content to attract links and traffic to your site.
But first – Why am not getting any links?
There are two reasons why a site that has great content doesn’t attract links. The first is because the internet already features an extensive array of great content and it receives more of that everyday. The competition is really tough. The second reason is because no one is aware of the content’s existence. Content has to be promoted in the same way that a company advertises its products and services so consumers are aware of them. Sadly, this is often missed by businesses that do not have enough experience in building web presence.
There are established websites that continually produce great content and achieve high search engine placements which allow its content to be easily discovered by users. These sites have been in existence for years, so they have already acquired the credibility that endears them to Google and Yahoo. These websites have also managed to accumulate a lot of quality inbound links.
But if your site is new and/or you do not have any search engine optimization efforts in place, you may not achieve the same success. Luckily, there are some things you can do. Here are some suggestions on how to get links.
a. Forums and e-mail lists
Many newbie SEOs make the mistake of haphazardly dropping links in forums, which can only irritate the administrators and cause the link to be banned. Do not do this. You want to create inbound links slowly but surely from those forums so you get mentioned on other pages such as blogs, or even by mainstream press.
One way to correctly tap the potential of community websites is by having someone from your staff sign up as an active member. He is supposed to provide solid and informative advice and insight on subjects relevant to your website. This is going to be a process of establishing a good reputation in the discussion boards. Once this is attained, you want to add a signature that links to your content. There are forum sites that are open to signatures but there are also those that may not be as receptive. Alternatively, you can include a link to your content to relevant discussions.
Since this method may be time consuming (especially if you’re just a small company that doesn’t have the luxury of a large workforce), you can also look into hiring people from the discussion boards – the most influential ones – to promote your content. Expect to pay a premium for their services.
b. PPC
While PPC and banner ads are commonly known for selling products, they can also be used to increase online visibility for content. These services have become more cost-effective and affordable as big ad spenders are beginning to downsize their budgets.
c. Sign up to Free Relevant Links
The best way to get quality inbound links is to sign up to trusted link exchange networks like Free Relevant Links (FRL) (www.freerelevantlinks.com). Many SEO experts have sworn to the effectiveness of FRL. It features a unique technology that truly understands the importance of inbound links, and will only give you links from relevant websites to ensure a higher search engine rank. Because it’s 100% automated, even novices can use this program without a hitch.
