Time and time again, I get asked by my clients “What can I do to help improve my Google rankings for <insert keyword here>” Unfortunately, there is no “one-size-fits-all magic answer” and most often the solution consists of a combination of SEO tactics. I also have to remind clients that SEO is an ongoing process and not something you just set and forget. The most important step in the SEO process is link building. Unfortunately, link building also happens to be the most time consuming and difficult piece of the SEO puzzle. It’s easy to improve and adjust on-page optimization issues but with link building your success is based on external factors and 3rd parties you have little to no control of.
What Is Link Building
Link Building is the practice of getting other websites linking to your online content or website. Google wants to rank credible, resourceful sites and they look at the number of external links your site has “earned” as as a level of credibility and authoritativeness. Notice that I said “earned” and not “acquired”. What’s the difference? You can acquire links in a variety of ways including spamming or outright buying them. Although these tactics usually provide a short term win – or the appearance of a win – in most cases they fail in accomplishing your overall goal and it’s possible your site will be punished for using these techniques. JC Penny’s recently discovered the harsh penalty of buying links.
Why Is Link Building Important
When you actually have “earned” links, it means you have produced quality content worthy of people sharing or other websites pointing to as a reference. An example is the NY Times article I linked to regarding to the JC Penny Link Buying Bust. To date, this NY Times article has received over 3000 links. Each link gives Google a sign of it’s credibility and relevance. So how can you create content that shows Google you’re site is credible too?
According to Google, the best thing you can do for your site is to create original content, original research, authoritative information, or other compelling ways of adding value for your website visitors. Next time you think of creating content or posting a blog post, ask yourself -“What unique or compelling value does this site offer that other sites don’t?” However, this is much easier said than done. Remember the old saying “Anything worth having requires work” ? The same holds true with link building. The task will be more difficult for some than others…
“But My Business Is Boring and People Won’t Find My Content Intersting”
If you consider your content subject matter boring, creating compelling content is even more of a challenge but it’s definitely not impossible. You have to be creative! SEO expert Michael Gray actually posted an article on his website wolf-howl.com titled “Creating Exceptional Content for Boring Topics”. In the post, Michael gives an example of creating a link worthy content around the “boring” topic of McDonalds. The example is pretty effective and I suggest you take a few minutes to read it.
Why Business Owners Have A Difficult Time Creating Content
If I haven’t made the point yet – earning quality links is not an easy task for most business owners. I have a couple of theories as to why this is.
- Business Owners are too close to the action to find a creative angle
- Creating Quality Content requires time, something most business owners don’t have enough of
- Lacking the ability to write compelling copy or producing quality video or graphics.
- Even if you’re able to create compelling content, you still need people to find it and link to it (I’ll be sharing ideas on this soon too, so make sure you subscribe to my feed)
The Solution. How to Add Link Worthy Content to Your Site
Call Blue Lynx Marketing for a free consultation. We’re good at coming up with creative ideas to get people talking about your business.
