Hi Lynn: I finally checked my 4 year old blog, tapwaterforgas.com and found what I knew anyway but what I was afraid to check. I only have 2 links to it. I was not surprised but I am appalled at my own actions.
I have read about links, bored with reading about it actually and have now seen first hand what the absence of quality links does. In my instance a reduction in 50% traffic from the SERPS.
My nose is to the grindstone and I have begun a campaign with Wordtracker's Link Builder. Reading everything from their site and finding out how much I didn't know. -Jim
A New View On Link Building
For most people, link building is seriously frustrating. It's the one task they hate most, dread doing, or avoid. And outsourcing your link building can really backfire on you if you're not careful.
Let's pause, and look at link building from a different perspective...
Links are incredibly important to the virtual landscape because they connect related content across the web. If you pay close attention to how you read & find content yourself, you'll appreciate all the links & references out there. 😉
Imagine a web with no links.
Would you have found me? Would I have found you? What else may you have missed out on that has had a positive impact on your life or business?
As marketers, we have to think like end users. We have to think like our readers, and consider what would serve them best. How rude is it NOT to give them a reference, a resource, or the "next best click"?
The goal with link building is to connect related content, and make the web a more enjoyable browsing experience for users. Period. If you take all the marketing jargon and "link building tasks" out of it, it really is that simple.
If you stop thinking of it as a mundane task, and start thinking of it as a service to your market, you'll see Link Building in a whole new light. Create links that serve readers. It's a whole lot better than junking up the web for the sake of better search engine rankings. And the results are the same - or better.
Best,
p.s. I recently emailed a permanent one-way link offer to my subscribers. If you missed that, feel free to contact me for details. And make sure you sign up below so you don't miss out on other cool stuff I send out by email only. 😀
About Lynn Terry
Great perspective Lynn. I think it's also important for 'link building activities' to cross over with social activities. A great way for you to keep from being bored is to add comments and input on forums that could use your service.
That way, you're helping people with their own difficulties/questions, while building your backlink portfolio. What's more important is, you're targeting people in areas that are really relevant, creating far more valuable links as the clickthrough rate to conversion rate is really high!
Forums also give you great ideas for blogs, which you can then write and post a link to on the forum - and others may share. Leveraging your link building!
Forums are good. I like to use forum-specific signature links too, with a special landing/about page that welcome those forum members to my site.
I do the same thing with Facebook now, as it's much more active these days. And it's less frowned upon to share links. Especially on your own Page(s) where an open discussion sparks a good topic.
I completely agree Lynn and would like to add one more tip. Don't build links just for the sake of getting that link. That does get pretty boring and just isn't all that effective. Instead think of an overall content marketing strategy. Get content out there and market your site to get traffic, establish yourself as an expert, get in front of new readers and get a link.
With that in mind it makes a lot more sense to spend a good bit of your day writing articles or guest blog posts, participating on social media sites and forums, writing and submitting short reports etc.
For example, I would probably not have come across this post today if Lynn had not mentioned it on Facebook. Write your content and than take the next step and spread the word about it.
Great points, Susanne! I'm more inclined to do "content marketing" than just "link building" myself. In fact, Guest Blogging is one of my favorite ways to get high quality one way links.
That reminds me of a post on this topic I wrote over two years ago: http://www.clicknewz.com/2120/link-building-strategies-for-content/ 😀
Lynn..
Are you endorsing the Link-Building Masterclass ad you have on this page? Or is it just an ad?
thx, Dee
Hi Dee,
It's through WordTracker, and all of their products have been impressive so far. I highly recommend them. I haven't taken the Link Building class myself (due to lack of time), but I've heard great things about it from others.
Got to be honest the whole link building thing is getting me a bit befuddled - I spent a lot of time last year writing and submitting articles and yet now when I look the only link I've got to my main site is from ClickNews - for which I thank you Lynn!
Hi David,
Where is it you're looking to determine the number of backlinks to the pages of your site?
p.s. Variety is KEY in link building. See:
http://www.clicknewz.com/2110/effective-link-building/
Hi Lynn
I recently wrote a couple articles about the topic of building outbound links from you work (one of them was a guest post at ProBlogger).
As you mentioned, the web without links isn't a web at all. And we need to focus on building links that add value to the users. Inbound and internal links are great, but there seems to be a fear of outbound links.
However, these are valuable to your readers and Google hints that proper outbound links are valuable for SEO. They make the web a better place when done with the intent of providing value for the reader.
So make sure that you include outbound links as part of your overall linking strategy.
I agree. It's important to be resourceful, and to always keep your reader in mind - not just your SEO strategy. I like to link to or quote relevant blog posts, which often create a trackback or pingback on that post... which has brought me quite a bit of targeted traffic in the past. 😉
Link-building can be fun or it can be mind-numbing. Luckily, the mind-numbing kind generally gets you low-quality links, while the fun link-building gets you the high-quality links. It's kinda like the Internet's version of natural selection.
Low-quality links, like automated spun articles and link wheels, are mind-numbing and so you're less likely to create them. High-quality links, like commenting on blogs you enjoy reading and having other respected content creators link back to you, are fun and so you're more likely to work at getting them.
Backlink natural selection!
Great reply Alex! Where's the "like" button ... (yes, I've been spending too much time on Facebook).
"Like" here too! Great way to put it, Alex 😉
Thank you, Lynn. I hung a small chain in front of my desk to remind me about this. It is easy to forget.
Awesome perspective Lynn!
Google would absolutely love this post.
And actually, contrary to urban myth, do reward resources that link out to other trusted resources.
I like your standpoint on how we owe it to our readers to link out to resources that would help them.
Very straight and to the point and it didn't take you 2000 words to say it 😉
Mark
Yes, link building frustrates me. Greatly. LOL - I've tried so many things to keep my link building motivation up, I've outsourced, I've made a task list, I've taken courses, I've bought services. I always end up frustrated, but the end results are so worth the frustration in the end because more quality links equals more traffic.
Hi, Lynn,
I love your belief about making the web a more enjoyable browsing experience.
I have a newbie question though. When you talk about link building, do you mean building links from MY site to others (already do that) or building links from other sites to mine (how do I do that?!?!)?
I have signatures on forums with my websites and I put links to posts I have written when they answer a questions someone has asked in a forum. But that is it for now. Thanks and have a great day!
Hi Susan,
I was referring to getting links that point TO the pages of your site. I have an entire series on the topic, which you can find starting here: http://www.clicknewz.com/tag/link-building/ 😀
Thanks so much. I know what I'll be reading over the next few days.
Link building is such an arduous task and I bet google knows it too. Perhaps that's the reason why it still remains an important ranking factor, even as it has been heavily gamed.
Link building is great and it helps connect related content but what's with the low quality spam links. IMO, the best way approach to link building is building links that drive traffic.
What's with the low quality/spam? Ignorance. 😛
That, and bad products with even worse sales copy...
The web is a network of connections created by links. Link building is therefore the basis of web connections. Search engines value link building because it can offer a more complete browsing experience to the user, which is why search engines reward websites that have built around them a wider network of connections. So climb the SERP is a natural consequence.
The linkbuilding is a boring work.
But the links are the connections betwen the pages on the web.
I like the wordtracker tools. Is it good the masterclass?
I've heard it's GREAT.
I too find it somewhat tedious at times, especially finding quality sites and pages to establish the link. OpenSiteExplorer is my current favorite tool for evaluating sites and pages -- and even finding the good sites in the first place.
Is anyone still finding Directory Listings effective? I've seen a lot of them disappear and can't help wonder if the others are terminal.
I like to add my new sites to quality niche directories, or resource lists. I don't spend days on it or anything, but I do search out quality lists/directories when I launch a new blog or website.
That said, the best link you can get is from the content area of a relevant page on a relevant website - preferably an established or authority site in your niche. This is why interviews & guest blogging are so powerful. Not to mention you get in front of the established readership - and often their mailing list and social media channels as well.
I think you bring up an important point- link building is about connecting related content. And to do that it's important to build relationships with those you are linking to, and hopefully in return linking to you.
Relationships take time to build, but the pay off is building valuable links to relevant content. Although, the process can become repetitive try to look beyond the mundane task of finding influencers and focus on the outcome of building relationships. Most times the natural response to building relationships is building links.
That's a nice take on looking at link building. As an internet marketing consultant, I come across many clients who think of link building and SEO as an exhaustive, daunting, never ending process. They seem to dread it. You said it right when you said that its all about user experience. Most marketers/entrepreneurs are concerned about ranking high and don't know the difference between good linking and bad link building. Knowing the difference will make a huge difference on the quality as well as quantity of traffic a site receives...
"Most marketers/entrepreneurs are concerned about ranking high and don’t know the difference between good linking and bad link building."
A true entrepreneur is too busy serving their market to even think about low quality spammy backlinking. 🙂 It's easy to spot the difference between a marketer and an entrepreneur, hey? 😉
Im really glad I recieved this article, I hate link building but now since you gave us a different point of view I think I will feel different about link building. Thank you great article:)
Hi Lynn
I have a question. I know posting links on facebook and twitter are good to get the word out to your followers/fans, but do they do anything as far as seo? Do the links count for that?
They do! 😀 See:
http://www.clicknewz.com/3038/how-to-use-social-media/
Like most others have said, I also hate building backlinks. But, I'm learning how to integrate it more with my daily routine so it just kind of naturally flows from other Internet practices. Doing it separate from everything else IS exhausting, not to mention incredibly tedious. Thanks for this new perspective, Lynn!
I agree. And you're right, it's best done in the natural flow of your content development and communication with your target market. 😉
I agree to the fact that link building can be very frustrating but it surely has many benefits attached to it. Using quality link building services and strategically placing your keywords in your HTML coding, will go a long way to improve you search ranking. When you have spent a lot of time and energy building your website, you going to want the best search results possible to reward your efforts.
Valid points you are sharing here. A blog is a very powerful platform you can use to build long-lasting relationships with your readers and keep them coming back for more.
Thanks for sharing your insights.
I actually enjoy link building to an extent, because it is what really matters. Link building is your time to shine as an SEO, to find a way to use the great content you have drafted, and find places to publish it, reach out to other people, etc. What separates an SEO from a content writer, is we need to be able to find unique ways to use that information to increase your SERPs positions. Of course there are other aspects of SEO too, but for the most part, link building is what we do. We need to build links, and relationships in order to build a strong brand.
Link building can be very difficult, but once you get used to it, everything will be easy. Once you know the in and out of the link building process, most part can be done again and again that would make your life much easier than before.
Forums and Social networking are the best ways to link build without it seeming like a chore, plus it makes you feel less guilty for procrastination as you can just convince your self you're link building!
I've always found link building to be time consuming and so is something I tend to do in bursts, whereas I should be doing a little but often. I've also just looked at outsourcing some, but that is a worry as you never know what exactly you're letting yourself in for, compared to doing it yourself.
What I plan to start doing more of is creating content that is easier to get links to - e.g. the odd 'top-10' or controversial viewpoint on a topic. Only the occasional one, but they do seem to get linked/tweeted more.
Just a word of appreciation: You have really really really made my day with this post. I now see link building from that new —way less frustrating— viewpoint.
Thank you.
Hi Lynn,
Link building used to frustrate me in the beginning, but once I stated to see the results from it, the motivation kept me going. I have also learned to use a variety of methods to build links so I dont get board quickly.