Attracting links with unique content

The need to attract links into a website from other third-party sites is undisputed as this can be one of the most significant factors in determining ranking position – particularly on Google – but it can also be the most challenging. There are many ways that this can be achieved, but one of the most effective is through the ‘natural’ attraction of links by adding unique content to your website ‘ so called ‘link bait’.

Creating content on a website can be achieved in a number of ways and the more ‘niche’ a market might be, the easier it can be to attract attention through the addition of ‘hard to find’ information that the market might be looking for. We’ve outlined some ideas below on ways that content could be used to attract web traffic and links, but in most cases the creation of the content is just the beginning and you also need to consider how others will find this content to then link through to it.

Developing web content can also be a time consuming task, so advance planning on what to produce and how to gain attention will be an important aspect to avoid wasting time creating information that doesn’t achieve its objective. Here are some ideas that you might want to consider for your business:

• Web content ‘ this can be the simplest way of attracting links into your site and involves adding useful content or resources to your site that your target market will find valuable and which is presented in a non-commercial way. This could be a glossary of industry jargon, some background information on your market sector (such as our history of search engines) or free advice on a particular topic that might be hard to find elsewhere. If this content can also be developed with search engine optimization in mind, it can help your site to attract visits and reference links.
• News ‘ adding news stories about your market sector can also attract links from other sites. This could be the use of a news feed or ideally some unique news content or perspective on current issues that might not be available elsewhere.
• Blogs ‘ these are now becoming immensely powerful tools for many companies and provide an easy way to regularly ad content and comment to your website. A blog can be used in many different ways, from commenting on trends in your market sector, to announcing new product developments or publishing opinions that can attract feedback and debate.
• Forums ‘ external forums can be used to discuss issues in your market sector, or you can develop an active forum on your own site. This can be more difficult to achieve than a blog that attracts feedback, but can be a used as a good information exchange in a specialized market, as long as there is no outwardly commercial motivation by your site that could prevent people from getting involved.
• Articles ‘ if you can create good content that is unique and valuable you can publish this through your own site or through many of the free article circulation websites. Other blogs or content sites may use this information in return for including your details and a link back to your site, but this type of market is now highly competitive and you need to find new and interesting angles to get your articles noticed.
• Tools or applications ‘ another popular way of attracting traffic and reference links to your site is to provide a free tool or application that would be used by your market ‘ such as a budgeting tool or mapping application. Again, these techniques are becoming more widespread so you need to consider your market and come up with a unique idea that could address a particular need.

All of the above elements can be developed on your website or through external web services that will create links back to your site (although note the impact of the ‘nofollow’ tag). You need to consider what content will add value to your customers and create interest as well as reference links from other sites.

Creating this type of ‘link bait’ is very much like PR and needs constant development to raise the profile of your business and website, but with the right planning and implementation the time spent can be a valuable investment, not just for attracting links but also new business enquiries as well.

If you’d like to discuss some ideas about how your business could attract links from new content strategies, please contact us.

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