Here’s an Easy Way to Build Links, Build a Buzz, and Build an Image
Link-building can be so “dry.” It’s one of those icky Internet marketing things that bores me to no end. Or is it? Is link-building really marketing at all? Or is it (and SEO in general) really an extension of PR? Actually, surprise surprise, SEO is a specialized niche of public relations, even if it’s generally lumped into the Internet marketing arena. Here’s why: SEO is all about building exposure… it’s just doing so through improved search engine placements (just like quality pitches and press releases aim at getting media placements). So how can link-building efforts be more fun, help build a buzz, and help establish an image as either an expert or authority website / resource? Here’s an easy way to do all three at once:
Whether they agree with you or your opinions are highly controversial, people simply love reading about what others think. There are a few easy ways to offer your opinions on a blog or website:
Reviews - You can review books, products related to your niche, or even other websites and blogs.
Top Picks Lists - Do a “top ten” list, or something similar. People love rankings, no matter what niche you’re writing in.
Seems pretty simple so far, right? Many writers and bloggers already do these two things. Yet, they don’t get the links, buzz, and image / recognition they could. That’s because they often stop at the writing. Here are the steps to follow if you want your opinion pieces to help you build incoming links from high quality, relevant sites, build a buzz about your website, and help you build an image as an expert in the niche or your website’s image as an authority site in your niche:
Don’t Be Afraid to Review the Bad Stuff - If you always sound like you’re kissing ass in your reviews, no one will take your opinions seriously. Don’t be afraid to be critical. The more critical you generally are, the more value your positive reviews will have when you give them.
Write a Descriptive, but Catchy, Headline - Since we’re not talking about news here, it’s OK to get a bit more “cutesy,” as long as your headlines are descriptive.
Contact the Reviewee - If you review a website (especially if it is a positive review), shoot the site owner an email with a link, letting them know. If you review a book, contact the publisher’s PR person, and send them a link to the review. Contact the PR or marketing people for manufacturers if you review products, or rank them high on a top ten, or similar, list. It always astonishes me how many people will do writeups, and not go this extra step!
That’s it. Really. That’s all you have to do on your end… other than continue to write opinion-pieces that your readers can trust and enjoy. You don’t need to beg, or even ask, for backlinks. If you talk to a PR person or site owner, more than likely, they’ll give you one on their own. Those links may be featured on a blog post, a press room / media kit page, or somewhere else with decent visibility from those looking to show off their own praises (or those wanting to shoot back publicly about a bad review).
Buzz happens a few ways:
1. Controversy around negative opinion pieces / reviews.
2. Reviewees mentioning your site to their readers.
3. By doing repeat pieces (like a “top site of the month” or a yearly large top picks list for example), you build an automatic buzz (or can instigate it by creating award images / banners and launching a “nomination” phase).
Image comes in a similar fashion. Basically, if you show readers that you know what you’re talking about when reviewing others’ and you consistently make strong picks and expose them to new quality sites, book, products, and even people (this trick also works with interviewing) in the niche, then it helps to cement your name (or your site) in readers’ minds as an expert on the topic. Just remember… building a strong, solid, and respectable image is more about honesty and trust than about “making friends” with every publisher, manufacturer, and related webmaster / blogger out there.
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Contact the Reviewee - This is the part I forget to to! With blogs, I just assume that the Reviewee will see new the incoming link or trackback. The times that I did want to contact the Reviewee, there was no contact information available on their blog (another blogging mistake).