Nowadays, search engines are ever more capable of detecting which links are natural or endorsing and which links are paid or scammy. Thus, truly effective natural link building is becoming a necessity for success.
In this post, I want to discuss 5 effective methods for producing content that truly deserves to be linked to, and thus EARNS a good amount of links. It is not easy, but by following these tips, you will maximize your chances of success:
1) Think About Your Target Audience – And Deliver To Their Needs
The first step (before even thinking about a piece of content) is to decide who your target audience is and what they truly want or (even better) need. Think about the niche as a whole and some of the pain points or troubles you see. You will find them, as no niche is perfect.
Make a list of these pain points and decide which of these are the most important. This is how you will begin drafting content.
2) Think About How You Can Speak To These Needs or Alleviate These Pain Points
Now that you have identified the major needs and pain points in your industry, it is time to brainstorm how you can solve these holes in the niche. Examine the problem and then imagine how the problem might be fixed. This won’t be easy (or everyone would be successfully releasing viral content.)
Make a list of potential solutions and decide which solution seems to be the most effective at solving the problem at hand. Don’t rush this step, as it can be an early indicator of whether or not you are going to have success with your content release.
3) Decide The Best Format For Releasing Your Solution
Is the solution that you brainstormed an application? Is it simply an information post? Is it a widget or calculator?
These are questions you must ask yourself and answer before proceeding with the content creation. Figure out the most effective medium for solving the need that you identified. Brainstorm multiple options and discuss them with colleagues and friends, or perhaps the group with which you are trying to solve a problem for.
4) Get Buy In From Industry Leaders
Figure out who your niche really looks up to or trusts. This might be a guru or one of the key players in the industry. These are people that you will want buy in from before releasing you content or product.
Sometimes it is not easy to get the head of the industry or the most well known thought leader. This does not mean you should give up. Perhaps you could figure out someone a little bit less known but who is more willing to respond to you.
Ask them about your content piece. Ask them if they think it’s a good idea? If not, what can you change about it to make it better? What would they like to see from the content? Take this advice and implement it.
Then, when you push the content live, ask these leaders to give a shout out to their followers. Chances are, they will RESPECT the fact that you asked for their opinion and will share it for you. This is a great way to start earning natural links to your next content release.
5) Don’t Settle For Average – Try To Be Remarkable
It is easy to settle for something that does a decent job of solving your problem. It is hard to commit to something until it is absolutely remarkable. However, the latter approach is what is really going to result in natural links to your content.
If there are 5 parts to a problem, you should be identifying and solving all five parts, and maybe even identifying a 6th problem and solution.
If you go the extra mile you will see the rewards coming in.
Follow these steps with your next content piece and you will surely be rewarded with links and authority.
This was a guest post by Jason, a marketing consultant and entrepreneur. His latest project is Survey Examiner, where he aims to provide the most comprehensive and effective paid survey listing on the web. To check out an example of the survey ratings on this site, check out this HotSpex review.
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