It's the timeless question: how do you get other sites to link to you? The most commonly discussed ways are reciprocal linking
(swapping links) and buying links. Yet there's another important tool for building links that should be a part of your toolbox:
distributing content in exchange for one-way inbound links.
Comparison with Other Linking Methods
Reciprocal Linking: The big advantage of content distribution over swapping links is that the links built are one-way, and
therefore presumably more valuable. Of course, reciprocal links still have value, but relying primarily on them might hamper your
SEO efforts.
Indirect Reciprocal Links: I link my site A to your site, so you link your site to my site B. The problems are that this
can be a lot of work, and also, Google can detect indirect links if you do it more than once with the same group of sites, which
might make your linking arrangements look like a link farm.
Paid Links: The problem with paid links is 1) the costs add up; 2) search engines are getting better and better at
discounting paid links. According to Matt Cutts' blog, "I wouldn't be surprised if search engines begin to take stronger action
against link buying in the near future...link-selling sites can lose their ability to give reputation (e.g. PageRank and
anchortext)."
Kinds of Content to Distribute
Articles: This is the essential kind of content distribution, to the point that many people consider content distribution
simply as "article marketing." However, you're missing out on a few other sources of links if you only do articles.
News blurbs: A lot of news-style sites will only reprint pieces of a couple of paragraphs. The good news is that often
enough the whole point of these news blurbs is to include links to other sites, in a sort of "look what we've found" kind of way,
a la Slashdot.org
Press Releases: There are some sites that aggressively reprint press releases. A press release is like an article, only
in a very specific press release format, and frankly that's not that enjoyable to read. I don't know why some sites are so
head-over-heels over press releases, but, hey, that's their business. The good news is that even if you can't write and don't want
to hire a writer, press releases (at least basic ones) are pretty easy to do.
Tools, games and other webware: Sites with popular tools, software, Flash games and other webware often let other sites
use it in exchange for a link. The big potential downside is technical support.
Images: Images, especially charts and photographs, are important forms of content on the web. If you have great images
on your site and people ask you to use them on their sites, require a backlink in exchange. The problem with images is that they
are so easily stolen. Stolen words can be uncovered with a web search. You could try to watermark images with a copyright symbol,
URL, and the link requirement. But in the process you'd make the image much less desirable.
Web Design Templates: These have been freely distributed for a long time. Yet they are even more easily stolen than
images. Also, if you embed a link in the footer of a web template, what you'll get back are sitewide links, which are often
thought to be filtered out in search engines.
Maximizing Content Distribution
Links' Effectiveness: Anchor Text
You need optimized anchor text to rank high for any competitive keyword. That means you need your target keyword in the anchor
text, and very importantly, variants of the target keyword (too many links with the exact same anchor text may be filtered). The
problem is that some sites by default don't let you choose the anchor text of the link to your site. So you need to: 1) look for
sites that do reprint content with optimized anchor text; 2) specifically ask for your target anchor text to be used. Also, do
keep in mind that a true natural linking structure will require you to have a number of links that are not anchor-text-optimized,
typically with the URL as the anchor text.
How to Find Sites
Finding sites to submit content is the biggest challenge. You can start by asking around to any other webmasters you already have
a relationship with. Next, web-search. The classic method is "submit article" + [keyword]. Most of the sites you find this way
won't be good candidates, which is why this can be a bit labor-intensive. I use offshore labor for this step, as well as a
program that will sort and store all the search results into a spreadsheet; otherwise it might not be worth it. Then again, the
same would be true for finding reciprocal linking partners.
The Independent Search Engine & Directory Network paid inclusion program can't be
matched by Google, Yahoo! or MSN. We offer:
Ethical Issues & Best Practices
Golden rule: remember that there's a human being who has to approve your article for submission.
Read and adhere to all submission guidelines.
Avoid automation. There's almost always some detail of submission that requires a human eye: a multitude of html formatting
requirements, changing site themes, etc.
Don't submit by email unless specifically instructed. Using a contact form prevents possible sp@m accusations.
Only approach websites that request content submissions.
Don't misrepresent reprint content as original.
Don't submit the same content too often. After about two hundred reprints, a lot of people will be seeing the same thing over
and over again and possibly complaining.
In short, as SEO gets more competitive, having more and more linking methods at your disposal gets more and more important. Don't
overlook this important tool.
About The Author
Contact Joel Walsh, a search engine copywriter and SEO professional for a quote on link building service:
http://www.upmarketseo.com.
