If you want inbound links, it makes sense that you then have to offer content worth linking to. That requires creating content your target market needs, is searching for, and can put to use.
Someone stops by, reads your stuff. “Wow! That's good stuff! I'm going to share it on my Twitter account!”
Or a blogger writing an article on their website looks for a resource or how-to article that compliments what they are writing about. They find your article. It fits the bill, and they link to you in their post.
One of the questions I get asked most after a new WordPress website is launched is concerning acquiring inbound links. Unlike back in the day where people linked to other sites with abandon, in 2021, you need to have outstanding content.
Can you explain in a “simple and clear” way what you need to do to get those coveted backlinks that search engines look at to determine rankings.
Many Clients
Here you go — simple and clear:
Create Content Worth Linking To
craft, craft·ing
1. To make by hand.
2. To make or construct (something) in a manner suggesting great care or ingenuity.
We are not talking about slapping up just any content you can throw together. However, creating that link-worthy content is a lot of work because to be “link-worthy” means:
- You are providing needed information that many are looking for and seeking out.
- You've SEO'd your content because you did keyword research to know the terms folks would use to search for and find what you have to offer.
- Providing a different spin or point of view than all the other stuff already out there makes your article/page/post unique.
- Your content is well written, credible, and informative — in other words, it has substance.
Now to the reality check.
Work on Becoming a Better Writer
Anything of true quality takes time, effort, and skill to create. No wham-bam-thank-you-mams here. If you claim you want rankings, more exposure, more inquiries, you've got to have content that rocks.
Content that impresses. Your content shows that you clearly know your stuff. Content that drives folks to want to share, subscribe, sign-up, and buy whatever you have to offer.
I've worked with many folks that want to add content on their own terms, in their own style. Be darned with learning how to write for an online audience. Sorry, that's not how this works.
Do you feel as though you are not up to the content challenge? You are not alone. Producing great content is something every website owner struggles with. But that doesn't change the facts on the ground.
We all have to work hard to be better writers and communicators. However, doing so will benefit your business in more ways than just acquiring inbound links alone.
If you don't embrace becoming a better writer, you need to hire someone to write for you. Otherwise, do not complain that “I am nowhere to be found on search engines.”
You Must Write Right
I write a lot. Between writing for GoDaddy, my two other blogs, and this site, I write pretty much every day. And with that, I am still constantly working on my writing skills *. Like most things that have to do with online, it is a never-ending learning process.
With that, there are times I struggle with writer's block. Other times I don't feel like writing at all. But I push through and create. This is the approach you need to take as well.
- You can start with an outline of the points or story you want to tell and then fill in the content.
- Investigate post topics, start posts, and keep them in draft until you are ready to publish.
- Schedule time to create great content. Plan on writing over several days until you get it just right.
- When you are ready to publish, wait until the next day to do the final review. You will be surprised at the typos and choppy sentences you find when you reread with a clear head.
I never publish a post I am not proud of. That means I've read and reread, check, and rechecked for any errors. I rewrite, delete blocks and add blocks. With that said, I can go back to pretty much anything I've written and find something to modify or improve upon.
Why put all this effort into building your writing skills? Because creating great content is the best way to build a foundation for good things to happen over time. Writing a 1,000-2,000 word quality post every week builds the perception of your expertise, authority and trust factors.
Not only with search engines but with potential customers. Which, in my view, is even more important. Shallow brochureware “websites” rarely instill the confidence to produce any tangible results.
Switch the Pitch for Value
Too many create pages that are filled with sales-pitchy blah-blah-blah. And way too many !!!!!!!!s. Boring stuff that folks won't read. Not link-worthy.
Some write what they think they need to say in a non-personal unemotional manner. Readers cannot relate to that type of content. Don't make them wonder if there is a living, breathing human being behind your website.
Others write shallow articles in purpose and do not teach or guide readers on anything of benefit. Here again, not link-worthy.
Then some post other author's articles on their site. That's called Guest Blogging or Posting. Been there; done that. Rarely could I find a writer willing to write the quality stuff that met my standards, spoke to my site visitors, and was not shallow and/or self-serving.
Most of the submitted guest posts were not unique enough to link to because similar articles are already on other sites. By the way, years ago, Google blogged about the decay and fall of guest blogging.
Unique to You
Truly link-worthy content is not cookie-cutter content. Yet, that is exactly why one-way inbound links indicate to search engines that the content linked to has value because those links are not handed out easily.
Try to manipulate that, and you will get whacked. By manipulate buying links or keyword stuffing to the point the post is not readable (or writing for search engines, not site visitors), by whacked I mean, a penalty by Google that can negatively impact your rankings.
Link-worthy content is not something you can easily dish out. That is why certain Blogs (not every Blog) are so popular. They get it. They invest in consistently writing great stuff for their target market.
When you add your unique perspective, opinion, attitude, and personality, that's when blog posts become link-worthy fodder, all the while offering the info your target market finds compelling.
If you've read any of my other articles, you know that I'm big on you being you. There is only one “YOU.” Use you to your advantage by weaving your personality throughout your writings. Find your voice. Your unique voice helps to make your content unique to you and different from everything else already out there.
You do know what your site visitors struggle with, need to know, need help with, right? If not, look at your inquiries, server logs, market data, and industry stats and get to know your target market intimately.
READ: How to Get Inbound Links (and Networking Opportunities)
Write to Help and Inform
Then write posts that make their life easier. Answer their most asked questions. Educate them on topics they thought they knew but, thanks to you, found they still had more to learn.
Once your content is buffed and shined, share it on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook (at least). Then share it again. Yep, having a website that gets found means you need to be a social butterfly. And not just auto-posting — you need actually to be social.
Now you know what to do to start crafting your link-worthy content. The sooner you begin, the sooner you'll are honing your skills. And finding your unique voice.
You'll get more inbound links, improve rankings, you'll build trust, and grow your market over time. No way around this, so what are you waiting for? Chop-Chop!
At your service,
