10 Secrets to Creating A Scalable Link Building Strategy

Every step of SEO involves a process of analysis and research. It is not just about possessing the knack for finding out the right keywords to land on the first page of Google search results.

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10 Secrets to Creating A Scalable Link Building Strategy

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Danielle Canstello is party of the content marketing team at Pyramid Analytics. They provide enterprise level analytics and business intelligence software. In her spare time, she writes around the web to spread her knowledge of the marketing, business intelligence and analytics industries.

Every step of SEO involves a process of analysis and research. It is not just about possessing the knack for finding out the right keywords to land on the first page of Google search results. Relevance may come first when ranking, but popularity keeps you in the game.
In the digital age, when you strike gold with popularity, it is important to keep that momentum alive. It will surprise you that popularity is not achieved in the blink of an eye. So how do we do this? By building links that are organic.

Today, we will share with you the secrets to creating an ethical strategy that will help your site or your page to have a network of links built without the danger of the Google algorithm working against your efforts. In this article, you won’t find a piece of advice that tells you to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars for people to post your links on comment sections, forums, and websites.

If you are a small to medium-sized enterprise, an agency, a content and site creator, or a writer, you stand to benefit from having a scalable link building strategy. Here are the ten secrets of some of the best content creators today.

SECRET #1: NARROWING DOWN TO THE IDEAL AUDIENCE

Even if you already have a target market in mind, building that audience is often trickier than it seems. Fortunately, there are several sites, tools, and applications that can point out the recurrent and concurrent patterns of your target market. One such tool is Facebook’s Audience Insight, which is available to Page owners.

This helps you know more about your target market and which subset of people are more likely to become your main and repeat audience. What may also surprise you is that a certain set of people who are outside of your target market may be the perfect audience for your content due to patterns in their online presence.

Such activities to look for are the frequency of sharing articles, tagging or mentioning friends, and the type of friends on their list. Remember, you are trying to capture a set of people who are more likely to build links for you naturally.

SECRET #2: FINE-TUNING CONTENT ACCORDING TO YOUR AUDIENCE

To fine-tune your content, you need to measure up to the trinity of ideation: identity, emotion, and utility. An article best hits an audience in the core when it has all three.

Identity shows the audience that you understand who they are and the exact situation they are in. Some think pieces can even make a reader realize something that they have not previously known about themselves.

Emotion is not limited to provoking deep and meaningful thoughts from the audience. You can simply provide entertainment or inspiration. If you can make ten people laugh or smile throughout the day, you can be sure that they will remember and mention you—the digital equivalent of which is shares or mentions.

Utility is giving your audience a direction. It provides the audience with a solution or an idea to fix a problem, making their lives easier.

SECRET #3: RE-PURPOSING CONTENT

If you are creating content in one form, why not expand it to other forms? This is a strategy used by many content creators to survive. Sometimes it is something as simple as turning a thought or quote into an attractive typography image or a popular meme.

An established blogger will not stick to articles alone. They will branch out to other media for more engagement. They will start to create videos and post images.

Meanwhile, a video content creator may want a transcription of their content or a corresponding article for each video they upload. This brings us to the next two steps.

SECRET #4: CREATING A DATABASE OF AUDIO OR VISUAL CONTENT

Creating images, videos, and audio does not only serve you. Bloggers are always on the lookout for unique images and videos that they can use on their own websites. You can offer exclusive access to your own media library for a guarantee that the premium content used is linked back and attributed to you.

Make sure that your content is also Pinterest-friendly as it is a popular sharing and marketing platform.

SECRET #5: DISTRIBUTION OF CONTENT

The most prolific content creators are no longer sticking to just one platform. Whenever a new and more engaging social media platform is made available, you can guarantee that they will be dipping into that pool.

Bloggers no longer stick to posting text articles. They also create videos to post on YouTube and Facebook. They will also have Instagram pages containing images and video teasers.

YouTube vloggers, Instagram influencers, and digital gurus will also have a website that contains more information about them or their brand. It will contain more in-depth information that certain audiences want to know.

This means that you have to distribute your content to several different websites and platforms, so you have to make sure that your media is viewer-friendly and easily sharable.

SECRET #6: KNOW WHAT’S VIRAL

Keeping an eye on posts that are on their way to becoming viral has become easier over the years. Performing a simple refined Google Search or checking on rising and top Reddit posts is just a few keyboard strokes away. However, do not be a content mill that just creates word-for-word duplicates. Add value and originality to your own posts by referring back to the trinity of content ideation mentioned in Secret #2.

SECRET #7: CHECKING OUT THE COMPETITION

Sit back and look at your competition as your contemporaries. Without having to go through the same amount of research and analysis as them, you can find out who their target audience is, who their sources are, and their valuable partners and relationships.

This gives you an idea of their strategy that you can incorporate into your own strategy or tweak according to your goals. Reaching out to their partners is as easy as searching for a contact page or an email address. Once you have created a database of these contacts, use it wisely and to your advantage.

SECRET #8: REVERSE GUEST BLOGGING

Now that you have a contact list, pare it down to create a guest list. Companies use guest blogging to promote awareness of their brands and products. This allows them to have several platforms that cater to different people without having to create and keep up accounts and pages.
What you can do is offer your own site as a platform to these companies or individuals whose work is relevant to your own brand or idea. You can invite them to create a guest post that you would be willing to post on your site. This creates a symbiotic relationship between both parties involved. You can tap into their audience as they link back to their own post that you’re hosting on your site.

SECRET #9: INTERVIEW THE INFLUENTIAL

Another benefit to the contact list that you have created is finding out where the spheres of influence lie. Some examples are experts, famous people, endorsers, or reliable sources on the subject. Posting an interview with an influencer gives you authority. Conducting an interview from a unique angle will give your readers insight that they have never had before.

An interview could also lead to other opportunities such as follow-up interviews, collaborations, guest blogging, or even an introduction to another influencer.

SECRET #10: ACQUIRING OLD CONTENT

With millions of web pages available to the public, you are bound to find a few that are relevant to your own content. While some are no longer updated, you can use these pages to link back to your own through acquisition. This may cost you money and require some effort on your part, so make sure to do your research on the viability and feasibility of each piece of content.

Once you have found some content that you can reuse, you may contact the creator or owner and make a proposal. You may buy and update the page, linking your own page as a source or as additional reading on the updated information.

START A STRATEGY NOW, EXPAND THE STRATEGY LATER

A strategy for link building is one that continues to grow. You do not stick to a tried-and-tested strategy for ten years. You branch out to other areas that others have explored or are yet to be explored. The internet is a multi-faceted wonder that allows for creativity.

With the wealth of tools available for SEO, you can easily measure existing pages and base your future content and its survival on them. Do not stop generating leads that can help your cause, and continue to reach out to other people who will add value to your content.

Expanding your strategy to adapt to changing times and evolving internet users takes time, effort, and money. Make sure each step in your strategy counts by wisely using the data that you have collected. And who knows, maybe you will discover the 11th secret to building organic links!

Which strategies have you used to build links to your website? Tell us in the comment section below!

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