Link Building Strategies for Success in 2015

Online marketing experts agree that link building, also known as authority management, is one of the best strategies a website can implement to increase search engine ranking, authority and traffic.

At its core, link building is all about leveraging the authority of one site to increase the authority of another. Any time that one website links to another website, some of the original website’s authority is passed on to the website that it is linking to. Typically, this is done by creating content and placing it on the “linking” site. It’s as simple as this sounds, but if it is not done well it can be very unsuccessful at passing authority, and this could cause a site to get penalized by Google or another search engine.

The following tips will not only help you get the most authority from your links, but also help you to avoid penalties.

Focus on Creating Valuable Content

By far the best way to begin a link building campaign is to focus on creating quality, valuable content. Since link building is all about leveraging other sites authority, you need to have something of value to offer those sites, and content is extremely valuable.

Create content that is focused, unique and appealing to readers. You are not just creating content that is going to be put on a website, you are creating content for the readers and clients of that website or blog. So take the time to study the audience and past content on websites you intend to reach out to.

Target Narrow, Relevant Websites for Guest Blogging

When beginning to link build and create content it is easy to find places that will accept your content. However, not all websites are created equal, and some can actually be harmful. Avoid blogs and websites that have large amounts of broad categories. While some of these websites can be fine to post on, the search engines do not think highly of a majority of them.

Instead, focus on websites that specialize in the same services and products that you do. Not only will you be able to produce content that they will find valuable and understand, your potential audience and customer base is probably reading these blogs as well.

Get Creative with Your Content

Anyone can write up a simple top ten list. In order to stand out to readers and to the websites you are reaching out to, you need to be creative with your ideas, topics and content. Take the time to come up with in-depth articles that are focused and different than all of the other content that is out there.

Content does not have to be just an article, either. Consumers and websites both like content that is engaging, to the point and easy to consume. Consider creating infographics, videos and visual aids instead of or paired with written articles.

Promote Your Content on Social Media

The end result of link building is to gain both search engine authority and traffic. While a majority of that traffic may come from increased rankings in the search engines, you can also build traffic by leveraging the authority that is gained by eyes that read your content.

Create social media campaigns on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ to complement your guest blogging efforts. This can be as simple as providing links on social networks when your articles get published, and creating pre-publish campaigns to get people excited about your upcoming posts. It can be as detailed as hosting Google Hangouts to take Q&A’s about articles you have published, or even recording and posting an interview with someone from the website where your content is posted.

Link building is something that businesses and websites should engage in if they are looking to increase authority, rankings and traffic. If done correctly, it can be a great strategy that will bring you much success. Focus on looking for relevant blogs where you can place valuable and creative content, and do everything you can to leverage your efforts on social media for maximum success.