Link Credibility

I’m not a fan of developing content and then sending it away to reside in an article directory. I’ve done that in the past but have never gotten anything substantial out of it long or short term. With so many being submitted, articles are quickly buried and out of site. It’s doubtful anyone looking for fresh information will spend much time searching past the first page of article titles.

This isn’t a put down of article directories; on the contrary, I’ve seen some great pieces in them. But the article directories only host information; they don’t enforce the proper use of the article or police them once they’ve been downloaded. That’s your job and quite frankly, the time you spend monitoring your article will trump the back links they bring in. (Many people simply do not comply with publication guidelines and provide hyperlinked bylines. )

Instead, use the articles you're creating to develop a premier resource center on your website. Once the section has been created, do a media and public relations blitz to let the world know they’re there, that you're the expert they need to quote in their next article and the one-stop authority spot for Product X. Your site benefits and the noise you make within your industry to customers, the public and the media will help establish you as a key player.

For the last couple of years I’ve offered a content generation tactic I call “Link Libraries”. In a nutshell, it’s a service that adds content to a site and then promotes it to the media. It’s a solid tactic that generates links and establishes the site as a key information provider to journalists in a specific niche. I’ve added articles, white papers, surveys, reviews, etc – any type of information a customer may look for to help make a purchase decision.

There are two key factors to making this one of the best link building tactics available today.

1. You have to have good information to showcase
2. You need to find the right people to show it off to.

I believe credibility in the content creation tactic is the key driving force for securing links. People automatically assign credibility to information they read in news sources, presented by journalists, or find naturally on informational/review publications.

Develop solid content and find your media people on resource sites such as Burrelles Luce, your industry Association and even local Chambers. Search on keywords “free press release services” and you’ll find tons of sites that will send a release free-of-charge. ( most offer premier paid versions as well).