The latest
Google Penguin Update has touched many Webmasters in all the wrong ways. The other day I was watching an old video of
Matt Cutts
explaining how to build Google friendly links that do not harm your
website/blog’s ratings in any way. I am not sure if all of you have
watched the particular video, but here are some quick pointers from the
video, that can help anyone build good amount of organic backlinks. I
really wanted to blog about these as they are awesome techniques :-
1. Start a Controversy
Writing
controversial content is one of the ways that can help you get
attention to your website or blog. There are famous blogs on the
Internet that are always using this technique to garner attention. You
can write about bad customer service, share your experiences, start a
“sucks” post, make a versus comparison etc. The way this benefits your
website is by getting people from both sides (for and against) paying
attention to the content. But you should be careful that you don’t
overdo this trick as it might get you labelled as a hater. There is a
thin line between writing controversial content and spreading
unnecessary hatred. So if you are able to write interesting
controversial content, people will definitely like to link to your blog.
2. Participate in the Community
There
are various websites that allow you to answer questions posted by other
people (asking for help etc.). These can be related to any subject that
might interest you and when you do this, you are adding value to the
community. You are also allowed to leave your links on such websites
which is a way of positive link building. Gradually, people will start
recognizing your genuine efforts and in turn link to your website.
3. Original Research
According
to Matt, if you do even a little bit of original research on a topic
and provide analysis and results to the community, people will want to
link to you. This does require a little bit of homework and efforts from
your side but the results can be very beneficial for your website. For
example, Danny Sullivan in this
post
compares which e-mail services filters the most spam from the inbox and
provides the results. Such articles/content can contribute towards
building automatic links for you free of cost.
4. Newsletters
If
you already have a readership or following, its easy to get people link
to your website by sending out helpful articles and content through
newsletters. Newsletters might be old school marketing but they still
work
5. Social Media
Social
Networking websites can be a great place to earn the attention that you
website or blog wants. If people are spending 5-6 hours of their time
on Twitter or Facebook, then you should be spending some of your time on
those sites too. Connecting with people and talking/conferencing about
the topics that concern you will get you good links.
6. Resource Lists
I
am sure everyone has seen such lists like, “50 ways to build
backlinks”, “100 creative WordPress Themes” etc. These lists are usually
a compilation of different resources available on the Internet but
getting them in one place and handing out to the people can definitely
earn you their respect and in the due course, backlinks. There is sure
chance of getting stumbled or dugg if the resource list is extensive and
helpful.
7. Build a Blog
If you are running a website and
not writing a blog, you are losing out big time. Almost all companies
abreast of the happenings on the Internet do have a blog on their
websites as it helps them to reach out to their users in a personal
basis. Blogs are the most viral and authoritative way to earn backlinks.
It doesn’t matter if you are getting links back to your content. Just
your post title/s (if its unique) can help people search for that
particular content which might not be available anywhere on the Internet
world. Its that amazing
8. Distribute Free Product or Service
If
you can afford the time, you should think about building up a free
digital product or service and allow people to download it (e.g,
E-books, WordPress themes, plugins, templates, Firefox Extension, etc).
This will make people like you and in turn link to you.
I hope you like these tips. Do leave a comment
