Give Links to Get Links
Writing by Brick Marketing in Link Building
If you’re a smart website owner you know the importance of links. Inbound links to your website from relevant sources pass on a “trust factor” to the search engines. It’s easy to become so consumed with getting inbound links that website owners can forget that outbound linking can be part of an inbound linking strategy too. Confusing? Let’s explain.
As gigantic as the web is, if you think about it, it can really be broken up into separate communities or niches. Each business is part of a community with other individuals and businesses that are in the same or related niches. For the most part, everyone within the community is using similar tactics. They follow each other in social media, visit and comment on the same blogs, are listed in the same directories, attend the same webinars, etc. Not everyone within the community is a direct competitor and community members can help each other out. One way to get noticed by other industry members is to link to them.
Outbound linking to the work of others (as long as it is relevant to do so) promotes goodwill among your online “crowd”. It gets you noticed by other website owners in a similar niche and they will be more likely to return the favor. If you have a website that receives a respectable amount of traffic, why not be generous from time to time? When it comes to link building, giving can help get you something in return.
This concept applies to all links, including links in social media. In fact, social media is where this strategy might work best. If other members in your industry “community” are protective over their website content, they may be more lenient with social media links. Don’t undervalue these links! Social media sharing should be viewed as a two way street. Re-tweet and Share the work of others and they will notice and likely return the favor. If all you do is take, and don’t give, less people will be likely to help you out.
If you are going to use this strategy to get attention and build inbound links, you better have something good to offer. A website owner isn’t going to link to you just because you linked to them. You need to offer good content that will be useful to their audience somehow. Website owners need to trust you before linking to you and this trust is established by creating good quality content over time and on a regular basis.
Remember to be careful when using this strategy. Don’t go overboard and don’t go in with high expectations thinking that everyone you link to will link right back. It doesn’t work like that. Use this strategy in moderation only and when it makes the most sense to do so. Linking out to others everyday is spammy and bordering on “link exchange” territory.
As a website owner you know how great it is to get a natural link. Other website owners feel the same way. They are constantly monitoring their traffic sources and checking their inbound link portfolio. If they see one from you, you will stand out and be remembered. While they might not return the favor right away, they will keep you in mind for the future and if they need to link out to a source you will be at the top of their list.
