« Finally ... John Dvorak Exposes SEO Industry | Main | Optimized Press Releases Keep Your Company's Name in Front of Customers »
Is Your Industry too Boring for Link Building?
February 11, 2009
So often as I am discussing link building strategies or the concept of link bait, I am faced with the same question:
"Aren't we too boring for all this? Who is going to want to link to us? All we do is (fill in the blank)."
The short answer is no. You are not too boring. Why? Because in every industry, every niche, SOMEONE cares about what you're doing.
The long answer involves discussions around target markets and their demographics, the various services offered, and industry trends. Since it's a bit complicated, let's take a purely hypothetical example.
Let's say we are dealing with a client who sells pens. Not too sexy, right? I mean, they're pens. Everyone can get them and you can pretty much get them anywhere. Even gas stations. Well, let's take it a step further and say that these pens are around $150 each. Why would people want to buy a pen for $150 when they can get 12 pens for around $2? That becomes the source of our link bait and link building campaign.
Asking questions like this is the next step for designing a campaign for a seemingly boring industry. What makes your pen worth $150? Can you write under water with it? Is the quality of the actual shell of the pen magnificent? Does this pen never, ever, in a million years "skip" when you're writing unless it's completely out of ink? Does it have some sort of indicator to let you know when it is about to run out of ink? What about refills? Do customers get them when they initially purchase the pen? How expensive are they? What type of ink is it? Has it been safety tested around kids? Pets? Is it child-proof?
Of course, this is all hypothetical. But when you hit on that one thing that makes this pen stand above the rest, you have your link bait concept. Branching out from there, you need to find the people who would want this pen. Business executives, writers, celebrities who sign a lot of autographs, lawyers... there are people out there who will not only love your product but want to tell others how great it is too. How about people who just plain love pens? Don't think they exist? I beg to differ. So, where do you find them? Blogs, social networks, resource sites, and other authority hubs will be the go-to locations to find these people. Simple queries will tell you where you should start researching. From their, the web of links that you are sure to find will also give you more avenues to pursue.
Now, what do you tell these people when you find them? You can do a myriad of things on your site and show it to your target market. Showing a video of all the amazing things your pen can do would be one option - Blendtec perfected this with their "Will it Blend?" series. How about a contest? An interactive widget? User-generated lists of what people want in their perfect pen? Top 10 lists?
All of these are good options. By really working to match your efforts with your target market, you will see the benefit as people blog about your pen, post links on their sites back to yours and help you spread the word about your magnificent pen.
My point is that no matter what you're selling or trying to promote, someone out there wants to hear about it. Combining elements like quality and differentiators with your target market and a catchy way to grab their attention will generate links before you know it.
All posts by Angela Moore
posted by Angela Moore at February 11, 2009 07:07 AM
Intrapromote: [ Case studies | SEO services | Bios ]
Trackback Pings
To TrackBack this entry, use the following URL:
http://seoblog.intrapromote.com/mt-tb.cgi/595
Comments
This is a nice explanation of simple thing. Thanks Angela. What I would like to however know and many of us is about how to create such link bait when we are in a very 'competitive service industry' e.g hotels or when you are just a reseller website?
You actually need a value add. Isn't it?
Posted by: Shadab Malik at February 12, 2009 05:26 AM
Great article! There are many site owners that don't realize their potential market until someone comes along to educate them about it.
Posted by: Jason Nadaf at February 12, 2009 01:49 PM
@Shadab - Yes, value add is very important and I'll be posting in the next few weeks about different types of sites and the link development potential that surrounds each. It's a great question and one that often is a roadblock for link builders.
Posted by: Angela Moore at February 21, 2009 07:44 AM
Great article!
Often i had come to know that there are many site owners that don't realize their potential market until someone comes along to educate them about it.
Keep up the good work!!
Posted by: Search Engine Optimization Service at February 22, 2009 09:36 AM
"Combining elements like quality and differentiators with your target market and a catchy way to grab their attention will generate links before you know it." Thanks for this information,keep it up.
by: ricka
Posted by: los angeles seo at February 26, 2009 02:03 AM
Hello Angela, I was looking for some articles to give as a reference for our link building newbies and this does give that proverbial silver lining in every link builders stormy search for links.Thanks!
Posted by: Gladys Ross at March 9, 2009 04:57 PM
Boring as it may be, link building is still one activity that needs our attention. Nice post, thanks for sharing this information.
Posted by: Chaunna Brooke at March 31, 2009 12:09 AM
Nice Post Angela, keep it up.
Tim
Posted by: Srilanka Web Hosting at May 31, 2009 09:01 AM
Hello Angela, I am totally agree with you that the quality matters. You got excellent views. Thanks for such a nice article.
Posted by: Seo Expert at January 15, 2010 03:55 PM