What are backlinks and why they matter?
A backlink simply put is an incoming link from an external website to specific webpage. For example, if you have published a webpage and 20 other websites link to it, your webpage has 20 backlinks. Links to the page from within your own website are not included in the backlink total.
The number of backlinks on a website is a good indicator of its popularity. Search engines, namely Google, give more credit to websites that have a larger number of quality contextual backlinks and consider those websites more relevant in a search query.
Higher and relevant the number of backlinks a website has, better would the site be ranked
Are all backlinks of equal value?
Only contextual backlinks are valuable for your site and can help boost ranking of your website carry same value. Contextual backlinks are the links to external websites that are placed within the main or primary content of a web page.
- They come naturally within content.
- They are not placed within the navigation, sidebars, widgets, footer or ads
What is the value of good content and its significance in getting links from other sites?
If you have effective content, great design ,that’s enough to ensure that Google would love you and you would be ranked high. Effective content becomes a necessity more than a need when you want to publish your content on someone else’s website and are in dire need of backlinks.
The content should be relevant to both your and the prospect’s audience. Gone are the days when google used to rank you high just on the basis of number of backlinks. If you are receiving a backlink from an irrelevant site that doesn’t go well with your website, search engines like google further penalizes you and you face a drop in your ranking.
Digital Content Strategy – 5 Tips to write content that deserves to get links:
I have come up with a few tips that would surely help you to write the the content that would actually get you the link you deserve. So let’s get started!!!
1.Back your data with facts and figures
The data that is not backed by a relevant source won’t fly in the blogging world any more.
As per the research done by Moz, it was found that “people prefer to link to content that is data backed and provides new insights”. Also, the content with the highest links: to shares ratio was content that provided unique research.
Part of the secret of writing content that gets links lies in writing content that gets shares.Since the original research possess a great potential to be shared heavily, that also means more exposure and, in turn, more links.
2.Attention Grabbing titles
This is the first thing a reader sees in your post.A good headline not just sparks interest but also tempts a reader to dig into it. As per great statistics from Copyblogger:
- 80% of people will read your headlines.
- But only 20% of those people will read the rest of your content!
And that is why the headline is as important as the article or post itself if not more. Below are some tips for effective title/headlines:
- Specifics are more believable than generalities
- Long headlines that say something are more effective than short headlines that say nothing
- Include numbers or some fact in your heading to make it more appealing
3. Try to cross the 2,000 words mark
You would be amazed to know that Google gives ranking priority to articles around 2,000 words in length .There’s a reason why long-form content ranks on the first page, and that’s because it gets links!
When you write long content, you are not increasing the chance that a user would spend more time on page and eventually share it across. So let your thoughts be out and be as descriptive as you can.
4. Supplement your content with multimedia (Videos, Infographics)
First impression is the last impression.As per a study by Xerox it was found that colored illustrations can lead to more people reading a post as high as by 80%.Further, when you create original infographics/visuals, you’re increasing your chance to get links.
Just like original data, this is something that would be unique to you and unavailable elsewhere on the web, so if blogger wants to use your visual , he/she is going to list you as source and link you.
5.Keyword stuffing is no longer the key to success, instead, create a Pillar Page
If there would be a lot of keywords in your post it’ll negatively impact the readability of your content, its conversion rate and how well it ranks in the SERPs. Further, the users would bounce back and you’ll face a drop in ranking.Websites usually don’t like to link the sites that are high in this aspect. So include only few and relevant keywords in your post.
A modern strategy would be to create a Pillar Page and corresponding Topic clusters for your content around all relevant keywords
Pillar pages are a great effort to teach your audience something that they find important and relevant.
Topic clusters and pillars are perfect for onboarding campaigns, content marketing strategies, lead generations, your remarketing strategies.
Developing pillar pages should not be only about filling your funnel but it should also contribute to digital marketing strategy.
Conclusion:
I know it’s easier said than done. But if you’ll incorporate all these points in your content, then would be able to reap the benefits and you’ll surely get the links you deserve.Below is the quick snapshot of what you need to take care of:
- Source of data
- Count of linked Keywords
- Interesting/Engaging headlines
- Length of the article
- Inclusion of Multimedia
