What’s Left for “Safe” Link Building? Specially after penguin 3.0 update

Chuck Price reckons that ‘The Penguin 3.0 Rollout Will Bring Tears to Your Eyes‘ and even quotes Mark Cutts in San Francisco, 2012 ” You don’t want the next Penguin update. The updates are going to be jarring and jolting for a while.” Google’s algorithm, code named Penguin, is the head-hunter for websites which try to boost traffic and Search Engine Rankings by manipulative link schemes. Although a drop in rankings wouldn’t necessarily mean a brush with Penguin, it’s pertinent to remember that keeping a spotless link profile and engaging in in-depth link audits and analyzing benefits everyone.

blog_image_learge1With Google disavowing Guest posting as spammy and a non-effective way of link-building because of regurgitated content that has a sneaky way of turning up over and over on websites thereby resulting in an inferior user experience, it is important to look into other forms of effective safe online content marketing strategies. With the internet drastically developing and changing the way information is published and shared, we should observe the effect it has had on internet marketing and adapt accordingly in tandem.
SEO experts are predicting the rise of variegated and creative content marketing plans which will not only create an increasing inflow of traffic and page rank, but also improved social media shares and engagement.

 

Research and Analyze

Intense research, accumulation of data and surveys regarding the impact on target audiences must be carried out before embarking on the journey to create content that will be not only creative but also informative and engaging.

When the time is right

Know what topics are relevant at the time and are bound to resonate with your readers. Bundle your sales strategy in a manner that suits the overall purpose and objective of your content. Let your content breath by giving it sufficient time to be read and shared intensively depending on your reader reach; creating too much content too soon reduces the impact a certain article might’ve had thereby curbed the possibility of discussion and debate it could’ve sparked.

Create quality content

Not just any content, it’s important to create content that is bound to grab the attention of the reader and hold it for a while. Being sincere in understanding the needs of the target audience or reader can help to achieve this, rather than focusing on writing that hard-sell a brand or a product.

Comparison is key

With numerous companies offering the same products and services as you, buyers have taken to engaging in proper research before proceeding with the actual purchase. Therefore, it’s important to promote objectivity by publishing comparative articles with relevant “Best of” or “Top 10” lists before turning them into potential customers.

Focus on visual content

Relevant images and infographics are sure to draw the attention of the reader as opposed to a body of text that might cause readers to skip bits and parts of the article, thereby resulting in an ineffective absorption of your carefully crafted content. While a well-written article is bound to captivate them till the very end, it’s important to complement them with engaging visual aids that are easily understandable.

Creating links organically

In a bid to keep your link profile squeaky clean, ensure that you’re inserting links relevant to the article. This means less of promotional links and more informative ones which automatically makes it seem sincere and genuine as opposed to obstructive and undesirable ones which take the focus away from your carefully crafted content.

Build a social media presence

It’s extremely important to devise a plan of action that ensures that the good content your company is working so hard to create and put out there doesn’t suffer from under-performance due to lack of exposure. In this age of internet revolution, it’s highly relevant to consider the impact social media networking can have on your sales and online marketing strategies. Positive comments and sharing can initiate a domino effect resulting in extreme inbound traffic, and therefore it’s important to build a presence with regular engagement on various social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and others. Likewise it’s important to identify your influencers, someone who was prompted to share your content, and maintain a positive and interactive relationship with them by assigning value to their content and products as well. Such influencers are precious as they consciously further your brand reach with links backs, comments and shares.

Facilitate human engagement on your page

In a cause and effect scenario, increased social media presence will result in a flood of traffic and conversation on your page around your article thereby making your content and your company seem more approachable and genuine. Building an audience is also important as it ensures brand loyalty in the long term.

Influential authors

Employ professional and influential writers who’ve made your niche of content creation their expertise. Encouraging them to share the content they’ve created to their social media circle is also a win-win situation for both of you and if they have a well-established presence on these networking sites, chances are there’ll be a volley of visitors soon enough.

Email marketing

More often than not it pays to go beyond the content on your page and if people are signing up for emails from you, chances are they are interested in hearing more. Place sign up forms in strategic but not on intrusive locations and put your heads together to release informative and relevant updates, exclusive previews of projects and event invites on a comfortable timeline to prevent them from being flagged as spam.
Content marketing is a potent tool for promotional purposes and must take into account a wide range of aspects, ranging from reader interaction, relevant keywords and linking, and when employed gainfully, can help a business scale new heights of brand loyalty and reach.