Link Building – The New School

Have you ever heard people use the phrase “new school” and “old school”? They are talking about ways of doing things, or certain styles and fashions. Something is considered “new school” if it’s a radical departure from how we dressed, thought, acted or behaved in the past. “Old school” refers to ideas, beliefs, designs and such that have been around for what seems like forever. When you think about link building for your SEO business, are you old or new school?

The truth is, most of us are still thinking in pre-Internet days of how to run a business. Worse yet, we may have the right thinking cap on, but we are applying the wrong techniques. How many clients have you run across who think SEO is all about buying links or spamming their content to everyone, everywhere?

Old school link building doesn’t have to refer to techniques that are shunned nowadays; it can also mean using traditional methods that have become staples of SEO – viral marketing, good content production, etc. These methods are great, and are what most SEO companies are using, but just like everything else – times change, technology changes and search strategies change. It’s time to put on the new school hat and see how we can make link building something that doesn’t just promote our sites in the rankings, but blows them clear to the top!

The first idea is to partner up. So many sites want everyone to link to them, but never link to anyone else. The fact of the matter is it is OK to link to other sites and to help promote them – it’s a mutual agreement that can help boost both sites involved. Say you are involved with a site that is dealing with weight loss; what about a partner site that deals with exercise gear or clothing? A perfect partnership that shares content, links and helps each other grow.

Money talks – so why not release financial information (controlled, of course) and let the links pour in. You’ll be surprised at how many blogs and sites love to link back to financial information. Even if your client is a private company, you can encourage them to release scraps of information that will encourage others to link back.

Use your e-mail list – wisely. Opt-in means that people actually want to hear from you – how much more can a marketer ask for? Use your e-mail list wisely and drop link-worthy content out to the list every once in a wheel. Consider hosting multiple lists, or investing in segmentation software that helps you identify who might be interested in what. You’ll be surprised at how much buzz and links you can generate just by using this old school tool (e-mail) a new way.

Get the marketing folks involved. When working with most clients they will have a PR or marketing department, so why not make nice with them and try and form a mutual alliance? After all, there job is to promote the company and your job is to promote the site. Work in tandem with each other to help both goals at the same time.

Finally, consider giving something away for free. People love to link back and reference valuable information, especially if it traditionally comes at a cost. Encourage your clients to identify services or information that can be released free of charge to encourage link backs. The money they lose giving it away for free may easily be paid back in the boost their site gets through the links.