Sphinn Home » Link Building
Avatar Went Hot: August 7, 2008 - 4:57 am
Posted By: yourseomentor 32 days ago
Topic Type: News Story (Jump to http://www.toprankblog.com)
Category: Link Building
So is Link Building really dead take a look at what Lee Odden has to say! "However, there’s a big difference between link building to content & content promotion that attracts links. Long term, promotion of content that attracts relevant links from those empowered to publish will win."
19 Comments     

Comments

from Halfdeck 31 days ago #
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Great piece.

"Convincing web site owners that they need to create and promote content on an ongoing basis outside of their brochureware corporate site or online product catalog"

That can be a challenge. Some people just do not get it, probably not because the idea is complicated but because they want things easy. Directory/article submissions are easy and cheap (you get what you pay for); coming up with memorable service/content/tools is hard (and rewarding). Some people confuse creative content creation with charity. They don't see the point. Looking at their competitors' backlinks, they think all a site needs is a few more on-topic links to nail #1 rankings, so why sink money and time into content that isn't even designed to convert?

The truth is if you're looking for an SEO short cut, content promotion is it.

from JohnHGohde 31 days ago # - show/hide this comment
Votes: -2 | Vote:
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All websites need content, but blogs are one of the few website forms that require a rather constant rate of content creation, which should preclude their use by people with a full agenda.

In other words, not all types of websites need constant content creation for ranking well in Google.

from MikeDammann 31 days ago #
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I keep hearing about the need to update content, yet I see blogs with the last post made in 2006 rank for some pretty competitive keyphrases.

from toprank 31 days ago #
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The point of this post is not so much about ongoing creation of content, although if a company has something to say that's always a good idea.  It's about promoting content to attract links rather than relying solely on manual link requests and similar linking tactics.

If a company puts in the effort to create a web site then why not market and promote information of value to their communities of prospects? It's that simple.

from kevinheisler 31 days ago #
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Fantastic post, Lee. True thought leadership.

from TheMadHat 31 days ago #
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Isn't promoting content to attract links the definition of link building? I agree with the article, not particularly with the Sphinn title.

from iBrian 31 days ago #
Votes: 1 | Vote:
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It's an interesting peice, but I think too many people will walk away cheering "content is king!" when I think Lee is simply making the point that "marketing is king".

As Lyndon Antcliff made a point of recently, link baiting doesn't require good content - it requires exceptional content.

Content has never been king unless it could be directly promoted in front of an audience - usually that meant direct link building, Lee talks of indirect link building. But thinking content will sell itself is a half-cocked measure IMO.

2c.

from toprank 31 days ago #
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@iBrian YES! marketing is king.  Great content + great promotion = great links

from Halfdeck 31 days ago #
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"too many people will walk away cheering "content is king!""

Yeah, I hear too many people saying "I publised 1000 pages of "original" content but Google's not crawling my site."

But whether marketing or content is "king" is an empty debate. Clearly, a great product will eventually win the long game; and without something to sell there's nothing to market. Yet if you don't market and there's no word of mouth no one will find what you're selling. Marketers will all tell you marketing is king which is as much BS as the flip side of publishing 1000 pages of "original" content.

Bottom line its easier to gain visibility, eyeballs (and links) by attracting bees with honey - to take Lyndon's words - than trying to talk a bee into flying in your direction. Debra M also recently wrote a post about the importance of creative incentives in link building. Without incentives, link building is tough. Compelling content gives people that incentive. It's a marketer's strongest weapon.

from Halfdeck 31 days ago #
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I guess think of "Content" as Geico insurance and "Content Promotion" as a Caveman commercial. Traditional link building is calling up people on the phone asking to switch to Geico.

from cryptblade 31 days ago #
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Gee, this brouhaha has been going on for years. Content is king. Links are king. Blah blah blah. Geez - anything really new? The idea is still the same - building SOMETHING to attract links; be it written content, widgets, or whatever - something to gain links. But LINKS are what drives traffic, PageRank, and ultimately - SERP rankings. I can't believe this is still being promoted as if something new. Nothing's changed. Tactics have changed or expanded, but it's still the same. You have more options with content now - video, podcasts (boy, that really sounds like an old term now), widgets, content, etc. But links are still king.

from toprank 31 days ago #
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"Compelling content gives people that incentive. It's a marketer's strongest weapon."

Nuff said.

from iBrian 31 days ago #
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I think the important point isn't simply to build - but to promote.

It was only a few years ago that people in SEO would say that content was all important and that links had only limited value (seriously). "Build and they will come..."

But if you build, unless you have a marketing channel, they won't come because they can't find you. It used to be the case that you would need links, but in the modern world of SMO, link building can be more indirect. Which I think is the point Lee was trying to underline.

EDIT: That's just a general pointer on this thread, and not a direct response to Lee - he knows what he's talking about. :)

from JohnHGohde 31 days ago # - show/hide this comment
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Content is King.  Link Building is Queen.  Put them together and you got a Kingdom.

from MikeDammann 31 days ago #
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networking in general is king

from yojpotter2 30 days ago #
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I guess both is still equally ikmportant..it could be better if you have a great link building plan and a great content as well.

from syncsync 27 days ago #
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How about building links embedded into content?

from MikeDammann 27 days ago #
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links in content are best, but what works best if the link goes to an information page of the site with actually additional info on it

from toprank 12 days ago #
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@JohnHGohde I hope you don't mind but I borrowed your king/queen kingdom thing for a blog post today :)


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