Mother of All Link Building Strategies

Good content is, in my opinion, one the most important components of the link gathering process. This was so important that I made a point to devote a major portion of my Paid Links Presentation at PubCon to content. Sounds odd, and it was different from what the other panelists talked about, but it was important to stress because paid links will not benefit your site in the long run in terms of organic backlink growth if the content is less than good. You might as well be watering a rock instead of a seed.

There is nothing like engaging, well written content, authored by an authority (preferably credentialed) in her/his field, to open doors to one way inbounds. It makes the inbound link gathering process so much easier. The move to quality content is not about receiving a pat on the back from Matt or getting the white hat award and feeling good about telling your family about your site. Producing quality content in today's algo intensive environment is increasingly another strategy for obtaining more traffic and revenue. Quality content, and lots of it, is a sound business decision.

What is Quality Content?
We all think we know what quality content is, but I am consistently amazed at how many clients confuse sales copy for actual content. Sales copy is not content. Quality content is useful and helpful, generally written by someone possessing a quality that makes them an expert. For example, for a travel site, it could be that the writer actually lives in the country being promoted, or has actually visited the cities.

Two of the higher quality content producers about SEO, in my opinion, are rustybrick and Aaron Wall. Both produce solid waves of well-informed content, engagingly written, easy to read, and lots of it. I don't know if it's a conscious style or just their natural voices, but they have a knack for organizing their thoughts and presenting them in a clear manner. I think their model of quality writing can serve as a template for just about any niche.

The quality of their content doesn't stop at what they write, either. It's in the visual presentation, including the ability to quickly scan the page for information, graphic elements, and navigation/user interface. All of these elements play into establishing and reinforcing the quality aspect of their writing and the site itself.

Intergrating Quality Content with a sales pitch
Keeping to the topic of trave, suppose you have a destination site. You can plug the individual hotels, but you could also write content relevant to the travelers researching things to do on a vacation and tie it in to that hotel. Instead of pages of content about the hotels, do something to catch the demographic likely to stay in the hotel. For instance, if you're plugging hotels in Cordoba, you can do pieces about the attractions and restaurants in the historic Jewish Quarter, then tie it in with the conveniently located hotel that is walking distance from all the major attractions, and how the hotel makes it great to enjoy the vacation etc. This hotel tends to sell out rooms, so you may want to check reservations here... click!

The content isn't sales copy, but it does have a sales component, but it's also helpful and useful to the user. These are the qualities that will help a site, any site, obtain more one-way inbounds over another site that is less useful.

Credibility and the quest for one-way inbounds
My experience with one-way inbound links is that many site admins are looking for information about the authors of the content. Many seek information about the authors, and this is where an About section plays an important role. Do take the opportunity to use the About page as a sales tool aimed at site admins considering giving you a one-way inbound link. Sell your authority and credibility to them, give them a reason to link to you.