The 4 Levels of Link Building

SEO experts and internet marketing professionals know that the key to high search engine rankings is link building.They will also tell you that link building is not all that easy until you have done it for awhile, and that there are so many techniques for link building that It is hard to sort them all out.Here are the 4 levels of link building to take you from novice to expert.

1.Do It Yourself, Quick and Easy.The easiest links to build are those for which you do not have to rely on anyone but yourself.The easiest way to do this is to submit your site to directories.Simply submit your URL, the name of your company, and a short description of your company.Know before you begin that directories are managed by humans, so you may not see results right away.Also know that some directories require a small fee for your listing.

You should also use social media as a way to get links to your page.SEO experts do not find these crucial to success, but they are still a pretty simple and cheap way to target an audience that is going to be using the sites anyway.

2.Do It Yourself, Not So Quick and Easy.Before you start on Level 2, make sure you have started a business blog.This is crucial if you want to have good content to which others can link.And the way you are going to get these links is through press release optimization and article marketing.

When you are writing your articles and your press releases, always keep your keyword strategy at the front of your mind.Links should coincide with your strategy.Before you send your press releases and articles into the ether, use a press release grader to see if they pass muster.

3.Networking Plus Significant Time.Networking is by far the most effective way to get links to your site.It is time consuming and it can be frustrating, but it can also get you results that you never dreamed of.There are many ways to go about this type of networking, but the key is putting yourself amongst those who are potentially interested in what you have to say.

The best way to do this is to establish yourself as an expert in your niche.But never make people feel like they would be lost without your presence.Engage them.Show compassion.Share your own opinions and ideas and vulnerabilities.Start by reading industry-related blogs and commenting on them.Eventually you will want to establish a one-on-one relationship with bloggers, probably by casually mentioning third-party content that they might find interesting.

Ideally you will soon be asked to be a guest blogger on blogs that are related to your niche.In the process, you can link to yourself and let others in your niche know that you know what you are talking about.If all goes well, they will start following you as well, which leads to the final level.

4.Links Resulting From Good Content.Once you have reached this level, you have established yourself as a knowledgeable resource within your field.Although you can probably never afford to abandon the strategies mentioned above, you are now generating most of your links from people who respect you and enjoy reading your excellent content.This kind of success does not happen immediately.It takes a lot of time and effort, including effort in providing your followers with an array of high-quality, interesting, and relevant content.You may do his through your blog, through hosting webinars, or through publishing white papers.
The key to keep in mind as you are starting out is that, while content is crucial, you are going to have to start out doing more than creating great content.You are going to have to go out and find followers, and then give them a reason to stick around.It is not easy, but it will pay off in the end.

About the Author

Seomul Evans is a SEO expert with a leading Dallas Internet Marketing company specializing in Next Generation Search Engines and a contributor of Entrepreneurship articles

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Crafting Your USP - It's Not What You Do It's How You Do It

There are very few totally unique business types in this world (and if they start out unique they don't stay that way for very long).That means there are thousands of businesses in the same industry as yours.

So what makes you different from them?Why should people buy from you and not them?

In the past, businesses focused on tangible things such as price, product range and decor to try and make themselves stand out.That is fine as far as it goes, but all of these can be replicated.

If you compete on price there will always be someone who will undercut you.If you compete on range then someone will extend their range or mirror your product range.These are all temporary solutions.

If you want to create a business with longevity you need to be aware that what people really buy is something intangible.Every business creates a feeling or emotion that goes beyond what you do.It is this feeling or emotion that is the true essence of your USP.

To start with you need to look at what human needs you are fulfilling.Abraham Maslow back in 1943 proposed that people have different human needs.At the base level are the physiological needs for survival - food, water and sleep.Without these needs being met, then the body shuts down.

Next come the safety and security needs - personal safety, financial security, health and well-being.These needs take over when the base needs are generally met.

Next come the social needs - a need for belonging, for close friendships and supportive communities.

Next comes self esteem, respect by others, respect for others, confidence and achievement.

Finally comes self-actualisation - the need to maximise your potential.

While Maslow has his detractors, it is still a very useful model to consider.When you are in business you are really in the business of satisfying one or more of these human needs.But it is how you satisfy these needs that makes your business stand apart from others.

Take motels which provide a bed to sleep in.If it were as simple as just providing a bed then all motels would be the same, but motels provide much more.Some provide a safe haven, others provide a family atmosphere.Some are status symbols that show a person has "arrived" and others provide opportunities for personal reflection and growth.

But within these options the motels you are happiest in are the ones that make you feel a certain way.Think about ...you can be staying at the highest quality hotel, but if you are treated like garbage then you won't want to return.If you are treated with value and respect, then you will feel important and want to replicate this feeling.

There have been some studies that have shown that the greatest predictor of whether or not a doctor will be sued is not whether he or she made a mistake, it is how they made the patient and their family feel when they treated them.If they made a mistake but still were caring and made the patient feel valued, then the likelihood of being sued was dramatically less.

What makes a business totally unique is the feeling they give to their consumers.This feeling is intangible and can be broken in an instant if you do not act consistently with the feeling.It can also be the strongest bond on earth that attracts customers to you as if by magic if your business is truly in alignment with this feeling.

It is this feeling that needs to be reflected in all of your marketing, in all of your copywriting, all of your business images and all of your thoughts and actions.When you do this, then customers naturally are attracted to you and your marketing is much more effective.

So how do you put into words the unique feeling you give to people?

First you need to discover what that feeling is.You can do this through a range of means: talking with your favourite clients, listening to your employees when they talk about your business, taking time to reflect or meditate on the peak interactions you have had around your business.You can even have someone interview you to quietly tease out the threads of this feeling and help you put it into words.

Generally you will get snippets of words, fragments of ideas and wisps of concepts.By weaving these wisps together and then testing them with people to gauge their response, you will begin to be able to craft together the right words.

It may take quite a few variations to get the combination of words right, but when you do will you will have a solid "yes" in your heart.

Creating your USP this way is more challenging than having a marketing company go away and "write one for you", but it is a more fulfilling and more successful process.A good marketing company or copywriter will help you through this process so your end marketing material resonates with the true essence of your business.

Once you know how you want to make people feel, then you need to review all of your business processes and actions to ensure you give that experience in everything that you do.

After all ...it is how you do what you do that really makes the most difference in business.

About the Author

Ingrid Cliff is a freelance writer and the Chief Word Wizard of Heart Harmony - a writing services studio that helps put your business into words.

For a free copy of the "7 Secrets of Compelling Copy & Powerful Words" visit her website http://www.heartharmony.com.au "> www.heartharmony.com.au .

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