How to Improve Traffic to Your Online Content by Developing your Backlinking Strategy
Many of you already know the importance of backlinking when it comes to article marketing and being successful on the Internet. But did you know that your backlinking strategy can also be a deciding factor in your success? If you post the wrong kind of links, in the wrong locations, or at the wrong time, you could just be wasting your time. This is why everyone needs to get organized and develop a backlinking strategy that will ensure their success! In this article I will discuss some key elements that you should consider when developing your own strategy.
Get Organized!
The first step to creating an effective backlinking strategy is to get organized. The easiest way to do this is to create a spreadsheet. I use Microsoft Excel, but any other spreadsheet program will work. First, you need to include the title, URL, and publication date of every item you publish on the internet. Each row in your spreadsheet could correspond to one content item that you have published. Next, the each column will be for a backlinking location such as a social bookmarking site, Twitter, or another blog. Below I have included an example screenshot from a spreadsheet that I created. If you'll notice, my backlink columns are grouped by week. I will explain this in a moment.
Timing is Everything!
It's not really a good idea to backlink your articles all at once. This is where the groupings in the spreadsheet come in handy. On the first day that I create an article, I backlink it in 5 locations. One of those locations is typically a link from a previously written article. Then I wait a week before I post a new backlink anywhere else. Each week after the first two weeks, I only backlink an article in 4 additional places. There are plenty of locations to post your articles, so this could potentially keep you busy for a very long time. Personally, after about 6 weeks of doing this, I don't backlink that specific article anymore. At this point in time, if you have done your keyword research properly, your traffic should begin to increase and organic backlinks should already start appearing for you. Also, when it comes to Twitter, I like to schedule my tweets by putting them on a repeating cycle to be posted again every a few months.
In addition to this, the time of day that you post a backlink can have a significant impact on the amount of people who will see it. It's best to post at the beginning of peak usage times of the sites that you are posting to. If you post a backlink at the wrong time, you run the risk of it getting buried by other people's links.
Backlink your Backlinks
If you spend a lot of time creating a backlink on site that requires a minimum amount of characters, such as Best-Reviewer or Ritepad, I recommend writing something of quality that is not duplicated. If done right, this publication can act as a standalone article as well as a backlink. In these cases, you should add this URL and title to your spreadsheet. You can start the process of backlinking this article as well and increase your traffic even more.
Textual Variation
When you create a new backlink, it is wise to vary the text of the content that you are posting. Don't use the same words to describe a link on every site that you post on. The goal here is to make your link building strategy appear as natural as possible. Feel free to edit the title, description, and even tags. This small amount of effort will make all the difference in the end.
Participate in the Community of the Sites you Post on
Why is this part of my backlinking strategy? Well, if you want people to read your content and click your links, you will need to read theirs and do the same. It's really as simple as that. Every time that I post a link on a social bookmarking site, I make sure to do the social part as well as the bookmarking part. For example, each time that I post a link on RedGage, I make sure to read at least two items posted by other people. After I read it I usually rate it, make a comment, and send a friend request (If I am not one already). This is a genuine way to increase your readership and improve your internet presence.
Putting it All Together
Every internet marketer, internet user, and online publisher has a different set of standards that they apply to themselves. Each person also has a different niche to write about. Obviously you won't be able to copy my strategy exactly because of the differences in everyone's character and content. Many people may not have the time to stick to a specific schedule, or may not necessarily see the value in backlinks as I do. In either case, this is why it is very important for each person to develop their own backlinking strategy. I hope that the tips I have presented here will enable you to do so.