Backlinks Done Right (And Wrong)| CorkCRM

backlinks done perfectly and attracting new viewers Any technique, no matter how effective, can be overdone. And when overdone, that technique can become obnoxious and can do the opposite of what it’s meant to do.

When it comes to bringing more traffic to your site, a popular technique is building inbound links or “back links.” But, this is also one of those techniques that is rarely done right. While it’s a useful practice and can attract more visitors to your site, as with everything, there is a right and wrong way to do it.

Many have started calling this technique “link baiting” and even that name makes it sound like some trick meant to pull in unwitting victims to your site. And, actually, it can be. Link baiting turns sinister when it is over done, or done haphazardly. Many have taken to spamming comment sections to get their backlinks out there. This is both annoying and unnecessary and will probably make you enemies very quickly.

Conversely, when you use this technique to contribute relative information to forums, it can be a great way to build connections and show others in your industry that you are a reputable source.

Spamming and writing controversial blogs on popular topics (another bad way to link bait), just to get hits to your site, may seem like the quickest ways to get visitors but there are better, more effective ways to do it. They may require a bit more work but they will let you keep your reputation.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with creating quality content that your readers will enjoy and find useful, and including links to your site within that content. In fact HubSpot, experts in Inbound Marketing, actually encourage this type of “link baiting.” You can do this type of link building in a number of ways:

Quality (and consistent) Content Creation
Guest Blogging
Contributing useful and relevant information to comment sections
Book Reviews

All of these are ways to build a reputable, online presence and bring traffic to your site. There are also a number of other ways, suggested by a guest blog on Hubspot (http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/32479/32-White-Hat-Ways-to-Build-Inbound-Links.aspx) to attract views without creating a ton of content. Some of these examples include:

Create a meme
Get graphic (by creating an infographic or other useful chart)
Leverage Social Media (by including social share buttons right in your posts)

These are just a few suggestions. The point is, while many out there choose to post backlinks all over the internet and hope someone stumbles upon them, the most successful people have a strategy and post with purpose.