Link building and social media communications

Matt Cutts, the Google master, in an interview recently listed several methods of link building that are not only effective, but good for the community. Cutts discussed methods such as social media, blogging, original research and much more. Basically, it all boiled down to creating something noteworthy that people will want to share.

Link building is without a doubt one of the key methods for driving traffic and page rank to your site. The more useful links you have the more authority you hold and your prominence in the search engines will increase.

But with social media there is more to it than just creating links it is also now a major component of the online marketers toolbox. For example millions of people spend hours, everyday, on the likes of Twitter and Facebook. So in essence you have a forum full of people ready, willing, waiting to hear what you have to say. It therefore makes sense to create interesting and interactive pages or posts that people actually want to see. They will read it, comment on it or even share it if it’s really useful/interesting.

Whether you start your social communications from your Facebook page or your blog the application is the same. If you have something interesting to say or useful to give to the community then say it. As a business owner and someone who is passionate about what it is you do then in reality there is no one else that is more knowledgeable than you about your products or services.

Sharing your insights through a blog on your site is a great way to attract those who are most likely to buy from you. If your target market is visiting your site to get information, there’s a strong chance they will also visit your site when they’re ready to make a purchase.

Often people simply like to look so use Facebook for pictures and YouTube for videos (but linking to your Facebook) and then tell everyone you’ve added photos on Twitter. The two profiles should really work hand in hand. The more you blog or post the more you are getting your name out there and the more people see your name in status updates and news feeds the more you stick and eventually they will visit, they will comment, share, link and hopefully a percentage of those visitors will then purchase from you or at least refer you.

The side benefit from all of this is that you will generate links. Links are designed to show relationships among sites – the more links a site has, the more relationships it has with other sites, and the more respected it is in the online community. Think of a paid link as buying your friends – it may work for a while but, eventually, you’ll realize that it’s better to have a few real, quality friends, than a lot of superficial ones.

Original research is another key component illustrated by Cutts. He basically says that if you research something that no-one else has covered, note your methods and findings and blog about them. Whether its relevant now or in a year’s time this information is highly valuable and effectively your own ‘social real estate’.

So you need lots of organic links and comments and references. It takes time, a lot of time if you are young brand, but it does pay off and the more time you put into your social networks, adding friends and getting people involved through interesting viral campaigns the more you will establish yourself. Remember that effective communications are two way, so get involved with the community and comment on other peoples posts, offer advice and resources, if someone has a question on Linked In and you know the answer then share your knowledge.

Share yourself with the community and become inter-twinned with the knowledge links. We really haven’t come that long a way…’knowledge is still king’ it’s just the platforms in which we can share the knowledge have become more advanced.