Leverage your expertise to get lots of inbound links
One of the secrets to boosting your search engine ranking is lots of what are called inbound links
—
links to your
XSite on other websites. Not every inbound link is created equal, though. The most
sophisticated search engine algorithms are looking for relevant inbound links.
Here's an illustration. There are in the dark recesses of the Internet what are
called . According to Wikipedia, a link farm is a "group of web pages
that all hyperlink to every other page in the group." Search engines have rightly
learned to discount these spammy links. Submitting your site to a bunch of link
farms, though it will increase the number of inbound links to your XSite, won't
help your search engine rank.
Now let's say that you've written a particularly intelligent, concise, persuasive
content page about the rise of client pressure in 80/20 loans. Lots of your colleagues
link to it because they're impressed by your writing, reasoning and rugged good
looks. Search engines love these kinds of inbound links, because they're
the result of actual people who can choose whether or not to link, choosing to link
because the content is good.
Fortunately for the misunderstood geniuses — or just impatient — among
us, you don't have to rely on your colleagues finding and being duly impressed by
your writing. Sites like , , and other article syndication sites let you upload your original material,
including your short bio and link to your website, for view by thousands of readers.
Your relevant, search engine friendly inbound links can get a potentially huge boost.
And as your article is syndicated to other websites and e-news publishers, not only
do your links increase, so does exposure to people looking for an appraiser.
Here's how it works. You write a short — let's say, 500 word — article
about appraising, property values, the real estate market, whatever you're an expert
in (and is relevant to your business). You upload it to one of the article syndication
sites. It's posted on those sites, syndicated to others, and sometimes picked up
by e-zine publishers. (Read each site's Terms of Service to see what copy and distribution
rights you're giving them.)
You get lots of relevant inbound links. People searching the Web for the kind of
information you've written about have a better chance and finding your site, too,
thanks to your bio and link on the article.
Keep in mind: Each site is likely to have its own standards as to length, format,
subject matter, etc. Top7business.com for example only wants "7 tips" articles,
with an introduction, seven tips, and your bio. Each site has its own Terms of Service
you need to read carefully. And because you want to attract search engine attention,
as well as actual humans looking for an appraiser in your market, you want your
articles to be related to your business.
Most importantly, your article must be original. If you're ripping off someone
else's work, you're breaking the law, and the site's Terms of Service, and you're
a terrible person. You won't get the exposure you're looking for if the site doesn't
accept your article for publication. And yes -- there are
for article syndicators to know whether you're passing someone else's work off as your own.
If you've used these kinds of sites to market your business, or if you try it based
on this article, we'd love to hear how it went. Write
with success stories.
