We’ll just come out and say it. ‘If your SEO strategy isn’t based around providing great content, it’s not serving its purpose.’
Webmasters, over the past 12-18 months have been more focused on the content of their website and how useful it is to their visitors – asking questions like:
- Who are my target demographic?
- Where are they?
- How can I get and keep their attention?
- When they get to my site, is the content I’m offering what they need?
Once you’ve answered those questions, chances are, you’ve gone off and created some wonderful content. (Hint: if you haven’t, you should do that).
Now that you have awesome content, how are you going to get it in front of people that you want to see it? They probably don’t know it exists, so you’re going to have to find them. This is where outreach comes in.
Outreach isn’t about sending a blanket email to webmasters and blog owners in the hope of gaining lots of generic links, instead it’s about building effective relationships.
To help you, here’s the Ricemedia crash course on outreach, relationships and getting it right.
Niche, niche, niche
Know your stuff. Then find the people who are interested in it too. Where are the websites and brands that share an audience with you? Get to know them. A tweet or a friendly introductory email can be all it takes to start a great connection with an influencer.
Be Selective
Fact of the matter is, not everyone is worth reaching out to. Numbers of likes and followers doesn’t always equate to great influence. Look at their conversations, the quality of their content and interaction, before you decide whether to establish a relationship.
It’s Not All About You
Nobody likes someone who only ever talks about themselves. So, show an interest. Is the site you’re approaching running a competition? Mention it. What sort of content have they put out recently? Read it, look at it, share it, rave about it. You’re much likelier to get a positive result, if you make these relationships beneficial to both parties.
Stick with Tradition
There is still a lot of power in traditional press, even though we know the world’s gone digital. Don’t be afraid to get in touch with the press. First of all, find out how particular journalists prefer to be approached. They’re often overrun with press releases and emails, so why not try the phone? Leave a message…not just on an answering machine. Actually speaking to someone is much more important than you may think when it comes to building relationships, especially as we’re all so short of time. So once you’ve got their time, be focused, get straight to the point and be armed with any questions they might ask.
The Only Way is Blogging
Okay, not the only way but there is no denying the influence that bloggers have. In terms of online content, they take their niche and run with it! Learn their style, the sort of content they put out there and then build a great relationship with them. Once things are running smoothly, it may be time to pitch your ideas to them. Don’t panic: Featuring on a blog or inviting another writer to offer their expertise on yours is not against Google guidelines, but paying for this is.
That’s how it’s done. It will definitely take some time and effort but we promise it will be worth it. A handful of amazing quality links are more valuable than a high number of links on poor quality sites.
Your audience are out there, all you have to do is find them.
