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You’ve probably heard time and time again that it’s important to get other websites to link back to your website. When you hear this, you smile and nod…but you have no clue why any of it matters. Don’t worry! The whole concept of link building is actually really easy to understand; when other people link to your website, it’s telling search engines that you matter. When pages with a little more authority (media, government, education or just all around popular sites) link back to you, that’s even better. It’s kind of the difference between a random 5-year old child telling you that a specific restaurant is great and an influential celebrity saying the same thing. They both said the restaurant was great, but who do you think more people are going to listen to?
The most important thing to remember when piecing together your link building strategy is that authenticity goes a long way. Many people try to get tons of links in a short amount of time using black hat techniques and this is very much frowned upon. You have to remind yourself that like most things in life, good links are worth waiting for. You need to produce quality content, build meaningful relationships and the great links will slowly start populating and boosting your search engine rankings. We already do a lot of this leg work for your business here at Astonish Results, but sometimes there are great opportunities for link building in your office and community that we’re not always going to be aware of. Here are 3 tips for easy, fun link building:
1. Come up with something fun that people want to link to. Get creative! Have a photo contest and encourage folks to submit their best photos of the areas you write insurance in. You could use the angle that there are so many beautiful things in your area worth protecting and insuring. Film some fun videos and post them on your own YouTube channel. Set aside a time each week to have a creative meeting at your office. You would be amazed at the great ideas you can come up with in a group brainstorm and it’s a nice break to just let loose and have fun.
2. Volunteer to be a guest speaker at a local college or university. Aside from influencing the future insurance buyers of America, you’ll probably have the opportunity to earn a few good links. The most important link you’re looking for will come from the college itself; that .edu URL puts some major authority behind your website link. You could also consider sponsoring a scholarship for the college or local university/high school students in general. Along with presenting yourself in a positive light, it’s likely that information about your scholarship (and links to your website) will be posted on other education websites as a reference for students.
3. If you are interviewed for a story that will be released in a non-Internet form of media (like a print publication or television), don’t be shy about asking for a link! Most newspapers, magazines and TV stations also have websites, so although their website isn’t the primary way they will be distributing your story, there’s a good chance it will be going up there, too. Don’t let a reporter walk away without your website’s URL.
Link building is just a small part of insurance marketing, but can be very valuable if you do it correctly. Always keep your eyes and ears open for a great link building opportunity!
