I know, you're going to look at this copywriting article and think "What's this got to do with surveys?" It's really all about increasing response rates and engagement. Not only that, but "viral" surveys are the latest trend -- so read on and see what you can pick up that will make your next survey sing.
Over the past couple of months, we’ve focused on ways that you can use copywriting to increase targeted traffic and sales, including these posts:
Each of these posts shared ways to create copy ON your site to boost targeted traffic and sales. Today, we’ll share tips on submitting optimized descriptions to other sites to strengthen your inbound linking strategy and boost your site’s money-earning potential.
What is Inbound Linking?
A “link” is hyperlinked text that leads a site visitor from the page he or she is viewing to another page on the Internet.
An “inbound link” is hyperlinked text that links from a page on Website A to a page on Website B; that link is considered “inbound” to Website B. One of the best ways to get inbound links pointing to your site is to submit your site to relevant directories. More about directories a little bit later!
Benefits of Strong Inbound Linking
At a high level, you can picture each inbound link coming in to your site as a vote – a vote for the quality of your content and site, overall. At its most basic, search engines take note of and reward sites with plenty of inbound links by giving them better placement in the search engine results pages. This makes your site easier for prospects to find – and significantly increases your potential for sales.
Now let’s alter the “link as vote” analogy. Rather than thinking of inbound links as votes, think of them as references. And, do you know what’s most important about references? Their quality!
If you were applying for a job, which of these would you want? Ten top quality references from respected experts in your field – or 1,000 references from people with no reputation or expertise in your field? The answer would be the 10 quality references.
The same is true when obtaining inbound links through directory submissions. It’s better to have fewer directories that are of high quality than to submit your site to thousands of poor quality directories of no relevance.
Foundation Directories
If you’re new to inbound link building, consider submitting your site – along with an optimized description of your products and services – to these top quality directories:
1) DMOZ (free)
2) Yahoo! Directory (fee based)
3) Business.com (fee based)
4) Best of the Web (fee based)
Be sure to choose the most accurate category for your listing and write a clear, concise, optimized description of your site that fits within the word or character count allowed by each directory. You’ll also want to add keywords to your business name, if allowed.
Then, once you’ve gotten your company listed in the top foundational directories, see which of these second-tier directories have categories that make sense for your company:
1) GoGuides
2) JoeAnt
3) Skaffe
What’s Next?
Take a look at your website. What content do you have that would be of interest to other people? What specific target audiences would be interested in that content? Brainstorm a list and have it ready for next month, when we’ll share how to use that content to boost traffic to your site.
Next month, we’ll delve more deeply into inbound linking opportunities.
This month’s opportunities:
Knowledge is power – this month, you’ll be filling any gaps in your understanding of link building.
Burning question or comment? Email me at [email protected]
About the Author: Leslie Carruthers is President of The Search Guru, a best practices full services Search Marketing firm creating breakthrough results for their clients since 2004. Leslie can be reached at 440-306-2418 or[email protected].
Over the past couple of months, we’ve focused on ways that you can use copywriting to increase targeted traffic and sales, including these posts:
- Last month’s post focused on creating a strong internal linking strategy to provide vital cues for the search engine spiders.
- Two months ago, the focus was on creating compelling benefit statements in your copywriting.
- Three months ago, the focus was on choosing the best keyphrases for your site to attract the prospects you want.
Each of these posts shared ways to create copy ON your site to boost targeted traffic and sales. Today, we’ll share tips on submitting optimized descriptions to other sites to strengthen your inbound linking strategy and boost your site’s money-earning potential.
What is Inbound Linking?
A “link” is hyperlinked text that leads a site visitor from the page he or she is viewing to another page on the Internet.
An “inbound link” is hyperlinked text that links from a page on Website A to a page on Website B; that link is considered “inbound” to Website B. One of the best ways to get inbound links pointing to your site is to submit your site to relevant directories. More about directories a little bit later!
Benefits of Strong Inbound Linking
At a high level, you can picture each inbound link coming in to your site as a vote – a vote for the quality of your content and site, overall. At its most basic, search engines take note of and reward sites with plenty of inbound links by giving them better placement in the search engine results pages. This makes your site easier for prospects to find – and significantly increases your potential for sales.
Now let’s alter the “link as vote” analogy. Rather than thinking of inbound links as votes, think of them as references. And, do you know what’s most important about references? Their quality!
If you were applying for a job, which of these would you want? Ten top quality references from respected experts in your field – or 1,000 references from people with no reputation or expertise in your field? The answer would be the 10 quality references.
The same is true when obtaining inbound links through directory submissions. It’s better to have fewer directories that are of high quality than to submit your site to thousands of poor quality directories of no relevance.
Foundation Directories
If you’re new to inbound link building, consider submitting your site – along with an optimized description of your products and services – to these top quality directories:
1) DMOZ (free)
2) Yahoo! Directory (fee based)
3) Business.com (fee based)
4) Best of the Web (fee based)
Be sure to choose the most accurate category for your listing and write a clear, concise, optimized description of your site that fits within the word or character count allowed by each directory. You’ll also want to add keywords to your business name, if allowed.
Then, once you’ve gotten your company listed in the top foundational directories, see which of these second-tier directories have categories that make sense for your company:
1) GoGuides
2) JoeAnt
3) Skaffe
What’s Next?
Take a look at your website. What content do you have that would be of interest to other people? What specific target audiences would be interested in that content? Brainstorm a list and have it ready for next month, when we’ll share how to use that content to boost traffic to your site.
Next month, we’ll delve more deeply into inbound linking opportunities.
This month’s opportunities:
Knowledge is power – this month, you’ll be filling any gaps in your understanding of link building.
- Read through the Search Marketing Terms Glossary
- For more information about the benefits of inbound linking campaigns: Link Building Services
- Here’s a review of a terrific e-book about link building strategies
- Bonus: read back issues of the newsletter here: http://www.thesearchguru.com/email-archive.asp to learn more
Burning question or comment? Email me at [email protected]
About the Author: Leslie Carruthers is President of The Search Guru, a best practices full services Search Marketing firm creating breakthrough results for their clients since 2004. Leslie can be reached at 440-306-2418 or[email protected].
Thanks for the informative article.
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