8 Content Types That Will Help You Earn Links

Have you asked yourself this question: "What type of content can get me links for my business?" The answer is varied, depending on what your goals and focuses are.

To help you answer that question, here are the top types of content that are designed to earn links and help you get noticed online:

1. Engaging, Well-Written Content

The best type of content for links is high-quality content. Forbes calls this “old-school link bait”, which they define as "a piece of content that was great – insanely great”. When publishers work to develop fantastic content, they can then put it out online and publicise it to a few select sources – the best influencers in the industry, for example – before sitting back and waiting for the results to roll in.

Why does quality content succeed so dramatically? This is because it's intended first for relevance and value and only second for SEO (links in particular).

Quality and value are the foundations and everything else builds from there — attracting readers, earning links, boosting your SEO, etc.

2. Non-Gated Content

While there’s a long, ongoing debate about the value of gating content or not, it’s safe to say that free, ungated content will earn you the most value in terms of links. It's true that gated content is fantastic for harvesting high-quality, in-depth information from leads, but free content is where it’s at for any company looking to build its online presence.

In fact, according to marketing strategist David Meerman Scott, simply offering free rather than gated content will earn you 20-50 times more downloads.

That said, you should keep the majority of your content ungated and open to the public. Combine this with the first tip (quality first, always) and you’ll find yourself soon with a bullet-proof strategy for links, engagement, and brand recognition.

3. Extensively Researched Content

People heading to the web today are looking for valuable content that teaches them something new. So, if your content features deep levels of research, has plenty of usable facts and statistics, and is opinion-forming, it's highly likely to be linked to and shared.

Many marketers believe that creating this type of content will be impossible in their given industry, but the fact of the matter is that research-dense content is attainable in virtually any field. Yet, be forewarned that this type of content can take a lot of time and money.

4. Long-Form Content

Long-form blogs perform better than shorter ones. While most of the text-based content on the web have 1,000 words or shorter, blogs with between 2,250-2,500 words get the most links and attention.

That said, you must focus your content strategy more on long-form content. This type of content meets several of the above stipulations (it provides value and relevance, and features extensive research), so it’s highly likely to perform well among your audience and help you build an online presence that lasts.

Don't worry about where you’ll find topics for your long-from blogs. Just turn to your website’s comments, FAQ page, or even third-party sites (such as Quora), relevant social media groups and comments, or current events.

5. List-Style Content

List posts may seem a bit cliché but, they are famously viral and will help you get noticed. Why? These posts are readable, actionable, and skimmable, making them highly valuable to readers. When a reader comes across a list post, they know the information within it is organised into digestible bits, which makes it easy to implement immediately.

That said, you should try to incorporate numbers into your blog headings. Some marketers dislike the formulaic nature of lists but, the truth is, they work.

6. Visual Content

Images are a powerful addition to any content marketing strategy. HubSpot reports that coloured visuals boost a person’s willingness to read a blog or article by 80% and that 34% of marketers name visual material as their single most important content asset.

That said, you should never hesitate to add visuals to your content. A well-placed series of screenshots, some eye-catching stock photos, or a custom-made infographic will all add significant value to your content and may be exactly what you need to gain the attention (and the links) your business or brand has been working so hard for.

7. Content that Caters to Target Audience

Understanding your target audience is essential in creating content that earns links and shares. If your content is targeted directly to your unique base of readers, it's more relevant, specific and valuable, and will go the furthest in terms of earning you the views and attention you deserve.

8. Promoted & Sponsored Content

If your content isn't promoted, it often goes unnoticed. The web is so vast and the amount of content out there is so extensive, so it’s not surprising that unpromoted content often sinks to the bottom of the content sea, never to be seen again. Fortunately, you can change this scenario by promoting .

"Promoting your content" means...

• Reaching out directly to the biggest influencers in your industry (especially if you’ve mentioned any of them in your content)
• Sharing your content several times on social media to gain the widest exposure
• Sharing your content in relevant online groups, communities and forums
• Adding trending hashtags to your content

Conclusion

Bad content is easy to create but, good content is the way of the future. It’s the only way to get noticed online nowadays. The glory days of low-quality content have long since passed, but high-quality content will remain the foundation of your business' growth online.

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As the CEO of www.top4.com.au, we help businesses and brands...

? generate thousands of website visitors per week

? generate hundreds of thousands of page views per month

? convert visitors into leads

? convert leads into customers

? convert customers into repeat customers

To find out more about how we can help you, send me a connection request on LinkedIn via [email protected], or send me a message if we are already connected.

Stay happy.