Linking, Commenting, & Networking
Interacting with the community of your niche is an essential step for success. If you want people to know your website exists, then you’ll need to start engaging in these activities.
Writing superb content just doesn’t cut it anymore. You can create a website or blog with cutting edge and novel content, but unless you promote it no one will find it. Well, a few people might accidentally type in the url for your site and discover it, but the market you are targeting will be oblivious to your existence. In order for people to find your website, you need to market it.
Linking
Don’t be afraid to link out to what you believe may be your competitors. Obviously if you are running an ecommence site, do not link every product page to a cheaper competitor. That is just plain stupid. However if you run a blog, linking to useful and related posts or comments is beneficial to your readers and to your website in terms of seo. Matt Cutts says that linking out is a smart thing to do.
Q: Okay, but doesn’t this encourage me to link out less? Should I turn off comments on my blog?
A: I wouldn’t recommend closing comments in an attempt to “hoard†your PageRank. In the same way that Google trusts sites less when they link to spammy sites or bad neighborhoods, parts of our system encourage links to good sites.
Not only are there benefits in terms of seo, but I’m sure your readers will appreciate it when they want more information on that topic.
What does it say when you have a website that has no outbound links? If you fail to recognize your resources, why should other people bother linking to you? Linking is part of the web, and by failing to link you segregate yourself.
If you start linking out, people will start linking in (assuming that your content is worthwhile). People are inherently curious; visitors on your website will click on those links. When the webmaster of the other website looks at his backlinks or traffic referrers, that person is going to proceed down the same path as your visitors. Curiosity will capture them, and they will visit your site. When they arrive, that first impression will be lasting. Would you rather them leave thinking – “God dam copy scrapping blogs” or “wow this person really has some incredible knowledge”. Even if you only plant a seed in the back of their mind instead of leaving a monumental impression, it’s a start at the very least.
Commenting
Interacting with readers on your own blog, as well as, writers of other blogs helps increase your exposure. It will alert others to your existence, and allow you to participate in discussions beyond the post. Commenting can have the same effect as linking. If you write an thoughtful respond or question, people will be overcome with curiosity, and they will want to see what else you have to offer.
Commenting is a means of attracting new visitors, and increasing your visibility within your niche, but it also helps with seo. The majority of blogs may have no follow comment links, but that doesn’t mean that those links lack value. These links might be unable to pass pagerank and be treated differently by search engines, but the fact of the matter is that no follow comment links are still seen and thus they provide some benefit.
Networking
It encompasses a pretty wide range of mediums from social networking to networking while at a conference. The means by which you network doesn’t really matter, but the message you convey does. Whether you are talking to someone at a business conference or expressing yourself on Twitter, it is a powerful tool. Enlarging your contact circle, sharing opportunities and ideas, and marketing yourself is what networking is all about.
When you are networking, do not be self absorbed and have a one track mind. Just as with commenting, you need to be interactive, engaging, and care about what the other person is saying. No one likes a person who just pushes their own agenda, while essentially ignoring the other person in a conversation. You might as well just talk to a mirror if that is how you are going to go about networking.
Linking, commenting, and networking are resources that can be utilized to improve your exposure and gain you credibility. They are all tied together in a sense, but if you try to squeeze by only using one of these things, increasing your visibility will be hindered. Don’t ostracize yourself, instead interact with the people involved in your niche.