Question: We know that inbound links are a top priority when it comes to SEO, but we are curious if there are ways that outbound links can be valuable to drive traffic and engagement to our site?
First of all, you are absolutely right about inbound links. Of all the traditional SEO practices, inbound links are by far the most important for driving search.
With this in mind, then shouldn’t the use of outbound links be a great strategy to engage brands?
Before I jump into the specifics allow me to ask you a question.
How often do you see blogs like “12 ways to do Social Media Right” or “50 examples of Great Content Marketing?”
If you are paying attention then you probably see these types of posts quite often. Besides the naturally engaging nature of list posts and their subsequent titles, what do you think it is that makes posts like that so successful?
Twice a month I write a Content Marketing Roundup. In these posts I share some of the best content I can find on content during the month. I provide an excerpt and then link to the articles.
Guess what happens when the post goes live?
Each of the sites gets notified that I linked to their blog and a link to the post. This way they can go check out the post that I wrote and they can approve the link which can help both parties (depending on page rank).
The reason I put these “Roundup” posts out is not just to link to other pages. The main purpose is to share really useful and targeted content, but the good news is there is a definite benefit when using outbound links. Most notably, it allows others to see your post, share your post and become more aware of your page. Especially when you are linking to an article because it is of good quality.
Tips On Using Outbound Links
Every business is unique, so there isn’t one right way to use outbound links. However, here are a few great ways to use outbound links to drive traffic and/or engagement.
- When curating valuable content in your business area of expertise
- Featuring individuals or businesses that are leaders in a particular field
- When sharing information on channel partners or products your business resells
- To Support/Validate Data Points in your Content
There are certainly other ways to use outbound links to help move your content as these are only a few of the more popular ways.
The point here is that linking out to valuable sites and influential brands/people is a great way to expose your business or ideas.
If not, you are missing a great opportunity and you should think about starting today right now!
Do you use outbound links to drive readers to your site and engagement with influential people and brands?
Check out this short video where we talk about using outbound links to improve traffic and engagement.
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Daniel Newman is the co-founder of V3*Broadsuite and is an experienced C-level executive, serving as a strategy consultant for small and mid-sized businesses. He’s also an insight/analyst partner to four Fortune 50 enterprises and previously served as the co-founder and CEO of EC3, a hosted IT and communications services provider. Prior to that, he served as the CEO of United Visual, Inc. in Chicago Illinois.
He is a widely published writer who contributes weekly to Forbes, Entrepreneur, Huffington Post and industry publications such as Commercial Integrator, Sound & Communication and Corporate Tech Decisions. He’s also author of three best-selling business books including The New Rules of Customer Engagement, The Millennial CEO, and just recently Evolve: Marketing (^as we know it) is Doomed.
Daniel has established a reputation as a leading thinker in topics such as Social, Big Data, Cloud and Mobile. He has been named to many top influencer lists in all of these areas, including recognition by the Huffington Post as one of the 100 business and leadership accounts to follow on Twitter. He is also an adjunct professor of management at North Central College.