Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for your website

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Compiled Resources

You know your business, so you know the kinds of things your cus-

tomers always seem to need help finding or figuring out. Resources such as useful links,

FAQs, reviews, and a reference table or glossary can be good draws for inbound links

(not to mention bookmarks and repeat visits!).

Interviews

Interviews with bigwigs in your industry, or anyone else who your target

audience finds compelling, can be a great way to fill out your website. For example, if

your company sells home furnishings, an interview with an interior designer could pro-

vide content of interest to your target audience while giving the designer a publicity

boost. Look for experts or service providers in fields similar to your own, and pick

someone with a little flair.

Free Tools

If your company has the technical chops for it, there’s nothing like a free

online tool for drawing inbound links. Translate dollars into yen; calculate shoe size in

the European standard; figure out how many tablespoons of ground coffee it takes to

brew a pot. As long as it’s potentially useful to your target audience, it’s a great idea.

And you can gain even more linkage if you allow your tool to be used on others’ web-

sites. Just imagine: Suddenly your “teaspoons to quarts” conversion table is on every

recipe website on the Internet—and each one includes a link to your site.

Use Other People’s Content

Whoa, there! We’re not saying you should go out on the Web, find some great content,

and cut and paste it onto your website. There’s this little thing called “copyright infringe-

ment” you’ll want to watch out for. But there are some ways to use other people’s con-

tent on your website without the Feds beating down your door. Here are a few ideas:

Articles Featuring Your Company

Does your PR department keep a record of articles

that mention your organization or include interviews or quotes from company repre-

sentatives? See if you can get permission to add these articles to your website. (It goes

without saying that you should stick to the complimentary ones.)

Syndicated Content

It’s quite easy to incorporate feeds onto your website—for example,

industry news or blog posts. It’s not unique content, but providing a group of topical

links may add freshness and a sense that your site is up-to-date, thus increasing your

linkability.

Forums or Classifieds

One of our favorite ways to increase content is to let your users

build it for you, with posts in message boards, classified ads, or product reviews. This

is content that constantly updates itself and is eminently linkable. But it also sets you

up for abuse, such as people submitting meaningless content (a practice called

com-

ment spam

), so be sure you have a moderator or other system in place to protect your

site if you’re thinking of offering these features.

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