3 Tips to Ensure B2B Content Gets SEO-friendly Citations
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by Allison Halter
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Increasing the external links to your website is one of the most
important elements of a successful optimization strategy. They can
boost your rankings in the search results, drive traffic, and increase
your presence across the Web. But securing external links can be a
challenge. That�s why it�s important to explore every opportunity to
acquire them. A good place to start is by ensuring that your site�s
content receives SEO-friendly citation.
The big opportunity
Standout B2B websites are usually brimming with great content,
including lead gen materials such as whitepapers, articles, and case
studies
<http://searchengineland.com/5-tips-to-boost-b2b-lead-gen-thought-leadership-efforts-with-search-27331>
. Because this type of content generally includes interesting and
useful facts or best practices, a target audience is likely to share
the information via email, blogs, and forums. Given that, such content
represents considerable opportunity to generate external links via
proper online citation.
Never assume
But despite the valuable time and resources spent on developing great
content, it often doesn�t get the chance to fully live up to its
potential to create external linking opportunities. Why? Because more
often than not, little thought is put into making sure that the
website gets cited when the content is shared online. In fact, many
marketers simply assume that when someone cites their content, they
also automatically link to the website. Unfortunately, that is not the
case. As a result, many marketers are missing the opportunity to
leverage their content to secure valuable external links.
Understanding its impact
For example, let�s say that a consumer research firm publishes a
whitepaper about shopping trends by the day of the week. The document
is emailed to existing clients, who then copy and paste key callouts
in emails to their colleagues, quote the whitepaper in their blogs,
comment on other blogs with snippets, and mention it at a meeting,
prompting others to search for it.
Obviously, the content succeeded in engaging the target, and it was
shared amongst many potential customers. However, there is nothing to
confirm that the interest generated resulted in a single link back to
the firm�s website. If the firm were using some type of proactive
method to ensure citation, they may have increased their external
links. Instead, the lack of attention to SEO-friendly citation
translates into a huge missed opportunity to increase their link
credibility for search.
Making it happen
To effectively leverage your content for external links, you need to
ensure that your shared content is accompanied by a link � even when
it�s just snippets. But keep in mind that generating external links
through online citation is not the responsibility of your visitors.
After all, even if they do link back to you, they may not do so in an
SEO-friendly way. Given that, automating the online citation process
may yield the best results. Below are a few tools that will help
ensure you receive proper online citation and net external links when
visitors share, post, or copy and paste your content:
Social Bookmarking � An old favorite, social bookmarking widgets have
evolved to encompass nearly every social media platform and network
available � from Facebook and Twitter to more niche sites such as
Slashdot and Sphinn. These widgets are commonly customizable to match
the aesthetic of your website and the platforms you prefer, and are
easily implemented with the code generated by the provider. Many of
the most popular social bookmarking widgets are free, and some come
packaged with analytics to track click-throughs. My personal favorite
is Social Twist�s Tell a Friend <http://tellafriend.socialtwist.com/>
, whose tabbed format offers social bookmarking, blogging, social
networking, email, and IM options.
Site-Hosted jQuery Script � Search and Share
<http://www.latentmotion.com/search-and-share/>
, a jQuery script for your website, takes automated citation to the
next level. Recognizing that when visitors highlight your content
they�re most likely interested in sharing it with others, Search and
Share automatically provides sharing options when text on your site is
highlighted. In addition, the script embeds the source page�s title
and URL when the content is shared even when a mere snippet is
copied and pasted. If your target audience is highly engaged in
blogging and forums, the benefits of this script are undeniable.
Instead of hoping that your site will receive a link when your content
is quoted, you can feel confident that Search and Share will make it
happen automatically. As a result, it will simultaneously increase the
links to your site, and decrease your dependency on your visitors for
proper online citation.
Providing Optimized HTML � For online marketers, it�s sometimes hard
to remember that not everyone on the Web is an HTML whiz. Considering
that, one of the simplest ways to make sure people are linking to you
in the way that fits your optimization strategy is to actually provide
them with the code. For example, take a look at PR.com�s Link to Us
page <http://www.pr.com/link-to-us>
. PR.com has provided pre-formatted HTML code for people to use when
linking to their site. By eliminating the work of coding a link,
PR.com is increasing the chance that their target will follow through.
Providing an exact HTML link enables you to pursue any optimization
strategy you choose, thereby increasing the effectiveness of the links
on your search visibility. This strategy can be especially beneficial
when securing a link from a business partner or vendor, as you may
have more flexibility in determining the format of the link.
If you are going to invest in developing interesting and engaging
content for your website, be sure to leverage it as a means to
generate external links via proper online citation. Don�t make the
mistake of assuming that your visitors are citing your content. With
several tools that eliminate the hassle and increase the likelihood of
linking back to a site, there�s no reason to miss this opportunity.
Opinions expressed in the article are those of the author, and not
necessarily Search Engine Land.
Allison Halter <http://searchengineland.com/author/allison-halter/>
is a Search Marketing Specialist at iProspect
<http://www.iprospect.com>
. She is responsible for the development and execution of organic
search strategies for clients in the B2B, pharmaceutical, retail, and
financial industries. She also shares search engine optimization
advice in iProspect's monthly newsletter, the Search Marketing
Advisor.
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