How To Keywords Target For Link Building On A Budget

As it relates to the recent discussion about the use of the long tail theory, I’m nowhere close to abandoning the strategy as an important component in keyword targeting. I thought it might be helpful to spend a couple of minutes expanding on my “yes” vote for the continued use of long tail keywords.

Web traffic is unlike typical business models where 80% of your business comes from 20% of your clients. Most qualified web traffic is the reverse of that, where 20% of your business comes from your “top” key words, with the remaining traffic being generated from the remaining 80% of your key phrases.

What it boils down to is trying to figure out the multiple variations of key phrases, and choosing key phrases that capture the market share with Best Digital Marketing Company Name Ideas.

To help illustrate this marketing point, the long-tail concept is demonstrated in the following graph utilized in some recent forum and blog threads concerning long tail theory. Here, Seth Godin discusses three “pockets” of the long tail and highlights three areas of importance on the curve.

Here are a couple of other examples of choosing long tail optimized keywords to give you a better idea about the concept:

An online auto parts store choosing “ford mustang exhaust system” versus “auto parts”, or
A dog training service choosing “dog obedience classes” versus “dogs”
In both of these examples, the selection of the “longer” key phrases will most probably result in more targeted traffic to the site, and thus more conversions. The moral of the story… don’t be afraid to use 2-4 word key phrases as your target key phrases, it may end helping your overall objective.

I recently came across an interesting Search Engine Watch article that gave some clever ideas for how to develop links in a natural way – all for free! Link building is important to your site because by developing good quality and natural links, you are building trust in the online community by becoming known as an ‘authority’ in a particular industry.

Also, having high link popularity is a good indicator of how ‘popular’ your site is. Below is a condensed version of the article which includes 3 different tactics that are not only free, but they are fun to do and my favorite ways to build links!

Link Recovery – When doing link research I often come across sites that mention our clients name but do not link to their site – or link to the wrong website. A quick and friendly email asking the webmaster / site owner to make this change more often than not will result in the link being added or fixed.

Business Groups – Most of the time a client is a member of a group or organization for their industry or a member of a chamber of commerce. Research which groups they belong to and make sure that their website is listed along with all of their other company information. If the site is not mentioned, reach out and request their site be added or inquire if they have a directory of some sort to add website information.

Local & Niche Directories – This is fantastic way to develop links. If the client has an actual brick and mortar location, submit their business information to local directories. There are plethora out there such as Google Local Business Center or Yahoo Local and many more.

We have noticed significant traffic increases after we submitted to local directories. Also, there are niche directories out there for just about any industry you can think of. If your site is relevant to a certain directory or site, it has a good chance of being added.

When creating your link building strategy, you should make sure that you generate quality inbound links. There is no easy way to do that – it demands research and hard work. The rewards can be well worth the effort. If you are up for it and on a shoe-string budget these tips can help you get you on your way!