Back to B(abble)log

I was going to write today about how to create incoming links, but a recent phone call reminded me of one important lesson…

Quite often I team up with strategic partner Kathryn Presner of Zoonini Web Services and together we create sites that are "people optimized."  This means they are user-friendly, well-organized, well-written (if I do say so myself!), and not only is there a reason to visit, but there is a reason to come back and a reason why folks would want to link to it.

When creating a site, we start by focusing on the end-user and using this as a basis for keyword research, planning site navigation, internal linking strategy, site look & feel, content development, etc. We do this to create "destination sites" - sites that stand out, provide value, start a relationship and, ultimately IMHO, deserve to do well in the search engines. And, they do.

Unfortunately from time to time I get phone calls where the conversation begins like this: "Hi, I've got a site and I'm not getting any traffic. Can you make me #1 on Google?" When I hear that, too often the person is concerned only about positioning and doesn't care about user experience.

A #1 position is worthless if your site visitors can't find what they are looking for, the copy is incapable of selling a bucket of water to a man on fire, or the overall look & feel of the site doesn't inspire confidence and trust.

If you want incoming links, the first rule is to create a well-designed site that has a unique voice, showcases why your company is remarkable and is inherently credible. Every business owner/marketing manager needs to ask themselves one simple question:

Is my site link worthy?

Stumble It! | Save to del.icio.us |

add a comment: