Thanks for the question GuruMonetizer. There’s no real secret to this one – I simply went about my business of blogging in a way that I felt would provide the most useful information and community for those exploring my topic – making money online via blogging.
Some of the things I’ve not done (or at least not done for quite a few years) include:
- link exchanges
- buying links (I’ve run a couple of small AdWords and BlogAds campaigns but no text links)
- begging for blogroll links
I think if someone did some analysis on the type of links that are pointing at ProBlogger that they’d find that the majority of them are the result of someone commenting upon, disagreeing with or recommending something that I’ve written.
What type of posts have brought in the most incoming links?
I’d be guessing here – but I think there’d be a few:
- Scoops – breaking big news is probably the best way to get incoming links because the majority of bloggers who report on the news will also include a link to you as it’s source. Some blogs have perfected the scoop post to the point that they’ve really launched themselves into the A-list as a result of them.
- How To Posts – I always find that these posts generate a lot of incoming links. Once you help one person work out how to do something – they often like to keep a record of it for themselves but also to pass it on.
- Opinion Pieces – arguing a point strongly is great for getting people to comment and link up to your posts as you generally find that two camps rise up as a result – firstly those who agree with you and want to write about why – and secondly those who disagree with you and want to state their case.
- Group Projects – while I don’t force participants to link back to my blog I do ask them to consider it. Even if only 50% do this can result in a hundred or more backlinks per project.
- Humor Posts – one of the frustrating things of having a serious blog is that quite often the heavier and serious posts (that you put hours and hours into writing) get ignored and it can be the lighter and humorous ones that you post off the cuff without thinking about them that get all the attention.
These are the type of posts that seem to generate links here on ProBlogger. On other blogs that I own there are similarities but I’ve found that each blog seems to have it’s own type of post that works best.
Lastly – Keep in mind that links are not everything. While they definitely help, concentrate on producing great content and keeping a holistic perspective and you’ll find the links will come in time.
