Looking for a Little Link Love this Valentine’s Day?

February 14, 2011 · by Shirley Tan

Today is Valentine’s Day and this gave me some inspiration to write about how improving SEO and finding love are very similar processes (although some might argue that SEO is easier).

I’m often asked (and I, myself, wonder) about SEO secrets and/or strategies that SEO experts as well as ecommerce store owners employ. After all, who wouldn’t want to know the secret sauce that could solve all our traffic challenges, right?

So, I'm going to assume that you’ve done all the on-page optimization on your website such as:

• Unique Title Tags
• H1, H2, H3 Tags
• SEO friendly content with keywords sprinkled strategically
• Unique and helpful content
• Clean and up-to-date code
• Good internal linking structure
• Have a Fast-loading site

You’re pretty much left with off-page optimization, which to put it simply is “Link Love.” Link love, otherwise known within the SEO community as link building, may sound like a lot of work because it is a lot of work – just like any relationship.

To be ready for link love is a lot like the requisites for human love. For us ladies, we have to primp and fuss with our hair, makeup, clothes, hygiene, be on our best behavior and for the guys, perhaps less so, but please… don’t skip on the hygiene and best behavior! We women still have some minimal expectations. So, all this stuff that has to be done on a personal level is what’s required with on-page optimization done so that we can attract the link love.

Courting link love begins when you first meet, start by flirting (email or telephone call) and eventually, ask for a date (ask for a link) – all the while putting your best foot forward. At this time, showcasing your website (yourself) should be your primary focus on trying to get that date.

But the chase doesn’t end with the first date. If and when we get lucky enough to attract the link love with the right anchor text (qualities we like in the other person), we mustn’t let ourselves go. Keeping link love requires maintenance (keeping up with new and unique content, all the above that I just mentioned about on-page optimization). Yup, it’s hard work, and to keep our partner’s interest, we have to work at the relationship, or be consumed by fear that they may no longer find us attractive and start looking elsewhere (other websites to link to).

Now, I’m only half kidding around when I make the above analogy, but those of you who work with an SEO consultant or are doing SEO on your own know what I’m referring to. If you have bad content or have bad associations (crappy friends or family), fewer websites are likely to link to you, and your website (relationship) will suffer.

So, what’s the lesson here? Think of building links as if it were your personal relationships. What kind of relationship (site) do you want? What is your ultimate goal? If you want quality links, you’ll need to be a quality partner just like in real life.

So tonight when you enjoy the spirit of the day of love this Valentine’s Day, think about how you can better attract and hold on to you mate and how you can attract and hold on to the links to your website.

Hugs and Kisses on this Valentines Day,

Shirley

To read more on ecommerce tips and advise, please visit my blog at Ecommerce Fast Start

Category: By Merchants, For Merchants | Tags: Search Engine Optimization, Marketing, Link building