ABAKUS

Ok, I'm on a train and I had this sudden urge to write something. However, as everyone knows here, my written German is awful so we are going to have a conversational english class

Receiving links, as most here already know, is vital for a top ranking. You can buy them (and yes, buying links can be very effective, especially if bought from Abakus ) or, you can earn them. The question is, what kind of content gets linked to?

Why should anyone link voluntarily to your site? What do you have that the zig tausend other websites of your theme dont have? Take a minute and think about that, because it is critical to receiving links.

There are many articles out ther on how to create viral marketing campaigns and how to create link bait. Most of these articles focus on two main attributes...
fun and controversial

Fun

This category normally is associated with a funny video or an online game. An addictive online game or a funny parody go down well. Every theme (website) has the potential to provide the substance for a fun online game. The key is to have something unique and relevant. For example I could have a game where you have falling "websites" which you need to catch whilst dodging the "bad neighborhoods" and google filters Normally such an online game is beyond the programming skills of most. The answer is to outsource. There are companys that specialise in this kind of thing and it does not necessarily cost a fortune.

Also videos are well received. A funny video is excellent link bait as well as a traffic bringer. You need to think out of the box and have something unique. Some kind of thematic parody would go down well. Anyone with a video camera could do this. Not any online game or video will do. You really need to be creative and you should not cut corners.

[Controversial]

People love to give their "Senf". Especially on hot topics. A hot topic is one that everyone has an opinion on or have very strong opinions about. Stay away from religion and politics. Anything else however is fair game. What goes down particularly well are "studies" A well researched study which focuses on a controversial theme or where the results are unexpected are excellent link "futter". Articles where you go against the mainstream of thought are also good. The key here is to allow comments. A blog is well placed for such articles as is a forum. Be careful though! Too controversial and it can backfire. You can end up being a pariah in your field or will lose respect if your article is too off beat. The most linked to articles I've seen in my branch are those that question the mainstream of thought.

So how does all this help you with your online ipod zubehör shop?
Just because you are commercial AND content focused). Do's and don'ts article, FAQ, "Top 10 fehler...", community building (forum,blog), "other resources" page, review feature... the list goes on. Even the most bland shops have the opportunity to generate worthwhile content. The problem is... it takes time and resources without a guarantee that the generated content will result in links. This turns a lot of people off making the effort. It shouldnt. Even if you get no links, the extra pages you generate can be optimized to cover secondary/niche keyword phrases which will bring traffic. In the times where link purchasing has been publically condemned by Google, it makes sense to have a plan B.

For the rest of my journey I intend to think about a theme for a study. Watch this space!

Cheers
Alan