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Today we have Rand from 14^th Colony talking about content promotion. Apart from formatting the post and pasting it into WordPress, the whole thing is Rand's.

It seems every SEO blog and forum says the key to getting backlinks and rankings is to "write great content". But even the best, most insightful, unique content won’t do anything for your site if nobody reads it. What is “great content” and how do you actually get the links you want after the content is published?

Great content is unique, informative and insightful information presented in a way your intended audience will be receptive to it.

What great content is not is regurgitated information that is already on a thousand other websites. Even if you are presenting information that is common knowledge just by putting your own personal stamp on it you may have something noteworthy. And noteworthy content is what picks up links.

Tips to make "average" content noteworthy

• Package the information to match your target market. An extreme example of this is websites that translate documents from one language to another. A less extreme example is repackaging a business article for working moms – the tone of the article will be completely different making the information more valuable.
• Fill in the blanks. Professional articles in every industry assume the viewer knows all the background needed to understand their point. This just isn’t true. This post is an example of filling in a blank: how to promote articles to get links.
• Be ahead of the curve. If you put together information before anyone else does your article will be cited as the source document for all other following. An example of that is my article on Social Bookmarking that came out when that phenomenon was still pretty new. Pierre included a link referencing it to explain his article on Social Bookmarking Code.
• Make it personal. If you can show that you have been in the situation the viewer is facing and made it through you develop a bond with them. Having clear examples and illustrations also help.

And it probably goes without saying but I just have to push this point: proof read, edit, spell check, edit, read it out loud, edit, edit, edit. Spelling and grammar errors can drop the viewer’s trust in a heartbeat. Fix them ahead of time.

Getting the word out

Once you post your carefully crafted, super edited, insightful, unique article it is time to promote it.

• Tell your friends and colleagues. Send out emails to people you know. Your personal relationships are easiest to connect with and they already have a vested interest in your success.
• Ask industry leaders. Be very polite and do not attach any expectations. Industry leaders are who they are because they are busy. Often asking for criticism is the way to go as it appeals to their ego or sense of "giving back".
• Announce the article in a forum. Be sure to comply with the rules and culture of the forum. You can also highlight the article in your signature file. I have had great success with this picking up links long after the initial "buzz" wore off.
• Reference the article on your blog. If you don’t have a blog, get one. They are great vehicles for promotion. This will also get the word out through your RSS feed.
• Reference your article in blog comments. These links don’t count for the search engines because of the nofollow issue but the traffic you pick up may lead to some strong links on other sites.
• Leverage Social Media. Many social bookmarking sites use nofollow but some don’t and the exposure your article gets – even if it doesn’t hit the home page – is often enough to get you some links along the way. Don’t submit everything you write, just your best stuff, and have a friend submit the articles for you (Diggers don’t like self-promotion).
• Write a press release. Getting your article mentioned by industry newsletters and websites can be a big boon.
• Submit to directories that offer deep links. Most directories only link to the home page but some will link to any page in your website that you choose. You can do a search for [keyword +submit] or [keyword +"add url"] to find sites like these.
• Exchange links. Reciprocal linking in limited doses is ok. Just don’t get carried away.
• Offer the article for translation. If you know people in your industry that speak a different language offer to let them translate your article in exchange for a link back.
• Write smaller articles on your topic for distribution sites. If your article is about "widgets" you can expand on some details and have a new article about "the history of widgets" or "the difference between red widgets and blue widgets" or… whatever. The point is you’ve already done the research so use it to generate some smaller articles that reference your main article.

One to two weeks of solid promotion should give your article the momentum it needs. If you do another round of link-building every 6 months you can have a solid position in the search engines and consistent stream of traffic for years.

Randall McCarley has more than 10 years experience in marketing and website development and promotion. He owns 14th Colony and Linker’s Union and is a moderator at SEO Refugee.