In my experience with business blogging, certain types of posts seem to attract links more than others. If you want to get more links, it makes sense to publish these types of posts. Here are 7 of them.
1. Lists
If you look at any popular social voting site (like Digg, BallHype, Mixx, or kirtsy), there’s a good chance you’ll find one or more list posts on the front page.
We humans just seem to have an affinity for lists. Maybe it’s because we’re social creatures. Lists are a great conversation piece. We all have our opinions so it’s fun to debate the top 10 movies, albums, sports players, etc. I bet even our ancient ancestors talked about lists. Maybe the top 10 cave paintings or 12 interesting ways to start a fire.
Also, lists have the ability to attract our attention quickly. Glance at the covers of a magazine rack and you’ll see article titles like these:
- Many Happy Returns: 14 Tax Preparation Packages to Guide You Through Taxing Times (PC Magazine)
- 100 Most Beatiful People in 2008 (People)
- How to Build Big Arms in 5 Easy Moves (Men’s Fitness)
- 16 New and Sexy Hairstyles (Cosmopolitan)
2. Glossaries
A glossary is list of definitions for the jargon in your niche. Glossaries attract links because they are a necessary resource in every industry. Every industry has newcomers that want to learn more about the industry. However, these newcomers often get stuck in the learning process because they don’t understand the common terminology.
Bloggers often get asked these type of questions, “What does [industry term] mean?” If you create a glossary, they can link to you and help their readers understand the jargon.
3. Images and Videos
Posts with images and video get a lot of links because they stand out from the crowd. Most bloggers only use text. This leaves a lot of traffic on the table because most people on the internet are visually oriented. Surveys show that most people don’t like to read. Instead, they would rather watch TV or a movie.
I wrote about images and video in the following posts, so check them out for more information.
4. Tutorials
One SEO expert stated that her favorite method for getting traffic and links was to create an in-depth tutorial and then promote it in social media.
Relevant tutorials get lots of links because many internet users are looking for content that shows them how to do a certain task. They want the content to show them step by step how to accomplish their task.
5. Metaphors
When I say “metaphor”, I’m talking about posts that connect two seemingly unrelated topics. Here are a couple examples:
- The Kurt Cobain Guide to Startup Success
- It’s Like Finding Mr. Right: 7 Things I Learned in the Search for the Perfect Jeans
- The Ultimate “Lost†Field Guide to Writing a Better Blog
Metaphor posts are attractive because they jar our mind into making unique connections. We get curious and check out the post to find out how the blogger combined two seemingly unrelated things.
6. Humor
If you’ve got a great sense of humor, try showing it in your blog posts. Historically, humorous content has done a good job of attracting traffic and links. Glance at any social media site and you’re likely to find a lot of humorous pieces.
Also, humorous content often spreads virally because people like pass it around through IM, links, and email. For example, think about all those funny email messages that get forwarded multiple times.
7. Stories
The best-selling book Made to Stick gives six ways to communicate your ideas so that they will survive and spread. One of those ways is to use stories.
Everyone loves a good story. Since the beginning of time, we’ve told each other stories. Stories entertain, touch our emotions, help us understand and remember ideas and concepts, and connect us with each other.
Observe any group of people hanging out and you’ll find them telling stories. With the internet becoming more social, it’s a good idea to find out the compelling stories in your industry and then communicate them on your blog.
Over to You
Have you written any of these types of posts? If you have, feel free to leave a link of the post in the comment section.
