Hosting Online Contests for Link Building
Online contests are among the most effective yet least popular link building methods, largely due to the frugality of many webmasters and the effort required in executing an effective competition. From planning prizes to contacting entrants, contests require work that many marketers just aren’t willing to provide.
Marketers with the sense of planning and effort required to execute a successful competition have one of the most effective link building methods at their disposal. These four tips will help you host a competition that gains natural traffic and inbound links using popular social media services.
Ask entrants to link to your competition page.
The most important element of any SEO-based competition is the link quantity, quality, and specific characteristics. It’s your job to define them before your competition starts, particularly if you want a surge in the number of links with a specific anchor text.
Ensure that your entrants know what word’s they’re required to use before they post links to your competition page. Provide instructions stating that links must contain one of several anchor texts and you will see growth in the type of links that your website demands.
Offer prizes for traffic and visitor growth.
There’s more to SEO than just links – bounce rate, visitor counts, and click-through rates have been proven to offer search engine advantages, particularly for marketers that use Google’s analytics package. Track traffic surges and your on-site bounce rate, not just link growth.
Target the right audience – influencers are worth the effort.
Contact your niche’s influencers and leaders and offer incentives to spread the word. You’d be amazed at how valuable a high-profile tweet or wall post can be – some contests have surged in popularity solely because of a blog post from a high-profile blogger.
Offer unique prizes, not low-value items.
Offering a standard prize like licenses for software trials will unlikely gain attention. Offer a unique and interesting prize and you’ll gain a sea of entries, particularly if it involved your time.
Do you offer a service to webmasters? Offer a prize of free work in exchange for a testimonial. Do you have a new product on offer? Give away free copies of it, complete with your coaching service and a personalized guide. Niche products? Create something special that enthusiasts would love.