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Almost 10 years ago, I wrote a piece called “Linking is Queen”.  The article discussed how linking is essential to the health of a website, but that content was still “King”.

Skip to 2013 and the only thing that has changed is the way we link.  There is no longer any need to solicit links, though it would not hurt to solicit them from appropriate sites (such as clients and suppliers).  Links today come directly from a viewpoint of popularity.  If you are popular, you get discussed and linked to in social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, and more.  This in turn makes your site, your brand, and/or yourself a deemed authority on the subject in question.

So how do you become popular? The answer is the same as it ever was: “Content is King”.  Write original, valuable content, and people will discuss it, share it, Tweet it, and make your article or website the most popular one around. You can use tricks like link bait, but that is just another way of confirming to “write content that people want to share”.  It all comes down to: good content generates good links.

So what is good content? Good content is both unique AND adds value to a website.

• It is not offered anywhere else
• It is an original solution to people’s problems
• Is either interesting, surprising, and/or has a practical use

If you want your content to spread, it should trigger one of the 3 A’s: Anxiety, Awe, or Anger.

Unique content without value may in fact harm your site’s authority.  So don’t regurgitate old ideas, be creative and initiate new concepts.  That is how you will make it to the top.

So, in a decade, everything has changed, and nothing has changed.  Content and links are still the King and Queen that dominate search engine landscape.

Don’t forget to pledge your allegiance.

by Shawn Campbell – February 8, 2013 – www.RedCarpetWeb.com