Millions of pages of content are generated on the web each day. Keeping up with the latest or digging through existing material, even in a narrow field, is impossible. That’s why posts which share links to relevant content elsewhere are so valuable to your visitors.
But it’s important not to simply link and run.
Besides the link itself, there are four elements that make a great sharing post:
- Summarize the key point you think visitors will get from the piece
- Provide a short quote from the item that addresses the key point
- Add your opinion or an explanation of how the link relates to your situation or a supporting story or anything that puts your stamp on the piece
- Include an image (unless you’re embedding a video)
The first two are must-haves, the third is highly recommended, while the fourth makes nice gravy.
Together, they turn the piece into your post rather than just a link to someone else’s. And indirectly they create content that search engines pay more attention to because it has some substance.
And remember to properly use anchor text when linking to another site.
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