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How to Increase your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) as a VO Talent: Part 4

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Hey Peeps!

Last week in Part 3 of my series on SEO, we talked about how you can optimize your web pages to get higher search rankings. This week we talk about the importance of links, especially inbound links, to increase your SEO.

Links and SEO
A couple of things to note about your website and links in general: When looking at the overall design of your website, make sure it has a clear hierarchy and, in the interest of SEO, make sure to include text links within the pages. Every page should be reachable from at least one static text link. When creating links to other pages, try to incorporate your keywords in the linked text. When a link incorporates a keyword into the text of the hyperlink, it is called anchor text. For example, if you offer narration services, create a link with anchor text that says “Narration services” and not “Click Here” (which says nothing about the content of your web site) for your narration services page.

This not only allows search engines to index your site more accurately and efficiently, but also ensures that relevant information is associated with your links within the search results. Of course, make sure regularly check for broken links and correct HTML!

Outbound Links
Outbound links start from your site and lead to an external site. There is much discussion in the SEO community about the overall effectiveness of external links. However, having relevant outbound links on your website adds value for your visitors by providing them with links to additional information on your subject. Also, if search engines see that there is a lot of activity on your site, it demonstrates that people are getting value out of your site and that can have a positive impact on your rankings. For example, I happen to link to both Orange County and LA studio informational websites from my front page. This is a relevant set of links that provides my clients with more information about studios that are local to me that I am available to record in, as well as giving me location information with hyperlinked text that helps me in a local search. It is also a way to hopefully promote reciprocal inbound links or backlinks (see below), which come from an external site to yours. It’s all about building meaningful relationships! Be careful to use outbound links sparingly- too many links may cause the search engines to see your site as a spam site or link farm!

Inbound Links
Inbound, or Backlinks are one of the main building blocks to good Search Engine Optimization. One example of a backlink would be if you have a profile on voice123.com with a link back to your website for more information. The link from voice123.com is considered to be a backlink (inbound) for yourdomain.com. From voice123.com’s perspective, however the link to them is an outbound link. Get it? :)

Getting inbound links to your website or blog is not always easy, and can be a time consuming process. The best way to get inbound links is simply to create web pages with content which other webmasters will want to link to. These are known as natural links — the type of link which is created purely to increase the knowledge based usefulness of the internet. Natural links have many advantages including the simple fact that they are free :) and you don’t have to work to get them – except for the work you do in creating valuable content! Check out this great article on 25 reasons why another site will link to yours.

To find your a sampling of your current backlinks, you can search in any search engine search field using: link:www.yourdomainname.com.  Note that Google only returns a selection of inbound links — it will not show all links to your site. Other search engines have the same feature and may provide more detailed results.

Additional Methods to Acquire Inbound Links:
Directory Submission:  Get yourself listed on as many directories and affiliated voice over sites as you can – Don’t be afraid to piggyback off of other web sites that have high SEO ranking for common voice over search terms, such as Voices.com, Voice123.com, boldalgo.com, Voiceover Universe, etc. You can also list your site in directories such as Yahoo, and DMOZ – Make sure to add your site to the most relevant category.

Local Business Listings: Don’t forget about the power of local! Whether your location is critical to your business or not, making connections locally is still an important part in growing your business. As a voice talent, I have friends who live nearby with home studios, as well as local studios I work with. These connections allow me to offer additional and value added services to my own voiceover business. There are many sites where you can submit a link for your local business. Some of the most popular are:

Don’t discount the effect you can have on referrals and even signing up local clients by attending networking events (such as the OC VO Peeps meetups!), sponsoring local charities, and joining local media organizations. I am currently involved in my local chapter of the Media Communications Association International as well as the Media Association of Orange County, and of course the VO Peeps. :) Make sure you have a directory listing on the websites of these organizations as well!

Ask for a Reciprocal link: Contact other voice over talent websites that link to colleagues and ask for a reciprocal link.

Create a Blog! We should all know by now, that In the world of the Internet, as well as SEO, content is king. And blogs are well known to be great ways to enhance your SEO. Your web page could be a blog by itself, or your website could link to a blog that you maintain. Fill it with valuable content and make sure to link back to your website in the sidebar or footer, as well as in your posts, or wherever relevant. Link to other blogs and ask them to link to you for even more inbound links! You can also get your blog on a list such as Networked Blogs.

You can start a blog for free at WordPress, Blogger.com (owned by Google!) or Typepad.

Guest Blog:  If you don’t think you have time to start your own blog right now, you can always guest blog! This is a great way to build up your name and reputation in the industry as a professional, as well as a being known as a valuable, contributing member of the community. Of course include a link back to your website in the “About the Author” section. The easiest and the most natural way to start guest blogging is to contribute to blogs you read regularly. Consider the blogs you read and know – Hey, how about guest blogging for the VO Peeps! Just send an email to anne@vopeeps.com – we’d love to have you!

Comment on Industry Blogs:  Engage in your community – You can start by posting a comment on this blog! :) Again, mke sure you have a link back to your website when you log in, or include it in your comment. Try to avoid unrelated comments or any hard sell. Bob Souer has one of the most comprehensive voice over blog rolls (lists of blogs) in the industry – Check out his list, follow those blogs, and start commenting!

Article Submission:  Once you have written a blog article, you can re-purpose your content on article directories. Most of these sites allow you to have an About the Author or Author Resource section. This is a small blurb that talks about you, offers more information on the subject at hand, and can include a link back to your blog or website. In addition to giving you more backlinks to your site, article directories help to spread your name, build credibility, and help with *brand trust*. Here are some great ones to start with:

Social Media: There is a definite push and pull SEO effect of Social Media Marketing. Social media marketing efforts create conversations and buzz, and can influence queries on keywords used in a search in the same way advertising and public relations through media coverage can, thereby increasing your SEO. Have you noticed that Google is now including Social media in its search results?

Make sure to check out the great new Facebook groups that have recently emerged in our industry such as Voice over Friends, Voice Over Pros and Voice Artists United. Don’t forget about Twitter and Linked In groups as well. Use your URL as part of your signature in discussion forums and newsgroups but be careful not to overdo this — keep your signature brief and never spam forums. Make sure you are genuinely contributing to any discussions!

What NOT to do:
There are no official rules about what is unacceptable linking, but try to avoid “free-for-all” link pages and “link farms”.   These can potentially hurt you more than they can help your rankings.  Also, try to avoid buying links – Search engines such as Google have been known to identify and blacklist the websites involved.

Finally…
Just remember the one golden rule of SEO – It’s all about content, content, content!  Create valuable content for your readers, and you will reap the rewards not only in your search rankings, but in your business and community relationships as well!!

A big hug and a sincere thank you to all of my followers and dedicated readers of this blog.  I hope this series has been helpful to you!  Feel free to post your comments and/or questions below.  Until my next post,

Best Wishes and Much Success,
Anne

Please feel free to refer to my previous articles in this series for reference:

How to Increase your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) as a VO Talent: Part 1
How to Increase your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) as a VO Talent: Part 2
How to Increase your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) as a VO Talent: Part 3

About the Author: Anne Ganguzza has an undeniable passion for all things voice-over and especially enjoys sharing her knowledge with others. This led her to a full time career in voiceover and inspired her to form the local meetup group for voice over artists affectionately known as the Orange County VO Peeps. She is a current member of the Media Communications Association-international (MCA-I.), the LA/Orange County chapter of Media Communications Association-international, and was most recently elected to the Board of Directors for the Media Alliance of Orange County. She is also a current member of the Society of Accredited Voice Over Artists.

As a voice over artist, her voice is described as professional, believable, warm, and friendly. Her experience includes voices for corporate narration, E-learning, IVR/On Hold Systems, commercials, infomercials, Audio Books, Live Theatre Broadcasts, and Government/Educational promotional videos and advertising. For more information, please visit Anne on her website at http://www.annespeak.com/

The post How to Increase your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) as a VO Talent: Part 4 appeared first on VO Peeps.


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