Lists: The Pros And Cons Of Inbound Link Building With Lists

Writing by Nick Stamoulis on Sunday, 25 of November , 2007 at 6:21 pm

Yesterday I posted a list of ways you can encourage inbound links to your website. It seems that lists are popular. Everyone is doing it and if they’re not, they want to. But how do you go about creating a long list of 100 or 1,000 top _____________? Fill in the blank.

Well, for starters, you need to identify what it is you want to create a list on. Don’t do something that other people have done. Be different. It is OK to take a list that has already been done and modify it into something else. Obviously, then, the first step is to do some research in your niche to see what kinds of lists other people have put together.

After you’ve created a good list of lists that have already been done in your niche. Try to see if you can tell which of those are the most popular. That should give you some kind of clue as to what kind of lists work within your industry. If there is a way you can capitalize on a similar list without duplicating the list that has already gained notoriety then you can do that.

Essentially, there are three ways to go about creating your own list:

• Find a list that’s already been done and modify it with your own criteria and values
• Start from scratch and build your own list using what you value as the criteria for judging
• Take a poll or ask people to nominate candidates for your list

There are pros and cons to doing it any of these ways. Obviously, the drawback to the first one is that you are playing off of someone else’s idea. If they flopped on their list then you should know why. Otherwise, you run the risk of flopping as well. If they were successful then you need to know what sets your list apart from theirs.

If you create your own list from scratch, be prepared to put in a lot of hours. You’ll have to research all the sites, books, movies, etc. that might fall into your list. It could take a lot of time to do the research just to find the candidates for the list. Then you have to narrow the field by judging the candidates against your criteria. Of course, the upside is you’ll have a unique list that potentially has some value to your visitors.

Asking people to nominate candidates for your list will save you a lot of time, but you are subject the prejudices of the marketplace. What if someone is left out? It could be someone that you would have nominated. Should you allow yourself to make a nomination? What will your visitors think if you do? These are all very good questions and you’ll need to answer them yourself.

Lists can help you build good solid inbound links. But be sure to think it through before you do it because you’d hate to spend hours putting together a good list without any payback. You’ll have to consider the promotion of your list as well. How will you let people know about it?

Category: Link Building

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