The advent of AI seems to have made things easier for content marketers. After all, tools like ChatGPT can help you churn out tons of content within minutes. However, AI-generated content has to battle with even more competition because it levels the playing field. In these circumstances, concepts like value and authority become even more significant.

Statistics show that 77% of marketers rely on content to generate leads. With the number likely to spurt in the AI era, you need to ramp up your strategy to stay ahead of the competition. While there aren’t any shortcuts, focusing on link intent can get you the desired results. Content with link intent naturally generates links and establishes external authority for your business.

According to link-building surveys, 65.2% of SEO professionals believe that links will have the same or higher impact on search rankings in the next five years. Likewise, 80% of SEOs think that links will continue being a ranking factor in ten years. These numbers clearly state the significance of link intent when it comes to content creation.

The next time you write a post or web page, you must have link-building on your mind rather than creating random stuff. Here are a few insights into creating compelling content with link intent.

Understand the Concept of Link Intent

Before embarking on the journey, you must understand the concept of link intent. It is about ensuring that content creation and link-building are parts of the same process. Not working with a cohesive mindset means you may end up only optimizing for links without paying attention to down-funnel effects. Letting a reputable digital marketing agency handle the process is your best bet.

Anchor Marketing Co. recommends partnering with an agency that offers comprehensive services covering both fronts. Look for someone who understands that content isn’t just about getting the maximum number of links but gaining ones that actually deliver value to enhance your brand. Such content can help passively build your link profile over time, which is the core objective of link intent.

Stick With the Basics But Think Beyond Silos

According to a recent survey, 62% of B2B buyers rely on content to make buying decisions. They look for stories backed by visual research and influencer recommendations. Clearly, you must stick with the basics of relevance and value even while prioritizing link intent. Besides providing rich information to the target audience, your content should follow Google’s guidelines regarding context and keyword usage.

If your content contributes to the topic’s discourse, it effortlessly attracts links. Additionally, Google recognizes its relevance and puts it at the top of searches. Besides sticking with the basics, you must avoid working in content and link-building silos because you may only end up getting more quantity instead of quality with the approach.

Master Link-Building Outreach

Once you address content relevance, you need to pick the outreach part to maximize link intent. A robust outreach plan is about reaching out to the right sources and asking for high-quality backlinks. That isn’t something most marketers do, which is the reason they fail to capitalize even on the best content.

Surveys show that only 36% of marketers have outreach campaigns in place to build valuable links to a new piece 3-4 weeks after launching it. But you can ramp up your strategy with a little effort.

Here is a checklist that can help you cover the outreach part:

• Research keywords, statistics, and reports bloggers and journalists are likely to search on platforms such as Quora, Twitter, Ahrefs, and Reddit
• Using these keywords, create a list of topics that website owners may be interested in
• Research writers and journalists who pick similar topics
• Develop content with contemporary insights and use timing to increase relevance
• Pitch writers and journalists with personalized outreach explaining why your content matters and how it is different
• Follow the writers and journalists on their social channels to build relationships for future opportunities

Maintain a database of websites you connect with and reuse the list to gain quality backlinks and strengthen your link profile over time.

The Bottom Line

Link intent can elevate your content and make it more market-worthy than you imagine. Such pieces can get you passive links over time besides the ones you gain by asking bloggers and journalists. Passive links can help you drive referral traffic, which can do wonders for your ranking and sales.

Undoubtedly, you need to work harder with research and outreach, but the effort is worthwhile. The good thing is that you can do it the easy way by collaborating with an agency with a forte in both content creation and outreach.