I was in correspondence with someone who does a lot of link-building recently, and I asked what some of the ‘low hanging fruit’ was nowadays. The immediate suggestion was ‘charities and voluntary organisations’. There’s a double-win from getting involved with these, of course – it’s definitely not all about getting website links!
Ideas for our involvement with the charity (in return for publicity) can be a lot more than just financial donations. There might be ways for us to donate products or services, for staff to volunteer, to help with fundraising events, or even to provide facilities such as meeting rooms. Any of these might be a reason for a charity to link to us in return.
A link as a thank-you
I worked for a voluntary organisation which was offered use of a facility by a local firm. Although the company didn’t ask for it, because they weren’t sophisticated enough about SEO, I ensured that my organisation’s website contained a thank-you link to the company, with – crucially – a one-sentence description of the business they’re involved in. This should be all that search engines need to add a very small, but nevertheless worthwhile, bit of ‘link love’.
Longer term partnerships with charities can also generate success stories and testimonials, which could also provide further opportunities for mutual publicity and links. We just need to be creative!