Link Building: No linked to content in industry

[BobGW]

Hello,

I'm doing link buidling for a small ecommerce niche.

There's no resource content in the niche (looking at OSE Top Content) that has attracted backlinks (on any sites)

How should this effect what resource content I should create. Thanks!

[NerdsOnCall]

It sonds like you have a perfect oppertunity to become the industry resource. Finding an industry that produces a lot of money, that doen't have a lot of online competition,  is a GOLD MINE!

Create something that everyone in your industry needs/wants and then ask them to read it, contribute to it, and link to it.

Good luck, i'd love to hear how your project turns out.

-bryant jaquez

[rhutchings]

I agree that is is a great opportunity.  A directory of sorts would be a great resource to have.  Many professional industries have their own directories (not just a general web directory).  Then you can solicit others to create listings, etc..

[BobGW]

Thank you both for the comments.

What, specifically, would this direcory be like? Can you show me an example?

Also, wouldn't I worry about people leaving my site to visit other sites in the directory and not come back?

I think a directory might work. Thanks!

[rhutchings]

Would kind of depend on this niche that you are talking about.

Technically yes, people may click on links in the directory and leave your website.  With that you have a couple of choices:

1. Keep the directory within your website/domain and use it as an industry resource, gaining backlinks and increasing the overall Domain Authority of your root domain, while directing important internal links to valuable portions of your eCommerce site to boost the value of those pages.   You wouldnt create an easy way for consumers/users on the front end to get to this directory, using UX/UI to keep people in the paths that you want.
2. Create a stand alone blog/site that is the industry directory that is hosted somewhere else on a different domain.  It would look like a "third party" resource and people could still link to it, and it would begin to rank and gather authority on its own. You would use that as a sort of portal/link building site to your own ecommerce site as well as those who participate in it.

If you went with the second route, a site similar to lawyers.com or something like that would be a good one to look at.  Its an article directory, business listing directory and a massive link-bait type of site for resources.

[BobGW]

Thanks Ryan,

I'll go ahead and keep it within the ecommerce site if that is the biggest SEO benefit for the ecommerce site.

Could you give me an example

[rhutchings]

Cant really think of one off the top of my head.  I would still follow the lawyers.com or business.com type of format, just imagine those sites as a section of your site, the directory/resources section that houses all that kind of stuff.

[BobGW]

Great, thanks Ryan