Everyone was doing the Hustle on dance floors in the 1970s. The term hustle is now being applied to a new way of link building. Doing the hustle is now an SEO technique that means reaching out to as many individuals as possible through reciprocal links to generate website traffic.
Link building is a technique that serves a wide variety of purposes. It helps websites attain higher rankings in search engine results, increases visibility for businesses, products and services, and establishes sites as authoritative and popular. Hustling can be used to place reciprocal links on business and blog sites to build brands and enhance reputations.
The hustle is a multi-step process that begins with locating websites that contain great content, and approaching the site owners with an offer for mutual content exchange. Locating those who are willing to perform a mutual hustle may take time, and it’s helpful to develop an email template for contacting website owners. Emails can be tailored to individual owners and websites, provided enough information can be obtained.
Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are valuable resources for locating contact information on a wide array of businesses and individuals. First contact can be a delicate process and hustlers should be prepared to respond instantly to those who reply to their initial query. A good hustler is always solicitous of their link-building partners. Ask if there is specific content they want featured and follow through – publish it and provide them with the information where it can be found.
It’s essential to keep a log of who has been contacted and their response. Labeling responses is also useful, but be aware that the world is a busy place. It’s easy for individuals to forget to carry through on obligations. Those who agree to hustle may forget to publish the desired link or video and a gentle reminder may be in order. In the early stages, asking for nothing while sending as much traffic as possible to partners is a strategy guaranteed to pay huge dividends down the road.
The Internet is a venue for give and take, but not if it violates copyright. Inevitably, there will be websites that have absconded with material that belongs to the hustler. Individuals can request that it be removed, but when pirated content is found, a better solution is to have the site owner include a link in the content that will help hustlers rise in search engine results.
Hustling provides a new way to approach the link building process to increase website traffic and revenues. Quality links can increase website traffic by as much as 40,000 hits per month, depending on the site. It also serves to increase visibility, build reputations and brands, and increase search engine standings. In todays’ economy, it’s essential to utilize every possible avenue and hustling offers mutually beneficial results for all concerned.
