Search engine optimization is the practice of improving your rankings on search engines, which most often means Google, so that when someone searches for a keyword related to you or your business, your content shows up before others.
Here you might be thinking, “Why should I pay attention to search engine optimization?” After all, your keyword is your brand name and nobody else has claim to that. It’s not like you’re competing for the keyword, “best feet model.” When someone types your model name in the search bar, your listing should come up. That’s how it should work.
Ultimately, having great SEO is all about the long game, and it’s the same when it comes to ensuring that your links beat out illegal pirated content.
The problem, of course, is illegal links. Piracy is an unfortunate reality that we have to live with, and at any given moment there are pirated links of your content floating around on the web.
These illegal links can impact your business by literally burying your legitimate content on search engines. For instance, let’s say someone searches for your name, and the free pirated content shows up above your actual model pages and profiles. Considering that more than half of all organic traffic is absorbed by the first three results, and that three out of four people click the first two results out of instinct, having illegal links rank above your own can really hurt your business.
So here are some SEO best practices that can help ensure your links stay on top in search engine results.
CLAIM AS MANY PLATFORMS AS POSSIBLE
The simplest thing you can do in order to defend against illegal links is to establish as many legitimate links under your name as you can. This means signing up for every major social media platform and as many content monetization sites as possible, including tube site profiles as you see fit. Usually these sites get a big boost from search engines, and a page with your name on it will almost always be ranked above the illegal equivalent. With enough of them, you can just push the illegal links out to the second or third page of the search results, or even beyond, giving them less chance of discovery.
START A BLOG
Blogging is a common way to improve SEO. Blogging is employed by companies and brands around the world, including models. If you want your SEO to really improve and capture new organic traffic, then writing articles is the way to go. A great blog is bound to beat most illegal links in terms of ranking on search engines. Plus, if you start a blog, you can start ranking for many other keywords. Let’s say that you wish to target a certain niche for yourself. You can write an article around that niche, and draw in fresh search traffic. These articles don’t have to be too long. They can be as short as 400 words. Or if you don’t have the writing chops, you can always hire writers to create content for you.
GET ON REDDIT
Reddit has long been a great tool for SEO. Unlike other social media platforms, links posted on Reddit that get upvoted strongly gain SEO value; this has been verified many times by SEO experts. The good news is that there is a very healthy community of models and fans on Reddit, so you’ll fit right in. Post your links on relevant subreddits, ensuring that your content is relevant to the subreddit’s theme. If those links gain upvotes and comments, you’ll gain SEO value on those links. Better yet, try creating your own subreddit and invite fans to share your links there. The more you foster a community around yourself on Reddit, the more you’ll get back.
BE PROACTIVE ABOUT FINDING AND TAKING DOWN ILLEGAL LINKS
The best thing to do overall is make sure that illegal links don’t stay up long. Eliminating illegal links will give your actual legitimate links more breathing room so people can find them. The first step is being vigilant about illegal links. Be proactive and regularly search for your name, so that you can spot pirated content that is ranking highly as soon as possible, because every moment that the link is up is a moment you lose out on gaining new business.
Ultimately, beating out illegal pirated content and improving your SEO is all about diligence and patience. Follow the tips above and stay dedicated to protecting your brand. It’s your baby, after all.
Alex Park is the digital marketing coordinator at BranditScan. To learn more about BranditScan opportunities, follow them on Twitter @BranditScan and visit BranditScan.com.
