Chain link fence

Using Free eBooks For Link Building

John Wieber By · · 2 min read

All over the Internet you can find guides and tutorials that will teach you how to make money by creating and selling eBooks. This looks like a good idea indeed. However, what I’m going to suggest is that you create a good eBook and… give it away. Yes, it means you won’t make money immediately. No, it doesn’t mean you won’t make money later.

Why should I offer my eBooks for free when I could be selling them?

There’s a good reason for this: by giving high-quality info away you’ll generate backlinks for your site or blog. Think about it:

  • Google — the most popular search engine — values backlinks, i. e., backlinks help you site get better rankings.
  • When you distribute a product for free, more people download it.
  • If several people like your product, they will write about it on blogs and forums, including a link to your site so that others can get their freebie too.
  • These backlinks will help your site achieve better Google rankings. Therefore, more web surfers will be able to find your content via Google.
  • Once these new visitors arrive to your site, you can show them your sponsors’ ads and/or your own paid products.

See? In the end, your free eBook will have increased and renewed your site’s audience, which may result in more profits for you.

Tips to ensure that your free eBooks will generate backlinks:

1. Quality is what you must aim for. A useless eBook will never generate backlinks; it’ll generate negative reviews instead.

2. Host your eBook on your own domain. If you host it on an external site, where do you think the link love will go to?

3. On each and every page of your eBook you must include clickable links to both its download page and to your site’s homepage. Also add a polite, friendly message encouraging readers to send said links to their friends and/or share them on forums, blogs etc.

If you have any questions or additional ideas on how to use free eBooks for link building, please leave a comment.

Aug 14, 2008 · 2 min read All articles
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John Wieber
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John Wieber

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With over 20 years of experience in web development, e-commerce, and digital marketing, John has managed hundreds of websites and led strategies for businesses ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies. His work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and major trade publications. John brings a unique blend of technical expertise and marketing…
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