Link Love Defined

This may be a bit basic for some, but have to put it out there anyway because of a few requests I had this week.  After posting an article on Miamism called Choosing the right REALTOR to sell you home. I did not get just one request, but several to re-post the article in its entirety.  Several agents from across the US asked if they could re-post the article on their sites.   I’ve never really been concerned with duplicate content issues because I know Google penalizes sites that do it constantly and openly, but I’m really not an SEO guru and it’s best for you to read this AG article by Jack Leblond:

Should you be worried about Duplicate Content?

My point is….. even if you don’t believe in Duplicate Content issues…. why would you just re-post someone else’s article?  Wouldn’t you be doing your readers a disservice by not providing your own voice to go along with a link?  Blogging, in my opinion, especially when you are a Realtor with a hyperlocal blog writing for a particular audience, is about putting your voice and personality out there for people to “know you”.  If you just re-post someone else’s writing, without providing at least commentary, you would be doing a disservice to your readers and ultimately to your blog and business. So next time you see a great article that you think will also benefit your readers – instead of asking the author for permission to re-post the article – write your own article linking, quoting and using your own examples to strengthen the point.  You can even do that if you disagree with someone, as long as you always give credit where credit is due.  I am always honored when people like my content and link back to it (who doesn’t like link love?). And while I’m at it – a good blogging strategy is to find local bloggers and link back to then every so often – it creates good camaraderie with locals who may ultimately also link back to you as a resource. (in addition to sharing your on-line influence and Social Capital). ** original article at AgentGenius.com **