Marketing is about getting your content out there. The more people see it, the better. Since many people find content via search, it’s important that your content get’s shared and linked to, but did you know that Google actually cares who links to your content? Some of the best incoming links are educational and governmental websites. Search engines know that it is much more difficult to get a back link from a government website than a normal .com sit.
With that fact in mind, I wanted to make sure I went after this kind of link, when I filmed for an NGO that partnered with the European Union commission on Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection, or ECHO for short. I had interviewed the head of ECHO in Kabul while filming my short documentary film. That’s why I was thrilled to read the following in an email that was to me:
“[Name] just passed on the film I’d been asking about – many congratulations, it’s come out beautifully! One of the best I’ve seen from any partner til [sic] date actually, both in terms of format and content – very well done! (…) In any case, I really feel this film deserves more visibility, and I’m quite sure we could find other platforms for it (starting of course with the ECHO website!), so please let me know what the plans are.“
An employee of a European Union government department wrote these words. ECHO is a partner with the NGO I had filmed ‘On Wings of Hope’ for in Afghanistan.
I was humbled and honored by this sentiment, but when they linked to the film on the front page of their website I was ecstatic!
Search engines give government website more weight for inbound links, because they trust these websites more.
So when you create a project or produce a body of work or fashion great online content, it’s a good idea to see if there is any way that you can get a government website (in the US they end with .gov) or at least an educational institution (.edu) to link to your page. It carries more weight than other inbound links.
