Creating “Link Bait” is what search engine marketers call the art of creating unique, compelling content that motivates other webmasters to link to your site. It often comes in the form of weird, funny or controversial and it is probably the single most effective thing loan officers can do to boost their website or blog’s search rankings and website traffic.

The reason link bait is so effective is that it plays to what search engine algorithms like the most: growth of so-called “natural” one-way links from other websites. If you put something on a page of your site that inspires other webmasters and bloggers to link to it, you have generated more positive affect to your search engine rankings than submitting your website URL to 1,000 directories or getting 1,000 reciprocal link deals with other sites BY A HUGE MARGIN.

A great example of link bait and it’s close cousin, viral marketing, is the following video posted to YouTube. You’ve probably already seen it because it is effective and people have talked about it, linked to it and generated buzz for the creator.

Viral marketing isn’t a term often used in the mortgage industry, probably because many people believe it’s too difficult to achieve viral-like results in an ultra-competitive marketplace and the concept really only exists in online marketing.  However, thinking “outside the box” may lead you to alternative approaches in your marketing that can achieve viral symptoms.   So what makes marketing viral anyway?  There are three basic keys we’ll discuss in this article.

Viral Marketing Key 1:  Make it easy to pass on 

Think of a virus - it easily transfers from host to host usually via air or touch.  Viral marketing gets it’s name because the marketing material is easily passed from one person to another and so your viral marketing campaign must include a way to get your material from one person to another, the easier the better.

When a customer visits your website and finds some aspect of it really cool, do you have a way for them to quickly and easily share it with their friends and associates?  If not, find a way to do it because otherwise you may not be maximizing the investment you’ve made in your mortgage website.  A feature that lets site visitors “share with a friend” is a good example.

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If you’re into search engine optimization as a strategy for driving traffic to your mortgage website, you may want to purchase a listing in the BOTW.org directory.  They aren’t cheap, but they are quality links.  If you have a blog, you can get into the blog directory for much less since it’s still relatively new.

Also, if you go before the end of today (Aug. 31st), use promo code SIZZLE25 for 25% off.

If you don’t already have an account with Yahoo search marketing, you can register for a new account and get $75 in free credit.  This is not a bad way to try to generate some leads for yourself.

To get the $75, go to sponsoredsearch.yahoo.com/sellmore then enter promo code US1626B while registering.

If you have a website for your mortgage business, and are wondering about pay-per-click (PPC) advertising you may want to take advantage of this offer from MSN AdCenter. When you register a new account, just enter promo code AD4500 to get $100 free.

MSN charges a $5 verification fee, so you end up netting $95, which isn’t a bad deal at all. It’s a great way to do some experimentation with PPC advertising on someone else’s dime.

In addition to the free money, MSN can deliver highly targeted traffic to your site on a wide variety of demographics - not just based on your keyword list. Only want traffic in Miami, FL? Done. Only want traffic on weeknights after 8 PM? You can do that, too. Add in specific keywords and keyword phrases and you can send yourself highly targeted potential leads.

Web marketing 101 is all about getting links from other sites that point to your site. As a mortgage broker or loan officer, you can boost traffic to your website by submitting your information to the many hundreds of web directories available across the internet. Each link you earn represents potential clicks to your site as well as potential bonuses in search engine rankings.

With that in mind, here is a list of 335 free web directories where you can submit your site:

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All loan officers and mortgage brokers are marketers.  If you don’t think like a marketer then you’re in the wrong profession.  As a marketer, you smartly take advantage of great opportunities when they come around.  What you are about to read is a great opportunity so naturally you’ll take advantage.

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I keep hearing out there that online marketing for mortgage professionals is a waste of time because you’ll never be able to rank high enough in the search engines to get significant traffic. Of course, being the internet type that I am, I have never bought into this logic. But I couldn’t prove that it was possible for a regular, non-tech-saavy loan officer to crack the search engine rankings and achieve significant “organic” (unpaid) search engine traffic until now.

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The following seven methods for driving visitors to your mortgage website are not new or revolutionary; they are tried and true methods used by interenet marketers in various industries.  If you are new to having your own website, this information will help you begin to form a solid base of knowledge for quality site promotion and help you achieve success with your website marketing efforts.

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