One thing that is for certain is that link building is much more difficult than it used to be. That's because there is so much more competition, so many competing companies, so many competing writers and so many news sites.

That means you need to be creative when you start thinking about content that you hope is going to attract backlinks. To earn high-quality backlinks you won't get away with turning out mediocre content. You've got to aim for something that offers something special.

When I approach work for any client, I follow a well-defined , step-by-step process. Normally, I keep the methodology confidential to the client. But now I'm doing a project for my wife, Caroline, who's setting up an online psychotherapy practice, and she's happy that I share my strategic approach..

I follow nine steps that cover identifying targets, coming up with content ideas that are good enough to attract backlinks, earning guest post publication and consistently marketing a business.

1. Focus on the three pillars of value

Before I start any project, I like to map out the value I hope to deliver to three important audiences. For this article on SearchEngineNews.com, here is how I define the value:

1. The value I bring to the reader, in this case, you! That's a really important thing in my mind. I want the reader to get something practical and useful. I try to imagine the questions they have in their heads, and try to answer them in a way that is interesting and helpful. If I don't give great and specific value to the reader, I don't deserve to be published.
2. The val...