LinkedIn recently rolled out a strategy that’s generating quite a buzz in the digital marketing world. The new system of “collaborative articles” assembles all the collective expertise of LinkedIn’s most knowledgeable members and presents that wisdom in succinct articles organized on different topics.
Think of it like a new and improved Wikipedia.
Let’s look deeper into this LinkedIn SEO approach, its potential impact, and what it means for digital marketers.
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The Power of Collaborative Articles
This new LinkedIn SEO strategy revolves around collaborative articles, content that is generated in part by users on LinkedIn.
More specifically, these articles are created through a blend of user-generated content (UGC), artificial intelligence, and SEO. The result? A remarkable surge in traffic growth that resembles a hockey stick graph.
Tim Soulo, the CMO at Ahrefs, was quick to applaud LinkedIn’s approach. He pointed out that the combination of UGC, AI and SEO has produced a significant increase in traffic, skyrocketing from nearly nothing to approximately 1.8 million monthly visits:
This initial success has led many to speculate on the strategy’s potential. But is it truly a game-changer for LinkedIn, or is it just a drop in the ocean considering the platform’s colossal scale?
LinkedIn’s Traffic Numbers: A Reality Check
While the 1.8 million visits per month may seem impressive, it’s crucial to put this number into context. LinkedIn, according to SimilarWeb, boasts a whopping 5.26 billion visits per month. In comparison, the new traffic from collaborative articles amounts to a minuscule 0.0003% of the total:
In the grand scheme of LinkedIn’s traffic, the growth brought by collaborative articles is relatively minor.
LinkedIn’s Strategy: The Long-Term Potential
LinkedIn’s SEO strategy, much like compound interest, possesses a latent capacity to burgeon into something truly remarkable. It’s the accumulation of numerous small wins over time that can contribute substantially to an organization’s success. Consider the following key points:
- Compound Effect: The strategy’s strength lies in its compounding nature. While the initial impact may be subtle, consistent growth can lead to a substantial outcome over time.
- Incremental Gains: By focusing on continuous, incremental improvements, LinkedIn can build upon its success and create a more profound impact.
- Sustainable Growth: The gradual approach ensures sustainable growth, avoiding the pitfalls of quick, unsustainable spikes in traffic.
So the long-term potential of LinkedIn’s SEO strategy is contingent on the platform’s ability to strike a balance between consistent, incremental growth and making strategic, impactful moves. The way these factors interact with each other will ultimately shape the trajectory of this approach by LinkedIn.
Is LinkedIn’s SEO Strategy Sustainable?
The question still remains: Will LinkedIn’s SEO strategy endure or is it destined to fizzle out?
While the initial results are promising, the consistency and quality of content remains a concern. This strategy could grow into a significant asset for LinkedIn or, if not carefully managed, swiftly diminish in relevance.
It’s not outside the realm of possibility that these collaborative articles follow suit to Wikipedia in its earlier days where practically anyone could roam onto a wiki page and contribute or adjust material on a given topic.
If it’s treated that loosely, then the warning bells should start ringing now. On the flip side, if it’s heavily monitored and the data contained in these collaborative articles is vetted, this could become something special.
Check out an excerpt from one collaborative article focused on convincing a prospect to buy something without coming across as pushy:
The platform also borrows small aspects of Reddit in the sense that individual contributions can be effectively “upvoted” based on the number of interactions it receives, as you can see in the image. The generated sections of content often mirror commentary submitted by users who receive more interactions. Presumably, this is part of the algorithm LinkedIn uses to gauge which contributions weigh more heavily in terms of accuracy on the subject matter.
To remain sustainable, LinkedIn will have to actively curate the influx of content and foster a community of professionals who will continue contributing meaningful insights. This approach will not only keep the quality of content high, but also encourage ongoing engagement and participation.
By nurturing an ecosystem of knowledge-sharing, LinkedIn might have a chance to continue to build on its initial success and transform this strategy into a significant asset.
The Future of LinkedIn’s Collaborative Article Strategy
So, what can we learn from LinkedIn’s SEO strategy?
If your website has good domain authority and a solid backlink profile, LinkedIn’s strategy might be worth considering for your brand. You may just have the credibility in a business profile that LinkedIn is looking for in order to populate their article library with substantive content.
For most businesses, a growth in traffic of a few million visits is significant, and the collaborative articles approach can work well for smaller players in the digital space.
However, for large corporations like LinkedIn, the impact of this strategy, at least for now, appears minor. To truly make a difference, significant moves are necessary.
While it’s not yet a game-changer for the platform, the potential of LinkedIn’s approach to SEO should not be underestimated. The success of this strategy will depend on how LinkedIn manages and scales it over time, if it can keep it up.
What’s next for LinkedIn’s SEO journey? Only time will tell, and we’ll all be watching closely.
If you’re ready to leverage LinkedIn’s vast professional network to drive superior sales growth, Single Grain’s LinkedIn experts can help!👇
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