Every backlink & brand mention should have a job: Introducing the Optimized Online Footprint

Let’s look at a real-world example to illustrate one of the biggest missed digital marketing opportunities I see all too often.

A well-respected community bank in the Berkshires regularly donates to non-profits across the region. It’s a beautiful thing; local organizations get support, and the bank strengthens its reputation as a mission-driven institution.

Every time a non-profit thanks the bank on its website, it links to the bank’s homepage (Hopefully, the non-profit’s own digital marketing strategy is dialed in).

When the bank runs a radio campaign for a new product they are offering, the link that the presenter shares on-air? Homepage.

Then the bank wins an award for Most Innovative Bank and posts about it on social? Along with the post is a website link to, you guessed it, their homepage.

Can you see the problem?

The homepage is trying to do everything. Which means it ends up doing nothing particularly well.

It also means that all these websites are passing their ‘linkjuice’ to the home page, whereas ideally you want to send your ‘linkjuice’ to the page you most want to rank for that particular issue. 

If someone types ‘most innovative banking products Berkshires’ into Google, you want them to land on your innovation page, as that speaks to their search inquiry, not your home page.

The missed backlink opportunity

Each of those situations; the non-profit thank-you, the radio ad, and the award post, reflects a different part of the brand story.

Yet they all point people to the same generic place. There’s no focus and no context.

A better way to structure all of this is as follows:

The non-profits are given a link to a page that celebrates the bank’s community impact, showing their long-standing commitment to local causes.

Radio ads drive listeners to a custom landing page talking about exactly what is being promoted on-air, and including a clear next step.

Award posts link to a press or innovation page (this links to ours) that validates the bank’s achievements with credibility and detail.

Enter the Optimized Online Footprint

The Optimized Online Footprint is a simple but powerful strategy that we created at Artist Dynamix to take control of every digital mention of your brand and make it work harder for you.

At its core, this approach does three things:

1. Maps and monitors every place your business is mentioned or linked online. This includes directories like Yelp, Yellow Pages, etc. This management of business mentions on directories to ensure that your name, address, and phone number are consistent is called citation management.
   
2. Optimizes each mention you have control over to make sure content is up to date and that links point to the most relevant, up-to-date, and useful content on your site.
   
3. Implements link strategies like short jump-links (see below) to make URLs clean, memorable, and trackable.

How to use pretty jump-links in your digital marketing

Let’s say you already have a great page explaining your community support efforts, but the actual URL looks like this:

theonebank.com/pages/2025/all-the-ways-we-help

No one wants to read that out loud on the radio. It’s awkward to paste into a social caption. And it’s not memorable.

Instead, you create a redirect like:

theonebank.com/nonprofits

It’s clean, intentional, and you control where it leads, now and in the future. You can update the destination anytime without changing the front-facing link.

Some brands go as far as registering whole new memorable domains. For example, who can forget ‘WeBuyUglyHouses.Com’? I remember when I first saw this URL on a billboard in Boston. Whenever I see someone trying to sell a rundown home, I think of them.

Your pretty URL can be the main website address or just an audience-facing link that redirects to a page on your website. 

The power of an optimized online footprint

So the idea is simple. Wherever your brand appears online, make sure it leaves a deep footprint. Attention is scarce. Don’t waste it.

The Optimized Online Footprint helps you:

• Align brand messaging across all platforms
• Improve SEO by diversifying and deepening your backlink profile
• Guide different audiences to content that resonates
• Avoid sending people to dead ends, or your homepage with no context

Your brand deserves better than “Just Link to the Homepage.”

You’ve worked hard to build your business. Don’t let lazy linking undermine your visibility, engagement, or credibility.

Let’s talk. Artist Dynamix can help you identify missed opportunities, build clean link strategies, and turn your scattered mentions into a high-performing web of brand presence.