Link Building = Marketing Opportunity.

Continued from previous post:

The Directories.

I'm a directory groupie and use them as a staple in all my linking campaigns. I've posted about them before so I'll just copy and paste:

I'm a fan of Directories for many reasons but in regards to linking, if you're getting
started or want to increase your stable in short order, using Directories is
great. There are about 30 good ones (general Directories) and most of these
allow you to personalize your anchors and/or descriptions. I always make sure
the page I'm adding a description to is in the index of Google, Yahoo and MSN
and doesn't use any redirects or frames.

There are Directories for just about everything. You can easily acquire a dozen one-way links from topically relevant pages using targeted keyword anchors by adding your URL to the general and specialized Directories. Here's a couple ideas:

Have an RSS feed? Pop over to the Google Directory and add your feed to the RSS Directories they list.

Have a blog? Search on the term "blog directory" in the Google Directory and add away. Notice many will allow keyword anchors and descriptive text.

Do you write articles to generate links? The DMOZ has a great list of article directories. Double check for link friendliness (see above) and look to see if they offer an RSS. It's a good way to keep an eye on what other people are writing and submitting. Speaking of writing articles...

Writing articles to gain links.

In addition to adding your articles to the directories, find an ezine directory such as Ezinelisting and look for newsletters in your niche and complimentary niches. Once you find them, determine which ezine has been around longest (visit the site and look at volume numbers and publication dates) as it stands to reason seasoned newsletters have more readers and are established in the search engines.

Send off a sample article to the ezine owner and ask about having it/others published. Consider dangling a special offer to the ezine owner for running it and another to the readership; this encourages continued (think viral!) linking and hopefully sparks other ezine owners to contact you for articles. And don't forget to negiotiate for hyperlinked space in the body of the article as well as the contact area.

Link Tsunamis

There are a lot of terms used for marketing campaigns that are self perpetuating. "Link baiting"- "viral linking" - "stealth marketing" and the one I use -- "link tsunamis". No matter what you call it, it's one of the most positive forms of traditional and/or SEO related marketing out there because the links attracted are 100% natural. No payments, no swapping, no begging involved! Links are added because people find the promotion emotionally stimulating in some way - it's pure marketing.

Link tsunamis experience higher success rates when targeted to a pre-existing network of users. The campaign will have little effect and the promotion will end almost as soon as it's started without a network to travel or be pushed through. You can create all the cute mash-ups, funny video clips or controversial editorials you want but if it doesn't stimulate an emotion, have some direction and a large network of people to pass through -- it stalls and all your link building opportunity with it.

Creating a word of mouth campaign doesn't have to be expensive, most viral campaigns are created because marketing budgets are tight. The emotion behind the campaign seems to stimulate the linking and the size of the user network carries it forward. Link tsunami's tend to work well in the blogging community because Bloggers actively link out and support a greater communication network. Want to get a link bait program off the ground and passed around topically relevant sites fairly quickly? Start it in the blogosphere

You hear a lot of talk about creating viral linking campaigns but seldom see examples. Here's a few Marketing Sherpa collected and shared recently. My favorite was #7 - "Blogs In Space" (I love all things Star Trek, Star Wars, Muppets and space in general).

I've experienced two "downsides" to link tsunamis -
1. The campaigns tend to be short lived and
2. The links don't always use the keywords you'd like. There isn't really anything you can do about number one (except create a part one and part two linking promotion and stagger their debuts) but there may be something you can do about number two.

Once the promotion has settled down you can go back and try to reclaim the links in non-media locations. Link reclamation is a TON of work but the end result could be worth it and it's kinda fun to see who linked to you. Do people change links? Sometimes yes, sometimes no...it really depends on the campaign and if it's even appropriate to ask.

Need to run, let's talk about buying links and content generation tomorrow.

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On Being Link Different.

Last year a good friend of mine opened a store in town and asked me to help with the launch and advertising campaign.

Before the store opened, we spent a good deal of time drafting her marketing plan. Of course I immediately suggested a website as part of the marketing arsenal, but her comfort level wasn't there so I tabled the idea. She's no stranger to the WWW but like a lot of small business owners her first reaction was to focus on "street" advertising and promotions.

Sales were great the first couple weeks but after awhile, things leveled off especially after a similar store opened nearby. We analyzed her advertising and decided unless we substantially increased the budget and/or implemented discount promotions, sales would remain flat or tank.

So I brought up the website again, got a yes, launched it, promoted the URL offline, did the SEO and link building thing and watched her online sales climb.

If you're wondering why I'm sharing this and what it has to do with link building, the answers is -everything! My friend's situation reminded me that regardless of where and how you promote your business, if you don't look at all the marketing opportunities available to you, you're leaving money on the table.

Link building is marketing opportunity. It touches and affects your advertising, sales, promotions, publicity and branding efforts and when done well and with thought, can make the difference between success and mediocrity. I know its popular to want to use the latest linking fad but the reality is today's fad is tomorrow's fade. Don't be left in the dark by only doing one type of link building or one type of online promotion. Different types of links reach different audiences, each unique but no less important.

There are tons of linking methods out there, some well known, others not so talked about. Here's a quick review on a handful of link tactics....

Reciprocal linking. This still works if you keep them to a minimum and within your niche. The power behind recips comes in the anchor text you provide. Be smart and point the best keyword phrases to beneficial pages on your site. Negotiate location on the host site by working to get your link on an internal page topically relevant to your site.

Another thing about recip linking.....a lot of people experience frustration with this technique because they're shot down or don't hear back from people after sending link requests. Don't give people the option to just say "yes" or "no" to the request. If you do, you make it easy for people to blow you off. Provide multiple link choices, encourage feedback and dangle incentives.....

Incentive linking. My favorite and what I do most often so no surprises that I'll gush link-poetic on this one. Look for sites with visitors that fit your customer profile and offer product incentives in exchange for link placement.

Ever notice the theme park coupons on your Big Mac bag or tray liner? Theme parks know the demographic frequenting fast food chains is similiar to theirs so they partner to distribute discount coupons. The restaurant offers a fun discount to it's customers and is featured in the theme parks TV and radio adverstising. The park gets the traffic and exposure to a large customer base. Win-win there for all.

You can do the same with links. Find a high traffic/authority site in a complimentary niche and offer an incentive (dollar off, free shipping etc) their members will find attractive in exchange for links. The success of this tactic lies in the offer so make it good and make it memorable.

You get the traffic and the link, the site gets to offer something unique to its customers. Best of all, you're not spending money up front; you control what the link says and where it points.

Press Releases. While most press releases offer short term back-links, they can establish long-term credibility if used properly. Issue releases in support of new initiatives as they promote your business and not because you've signed a new client or bought new office furniture. (Issue enough crappy releases and pretty soon your company name will be ignored by journalists and industry bloggers).

Treat a press release as a call to action and not just a way to report the news. Be sure to offer clean, short hyperlinks in the body of the copy and contact information for follow-up. It pays to use one of the subscription services if you're in a highly competitive area or a service like Eric's URL Wire if you're highly niched.

Once you've accumulated a handful of releases, create an online media center and add an RSS. Include a copy of your media kit, industry news articles, video clips, podcasts, stock market reports and headline news so you become THE spot for what's new in your area. After it's all done, issue a press release announcing its creation to influential journalists and bloggers in your niche with a product sample or free service offer.

I need to stop here but will talk about creating a link tsunami (link baiting), content generation tactics, the Directories and buying links tomorrow so stop back by!

Keywords: link, reciprocal link building, recipriocal links, incentive linking, media links, link tsunami, link baiting, content generation, link directories, buying links

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Inspired Moses

Power to the People: Social Linking by Eric Ward

Individual and group sharing of bookmarks or cool sites is not a new thing, and has been around as long as the Web has. Back then, I remember my excitement when more than a couple new Web sites launched. Ahhh, back in the day...

But with all the talk of Web 2.0 and "user generated content," one of the more remarkable aspects of the Web that continues to inspire me is the need for people to "share" with each other. Early Web browsers all offered the ability to bookmark, and they still do. But a new wave of tools are emerging that enable and encourage sharing everything from photos to music to the most essential and simpleist thing of all, a link.

Share a link. The very essence of the Web. Who needs Google's algorithm when there are almost 100 social bookmarking services that will help me find all the cool sites I'll ever need based on what other people like and think I might like, etc.? You could have seen it coming. Amazon's.......

(Debra: Starts with Moses, ends with Amazon. ;)

Zero Link Worth

According to this tool - http://www.business-opportunities.biz/projects/how-much-is-your-blog-worth/ my blog is worth zip.

My blog is worth $0.00.
How much is your blog worth?

Ok fair enough since I do absolutely nothing to promote it but I wondered about some of the other blogs I read on a semi/regular basis. In no order and with no surprises, here's what I found:

seomoz.org/blog.php, is worth $207,750.72
(Can I borrow the yellow shoes?)

seobook.com/, is worth $674,060.76
(Proof that peanut butter sticks!)

webguerrilla.com/, is worth $117,988.86
(Will learn to talk over you ;)

mikegrehan.com/, is worth $185,733.66
(Site has GREAT photos and better rants.)

battellemedia.com/, is worth $1,582,970.16
(He's the real Googleguy)

gawker.com/, is worth $2,941,253.40
(Maybe I should develop an obsession w/Google maps)

rohitbhargava.typepad.com/weblog/, is worth $23,146.14
(I'm getting the blue shirt)

thomasbindl.com/blog/, is worth $2,822.70
(Look -- I have a German word in my blog title, any points there?)

seroundtable.com/, is worth $2,399,859.54
(Four guys and Kim, some odds ;)

justilien.com/, is worth $119,117.94
( Way to go JG)

http://www.daggle.com/, is worth $59,841.24
( Does he type as fast as he talks? ;)

bruceclay.com/blog/, is worth $3,951.78
(Motivation for my own Corvette)

seobythesea.com/, is worth $209,444.34
(Patents - ah - Bill, you're safe.)

ducttapemarketing.com/weblog.php, is worth $138,876.84
(His site is almost as ugly as mine)

sugarrae.com, is worth $27,662.46
(Alright, now I'm redesigning my site)

Ok, now here is a surprise....toprankblog.com, is worth $0.00. If I'm not mistaken Lee mentioned a short while ago he changed the URL or something - that has to be it because it's a great little blog. Oops, ( sorry - forgot it's owned by a guy) ....because it's a great BIG blog.

(Correction added after original post)
I've made a faux pas and stand corrected. Lee is right, his blog is worth a WHOPPING $263,075.64. -- Which means it can well afford to give me a couple of pennies of link cents. Or in my case - link sense since I can't seem to copy and paste worth a damn.

There are many others but I can't bring myself to see anymore. LINK TO MY BLOG AND HELP ME GET SOME BANK! I'll make it easy to do, just copy and paste this:

http://thelinkspiel.blogspot.com

I want to be worth a couple dollars at least. Two bits anyone?

I get by with a little help from my friends with a little help from my friends...

Kim Krause and I have three things in common... we both agree driving a kid-taxi is our real full time job (this SEO thing is totally second banana), we've both been wearing the same long-straight hair style since high school and we've both been 29 for at least 10 years now.

....Okokok, it's really more like 18 years (for one of us and no I won't tell which) but who's counting when you're having this much fun? Kim has written another timeless usability piece so park it and enjoy!

In User Centered Design, Performance Matters Because We're Lazy
Written by Kim Krause Berg

Suddenly, with passion and close scrutiny, web site owners are discovering their web site navels. It's the same thing as watching my kids discover their belly buttons for the first time. Without fail, each of them has asked, "Mom? What the heck is this thing for?"

And so it is, that today, the popular mantra is no longer, "I gotta have a web site."

It's been changed to, "Why do I have a web site?" and even better (the really aware ones) will ask, "Is this web site really serving the needs of my web site visitors?"

When Do We Check Under The Hood?

The most common type of contact I receive is from people who are redesigning their web sites or considering one. They want to know if they should get a usability evaluation before or after the redesign.

These site owners no longer question needing help with usability and user centered design. They already know their website has conversion issues. This is because in today's Internet environment, performance matters over mere existence.

Even search engines are researching user behavior. This explains why you never know what to expect each time you use one. They're watching your every move. Their eye tracking software is following test subject eyeballs. Their computers are counting your clicks, and well, they even know where your house is, but don't even get me on that topic.

To answer the "When should I get my site evaluated" question, my answer is "Now".

Web site reviews are performed while you're thinking about usability. Or, while you are scribbling the layout on napkins, or drawing the information architecture on the white board before you meet with stakeholders (who will change it all anyway. Keeping a set of usability guidelines nearby will help hold you to this commmittment to your end users.........(more)

Usability Consultant, Kimberly Krause Berg, is the owner of UsabilityEffect.com, Cre8pc.com (www.cre8pc.com), Cre8asiteForums and co-founder of the Cre8asiteNetwork . Her background in organic SEO combined with web site usability consulting offers unique insight into web site development.

I get by with a little help from my friends with a little help from my friends...

If you ever hear Stacy Williams talk about me and use the term "big dead stinky fish" in the same sentence, it's ok. We have a real live -- I mean dead fish story we share so she's not being funny/mean/descriptive!

I just found out Stacy is a finalist for the Georgia Women Entrepreneur of the Year Award; typical of her not to tell anyone about something as great as that. I'm keeping all my stinky fingers crossed she gets it. :)

Below is an article on optimizing press releases Stacy wrote - enjoy!

“Spinning” News for Search Marketing Impact
by Stacy Williams, Managing Partner, Prominent Placement.

What costs less than a penny an impression, drives qualified traffic to your web site, positions your company as an authority, helps boost search engine rankings, generates buzz, and may even result in traditional media coverage?

Three words: optimized press releases. An average optimized release will:

• Be read by well over 100,000 people (journalists, industry analysts and prospective customers).
• Be published on more than 850 other web sites.
• Have an average cost per read of less than 1 cent (or a CPM of about $8 for you media folks).

Want to try it? Here are four basic steps to successfully optimize an existing press release.

• Decide which search terms to target with your press release. Search terms are the words and phrases your target audience might type into a search engine in order to find your web site. There’s a definite art to selecting search terms, but you can get a lot of good information from Wordtracker.

• Use the search terms in the headline, subhead, and copy of the press release. Don’t overdo it – it still needs to read well and present your news item accurately and succinctly. Still, it’s usually fairly simple to swap out wording that no one is searching for (such as “enterprise systems”) for more precise, product-oriented language that your target audience is searching for (such as “enterprise resource planning software”). Another example: Instead of writing about “our products,” write about “our fiber-optic transceiver products.”

• Build links into the release that point to related pages on your web site. Search engines consider the number and quality of links pointing to a site when determining rankings. To further impact rankings, include your search terms in the text of the links themselves.

• Distribute the release via PRWeb, an electronic distribution system built just for the Internet. Pony up for paid distribution – while PRWeb has an option to distribute your release at no charge, you won’t get nearly as many benefits by using that option.

What happens next?

• The release shows up nearly instantly in both Google News and Yahoo News. These news engines have over 27 million unique visitors a month in total. Often, it'll show up in regular search sults too.

• The release is fed across the Internet and picked up by other sites that publish syndicated content. Your release shows up on numerous other sites -- again, building awareness and site visitors.

• It’s emailed to appropriate segments of an opt-in email database of over 100,000 journalists. So, in addition to the online marketing benefits, you may get traditional media coverage out of this!

• A web page is created for your release on PRWeb’s site. If you’ve built links pointing to your site into the release, every time your release is posted somewhere on the web, it creates more links pointing to your site.

Consider extending your traditional PR efforts to the online world. Optimizing press releases is a cost-effective, measurable tactic for increasing your position in search engine rankings and building traffic to your site.

In 2001, Stacy Williams and her husband Matt started Prominent Placement, a search engine ranking company in Atlanta. Her extensive marketing background includes 18 years' experience at advertising and direct marketing agencies in Atlanta and Los Angeles, primarily working for B2B clients. She's also a fellow speaker at SES and publishes frequently in various industry journals. In her spare time she can be found selling Girl Scout cookies.

Keywords: optimized press releases, Stacy Williams, publish syndicated content, generates buzz

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Link Traps

Sometimes we get so caught up looking for the latest and greatest link building program we forget about the simple, tried and true tactics that attract links. Before you invest time and money on a linking program, take care of business at home by creating some of these easy but effective link traps…

You Have To Tell Them What To Do.

Do you have a “link to us” page? If you don’t, consider adding one and include a link to it from all the content portions of your site. People are more likely to link to content they like right after they’ve read it, especially if you’ve told them it’s ok to use the content and show them how. Create a page with varied linking options such as:

Multiple text links with varied anchors and URL’s
Tagged images
Sections of re-printable content with links embedded

The last option is most desirable IMO and probably the most attractive to the blogging and media community. I’ve found journalists and bloggers resist being asked to write something or reprinting press releases in whole but will copy and paste sections of relevant information in addition to links. To have it ready and available makes their lives easier and increases your chances of having your link-embedded copy used.

Offer Them Something. (Link Incentives Work!)

For the most part, people need an incentive to link unless your site is exceptional, well known or the latest craze. Sweeten the offer by giving away something of value in exchange for the link. My friend Randy Cullom ('Randy' on the High Rankings forum) does a great job with this, take a look at what he's done: Webmasters: Link to us and receive a free one-year subscription

His offer is clear, well written and of value to people interested in certificates.

Give Them A Little Trust Nudge.

When’s the last time you ordered something from LLBean? After you took out your new parka, did you notice the extra catalogs in the bottom of the delivery box? They throw them in hoping you’ll spring for matching ear flaps or pass the catalogs on to someone else in the neighborhood. Basically, they're giving you an easy way to find and order more stuff. What if you did something similar and included link instructions to your product pages in every -

Email
Auto-responder
Correspondence and
Product delivery box/file?

Chances are people will add the link or tag (think Slashdot / Del.icio.us / Digg ) your pages to let others know about the great services you offer.

I’ve talked about trust links before but their importance bears another mention here. If someone takes the time to ask for more info or makes a purchase from your site, they’ve shown interest and/or trust in your products. While they’re basking in that warm fuzzy afterglow, offer information on how they can link to your site or link to relevant information within your site.

I know adding a “link to us” page isn’t as exciting as creating a snazzy link bait program or rewriting follow-up correspondence isn’t as sexy as developing an uber tool – but – they’re both solid tactics that work with minimal effort.

Before you implement the gee-whiz linking schemes to support revenue and link producing initiatives like product announcements, endorsements and/or other news worthy items, get your house in order. Then sit back and listen for the cha-chink of the link traps!

Keywords: link incentives, link tags, link to us, link bait

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Yes, I get by with a little help with a little help from my friends....

You know how you always remember your first time .........

Being interviewed that is ! Well, Peter Da Vanzo was my first, he popped up one day and said "hey Debra, do you have five mintues and can I interview you for my blog?" That five minutes turned into two weeks of chatting and we've been friends ever since. When I pinged for something to add here, he responded with what you'll read below. Typical of Peter, he's always helping a friend - or two! :)

The 3-Page Search Engine Optimisation Technique by Ammon Johns

Performing basic optimisation to improve the rankings of a page in search results is not truly that difficult. Generic search engine friendly optimisation techniques work well in most engines. When competition is fiercer, and many of your competitors have some level of search engine optimisation too, things become harder.

At this point, the content needs to be better optimised for the particular algorithm than the competitors' content is - and this means choosing which algorithm (and search engine) you will attempt to match. One page cannot closely match different algorithms, and each of the major search engines has its own algorithm.

Can a single optimised page match (at more than a generic level) with both the Google algorithms (providing the search results at Google, Yahoo and AOL) and with the algorithms of Inktomi (providing the bulk of search results at MSN)? The answer is 'No'...... (click for the rest of the article, it's a tad long but worth the read)

Peter Da Vanzo, is a search marketing strategist and industry commentator based in Wellington, New Zealand. He's the owner of SearchEngineBlog (circa 2002) which examines the search world from a grassroots perspective. He can also be easily bribed with beer.

DNS Issue

I've been a member of SEOConsultants for several years and have always been impressed with the way Edward runs the show over there. So when he sends email and asks folks to post about an issue he feels important -- I'm happy to do it. From Edward:

DNS Recursion is DNS Cache Poisoning

This issue has now escalated to a much higher level as we have some topics going on at WebmasterWorld that have discovered particular instances of DNS Cache Poisoning and how it is affecting those involved.

As a search marketer, it is your responsibility to understand at least the basics of what is happening so that you can report your findings to those reponsible for your DNS, Web Hosting, Email, etc.

Please, this is a very serious issue and we hope that those of you with Blogs, Forums, etc. will help get the word out there so that the server administrators of this world can help close the gap that shows 75% of DNS Servers are open for recursion. That is a scary thought!

http://www.seoconsultants.com/tools/dns/cache/

Elephant Links

Remember this from your Marketing 101 class?

If the circus is coming to town and you paint a sign saying ‘Circus Coming
to the Fairground Saturday’, that’s advertising.

If you put the sign on the back of an elephant and walk him into town, that’s promotion.

If the elephant walks through the mayor’s flowerbed, that’s publicity.

If you can get the mayor to laugh about it, that’s public relations.

And if you planned the elephant walk, that’s marketing.

Let’s change it up a bit for Link Marketing 101:

If you pay for a link on a high profile site, that’s advertising.

If that high profile link contains an exclusive special offer, that’s promotion.

If the exclusive link promotion is virally passed, that’s publicity.

If the viral promotion is blogged by many, that’s public relations.

And when your site suddenly becomes a three-ring traffic circus... that’s marketing.