Transcript Search Engine Marketing

Blow Your Mind Link Building
presented by Stephan Spencer,
Founder & President, Netconcepts
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
High Value Link Targets
 Pareto Principle (80/20 Rule)
 Because of the logarithmic nature of PageRank, it’s a
more reliable metric the higher the score
 PR10s: usa.gov, nsf.gov, w3.org, real.com, energy.gov
 Adobe has nine PR10 pages
 PR9s: ercim.org, w3.org Members & Press pages
 Want a longer list? Email me (no promises though!)
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
Was a PR10
until recently.
Now PR9.
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
Build a Link Building Spider
 Look for sites one-click away from Google
 Look for sites with super high PageRank
 With preference for sites that already give link love to
patron/sponsor
 Populate a database with all that site data
 Want specifics? – announcement tomorrow in Give It
Up session, including methodology and screenshots
 Hint: It involves Google Directory
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
Link Build Your Existing Links
 Mine your existing backlinks for opportunities to revise the
anchor text. Pull some favors with friends who link to you. It
helps to be a blogger when reaching out to other bloggers.
 Great tools for this:
– InternetMarketingNinjas.com Backlink Anchor Text Analysis tool
(www.internetmarketingninjas.com)
– SEOMoz’s Backlink Anchor Text Analysis tool (www.seomoz.org/backlinkanalysis)
– SEOBook’s Backlink Analyzer (http://tools.seobook.com/backlinkanalyzer/)
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
Networking in the Blogosphere
 Comment on blogs that “dofollow” comment links
– e.g. Mark Cuban’s Blogmaverick.com, Rimm-Kaufman Group’s
www.rimmkaufman.com/rkgblog
 Submit to blog carnivals. Host one (requires that you have a
blog). Start a new one.
– http://www.businessblogconsulting.com/2008/02/blog-carnivals-a-linkbuilding-secret-weapon
 Be a contributor to a group blog (e.g.
BusinessBlogConsulting.com, Shop.org Blog)
 Be a guest blogger on someone else’s blog (e.g.
TechGazing.com*, Problogger.net)
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
Networking in the Blogosphere
 Get involved via comments and build rapport before requesting a
link. Find old inactive "free" hosted blogs (WordPress.com,
Blogspot) with a relevant theme to and request their login
credentials. Offer “consideration” in return. ($5? $50?)
– Source: David Patterson
 A Tip Jar indicates the blogger is desperate for cash and more
apt to take payment for links.
 Have the blogger install a WordPress plugin that injects links
“naturally”?
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
Paid Links
 Manufacturing “link
authority” vs. focusing your
existing link authority
 Don’t try artificially creating
link authority through paid
links
 Focus link authority thru
a strategic few paid links
 Source: LinkExperts
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© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
$
Redistribute Home Page Link Authority
 Improves quality of Google SERPs for “Long Tail” non-brand
search terms
 “Sculpt” your backlinks to focus your link authority
 Two levels of improvement:
– Redistribute a % of your homepage’s inbound links to relevant sub-pages.
Increase the PageRank which will amplify that page’s link authority for
page’s keyword themes
– Ask them to change the anchor text too to see further gains
 Paid link? Yes, potentially, but editorially earned, so OK
 Credit to Brian Klais for helping me generate & refine this concept
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
Conditionally 301 Inbound Affiliate
Links
 Be like Amazon 
– (Credit to Brian Klais for hypothesizing Amazon was doing this)
– http://tinyurl.com/5ubc28
 This only works if you manage your own affiliate program. Most
are outsourced and 302  (e.g. C.J.)
– Examples of affiliate solutions that pass on the PageRank to the merchant:
LinkConnector, DirectTrack
 Also demand a naked link on their Legal Notices page
– Under the guise of a disclosure statement stating that they are an affiliate
of the merchant and that neither party is an agent, partner, joint venturer,
franchisor, franchisee, employer or employee of the other
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
Status Code
200 for humans
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
301 for all bots.
Muahaha!!
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
Networking in Meatspace
 Build relationships with bloggers by networking with them at blogger
conferences, unconferences and meetups
 Register and attend conferences that link to their attendees (e.g.
WordCamp, Lockergnome)
 Contribute to conference wikis (where you’ve attended!)
 Give free talks at libraries, campuses (e.g. Stanford TechBriefings)
 Get involved with local Meetups and get your meetup.com member
profile page linked from the meetup’s page, which will pass juice to
your profile then on to your site
 Invite W3C to speak. Get a link to your event on www.w3.org/WAI/
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
Donate
 To charities, nonprofits, professional organizations,
environmental activists, schools, sports teams, etc.
 Become a member of the organization
 Cash or in-kind donations
 Examples
– Kohl’s supports the Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Association
– OpenTracker donated their tool to International Dark Sky Association
– Numerous corporations donate to the Red Cross and get links/mentions
on www.redcross.org/sponsors/helping.html
– W3C membership (too bad the PR9 Members page no longer passes
juice!). W3C Sponsors page neutered long ago too.
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
Wikis
 Contribute to Wikipedia
– Build up your street cred (virtuous contribution history, user profile) before
doing anything at all self-serving. A link on a high-profile article is worth
gold, as it builds your credibility & visibility with journalists and bloggers
 Contribute to other wikis e.g. the NewPR Wiki (thenewpr.com),
the WordPress Codex
(http://codex.wordpress.org/Search_Engine_Optimization_for_W
ordpress)
 Create your own wiki (e.g. SEOGlossary.com)
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
Link Baiting – Viral Content
 Videos:
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Eepybird’s Bellagio Fountain of Diet Coke + Mentos
BlendTec’s “Will It Blend?”
Heroes spoof commercial (“Zeroes”) – an NBC creation
John Cleese Backup Trauma webisode
Intuit’s “Tax Rap” content
SolarDave’s SMX spoof with cut-out figures as the actors
“Hat Swap” spoof of “Wife Swap” reality show w/ SEOs
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
Link Baiting – Viral Content
 Quizzes/Personality Tests:
– Which Superhero Are You?
– Which SEO Superhero are you?
 Widgets:
– Swicki
– SeenOn.com Grey’s Anatomy
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
Link Baiting – Viral Content
 Microsites:
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Gizoogle.com
CounterfeitMini.com
MentosIntern.com
AngryLeprechaun.com
SEO Eye for the Google Guy (Queer Eye spoof, makeover
team optimizes Matt Cutts’ blog)
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
Link Baiting – Utilities
 Write a WordPress plugin
– Personality Test, Gizoogle, Tip Jar w/ Reputation/feedback, Testimonials,
Wikipedia, Linked In, MyBlogLog, “Introduce Yourself”, SEO Testing,
DMCA Submitter, Popular Searches
– Netconcepts’ “SEO Title Tag” plugin (www.netconcepts.com/seo-title-tagplugin) was the most successful link bait we’ve ever done
– Netconcepts’ “WordPress Quiz” plugin for personality tests just released
(netconcepts.com/wordpress-quiz-plugin/). Example site: quizfanatic.com
 Write a Firefox extension
– Aaron’s Walls’ “SEO for Firefox”
 Release software as Open Source
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
Work Through an Intermediary
 Build/buy a resource site that funnels PageRank to you.
for example, http://www.virology.net/
 Take on clients with high PageRank, e.g. nonprofits
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
Stroke Egos
 Wax poetic about products, services, authors, organizations, etc.
Get links for free!
 Get your testimonial onto their testimonial page or home page:
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–
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www.google.com/press/testimonials.html
www.wordpress.org/about/testimonials
www.keyworddiscovery.com/testimonials.html
www.centos.org
 Gotta love the irony! Go, Google!
– www.wolf-howl.com/google/google-gives-free-pr8-links-to-paid-partners/
 Write about the W3C. Get a link on their PR9 Press page
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
Nice testimonial
link on PR7
Centos.org. Too
bad it’s ruined
by the paid link
ads
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
Hunt for Commonalities
 Write a script to process Yahoo Site Explorer TSV files
– Eliminate img src “links” and nofollowed links
– Look for commonalities among datasets
– Easiest to filter, sort when imported into a database
 Thumbshots Ranking Tool
 InternetMarketingNinjas.com’s “Common Co-Citation” tool and
“You and Your Competitor’s Common Backlinks” tool
 Aaron’s Wall’s Hubfinder (http://www.linkhounds.com/hubfinder/hubfinder.php)
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]
Thanks!
 This Powerpoint can be downloaded from
www.netconcepts.com/learn/blow-your-mind.ppt
 For three hours of screencasts on link building, email
[email protected]
 Questions after the show? Email me at
[email protected]
© 2008 Stephan M Spencer Netconcepts www.netconcepts.com [email protected]