Have you ever been in a situation where you have a conversation with someone, walked away and then 20 minutes later thought  ”damn, I should have said”… <insert witty, super-snarky, something Tina Fey would say> comment?

I do, something like that happened to me this weekend.  I was irked at myself (again) for not having a better come back and while I was stewing thinking about the situation, my link building light bulb went off.

Can you use “follow-ups” or “come-backs” to generate links?  Most definitely, here’s a couple ideas:

1.  Have you seen a press conference where the reporter asks a question and then asks for a “follow-up” after hearing the answer?  Most of the time answers generate more questions and this second question is known as a follow-up.

You can use follow-up questions to develop more content which will attract more links.  For example, if you interview someone, do a second, follow-up interview with questions generated from his/her answers.  The interviewee is invested at this point and will help promote the second piece to continue the attention he/she has gotten from the first.

2.  Having a second interview means you probably have a lot of content; once both pieces are live, break them down topically and use the interviews as reference material.  Create a new article around each topic, link back into the original interviews to support what you’re saying and promote for links.  Your new articles will gain links and attention and so will the old – double win!

3.  Two-part interviews can be seen as news worthy, be sure to tie in the subject matter with a current event (if necessary) and issue a press release announcing the addition of the interview to your website/blog.

4.  If you have a blog, go through your comments and look for hot topics and negative Nelly’s.   A “negative Nelly” (for me) is someone who disagrees with your position and says so by leaving controversial or inflammatory comments.

Publish rebuttal pieces and upload, make sure you contact the people inspiring the post and let them know its been published.  Hopefully it will prompt the Nelly to blog about your content or comment again which should draw more attention and traffic back to your blog.  (Note:If you’re thin skinned, this might not be a tactic for you).

5.  Having opposing views on a subject makes good news in some cases, ping the journalists/bloggers in your niche and show them your content.  Let them know it’s OK to republish your part if they want to, let them follow up with the other guy.

You may lose the snark fest short-term but keep in mind a good follow-up or come-back can generate publicity, traffic and links making you the ultimate winner!

-

from: Link Spiel

For more link building information, ideas and the occasional rant, visit LinkSpiel .

I’ve been attending SEO and marketing conferences since 2002 and have amassed a huge pile of totes and backpacks as a result.

I use them all the time, mostly for groceries but I also haul around library books, gym clothes and gardening tools in them.  Not too long ago a woman stopped me in the grocery store and asked about the SEO totes I had piled in the front of my cart, she recognized one since she had attended the same show earlier in the year. Small world!

I know I’m not the only one using my conference totes and backpacks at home, my friends do the same:

Christine Churchill and daughter Kaitlin. Tote in Kaitlin's lap is from the first SES conference Christine attended in 1999.

I’ve seen Christine use her backpacks around her horses, she has them in the barn, in the horse trailer, in the shed, in her pickup and hanging from her saddle horn.  She makes good use of all the conference bags she hauls home!

Mat uses his conference backpacks to leave home:

Mat Siltala bought luggage to match his SMX backpack. OK, not really but they do match!

Simon needs multiple backpacks  to carry around his stuff:

Simon Heseltine, AOL Bagman

If you’re saying “Yo Debra, where’s the link building spiel here”, have no fear.  Besides having a little fun, I wanted to use my conference images to show how you can take a simple item or idea and use it to attract links.

Link To An Authority

While I used the images above as a giggle and intro this post, I picked the bags because of the companies they represent.  Each comes from a well known and authoritative SEO/SEM conference,  I linked to them for a couple of reasons:

• They help reinforce my credibility as a professional.  I have been speaking at SMX and SES for a long time and appreciate the fact they keep asking me back so I do whatever I can to help promote and support both shows. My totes post may be corny but the sentiment behind it is heartfelt both personally and algorithmically.  Sentiment analysis and the way it is being used to influence rank deserves another post but I’ll  leave you with a link for later reading.

• Boosts my relevance factor.  Linking to the authoritative conference sites will not directly influence my current ranking but it will help establish where I belong topically and tie my site into the link graph.

Use Images As Link Magnets   I am frequently asked to share “advanced” linking techniques and tacitcs, I always reply “there is no such thing as advanced link building.  I really feel that way but will say there are creative link marketing tactics that go beyond the basics and are discussed less frequently which makes them seem more advanced. Here’s a couple of tips to try:

• Optimize your images.  Get permission from the people behind the photos to use them, this is a big deal for both legal and marketing reasons.  Hover over the pictures on this post and you’ll see they are tagged with the names and hyperlinked.  This is just good SEO as well as being polite, Google Image is still the second largest search platform in their stable so I want to be sure my images have a solid chance of being found when searched on.

• Use Flickr.  I do this quite a bit with images taken from client’s ecommerce sites.  Build a channel, publish your reprint requirements and promote the Flickr channel to your users, through your niche forums and via press release.  You have a new channel, pimp it!  A free image source is always well received, point your releases to the trade journals in your industry for added punch.  There are several image sharing sites online,  be sure to spread the wealth.

• Make an image video.  If you don’t have the time or resources to create a video, use your images to make one.  Search on the term “image to video” and you will find lots of companies with software or services to do it for you.  Develop channels at all the video sites and promote as you would images.  Include a written transcript of each video and add them to your site so you benefit from the new content.

Look at everything with link building eyes, it will pay off in spades!

Hey before you leave… If you are headed to SMX West in February and SES New York in March, please come by the Linking Bootcamps and say hello. My sessions are not for the faint of heart, I roll hard and fast jamming a ton of tips, techniques, and tools in the hour I have.  You will walk away with a great outline of tactics to use.

Christine and I are moderating each other’s sessions at SMX again,  she does a wicked smart keyword research and copywriting for search session so be sure to come by!

Thanks and see you soon!

-

-

from: Link Spiel

For more link building information, ideas and the occasional rant, visit LinkSpiel .

The Content Marketing Institute in conjunction with Marketing Profs recently released a study showcasing what “worked” in 2011 in regards to B2B content marketing and what they project will work in 2012.

Two things in the report caught my eye:  the fact blogs showed a 45% increase and case studies showed a 32% increase in perceived effectiveness compared to last year’s report.

The change in percentages made me go back and read the report a second time and that’s when my linkey senses started tingling.  The fact blogs almost doubled in perceived value  and case studies increased by a third is telling IMO and great information to have as a link builder.

Why?  I have been known to say it’s not what you do that matters in linking, it’s where and I stand by that statement.  You can have the best information filled with keyword anchors but if you put that content in a crappy article directory or on a two-bit blog, you will get no algorithmic benefit, no traffic and no brand boost.  Heck, even if you have crap content sitting on those kind of sites you get no juice these days, Panda has taken care of that.   The report points out blogs are being used with increased frequency and that’s great information to have.

You also know what’s turning bloggers on in terms of accepting content.  An article titled

” The shopping habits of women over the age of 39“

sounds good and can be informative but market it as a case study and suddenly the information takes on a different light.

Think about it.  If you were a well-known (translation:  well or decently ranked) shopping blog or a news outlet looking for information on shopping habits, would you be more inclined to look at content labeled “article” or content labeled “case study” when researching for the story?  Take the actual article out of the equation for a moment, if you had to go by titles, which would you choose?

Goes without saying the content has to be kick-ass and a real case study or the Editor of the national news outlet and/or blog will never give you a second glance (might even burn you publicly) but that’s a subject for another post.  I know blasting the article directories and network blogs with content is still a viable linking tactic but I also know it’s getting much harder for those kinds of tactics to affect rank.  Add to it the ties Google is (supposedly) creating between G+ and rank and now it really is about what you say.  But don’t take my word for it, take a look at the report and note the uptick in white papers, print magazines, ebooks, it’s telling.  No where does it say short articles from the article directories showed an increase in use.

Everyone is running around yakking about “quality content” to the point its become a joke.  Well, fine, but keep in mind quality to you may not be quality to me so qualify it with a label and help make the content stick out.

So here’s something to consider when building links in 2012:  how you label your link-filled, quality content can affect where it’s hosted and who recommends it.  Having a case study sit in an article directory or a crap blog will do little for your rankings, having it on a national news site or well known blog however, will.   Try to incorporate a label in your anchors or the text around your link(s) so it’s associated with the content, like this:

Case Study:  The Shopping Habits of 39 Year Old (cough) Link Builder

Here are a handful of tips working for me:

• Tie your author bio to your Google profile as well as your website
• Link to internal pages of your site to support information in your case study/content.
• Don’t shy away from using keyword anchors,  just use them conversationally rather than making it obvious they were hyperlinked to produce juice
• Don’t rely on content generation to produce all your links.  Mix up your tactics, mix up your anchors.
• Point your anchors to pages within your site that have been optimized for those terms.  You’d be surprised how something so simple has a profound effect on your rankings.

Link building will be super competitive in 2012 and you’re going to need an edge to succeed.  Give it to yourself by developing and labeling the type of content marketers are looking for.

—————————————————-

Before I sign off, a personal note:

This is my last post for 2011, I can’t believe the holidays are around the corner and the New Year close behind.  I won’t be blogging until we come back in January but I will be posting all the cool marketing and link building tidbits I find (and I find a bunch of cool stuff!) to my Facebook and G+ account so come over and join the fun.

 I sincerely wish you and yours all the best in 2012.  Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

images courtesy Content Marketing Institute

-

from: Link Spiel

For more link building information, ideas and the occasional rant, visit LinkSpiel .

I read a great article this morning by George Diaz sharing his opinion on Reggie Bush giving up the Heisman Trophy.  For what it’s worth, I agree with George,  Bush only did this as a way to save what little face he has left and avoid the inevitable.  What a shame.  Bush will forever be cited and remembered as the first person to give up the Heisman.  Not how you want to become a historical figure.

Anyway, of course the whole Bush/Heisman/lying-cheating-payoff thing made me think of paid links and how the two issues almost mirror one another.  Just for fun I decided to compare the two situations and draw similarities…

 There’s drama, stupidity and risk in link building  AND football!

from: Link Spiel

For more link building information, ideas and the occasional rant, visit LinkSpiel .

One of the tactics I use to generate new links is to review a site’s stats and create a media promotion based on the trends I find. This strategy is not an easy, turn-key linking program but if you’re serious about growing your business as well as your links, it’s one of the best ways to attract authority links.  Here’s a little case study from a past account to show you how.

Recently when working on a client’s website, I noticed a consistent spike in traffic from several European countries;  I tracked the numbers from Germany, Spain and the Netherlands over the course of six weeks and watched them climb steadily. My client couldn’t explain the increase, no special promotion or public relations program had been implemented, no new European advertising had been launched. Since the  report showed most of the search terms used were “standard”  keyword phrases and Google was the largest referrer, I concluded our European visitors were probably using Google Translate to find what they were looking for.

For the rest of the article, please visit “How To Generate Media Links“  on Search Engine Land.

from: Link Spiel

For more link building information, ideas and the occasional rant, visit LinkSpiel .

Do you favor one search engine over another when building links? I have a favorite for general searching, but when it comes to link building, I don’t use just one. Ask, Bing, Google and Yahoo! each offers a unique set of search options, I use all of them for a wide range of results. Here’s a handful of linking techniques from each engine I’ve had luck using!   I’m going to use the term “CFL light bulbs” in all my examples, let’s start with Ask…

Ask.com

After doing a general search, take a look at the “Related Questions” listed on the right side of the results page.  The questions listed  provide great ideas for new content topics and resources in submitting content. Take a look at what they’re showing for “CFL light bulbs”:

Since people are actively asking these questions, creating content in response and posting it on your site is great link bait and smart marketing. 

For the rest of the article, please visit  http://searchengineland.com/four-engines-four-ways-to-generate-links-44711  And if you like it, Sphinn it here!

from: Link Spiel

For more link building information, ideas and the occasional rant, visit LinkSpiel .

We talk a lot about back linking competitors/authority sites as a viable linking method and for the most part it is, but if you’re only going after what you see in back links, you may be leaving a lot of marketing power on the table. 

 Let’s take a look at this link building method and see how we can squeeze more link juice out of back linking our competitors and authority sites.

Who’s on First?

If you’re unfamiliar with the term or process of “back linking” it means to look at the inbound links to a specific webpage.  You can do this any number of ways, I tend to use Yahoo’s Site Explorer (free) or one of the SEOBook (some free, some not) arsenal of tools.  With the tool you can see who’s  linking to a page, what anchor text they’re using and what URL they are linking to.  All important stuff if you’re in the game to try and get links from the same sources.  Why?  Well, knowing who is linking to your competitors and/or the authorities in your niche is a good idea for a couple of reasons:

1.  Inbound links influence rankings so knowing who is linking out helps you target them as a possible source as well and,

2.  Inbound links drive traffic and expose brand, both necessary to build reputation.  If you’re looking to pimp your rep, you’ll want to get similar links.

OK, that’s pretty standard yada-yada but if we’re only looking at those back links as rank boosters and traffic streams we’re missing out.  Knowing  who is linking is good but understanding why they’re linking is better and the key to besting the competition.

Use The Heck Out Of The Back Links You Find

Once you’ve back linked a list of sites, look hard at the host sites and take note of what they’re linking to and where  those links are pointing.   If the links are pointing to a press release:

• What did the competitor do to generate the release?    

• Can you develop a similar event or announcement and issue through the same channels?    

• Run a snippet from the opening paragraph of your competitors press release and look for locations hosting this content.  Contact those sites and offer an exclusive before you run one of your press releases through a media services like PRWeb.  Bloggers and media outlets like having information before it’s made public.

Or, are the links pointing to a piece of content with  WOW factor?  If yes,

• What’s the piece about?    

• How did they launch it, via press release or through blogger outreach?    

• Who thought enough of of the piece to link to it?   

• Was the piece promoted on Digg, Twitter Facebook etc?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, you have many opportunities to find new outlets to host your content.  Get busy writing a different/better wow content and promote it to the same sources.  (Tip:  info graphics are all the rage…)

This tactic isn’t always a bed of roses, sometimes we  find tons of crappy (translation:  paid) links pointing at our well ranked competitors.  If  it appears they’ve purchased  links does that mean you should do the same?  Tough question and there’s no easy answer.  No two sites are equal  so what’s working for one might not for another.  Look hard at those links and weigh possible consequences against the outcome. 

Competitive research does show us who is linking to our rivals but it doesn’t explain why.   Look for the why, it will help you gain additional links and create new partnerships to host your link embedded content.

from: Link Spiel

For more link building information, ideas and the occasional rant, visit LinkSpiel .

Earlier this month the Wall Street Journal ran an article on how businesses were using Live Chat to make incremental sales. 

This bit caught my eye:

 In late April, home improvement e-tailer Improvement Direct Inc., of Chico, Calif., used a chat feature on its site to converse directly with customers about its products and services. The response was overwhelming. “We got flooded,” says Brandon Proctor, vice president of marketing. “We couldn’t believe how many chats we were getting.” In July alone, the company had more than 300 chats daily and converted them into sales at a rate of 9%

Way to go Improvement Direct!    Since I suffer from link tunnel vision I immediately started to wonder how I could use the live chat application to get people to link.  Here’s what I came up with:

1.  At the end of every chat have the operator ask the customer if they’d like to have a permanent discount code for the product you’re selling.  All they have to do is link to your site and you’ll send the code.

2.  If you have a product requiring assembly instructions or a “how to use guide”  provide these links in the chat.  On the pages hosting these “how to” guides, make a push to link to your site.

3.  Do an email blast to current customers annoucing the new chat feature on your site.  In the correspondence drop the “link to us” offer and include a giveaway as a thank you.

4.  Issue a press release annoucing the new feature and your company’s committment to customer service and using advanced technology.  

While it’s a good idea to look at everything as an opportunity to promote your website,  it’s not a good idea to go overboard and become a pest asking for links.    Keep the number of times you ask to a minimum and use  the elements with the highest visibililty for a better chance of link building success.

P.S.  If you’re interested in the technology, the article mentioned Meebo as a free live chat software and search on the phrase “live chat software” for the paid companies.

from: Link Spiel

For more link building information, ideas and the occasional rant, visit LinkSpiel .

As a link builder I’m not enamoured with YouTube and do not recommend using it as a primary way to build links or as an integral part of your SEO program. 

 Why?

• Videos on YouTube are on YouTube so any optimization effort you implement helps YouTube and not your website/pages.     

• YouTube contributes to the pinking of the ‘Net/Web (uses nofollow) so any link you insert to guide people back to your site passes no link popularity. 
   
• While traffic from YouTube can be beneficial, you have to optimize the content on YouTube like any other in order for people to find it.  This is time better spent elsewhere.
   
• Efforts to make a video go viral begin with the webmaster, not YouTube
    
•  It’s doubtful you’ll build a brand following on YouTube unless the public is already aware of your brand.      

•  By-n-large people look  for information on a search engine first, they don’t search on YT for a place to buy baseball cards.  There is a reason Google has become a verb and YouTube a pastime.

But the number one reason?

• YouTube results bump web pages down in the general search results and web pages make sales , videos don’t!

Want to see what I mean?  Look here, here, and here  and notice how the videos are all ranking in the top five but the sites they represent – don’t.    Yes the exposure is nice but where is there opportunity to make a sale??    Throw in local search results and images showing up and it can take a while to get to a static search result.   If your goal is to make your website an authority in your industry/niche, you should house and promote the videos on your site, not YouTube.  This will help with algorithmic authority, branding and traffic.

So is using YouTube to build SEO  links a wasted effort?   Pretty much which is why I don’t recommend using it to increase your link popularity but I wouldn’t totally discount using the number two search engine on the Net to build awareness.  Consider doing this: 

• Make shorter versions of your video’s and insert on YouTube, longer vid stays on your site

• Create those shorter versions as teasers and as a lead-in to promotions/information on your site

• Be sure the start and ending frame of the vid include the URL to your website

• Optimize your YouTube listing with your keywords

• Be the first one to leave a comment/review under your vid, include the URL to your website and explain a longer more detailed version of the vid exists on your website

• Encourage everyone you know to drop a comment/review on the video  (re/views help push your vid to the top for your keywords)

• Create a video area on your site just as you would a media room and promote it to the media, your customers, vendors etc.

• Make the vid’s on your website available through Creative Commons, make full descriptions embedded with kw rich links part of your attribution.

You need to decide what’s best for your site and if having YouTube video’s come up in the serps for your keywords is your goal, power to you.  But if you’re in business to make a profit and plan to use video to attract links, know the links you point at YouTube will have little to no effect on your overall rankings. 

Use YouTube or any image/audio hosting site wisely and they can be your greatest ally  and not a ranking enemy.

(photo taken from Zazzle.  Buy a tee shirt!)

from: Link Spiel

For more link building information, ideas and the occasional rant, visit LinkSpiel .

Today’s edition of Resource Shelf  listed a report from PEW on how Americans were using the Internet to cope with the recession.  This bit caught my eye and got the link brain going:

Some 69% of all Americans have used the internet to cope with the recession as they hunt for bargains, jobs, ways to upgrade their skills, better investment strategies, housing options, and government benefits. That amounts to 88% of internet users.

First off, the numbers the article references are huge, 88% of American users are turning to the Internet to find certain types of information.  If that doesn’t scream “CONTENT and LINKS” to the enterprising webmaster I don’t know what does.

For newbies with no clue what I’m talking about, let me explain.

There are a bunch of Americans using the Internet to find solutions to problems.  If you have content that’s good and will help them, they may link to it and/or pass it along to others they know will benefit.  The excerpt above is pretty specific in what they’re looking for so your job is now a little easier in trying to figure out what to write.  To refresh your memory the specifics the article showcased were:

they hunt for bargains, jobs, ways to upgrade their skills, better investment strategies, housing options, and government benefits

Is there a way you can write content on any of these subjects as it relates to what you offer?  I bet there is.  If people are actively looking for it, why not write about it  instead of another stupid top ten list ?

Here are a handful of  promotion ideas to get the link ball rolling:

1.  Email your mother, brother,  sister and your current and past customers with a link to the article.  Encourage linking and ask they pass it on to others who may benefit.  (these people already like you so they’re prone to respond positively.  This is why it pays to be nice to siblings

2.  Write a press release announcing the new article, be specific in describing what problem/issue your article will discuss and provide solutions for.

3.  Be sure to include a quote/link to the PEW report as a credibility builder in the release.

4.  Be sure to include a quote/link to the PEW report in your article as well.

5.  Take a shorter version of the article and pimp it to a handful of bloggers in your niche. 

6.  Include social media buttons like “share this” under the article on your site.  Encourage your mother, brother, sister and past/current customers to socialize the material.

7.  Tweet the link, encourage RT’s (RT = retweets.  Here’s a how-to RT article)

There’s more you can do but this should get you started.  With 88% of Americans searching for a specific type of information be the one they link to for answers. 

Added:

Please read the comments with this post, someone brought up an article written on Search Engine Watch yesterday and I’ve responded since I think the article was a piece of crap.   Thanks ~  debra.

<div id=”scricode37963555″></div>

from: Link Spiel

For more link building information, ideas and the occasional rant, visit LinkSpiel .