The "Big Easy" Guide to Google-Friendly Link Earning

Presented by Casey Markee

Lead SEO Consultant/Head of SEO SupportSearchEngineNews.com

President of www.MediaWyse.com

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Google Link Building Targets & Victims:

Directory Submissions

Blog Comments

Mass Guest PostingArticle Directories

Advertorials

Reciprocal Links

Social Bookmarking

Widget Links

Spun Content

Paid Links

Anchor Text Rich Links

Design by Links

Press Releases

Web 2.0 Links

Forums

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Google Link Building Targets & Victims:

Directory Submissions

Blog Comments

Mass Guest PostingArticle Directories

Advertorials

Reciprocal Links

Social Bookmarking

Widget Links

Spun Content

Paid Links

Anchor Text Rich Links

Design by Links

Press Releases

Web 2.0 Links

Forums

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So what does Google want?

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The 4 Tenants of Google-Friendly Links:1. Does the link provide clear value to

the user?

2. Is the link niche-relevant and worthy of Google consideration?

3. Does the link actually get clicked and send some measureable form of trackable analytics traffic?

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The 4 Tenants of Google-Friendly Links:And most importantly….

4. Was the link given or “earned” freely?

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1. Link Bait Type Content“Content that is GREAT and Shareable!”

What does Link Bait Look like?

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http://bit.ly/1dqGYHg

How about Infographic Link Bait?

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http://bit.ly/1dqJzRE

How do you Create Infographics?

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Link Bait BEST Practices:

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1. Generate quality link bait ideas with the following:

Portent Content Idea Generator:

http://www.portent.com/tools/title-maker/

HubSpot Blog Topic Idea Generator:

http://www.hubspot.com/blog-topic-generator

Content Forest Title Tool Generator:

http://titletool.contentforest.com/

Link Bait BEST Practices:

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1. Find Topics that are Buzz-Worthy: PopURLs.com, RadURLs.com, BuzzFeed.com, Klout.

2. Make it Shareable.

3. Outreach: in-house, client emails, Follower Wonk, ZoomProfiler etc.

4. Promote: Paid Stumbles, Facebook Ads, Promoted Tweets, Google Adwords

5. Syndication: Outbrain, Taboola, Zemanta – “Pay for Awesome” - eyeballs

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2. Evergreen Content“Does your content have an expiration date?”

What is “Evergreen” Content?

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Why Choose Evergreen Content?

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Image Credit: Business2Business, All Rights Reserved.

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3. Local Link “Earning”! “Sure, I’ll link to your yoga studio.”

Local Links can be Pulled or Pushed.

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You can “Push” for local links by finding local opportunities and requesting a link:

Local Links can be Pulled or Pushed.

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You can “Pull” in Local Links by Publishing Local Resources:

Local Links can take a lot of Different Forms

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1. Local Meetups2. Local Directories 3. Local Review Sites4. Chambers of Commerce5. Event Sponsorships6. Local Resource Pages7. Local Blogs8. Local Newspapers9. Local Charities & Sponsorships10. Award Listings11. Club & Organization Pages12. Calendar Pages13. Local Expert Interviews14. Embedded Custom Google Maps15. Embedded Videos w/Local Attribution Links

Local Links can take a lot of Different Forms

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Find Local Link Opportunities with GoogleSearch Operator searches:

<city name> + “recommended resources”/”suggested resources”<city name> + “useful resources”/”interesting resources”<city name> + “favorite resources”<city name> + “recommended sites”/”suggested sites”<city name> + “useful sites”/”interesting sites”<city name> + “favorite sites”<city name> + “recommended websites”/”suggested websites”<city name> + “useful websites”/”interesting websites”<city name> + “favorite websites”<city name> + inurl:links/resources<city name> + inanchor:links/resources

Browse 10,000 URL Operator Strings here: http://bit.ly/1dvVyx5

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4. Scholarship Link “Earning”“Are you disabled and live in Canada, I’ve got

a scholarship for you!”

Scholarship Pages in Action

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Case Study: www.SilverCross.com

Sells recycled Healthcare equipment in Canada and the United States.

They had very few “linkable” resources on their website. So we added an Ability Achievement Scholarship that is now given yearly to one student in the US and Canada.

It’s a healthy $3000 scholarship.

Prospective students fill-out an Essay and meet other on-site requirements.

Scholarship Pages in Action

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The new page generated 2100+ visitors in 2013 and generated an average site visit of 04:07 seconds. This was 150% above the site average!

Total Backlinks = 940+

Linking Domains = 100+

Page PageRank = 4

Page Authority = 45

Total Social Signals = 500+

Case Study: www.SilverCross.com

Scholarship Pages in Action

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Case Study: www.SilverCross.com – So how do you promote these?

1. Submit a press release announcing the scholarship through PRWeb.com

2. Send out an email to any in-house email lists.

3. Submit to scholarship pages – use Google Operator searches inurl:scholarships site:edu and inurl:edu + art + intitle:“outside scholarship” or inurl:edu + intitle:“outside scholarship” (replace “art” with whatever you are targeting)

4. Blog about the scholarship – provide a link both to your recent press release and the Scholarship page itself.

5. PPC Branding: Spend $100 on a quick Facebook and Google PPC campaign to drive initial awareness

6. Perform Backlink Research on existing Scholarship pages then submit your scholarship directly via email outreach!

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5. Beneficial Link “Earning”“I noticed an issue here, say, how about a thank you

link?”

Position yourself as an Expert in your Space

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1. Participate in online forums, SEO groups, and Q&A services. Quora specifically is still valid.

2. Speak at local Toastmaster and Civil Group meetings on common problems experienced by your target audience.

3. Sign-up for Disqus.com and comment regularly on popular SEO news services (SearchEngineLand.com, SERoundtable, etc.)

4. Interact regularly on Twitter. Ask and answer questions of your followers.

5. Submit pitches regularly and SPEAK at conferences. Pubcon specifically is a kick-ass gig. Great audiences and super-awesome connections!

When you Interact Online – Links Happen!

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That’s a dofollow backlink from a50+ Domain Authority site. That’s

never a bad thing.

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6. Sponsorship/Partner Building“Thanks for your sponsorship or support of our

endeavors. Here’s a link!”

Sponsorship Opportunities are Everywhere

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Sponsorship Opportunities are Everywhere

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Sponsorship Link Building BEST Practices:

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Find Link Building Sponsorship Opportunitieswith Google Search Operator Searches:

<city name> + “thank you to our sponsors”<city name> + “become a sponsor”<city name> + “sponsorship”<city name> + “partners”<city name> + inurl:sponsorship<city name> + inurl:partners<city name> + inurl:thank you sponsors<city name> allintitle:sponsor<city name>allinanchor:sponsor<city name>allinurl:sponsor<city name>allintext:sponsor“thank you sponsors”“sponsor links”“partner links”

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7. Profile Links“Get quality links AND secure your brand!”

Profile Links still pass BIG Juice!

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Don’t ignore Social Profile Links Either

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Don’t ignore Social Profile Links Either

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Lock-Up ALL your Profiles with KnowEM.com

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http://sen.knowem.com/

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8. Selective Guest Blogging“Quality not quantity is the name of the game here!”

Guest Blogging isn’t Dead but….

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It took a big hit in 2013!

Guest Blogging isn’t Dead but….

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And just recently in 2014!

Guest Blogging Link Building BEST Practices:

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1. Quality not Quantity: This is not a large scale SEO strategy. Doing so will get you slapped by Google!

2. Police the Author Box: It’s appropriate to have one dofollow link back to the author’s site, preferably Branded in nature!

3. Target Trustworthy Sites: Review the trust and authority of the site. Specifically with regard to whom the link out towards.

4. Conduct a Content Audit: Does the site contain low-quality content examples? Is it a Guest Blog mill?

5. Use Guest Blogging Platforms Cautiously: MyBlogGuest.com just hit this morning. Doesn’t even rank for its name. Be VERY selective!

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9. Brand Mentions“Turn regular mentions into live links!”

So what’s a Brand Mention?

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A brand mention is a repetition of your name or website, usually unlinked, that appears regularly on the Internet.

Turn this..

So what’s a Brand Mention?

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We want to turn Brand Mentions into LIVE links!

Into this!

How do I find these Brand Mentions?

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Strategy #1 – the MOZ Fresh Mentions Tool (Paid)http://freshwebexplorer.moz.com/

How do I find these Brand Mentions?

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Strategy #1 – the MOZ Fresh Mentions Tool (Paid)http://freshwebexplorer.moz.com/

Use this search to find brand mentionswithout triggering your own domain!

How do I find these Brand Mentions?

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Strategy #2 – Google Alerts (Free) – www.google.com/alerts

How do I find these Brand Mentions?

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Strategy #3 – Google Operator Searches (Free)“my name” –site:mysite.com “my brand” –site:mysite.com“my brand” –site:mysite.com blog OR postsite:org "my brand" OR "my name"site:com "my brand OR "my name"site:edu "my brand OR "my name"site.gov "my brand OR "my name"“my name” “my brand” –site:mysite.com – press –release“employee name” “my brand” –site:mysite.com –press –release“promotion” “my brand” –site:mysite.com –press –releasespecials” “my brand” –site:mysite.com –press –release“announced” “my brand” –site:mysite.com –press –release“infographic” “title of infographic” –site:mysite.com “quoted” “my brand” –site:mysite.com –press –release“quoted” “my name” –site:mysite.com –press –release

Some Final Thoughts

Links as a signal are NOT going away.

Natural Links have an Editorial Component

Freely given, Niche-related links, that get clicked, are the most valuable!

Good content earns links.

Unlinked Brand Mentions provide a HUGE link opportunity!

Link “Earning” is a Marathon not a Sprint!

There are still plenty of quality link classes you can target!

And remember this about link building…

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