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How I took a gamble on 'big' content for link building. My presentation for BrightonSEO April 2013.
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go big or go home…
Hannah Smith@hannah_bo_banna
…a phrase usually used to
goad someone into an
outlandish or awesome act
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
…actually often said act is pretty dumb
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
today’s not about
big drinking
@hannah_bo_banna
today’s about
big content
@hannah_bo_banna
WTF?!
@hannah_bo_banna
expensivecontent
@hannah_bo_banna
WTF?!
@hannah_bo_banna
takes more than
40 hours to create
@hannah_bo_banna
plus
further timeto outreach
@hannah_bo_banna
sounds like a gamble?
@hannah_bo_banna
funnily
enough
@hannah_bo_banna
I used to be a betting shop manager
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
gambling is a
mug’s game
@hannah_bo_banna
which presents something
of a problem
@hannah_bo_banna
because investing in
big content
@hannah_bo_banna
is a major
gamble
@hannah_bo_banna
and I am
risk averse
@hannah_bo_banna
this is the story of howI learned to embrace
gambling
@hannah_bo_banna
but first, some context…
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
it was always a competitive niche…
@hannah_bo_banna
Jan 2012: we’d been working
together for over a year…
@hannah_bo_banna
‘small’
content
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
+ some guest blogging
@hannah_bo_banna
consistent
results
@hannah_bo_banna
then@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
it got real@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
the stuff we were doing
@hannah_bo_banna
playing it
safe
@hannah_bo_banna
small
content
@hannah_bo_banna
small
gamble
@hannah_bo_banna
small
reward
@hannah_bo_banna
these consistent
results
@hannah_bo_banna
were not going to be
enough
@hannah_bo_banna
to really
compete
@hannah_bo_banna
the client was
happy
@hannah_bo_banna
the client was
happy
@hannah_bo_banna
the client was
happy
@hannah_bo_banna
but we were on
borrowed time
@hannah_bo_banna
go big or
go home?
@hannah_bo_banna
sounds
risky
@hannah_bo_banna
remember, I’m
risk averse
@hannah_bo_banna
but@hannah_bo_banna
is it really a
gamble?
@hannah_bo_banna
maybe not when you’re the
agency
@hannah_bo_banna
but you still need to
persuade
the client…
@hannah_bo_banna
they are the ones that stand to
lose
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
they agreed to a test
@hannah_bo_banna
don’t expect the client to
pay more
@hannah_bo_banna
we pitched to go
slower
@hannah_bo_banna
moved from a 4 week content cycle
to an 8 week content cycle
@hannah_bo_banna
we absorbed some
risk
@hannah_bo_banna
we
over-delivered
@hannah_bo_banna
like
crazy
@hannah_bo_banna
we
figured
@hannah_bo_banna
if we could
proveit worked
@hannah_bo_banna
we could pitch for
moremoney later
@hannah_bo_banna
it was a
gamble
@hannah_bo_banna
but that nag
romped home
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
148linking root domains
@hannah_bo_banna
what happened next
@hannah_bo_banna
it’s not about going
bigonce
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
101linking root domains
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
79linking root domains
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
74linking root domains
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
197linking root domains
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
55linking root domains
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
188linking root domains
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
6linking root domains(don’t panic, it’s new)
@hannah_bo_banna
it’s not been the
smoothestride
@hannah_bo_banna
Socia
l Media
Producti
vity
AdWord
sHirin
g
Word
Press
Blogging
Google Analy
tics
Email (N
ew)0
50
100
150
200
250
Linking Root Domains
@hannah_bo_banna
however
@hannah_bo_banna
per £1 invested in
content & outreach
@hannah_bo_banna
we’re now building more than
double
the number of links
@hannah_bo_banna
we’re twice as
effectivenow as when we were
playing it safe
@hannah_bo_banna
but it’s not just about
links@hannah_bo_banna
results you actually careabout
@hannah_bo_banna
Jan 2012
versusJan 2013
@hannah_bo_banna
improved rankings
for head terms
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
45% increasein organic traffic
@hannah_bo_banna
increasedconversions
@hannah_bo_banna
conversions are
money#justsayin
@hannah_bo_banna
happyclient
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
5 tips for going big or how to avoid going home
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
your content needs to support the brand’s
positioning
@hannah_bo_banna
in order to get
sign off
@hannah_bo_banna
& in order to be
repeatable
@hannah_bo_banna
‘whacky’ideas
@hannah_bo_banna
cost too much
time
@hannah_bo_banna
& are hard to
repeat
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
evergreen content is far
less risky
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
use your best idea
first
@hannah_bo_banna
but have plenty more in your
back pocket
@hannah_bo_banna
it’s not about going
bigonce
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
set benchmarks for
‘success’
@hannah_bo_banna
beforelaunch
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
don’t believe the
hype
@hannah_bo_banna
“great content produces
out-sizedreturns”
@hannah_bo_banna
one cold
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
sadly, that only happens
sometimes
@hannah_bo_banna
great content gets you
top-tierguest posts
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
a word of warning
@hannah_bo_banna
I was hoping to build a
flywheel
@hannah_bo_banna
#naive
@hannah_bo_banna
nevertheless
@hannah_bo_banna
investing in
big content
@hannah_bo_banna
is a major
gamble
@hannah_bo_banna
that can
pay off
@hannah_bo_banna
& if you too are in a
rut
@hannah_bo_banna
small
content
@hannah_bo_banna
small
gamble
@hannah_bo_banna
small
reward
@hannah_bo_banna
& it’s not
enough
@hannah_bo_banna
to really
compete
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
@hannah_bo_banna
Caffeine Addict
SEOmoz Associate
Writer for State of Search & SEO Chicks
HANNAH SMITH
Principal Consultant, Distilled
Image Credits
Shots - http://www.thethirstypig.com/2011/01/13/100-shots-at-blue-frog-%E8%93%9D%E8%9B%99/Please drink responsibly - http://lmaotwitpics.com/2012/12/27/drink-responsibly/Ladbrokes - http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaggers/8047471537/sizes/l/F*ck Yeah - http://www.fastcodesign.com/1669791/infographic-the-rise-of-tumblrs-fuck-yeah-movement1 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/204714598/sizes/l/in/set-72157594159394280/2 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/5489483429/sizes/l/in/set-72157594159392957/3 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/94877877/sizes/l/in/set-72157594159391763/4 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/5122443605/sizes/l/in/set-72157594159390514/5 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/4322212584/sizes/l/in/set-72157594159389491/Clock - http://digitalbloggers.com/gregfionascott/how-to-stop-procrastinating/Your best shot - http://www.forbes.com/sites/jessicahagy/2012/10/04/40-things-to-say-before-you-die/2/Go big or go home - http://kristiehuey.com/GO-BIG
@hannah_bo_banna