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How to Get Quality Inbound Links
Tuesday, May 10th, 2011 11 am Eastern, 8.00 am Pacific, 4.00 pm UK
Ken McGaffin, CMO
Questions about link building? Use Q&A to submit them now.
What you’re going to learn…
1. ! Analyzing competitors for immediate opportunities
2. ! How to really find quality link prospects
3. ! Why another site will link to yours
4. How to get links without asking - 8 examples
Link Analysis
Analyzing Competitors to find immediate opportunities
www.wndpens.com
Writing a link request… …for a resource listing
Subject: Great pen resource to add to your list!
Writing a link request… …for a commercial partnership
Subject: Handmade fountain pens – potential partnership!
Writing a link request… …for an editorial opportunity
Subject: Story idea – The Handmade Brand!
Rules for writing a link request
1. Choose a good subject line – avoid the words ‘link request’
2. Highlight the benefit to THEM, not you
3. Be brief and to the point – don’t waste
their time
4. Find a name to approach
5. Show you’ve read and understand their
site
Writing a thank you…
Subject: Thanks for the mention!
So by analyzing competitors we’ve quickly found 3 promising opportunities:
i. A list of pen websites ii. A possible affiliate arrangement
iii. An opportunity for editorial coverage.
…there are many more opportunities in the results so trawl through them and see what you can find.
The 3 ways link building helps your website
(i) Links boost your search engine rankings - so you get more traffic and sales on your website
(ii) People follow links like cars follow road signs - so you get more traffic and sales on your website
(iii) Links position you as leader – the more links you have, the harder you are to compete with
What makes a quality link prospect? !
http://www.wordtracker.com/academy/evaluate-link-prospects !
What makes a quality link prospect? !
1.!The site…!
2.!Their online presence…!
3.!Their policies…!
1. The site… !
•! Is it relevant?!
•! Are there real people on the site?!
•! Is the content well-written?!
•! Is the content updated frequently?!
2. Their online presence…!
•! Does the site link out to many other sites? !
•! Has the site got good inbound links?!
•! Is the site well-established?!
•! Does the site perform well on keyword searches?!
3. Their policies…!
•! Are they easy to contact? !
•! Do they publish resources or reviews?!
•! Do they invite articles or guest posts?!
•! Do they interview people for opinion or case studies?!
Link Analysis
Two other ways to get sites to analyze
Sometimes you come across a great list…
Why would another site link to yours?
Why would another site link to yours?
1. Because of who you are…
2. Because of what you do…
3. Because of what people say
about you…
Because of who you are…
Because of who you are…
Because of who you are…
•!Friends in your industry
•!Directories
•!Resource lists
•!Trade associations
•!Local groups
•!Your suppliers
•!Your customers
•!Specialist groups
•!Etc…
Because of what you do…
Because of what you do…
Because of what you do…
•!You ‘exchange’ links
•!Ask them for a link
•!Show them how to link
•!Comment on blogs and forums
•!Give tips and tricks
•!Publish articles and videos on your own site
•!Publish articles and videos on others sites
•!Comment on breaking
news stories
Because of what people say about you…
Because of what people say about you…
•!Make comments on what
you’ve said
•!Review your products
•!Passing on tips
•!Published news articles
and features
•!Recommending you (because your product is
complementary)
HelpAReporter.com
HelpAReporter.com
HelpAReporter.com
Make link building as routine as you can…
Many of these activities are
beneficial to your business in their own right…
…so build them into your daily routine
http://www.wordtracker.com/academy/link-building !
Link Analysis
Analyzing a ‘big personality’ website
You can get great information from a link analysis of a top
site in your market, a site with a ‘big personality’…
…because lots of people write about and link to sites with a
big personality.
Source: Springwise.com
I can find lots of link prospects by analyzing one of the best in
the business…
…Patagonia.com
www.patagonia.com
www.patagonia.com
www.patagonia.com
So by analyzing a ‘big personality’ website we’ve quickly built 4 potential campaigns:
i. Shopping ii. Blogs iii. Trusted sites
iv. Media v. Green websites
…look carefully for opportunities to create campaigns in the link analysis you do.
Link Analysis
Combining results
Link Analysis
Analyzing a magazine website
www.simplygrazin.com
www.saveur.com
www.saveur.com
www.saveur.com
www.saveur.com
www.saveur.com
www.saveur.com
So by analyzing the linking domains to a magazine website we’ve found a very interesting niche…
…blogs published by professional chefs.
Pick some magazines that target your market and see what niches you can uncover.
5 action steps you need to take
Action Step #1
Raise your visibility by getting yourself listed in directories
and resource lists
Action Step #2
Create simple content that addresses your customer’s
needs
Action Step #3
Sign up for HelpAReporterOut.com and respond immediately to any
opportunities
Action Step #4
Build relationships with bloggers in your industry – not necessarily the ‘top bloggers’,
look for the ‘magic middle’.
Action Step #5
Craft your story – an article, press release or video.
Concentrate of what bloggers and journalists will find of interest to their readers.
How to get links without asking – 8 examples
Rules for making a link request
6. There are no rules – be creative!!!!
November 2009 - A blog campaign for a free keyword tool, ‘SEO Blogger’ brought over 1000
inbound links to Wordtracker...
And it’s still bringing them…
And it’s still bringing them…
1. We did extensive research to identify blogs about how to
blog for business
1. We did extensive research to identify blogs about how to
blog for business
1. We did extensive research to identify blogs about how to
blog for business
2. We created a free tool, SEO Blogger
3. We commissioned a book from Chris Garrett that generated income
4. We created a category and content on our own site
5. About 4 days before release we contacted our top targets
and asked them to try the tool
6. We wrote a series of customized press releases
7. We tweeted about the launch extensively.
http://willitblend.com/videos.aspx?type=unsafe&video=iphone !
http://techcrunch.com/2010/01/04/beautifulpeople/ !
Step1: We created a story…!
Step 2: We asked experts to advise Susan…!
Bryan Eisenberg!B.L. Ochman!
Kevin Lee!Stephen Mahaney!John Alexander!Neil Davidson!Robin Good!
Nick Usborne. !
Step3: We publicised the e-book"
We did our public relations through:!
•!Identifying around 20 highly influential people and making them aware of what we were doing!
•!We followed up a week later with a press release on PRWeb.com!
www.searchenginewatch.com !
www.whatsnextblog.com !
http://www.thetraveltart.com/lonely-planet-travellers-pulse-join-and-win-a-calendar/ !
What’s newsworthy about "an office to let?!
And there’s nothing remarkable about this website…!
Yet this website, www.office2share.com "
was featured and got links from…!
How did such an unremarkable website get such remarkable
coverage?!
www.wordtracker.com/linkbuilder/ !
