Risk & Reward in Link Building

Loren Baker@lorenbaker

About MeAbout Me

Links In 1998Links In 1998

Links In 2003-2010Links In 2003-2010

• Link Rentals• Links On Fake Blog Networks• Links in Content by Fake People• Forum Links• Sidebar & Footer Links• Article Syndication• Blog Template Links• Social Bookmark Links (from bookmark sites people don’t use)

Linking Goals TodayLinking Goals Today

Relevance – Websites and Content that support your product and service offering, and the niches that you market to

Audience & Engagement – Sites that actually have traffic and onsite/offsite engagement including comments, social votes, email newsletters and other sharing capabilities

Authority & Trust – Sites and authors that have credibility in their networks, proper Authorship and do not compromise their trust and influence for money. REAL PEOPLE!

Onsite Optimization – Links used to be a short cut to rankings and the inability to make onsite changes. Focus on SEO and autonomous publishing solutions to drive branded links and citations to, then it’s up to you to funnel that equity.

Links For Corporate AmericaLinks For Corporate America

• Car Insurance • Banks• Health Insurance• Retail Stores• eCommerce• Media• Sports Teams

Links in Hyper Competitive Industries

Links in Hyper Competitive Industries

• Payday Loans – 8 Years!• Online Pharmacies – Buy Viagra• Bankruptcy Attorneys• Online Dating• Debt Consolidation• Online Gaming• Forex• ORM (Celebs, Nations, Foundations)

Learning from Both Makes a Better Linker

Learning from Both Makes a Better Linker

But There’s Always Risk Involved

But There’s Always Risk Involved

• Publisher Experience w/ SEO’s

• Money changing hands (other vendors)

• Emails get published & FWD’d

• Your Client put themselves on the line to sign you.

• Other divisions have their eye on you.

• Vet your vendors (and the vendors of vendors)

How To Avoid RiskHow To Avoid Risk

1. Never offer money2. Do Your Research3. Be as transparent as possible4. Have your client or boss on your

side5. Communicate chances of risk

internally6. Never ask for exact match anchor

text7. Educate publishers & stakeholders

Let’s Look at Some RISK!Let’s Look at Some RISK!

What’s Wrong w/ This Email?What’s Wrong w/ This Email?

Hi Steve

We are interested in producing editorial content for your site.

We can pay you $100 for a guest editorial referencing my client's site _________ (_______.com), a provider of ___ products for both men and women in the US (NSFW).

I know time is valuable these days and I appreciate yours.

Sincerely,XXXXXXXXXMarketing Assistant

What’s Wrong w/ This Email?What’s Wrong w/ This Email?

Hi Steve My Name is Not Steve.

We are interested in producing editorial content for your site.

We can pay you $100 for a guest editorial referencing my client's site _________ (_______.com), a provider of adult products for both men and women in the US (NSFW). Thanks for telling me it’s NSFW after clicking the links!!!

I know time is valuable these days and I appreciate yours.

Sincerely,XXXXXXXXXMarketing Assistant

Do Your ResearchDo Your Research

Low Risk Linking (Marketing)Low Risk Linking (Marketing)

• Don’t throw the ball in Ed Reed’s direction

• Branded Links > Exact Match

• Branded + Semantic Modifiers

• Your Links Cannot Live on an Island

• Your Links Need Backup (even in Payday)

Get Teams On BoardGet Teams On Board

• Content Marketing is owned by social, PR, SEO, branding, corporate …etc.

• No one likes surprises• Upfront education is worth every penny

• Spend the time to develop a strategic foundation.

• Time spent will result in corporate buy-in

Take Control of Your BlogTake Control of Your Blog

• Mindless keyword content is not what you need

• Engage readers to comment

• Bring in Guest Authorities in your industry with audiences and Authorship

• Interview Influencers• Build an Editorial Calendar

• Make Sure it Works

Work with PublishersWork with Publishers

Work with PublishersWork with Publishers

• Cobranded Content• Tap into their Active Audience• Natural Syndication = Co Citation Map

• Trickle Down Effect• Comments, Shares, Tweets• Share within their Facebook Groups and Others

• Email? That’s the Golden Ticket• DON’T FORGET LOCAL PUBLISHERS

Do Your ResearchDo Your Research

Link RepoLink Repo

• The Art of Link Reconciliation• Google Queries and Alerts for the Title of Your Work

• Be Picky, Only Reach Out to the Sites with Value

• Ignore sites in Bad Neighborhoods• Don’t ask for Exact Match• Just Ask for Proper Citation• Google Image Search is your Friend

Do Your ResearchDo Your Research

Invest in the MothershipInvest in the Mothership

• Make sure your blog is publishing this content too

• Engage those readers and get them to subscribe, like, comment …etc.

• The day you hit the pubish button and links naturally occur, it’s time to party.

• Hub / Spoke / Rim

Squeeze That Juice!Squeeze That Juice!

• Conduct Outreach Around Your Content

• Contribute to Communities like MyBlogGuest and others.

• [Watch out for blogs that have sold their souls to guest blogging.]

• Slice & Dice Your Content• Publish in Visual.ly, Imgur, Pintrest & other popular social image sites

• Monitor RTs from these sites and the publsiher and build a relationship with those users

Loren Baker @lorenbaker

http://copyblogger.com/