Search Engine Marketing Blog

Now that the furor is dying down over Virgil’s WikiScanner some helpful souls are moving the conversation towards how companies should manage their reputation on Wikipedia. It’s starting to sound like White Hat SEO banter - “Don’t do anything that would upset Wikipedia”. There’s an article over at Search Engine Land by a Wikipedia editor that gives advice on how to get incorrect or slanderous content removed from your Wikipedia page which says, in short: Don’t do it yourself. The comments got so contentious that Danny closed them down before I had a chance to post.

Why doesn’t Wikipedia want you to edit information about yourself or your company? Their position is that someone who is too close to a company/person/topic may not be able to provide the neutrality Wikipedia prides itself on. Fair enough, but what if you want to correct an obvious flaw in the article about you or your company? Are you really going to wait around for some Wikipedia “angel” to swoop down and edit it for you?

I am in complete agreement that Wikipedia articles should be kept neutral and unbiased but I do not agree that just because you are “close” to the company you are unable to edit the article in the correct manner. I am not referring here to whitewashing or spin tactics, I’m talking about fixing obvious errors such as spelling mistakes, dates, numbers and other openly verifiable facts.

10 ways to cheat at link building. Quick, easy tips to get you and your new site going.

1. Directories - quick, easy, fast submissions. Usually free, sometimes a small fee. Links are usually set up in a timely fashion. Find suitable directories at the Open Directory.

2. Buy a Yahoo directory link.

3. Ask people you know - personal friends, family members, your kid’s school, your golf club, people you met on holiday - anyone you know who owns, or knows someone who owns, a site.

4. Arrange with your business partners to do a Partners page - you normally refer them to customers so why not refer them on your site and get them to refer you by linking to you.

5. Ask satisfied business customers for an endorsement. You add their testimonial on your site with a link to theirs and they add you as a preferred supplier on their site with a link to yours.

6. Don’t have a news page, have a blog instead. Just for having a blog you qualify for links a normal site can’t get - there’s a whole Dmoz section devoted to weblogs not to mention all the blog specific directories. Use the blog for posting news, press releases, product recalls, job openings, sponsorships, and so on. If you post something that’s actually interesting to someone you’ll get links without having to ask. Blogging software is like a free, easy to install content management system that can be administered by just about anyone who can type and you don’t have to give them access to the rest of your site.

7. Put up a “Link to Me” sign on your site with code for a professional looking button that people can simply cut and paste into their own site’s code.

8. Offer a “Listed On” or award button link for any site that qualifies. Believe it or not sites are still willing to stick an award or “Listed On” button link on their site.

9. Every time you do a press release make sure it carries your website address and is distributed to the online press release services.

10. Let other sites use your content providing they link back to your site. White papers, studies, surveys, research, product recall notices, tips, articles, jokes, anything that you post on your site that other sites may wish to use. Stick a politely worded permission note on the bottom of the content page letting other site owners know they are welcome to use the material - all you ask is that they credit the content to you using a direct link.

Ok, so there is no completely lazy way of getting links. Didn’t your Daddy ever tell you that anything worth doing is worth doing well?

Be number 1 on Google for a term the author is looking to write about.

I’m not kidding. Everyone, despite knowing better, uses Google as a reference tool. The number of authoritative websites that reference our sites without us ever having asked is amazing. The only reason they do so is because they do a search on Google for a topic they are writing about and there’s our little site minding its own business.

Obviously, having a professional and “correct” design seals the deal. Even if you’re number 1 for “ancient Egyptian artifacts” you’re not going to be referenced unless your site looks the part.

So the formula for gaining authoritative links without ever asking is:

Great content on a very specific subject X the right design

I have to stress here that the design is very, very important. It doesn’t have to be swish, flash, swirling or otherwise gorgeous - it does however have to be exactly what the searcher would expect a site on that topic to look like. But that’s a whole different post.

Have the right design, get to the top and get referenced!

I went to the Perth WebJam last night and it was great fun. Not having met any of the web community here yet I was impressed by the turn out - roughly 100 - and the atmosphere. It was very much a close knit club, warm and friendly although in true Aussie style just a bit rowdy and kinda noisy.

WebJam, as I found out last night, is not so much a conference as a show off night. You get 3 minutes to show case the latest cool thing you’ve done - very much like show and tell but with laptops and projectors.

There were some interesting projects showcased such as Clever Starfish’s Be Packed backpacker’s trip planner and Scouta’s I.C.A.R.R.U.S. which I don’t think there’s a link to yet as they’d only just finished it in time for the WebJam talent show.

But my absolute favourite was Daniel Brouse’s presentation. He has done a lovely job of his site but the best bit is the quokka photo. It’s totally fab!