Search Engine Marketing Blog

Any would be link builder needs to read both of these pages to learn what NOT to do and any website owner or experienced link builder should read them for a bit of a laugh.

WebmasterWorld’s compiled list of How Not to Ask for a Link

You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll cringe at the memories of having received just that type of request.

And then there’s Eric Ward’s fantastic post at Search Engine Land documenting a real life example of the worst way to ask for a link.

Enjoy

Eric Ward’s article over at Search Engine Land is a good read for anyone considering trying some of the more “fly by night” techniques that are often associated - erroneously - with link building.

Bottom line is that link building is hard work. So is link buying. There are no short cuts, no easy ways out and you can’t even just buy the links to save time. In fact I’ve often found that link buying takes more time than organic link building if you’re doing it right and want to get real value out of the purchase.

So to any would be link builder out there, be prepared to put in some effort!

Link bait, in case you never heard of it, is a website/page built to grab your attention. Offering a cool free tool, flaming Matt Cutts, saying “Page Rank Doesn’t Matter”, publishing a Top 100 list are all examples of link bait. In business terms it might be a whitepaper, survey findings, industry reports or predictions and forecasts.

The focus is on targeting a link-happy audience and on marketing to them instead of on delivering to your primary target audience. It’s all about spreading your word through other people’s websites.

You should build link bait content that targets bloggers, social bookmarkers, university professors, Democratic senators, niche media, big media, anyone and everyone that posts online - from those that do it for a living to those that simply like to see their own words in print.

The bottom line is it’s only link bait if it’s something others will want to join in on. If there is no reason for them to comment, disagree, flame you, nit pick, congratulate you, quote you, or in some way engage in the conversation it’s not link bait.

So make it engaging, controversial, quoteable, thought provoking, hilarious, horrid, anything that will cause a written reaction.

For the person on the desert island that hasn’t yet heard about the most recent PR update and how it’s supposedly due to Google penalising link sellers and buyers here’s a few links to interesting posts:

Forbes article that’s a few days old but interesting “background” reading (hey, it’s a fast paced industry!)

Andy Beard’s detailed look at the directories affected - good cause he tracks the directories’ PR over time

ShoeMoney’s short but sweet post - please follow the links to find out what NOT to do

Some Musings from Search Engine Journal - I love the quote, “PageRank is not a Marketing Metric”. Perfect!