blogger relations & linkbait
TRANSCRIPT
SIPA ConferenceBlogger Relations & Linkbait
June 1, 2009Nan Dawkins
Success online requires:
• Good content (i.e., the audience wants it, likes it, engages with it)
• Ways to make it visible• Search engines• Influencers who let their communities know about it
Links are critical to visibility in both…
Links
Why are links important to search engines?• Links are votes for your site
• Search Engines count those votes as part of their ranking algorithms
Links
All links are not the same to a search engine• Search engines weight links based on relevancy &
quality of the site linking to you. • A link from an Influencer counts more (to an SE) than
a link from a less authoritative source
Links
Search engines weight links differently depending on the form of content.
-Video: The importance of a link from a Youtube video is judged based on tags, views, ratings, and comments (among other things)
-Images: domain authority and alt tags (among other things)
-Blogs:
Linkbait
How do you get more links? 1.) Find and grow your network of Influencers2.) Create Linkbait• Linkbait is content that draws/encourages links – from
Bloggers and elsewhere
Source: LifeHacker: Discover the .edu underground
Influencers
How to find them? Roll up your sleeves…
Influencers
Tools that find and analyze for you…
• Social Media “Buzz Monitoring” tools have become more affordable; many are web-based, easy to use
• Most provide features that allow users to map and monitor Influencers
• Radian 6, Onalytica, Brandwatch, ScoutLabs
Email me for a list: [email protected]
LinkbaitLinkbait that may resonate with Bloggers• Informational – Press Releases (careful here)
Linkbait
Linkbait that may resonate with Bloggers• Lists – i.e. “The top 13 accidents that happen at work”
Linkbait
Linkbait that may resonate with Bloggers• Contrary Blog Posts – Taking an opposite position to the
norm
• Attackbait – Taking the contrarian approach one step further
Linkbait
Linkbait that may resonate with Bloggers• Quizzes
Linkbait
Linkbait that may resonate with Bloggers• Emotionbait – Humor or fear
Linkbait
Linkbait that may resonate with Bloggers• Shockbait – Bizarre , strange & unusual
Linkbait
Linkbait that may resonate with Bloggers• Negative, shocking negative, shocking negative
scoop/investigative
Linkbait
Social Linkbait: Resonates w/Bloggers, encourages viral pass-along • Awards, Contests, Giveaways
Social LinkbaitRadiohead Remix Contest• Allowed fans to alter content; i.e., remix a song• Incorporated a voting element so encouraged viral in SN’s• Heavily covered by Bloggers and mainstream press
Social LinkbaitNature Conservancy Everyday Environmentalist• Tips generated by the community• NOT voted on (missed opportunity)
Linkbait
At the end of the day, the Linkbait that will resonate MOST with target Bloggers is the content that is important to the target audience• What does your audience really need? Useful information
and resources• Taking the time to understand your audience in the ONLINE
environment is critical…
Linkbait
The right Linkbait for you?
• What does your network of Influential Bloggers want?• Look at what’s worked in the past in your content niche• Understand what really resonates with your online target
audience and how they use social channels (Blogs & others)
• Where does your content fit/make sense?• Do you really want a link from this source? (brand, image,
credibility, etc.)
Linkbait
The downside…• Target Fixation: What were they thinking?• Bloggers answer to no one; can do harm as well as good• Don’t offend• Don’t lie• Make it a win/win (Bloggers not there to do your
marketing bidding)
Remember
The Internet is changing fast…• In the past, not everyone could “vote” for a Web page by
linking to it• Today, more people can vote with a link (Blogs, easy publishing
tools); however, users can “vote” in many ways• Ratings, clicks, tags, bookmarks
• Google launching new API to graph social networks across the Web
So what?
• The importance of “links” in the traditional sense may be a thing of the past as SE’s become more sophisticated at mapping the social web and using it to rank content.
“There’s a lot of expertise, knowledge and context in user’s social graphs, so putting tools in place to make “friend-augmented search easy could make search more efficient and more relevant.” Marissa Meyer, VP, Search Products & User Experience, Google
• A comprehensive Social Media strategy is probably the best linking program available.
