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SuccessfulLink Building

Ken McGaffin and Mark Nunney

The Definitive Guide to

How to use links to explore your traffic, response and revenue

Link Building | 2Wordtracker.com

ContentsIntroduction to Successful Link Building 5

Part One: Introduction to the principles of link building 11Chapter 1: Link building and SEO 14

Chapter 2: The anatomy of a link for SEO 32

Chapter 3: What is a quality link? 45

Chapter 4: Links without asking 48

Chapter 5: Link building mindset 56

Chapter 6: Online communities 61

Chapter 7: Online community case study: Patagonia 66

Chapter 8: Link building and the New SEO 84

Chapter 9: Buying links 88

Chapter 10: Who should do your link building? 92

Chapter 11: What to measure 97

Part Two: Introduction to the process of link building 113Chapter 12 Strategy 119

Chapter 13: Quick wins 124

Chapter 14: Content 130

Chapter 15: Prospecting 208

Chapter 16: Networking 240

Chapter 17: Promoting 258

Chapter 18: Report, debrief & repeat 314

Chapter 19: Link building checklist 319

Chapter 20: Link building case studies 334

Case Studies 337Case Study 1: Want links? Educate your customers! 337

Case Study 2: Quality links from quality writing 348

Case Study 3: Don’t be shy of making comments 358

Case Study 4: Your story can be your link building strategy 364

Case Study 5: Making the complicated simple with infographics 372

Case Study 6: The power of in-depth blog posts 378

Our final words 383

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Link Building | 5

Introduction to Successful Link Building

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Get linked (or get nowhere)Without links to your pages, your website might as well not exist. Any content that you have

will not be noticed or found - it would be like the sound of a tree falling in a forest that nobody

hears.

Link building is the process of building links to your website so your site can achieve its full

potential.

This book will teach you how to become a link building ninja. That includes maximizing your

site’s visits and profits from search engines - search engine optimization (SEO) - and engaging

directly with potential customers and the online communities they are part of.

You’ll learn the great irony of link building for SEO - that the best links for SEO will come if you

build links that would work if you ignored search engines.

This irony is why you don’t have to be a great technician to be a great link builder. It means that

...

If you’ve got a story to tell ...

If you’ve got passion in what you do ...

If you listen to what your customers say ...

If you’re curious about what makes people tick ...

If you can build relationships and partnerships ...

… then you’ve got everything you need to be a brilliant link builder.

This is because link building is about marketing, communication and building relationships -

skills that many business people have in abundance.

Apply those marketing skills in the right way and you will surely succeed.

This book will show you the right way to create fantastic content, identify a virtually endless

stream of link prospects, promote your websites, approach quality sites and win quality links.

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Introduction to Successful Link Building

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There’s hard work involved - there always is with anything worthwhile. But there’s no mystery.

And the benefits will be worth the effort many times over.

Let’s look at six such significant benefits ...

Six significant benefits of link building

Building quality links to your site is one of the most productive marketing strategies you can

use because links can bring your business multiple benefits that repay your investment many

times over. Here are six of those benefits ...

1. Quality links boost your search engine rankings

As many as 7% of consumer sales are online and an incredible 89% of offline purchases are

influenced by online research. Search engines are the heart of that online commerce which

means search engine success can bring spectacular rewards.

And inbound links to your site are the most important factor determining the position of your

site’s pages on search engine results pages (SERPs).

It used to be quite easy to achieve search engine success with low quality links. But Google now

actively looks for low quality links and content and might penalize the sites it finds.

Consequently, SEO based on anything but quality content and link building is a tactic of the

past.

2. Quality links bring direct visitors to your site

Many people think link building is all about boosting your search engine rankings. And while it

certainly does a very good job of that, it’s by no means the whole story.

Quality links bring real people to your site. So if you manufacture barbecue equipment and

someone reads your authoritative article in the New York Times, then they’re going to find it

hard not to click through and have a look at your site.

And the great thing is that people who do click through are likely to be very interested in your

products, which means they might buy from you.

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3. Quality links establish you as a leader

No matter which market you’re in, there’s an informal community of websites that your potential

customers will use. That community will be made up of news sites, blogs, magazines, portals,

experts, commentators, forums, discussion groups and much more.

Your potential customers will visit many of these sites as they research the best products to

buy and the best companies to do business with. If they regularly see links to your site, they’ll

think of you as a leader in your market.

And so when they do come to make a purchase, you’re going to be on their mind and in with a

shout of getting the business.

4. Quality links attract more quality links

For a new site, links are initially hard to get. You have to work hard to get early successes and

build momentum.

But eventually something wonderful happens - you start to get links without even asking for

them. Once you’re seen as a market leader other sites will want to write about you, comment

on your products and link to you.

This virtuous circle works like this:

• Bloggers and journalists researching stories will often search Google, consult

directories and authoritative lists to find ‘sources’ for opinion and insight that will add

color to the stories they’re writing.

• If your site already has good links, they’ll come across your name several times which

increases the likelihood that they’ll contact you.

• Once they contact you and write about you then not only do you get the editorial, but

other bloggers and journalists will also write about you and link to you. And so the

virtuous circle continues.

5. Quality links keep on working

Unlike advertising, quality links often stay in place, continuing to bring you traffic, sales and

influence for many years.

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Introduction to Successful Link Building

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Google and other search engines look at the age of a link and the pattern of acquired links

over time. So the value of your inbound links is cumulative. Links that you acquired years ago

continue to influence your rankings and still bring you direct visits.

This means that:

• You should treat link building as an investment with increasing return over time.

• Your existing links give you a solid platform upon which to build.

• As you build links, competitors will find it increasingly hard to compete with you.

6. Quality links connect you with people

If someone has taken the time to link to you then they see value in what you do. Behind every

link is a person with whom you build a stronger relationship.

Get to know the people behind the sites that link to you, strengthen your personal networks

and increase your chances of success. Reach out to build mutually beneficial relationships.

Some basics on link building

Poor sites don’t get real links

Real links are given as a vote of confidence in the site being linked to.

If you want real links from real people (rather than paid-for links or links from robots) then your

site must be worth it, because poor sites don’t get real links.

Search engines know this. Which is why they look for and value real links.

So imagine a visitor to your site who might give you a link. What do they see and do when they

first arrive? Ask yourself:

• Is the site well-designed?

• Does it look interesting and professional?

• Is it clear exactly what you do?

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• Does everything work and work quickly (eg, videos, links)?

• If they want to buy, is there a clear path to do so?

• If they want information or answers to specific questions, can they get them?

• If they want to get in touch, are you easy to contact and do you respond promptly?

• Can they easily follow you on social media sites?

• Can they easily sign up for a newsletter?

The impression your website gives in the first few seconds will have a big impact on their

decision to link or not. If your site falls down on any of these factors, you risk them disappearing

- no matter how good your link pitch or request, they simply will not link.

So make sure you’ve got the basics in place to a reasonable standard before you start

prospecting for links.

And concentrate on producing quality in everything you do. You may produce less, but it will

deliver more value to your website’s visitors and earn you more links.

No-one links to sites they don’t know about

OK, that’s a bit of an obvious statement. Of course people won’t link to you if they don’t know

about you.

But what that really means is that you’ve got to get yourself known in your industry - even if you

start at a very low level. Remember, even the longest journey starts with a single step.

So make sure you take part in industry forums, read important industry blogs and news sites.

Make comments where you’ve something valuable to add. Write your own opinionated posts

and welcome feedback and comment.

People, not websites give you links - and people are social

It’s people, not websites that take the decision to link to your website. And it’s a decision that

takes some effort - they have to review your site, perhaps write a short description, write the

code to create the link and then test it.

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Introduction to Successful Link Building

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That all takes time and they need to be sure it’s worthwhile.

So part of your job as a link builder is to persuade them that you’re worth it.

And it’s not often possible to do that persuasive task with a simple email request. You’ve got to

contact them and build a relationship.

The task of contacting and starting to build relationships with complete strangers is made so

much easier with the growth of social media. It’s now an essential part of any link building

campaign.

That means you’ve got to build your own social media profile and use it as a foundation on

which to research, contact and persuade link prospects.

How to use this book

We’ve made this book as practical as we can, drawing on our collective experience of over 20

years of building links.

You’ll find plenty of step-by-step processes and great examples of how other sites have been

successful in their link building.

So, let’s get started!

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Introduction to the principles of link building

Part One

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Part One | Introduction to the principles of link building

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Before you get into the exciting process of link building, you’ve got to arm yourself with some

basic principles. Let these guide your link building and your path to solid, sustainable and

predictable results will be so much easier.

Here’s what we’ll cover in this part of the book:

Link building and SEO

In this chapter, we’ll cover the basics of search engine optimization (SEO), including how to

find the right keywords (searches) to target and optimize web pages for them. We’ll also look

at the importance of links for SEO and how you can influence and control the anchor text (the

actual words ‘clicked’) that sites use when they link to you.

Anatomy of a link for SEO

In this chapter, we’ll analyze links from an SEO perspective and highlight what really matters to

search engines. As a result, you’ll know which links you should target and how to squeeze the

maximum possible benefit from them.

What is a quality link?

Not all links are equal. Some will bring you lots of traffic, others will bring you lots of search

engine benefit and a few will do both. This chapter will define the different types of quality

links you should build.

Links without asking

Yes, it is possible to get links without asking and in this chapter we’ll explain how. Of course,

you still have to work hard approaching individual webmasters and asking for links. But getting

links without asking should be an essential element of anyone’s link building campaign. The

work involved is highly creative and exciting, and it has the potential to produce fantastic results.

Link building mindset

It used to be that you could succeed if you simply sent out hundreds of link requests, swapped

reciprocal links, submitted your site to directories and paid for your links. That is not enough

any more. Today, you’ve got to invest time in networking, carefully researching link prospects,

establishing your own credibility and building relationships with people who can give you links.

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Part One | Introduction to the principles of link building

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Online communities

Online communities are made up of many thousands of e-commerce sites, blogs, forums,

trade magazines, consumer magazines, general and specialist news sites, resources lists,

directories, social media sites, trade associations, consultants, experts, commentators and

many others. If your business is to thrive online, then you must establish your website in the

communities that are relevant to your business.

The New SEO

Although the use of keywords on website pages and in the anchor text of inbound links

remains central to SEO, changes in how search engines work have created a New SEO in which

branding, visitor behavior and social engagement (comments, mentions, sharing and links) all

play an increasingly important role.

Buying links

Building links is a difficult job and it is natural to look for easy solutions. And if you look for easy

solutions in link building, you will undoubtedly come across many opportunities to buy links.

There is nothing inherently wrong with paid links but Google objects to them being used to

influence a site’s position on their results pages.

Who should do your link building?

Should you do your link building in-house or use a specialist external agency? There are

advantages and disadvantages to both. The choice is yours, but either way you have to manage

the process. If you use an external agency, you must work with them effectively and understand

what they’re doing on your behalf. If you’re doing link building in-house, you must set up the

right working processes and allocate the right resources.

What to measure

It is, of course, important to measure the success of your link building campaigns. You need

to measure your return on investment and learn what works and what doesn’t work for your

website in your particular market. Here, we’ll look at the most important metrics for monitoring

and reporting on your campaigns.

Now, let’s look at these in detail ...

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