There are many different link-building tactics—too many to list in
this book. This section will examine in depth some of the more common
ones.1. Using Content to Attract Links
In natural link building, the publisher must provide compelling
content. Publishers need a good reason to provide links to another site,
and it is not something they do frivolously. Superior content or tools
are the key to obtaining such links.
Aggressive publishers can even let their content strategy be
guided by their link-building strategy. This is not to say that they
should let their link-building strategy drive their business
strategy.
Normally, however, there are many different types of content a
site could produce. The concept is simply to identify the link-building
targets and what content will most resonate with the publisher of the
target sites, and then tweak the content plan accordingly. Keyword
research can also help identify content related to your target market,
and can play a role in identifying topics that may help attract
links.
Content is at the heart of achieving link-building nirvana—having
a site so good that people discover it and link to it without any effort
on the publisher’s part. This can be done, but it does require that the
publisher create content that truly stands out for the topics that its
site covers, and that it thinks about link acquisition in every aspect
of the publishing process.
The types of content that can attract links vary by market. Here
are a few basic rules that a publisher can follow to maximize its
results:
Use content that helps establish your site as a leading expert
on its topic matter. When you produce really high-quality stuff, it
builds trust with the user community and increases your chances of
getting links.
Minimize the commercial nature of the content pages. As an
extreme example, no one is going to link to a page where the only
things they see above the fold are AdSense ad units, even if the
content below it is truly awesome. Of course, there are less obvious
ways to present too many ads, such as too much advertising in the
areas around the content or obtrusive overlays and
animations.
Do not put ads in the content itself or link to purely
commercial pages unless such pages really merit a link based on the
content. No one wants to link to a commercial.
Do not disguise the relationship between the content and the
commercial part of your site. This is the opposite side of the coin.
If you are a commercial site and you hide it altogether, you run the
risk of being viewed as deceitful.
You can use many types of content to attract links. Article
content, compelling images, videos, widgets/tools, or even developing
online games can be effective link-building tactics.
When content is published on your site, you have other decisions
to make, such as whether the content goes in a special section or
whether it is integrated throughout the site.
As an example of how you can make this decision, an e-tail site
that publishes a large catalog of products may not want all (or some of)
the pages in its catalog laden with a lot of article content. A site
such as this might build a separate section with all kinds of tips,
tricks, and advice related to the products it sells.
On the other hand, an advertising-supported site might want to
integrate the content throughout the main body of the site.
2. Marketing Content for Link Acquisition
Content can be marketed in many ways. These include:
- Content syndication
A publisher may choose to create content for placement on
another site. One reason for this would be to provide the content
to another site in return for a link to its site. This can be an
effective link-building strategy.
- Social media
Social media sites such as Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon, and Delicious can be useful in
marketing content.
- Spreading content via blogs
Blogging can also be a great tactic for link building.
Bloggers are very social and interactive by nature, and they tend
to link back and forth quite freely. As with other forms of social
media, it’s best to do this by being an active contributor to
other blogs through commenting and building relationships.
3. Directories
Directories can be a great way to obtain links. A large number of
directories are out there, and they may or may not require cash to be
paid to obtain a listing. Table 1
lists some examples of quality directories.
Table 1. List of quality directories
| Directory name | Category |
|---|
| DMOZ (open directory project) | General |
| Yahoo! Directory | General |
| Librarians’ Internet Index | General |
| Inc.com Recommended Start-Up
Resources | Business |
| Nature.com Recommended
Links | Science |
| About.com | General |
| BBBOnLine | Business |
| The Vegetarian Resource Group | Health |
| PhysOrg.com | Science |
| Open Source Initiative | Computers |
| Business.com | Business |
| Best of the Web | General |
| JoeAnt.com | General |
| eHub by Emily Chang | General |
| FreeIndex | General |
| Environment Directory | Science |
| Audioholics Buying Guide | Business |
| Fast Company Talent & Careers Resource
Center | General |
| Yudkin’s Recommended Publicity & Marketing
Resources | Business |
| Wheelock College Recommended
Websites | General |
| New Zealand Tourism Online | Recreation |
| Eat Well Guide | People |
| SciLinks | Science |
| American Library Association Great Web Sites for
Kids | General |
| Princeton University Outdoor Action Program Guide
to Outdoor Resources on the Web | Recreation |
| Essential Links to Sports Resources | Recreation |
| Blog Toplist | General |
| Blog Catalog | General |
| makezine.com | Media |
| Online Ethics Center | Business |
| I Train Online | Computers |
| The Library of Economics and Liberty | Business |
| The TalkOrigins Archive | Science |
| TESL/TEFL/TESOL/ESL/EFL/ESOL Links | Arts and Humanities |
| Counterpunch | Government |
| National Institute of Nursing
Research | Health |
| National Marine Fisheries Service Northwest
Regional Office | Government |
| Sexuality Information and Education Council of the
US | Health |
| Bloggeries | General |
| U.S. Global Change Research Program | Government |
| American Society for Quality | Business |
| RealClearPolitics | Media |
| ReadWriteThink | Arts and Humanities |
| American Philosophical Association | Arts and Humanities |
| Art History Resources | Arts and Humanities |
| Rethinking Schools Online | General |
| International Reading Association | Arts and Humanities |
| David Chalmers Philosophy Links | Arts and Humanities |
The key to success in link-building to directories is to identify
the high-quality ones and stay away from the poor-quality ones. A
good-quality indicator is whether the directory exists for users or for
webmasters; if it’s the latter, stay away from it.
3.1. What search engines want from directories
Here are the essential factors the search engines look
for:
The paid fee is made in payment for an editorial review, not
for a link.
Editors may, at their whim, change the location, title, and
description of the listing.
Editors may reject the listing altogether.
Regardless of the outcome, the directory keeps the money
(even if the publisher doesn’t get a listing).
The directory has a track record of rejecting submissions.
The inverse of this, which is more measurable, is that the quality
of the sites listed in the directory is high.
Ultimately, “anything for a buck” directories do not enforce
editorial judgment, and therefore the listings do not convey value to
the search engines.
To take a closer look at this, let’s examine some of the key
statements from Yahoo!’s Directory Submission Terms:
For websites that do not feature adult content or services,
the Yahoo! Directory Submit service costs US$299 (nonrefundable) for
each Directory listing that is submitted.
I understand that there is no guarantee my site will be added
to the Yahoo! Directory.
I understand that Yahoo! reserves the right to edit my
suggestion and category placement; movement or removal of my site
will be done at Yahoo!’s sole discretion.
These statements make it pretty clear that Yahoo! will in fact
reject your submission if your site is not a quality site, and it will
keep your money.
3.2. Classifying directories
You can divide directories into three buckets:
- Directories that provide sustainable links
These are directories that comply with the policies as
outlined earlier. Most likely, these links will continue to pass
link juice for the foreseeable future.
- Directories that pass link juice that may not be
sustainable
These are directories that do not comply with the policies
as outlined earlier. The reason such directories exist is that
search engines tend to use an “innocent until proven guilty”
approach. So, the search engine must proactively make a
determination of guilt before a directory’s ability to pass link
juice is turned off.
Even so, link juice from these types of directories is
probably not going to be passed in the long term.
- Directories that do not pass link juice
These are the directories that the search engines have
already flagged. They do not pass any value. In fact, submission
to a large number of them could be seen as a spam signal,
although it is unlikely that any action would be taken solely on
this signal alone.
3.3. Detecting directories that pass link juice
The process is relatively simple for directories that pass
sustainable links, as defined earlier:
Investigate their editorial policies and see whether they
conform to what search engines want.
Investigate the sites they list. Are they high-quality,
valuable resources that do not contain spam or manipulative SEO
tactics?
Investigate their track record. Do they enforce their policy
for real? This may be a bit subjective, but if there are lots of
junky links in their directory, chances are that the policy is
just lip service.
As another check, search on the directory name and see
whether there is any SEO scuttlebutt about the directory.
The process is a bit harder for directories that do not conform
to the policies search engines prefer. There are still some things the
publisher can do:
Search on the name of the directory to see whether it shows
up in the search engine results. If not, definitely stay away from
it.
Take a unique phrase from the directory’s home page and see
whether it shows in the search engine results. If not, definitely
stay away from it.
Does the directory have premium sponsorships for
higher-level listings? This is a sure signal that indicates to the
search engines that the directory’s editorial policies may be
secondary to its monetization strategy.
Does the directory promote search engine value instead of
traffic? This is another bad signal.
Evaluate the directory’s inbound links. If the directory is
obviously engaged in shady link-building tactics, it is a good
idea to avoid it.
Is the directory’s target audience webmasters and SEO
practitioners? If so, stay away from it.
