The Importance of Link BuildingTo a Successful Internet Marketing Campaign

Jeremy ShermanVice President, Search Marketing

Customer Magnetismjeremy@trycm.com

Twitter@jeremy_sherman

@trycm

How Search Engines Value Links- PageRank: A brief history

- Sergey Brin & Larry Page’s algorithm developed in 1997 at Stanford. The foundation of Google.

- PageRank is based on:-Links can be interpreted as “Votes”-Pages that receive more Votes are more important – and should therefore rank higher

- The Anchor Text (words of the link) is associated with the page that the link points to – and therefore tells the search engine what that page is about

How Search Engines Value Links- Votes from more important pages (ie. Authority sites) count more than votes from lower quality pages

-Relevancy, # of Links, Content, etc. define value-Not all links are equal

Top 3 Ranking Factors of Inbound Links

Inbound links are links FROM other websites TO your website. Internal links are links from pages WITHIN your own website.

1. Keyword Rich Anchor Text Links:- Utilizing targeted keywords is paramount to

improving rankings for specific keywords.

Tip: use tools such as Google’s keyword tool to find highly searched relevant keywords

2. Quantity and Quality of Links:- It is important to balance quantity and quality.

- 5 “high value” links can have a bigger ranking impact than 50 “low value” links.- Determined by relevancy, content, authority, age, etc.- A link from CNN is considered significantly more valuable

than a link from your friend Bob’s personal website.

Tip: Consider these metrics when looking for links:- # of links pointing IN to Target Page- # of links pointing OUT of Target Page- Placement of link ON Target page – higher up on page is better

3. Diversity of Link Sources:- Build links from as many unique sources as

possible.

- 6 links from 6 unique websites is more valuable than 6 links from the same website.

Three Ways to Build Links to Your Website

1. Leverage Existing Relationships:- Ask co-workers, family members, friends, and

customers to link to you.- Make it easy for them to do it. Provide the html code so

they can simply copy and paste onto their website.- Utilize your existing social media networks to

develop links.

- Resource Allocation: low cost / medium time commitment

Tip: Include info on how to link to your site in every order confirmation email. Your customers want to link to you – make it easy for them to do it.

2. Utilize High Quality Directory Submissions, Article Marketing & Press Release Publication:

- Full control over anchor text selection and content messaging.

- Resource Allocation: medium cost / high time commitment

2. Utilize High Quality Directory Submissions, Article Marketing & Press Release Publication:

- A few places to get you started.

Tip: Spend some time on research to find niche directories / article sites related to your industry

3. Create “Link Bait” that People will Link to & Spread Naturally:

- Badges: logos or banners that users can place on their site to promote a specific cause, product, etc.

- Widgets: a piece of self-contained code that can be installed on any webpage.

- Quizzes: usually fun games users can play – and then post the results on their own site.

- Resource Allocation: high cost / low time commitment

Tip: Be sure your banners and widgets include a link back to your website with targeted keyword alternate text

3. Create “Link Bait” that People will Link to & Spread Naturally:

Badge Widget Quiz

Bonus. Link Reclamation:- For sites with an already established link profile

- Mine existing links and contact those sites that are linking to you with “un-optimized” anchor text

-Example: If a site links to http://www.yoursite.com, ask them if they would be willing to change your link to Targeted Keyword instead

Tip: Use Yahoo Site Explorer, Google Webmaster Tools and OpenSiteExplorer.org to analyze your backlinks.