Below is live coverage of the Links With Maximum Juice and Minimum Risk panel from the PubCon 2011 conference.
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10:11:37 AM Barry Schwartz: We start in a few minutes
10:14:45 AM
Barry Schwartz:
Loren Baker, Arnie Kuenn, Kenny Hyder
Moderator:
Jessica L Bowman
10:15:16 AM Barry Schwartz: Kenny Hyder up first
10:16:51 AM Barry Schwartz: Step one: Prospecting, find out where you want to get links from. I want links from related industries b/c no one in my industry has that.
10:18:36 AM Barry Schwartz: Some examples for you in the image
10:19:04 AM Barry Schwartz: Step 2: Finding these sites...
10:19:27 AM Barry Schwartz: He uses advanced search operators, soloseo.com/tools/linkSearch.html
10:19:34 AM Barry Schwartz: Look at blog directories, search on twitter
10:20:06 AM Barry Schwartz: He looks for blogs, news sources, retailers and schools - but in short, look for the authorities in the industries. It varies by industry.
10:20:24 AM Barry Schwartz: Do not look for forums, directories or basic lists - those are stuff he avoids.
10:21:35 AM Barry Schwartz: Good luck reading that.
10:22:50 AM Barry Schwartz: Next step is to contact these sites... Get their email addresses, figure out your budget for the links, email templates
10:24:59 AM Barry Schwartz: Try to follow up with these people...
10:25:20 AM Barry Schwartz: Next step is the negotiation and the link placement on the site.
10:26:20 AM Barry Schwartz: Work with the brand so it isn't just a basic link but works within the site. Your site is a resource not just a web page.
10:27:27 AM Barry Schwartz: If none of that works, then you always have $ to pay them.
10:27:46 AM Barry Schwartz: Then link placement. Be direct, send them the html to use for the link and tell them how to use it.
10:29:26 AM Barry Schwartz: It comes down to
10:29:46 AM Barry Schwartz: Next up is Loren Baker
10:30:44 AM Barry Schwartz: He started building links almost pre-Google PageRank
10:32:26 AM Barry Schwartz: They did it for traffic and conversion purposes.
10:32:47 AM Barry Schwartz: Then Google came along and everything changes with linking...
10:33:23 AM Barry Schwartz: Everything became about exact match anchor text. Google created a marketplace for link acquisition. Linking went off track, it wasn't a form of marketing, instead, it is a form of manipulating Google results.
10:33:29 AM Barry Schwartz: This doesn;'t work as well now.
10:33:47 AM
Barry Schwartz:
So now we are back
10:34:20 AM
Barry Schwartz:
Now you take the SNOW approach to link building
- Scale
- Natural
- Occurrences
- Widely
10:35:59 AM Barry Schwartz: Look at your and and compare it to your competitors and affilaites and so on are doing.
10:36:26 AM Barry Schwartz: You need to understand your existing links... What type of links point to your home page? Links point to your content? To your blog? etc
10:37:06 AM Barry Schwartz: Love these slides, hence taking a lot of pics of them....
10:37:30 AM Barry Schwartz: It is not about brute force and more about quality over quantity
10:39:01 AM Barry Schwartz: Is the site something that would gain links. Make your site into a "link magnet" and this is where content marketing does.
10:39:24 AM Barry Schwartz: Turning your site into a content library. It is about not just giving your audience a reason to visit the site but also share the site.
10:40:34 AM Barry Schwartz: Target has a video library in their press room
10:41:05 AM Barry Schwartz: Food Network does a ton on the blogging side
10:41:14 AM Barry Schwartz: Top 10 lists are still great
10:41:35 AM Barry Schwartz: It all started with the ten commandments :)
10:44:12 AM
Barry Schwartz:
Also try infographics, people love it
10:49:42 AM Barry Schwartz: Last up is Arnie Kuenn
10:55:27 AM Barry Schwartz: Sorry had to jump out for 5 minutes back.. He is giving examples of how he got links...
10:56:49 AM
Barry Schwartz:
Free ebooks attract links
10:56:56 AM Barry Schwartz: Infographics attract links
10:58:44 AM Barry Schwartz: Blogs with good content attract links
10:59:50 AM Barry Schwartz: He asked the audience who hates link building and leave your hands up. He then took a picture and said, "I told my office I'd come back with leads."
11:02:56 AM Barry Schwartz: Then see what works for your competitors... You can use Open Site Explorer or other tools.
11:09:13 AM Barry Schwartz: Q&A time
11:10:51 AM Barry Schwartz: None of the panelists use automated tools to get links
11:15:42 AM Barry Schwartz: Next session in 15 minutes: Real World Low-Risk High-Reward Link Building