Advanced Link Building in 2009 and beyond … Christoph C. Cemper

Motivation Give update on actually USED techniques Still LOTs of outdated information out

Give update on actually USED techniques

Still LOTs of outdated information out

Link Building Over Time (2004) OMG, I got banned from Google for pointing a PR8 sitewide link at my 3 days old datafeed site domain! Lesson learnt: don‘t overdo it

Overview 1. Introduction 2. What DID matter 3. What still DOES matter! 4. The 7 Golden Rules of White Hat Link Building 5. The Secret Gardens (TOP tips & tools) 6. Q&A

1. Introduction

2. What DID matter

3. What still DOES matter!

4. The 7 Golden Rules of White Hat Link Building

5. The Secret Gardens (TOP tips & tools)

6. Q&A

About Christoph C. Cemper Software Architect (IT Diploma) Masters Degree in Marketing/Sales Ex-IBM, ex-HP Today: General Manager, Owner, Project Manager

Software Architect (IT Diploma)

Masters Degree in Marketing/Sales

Ex-IBM, ex-HP

Today: General Manager, Owner, Project Manager

About CEMPER.COM Started in 2003 Doing links since 2003 Over 400 current international clients SEO Consulting for premium clients Developing SEO software Running some successful sites on topics like travel, electronics, finance …

Started in 2003

Doing links since 2003

Over 400 current international clients

SEO Consulting for premium clients

Developing SEO software

Running some successful sites on topics like travel, electronics, finance …

What I expect from you Know WHY you need links Have been building/buying/stealing links Have wondered before why link building/etc. „stopped working“

Know WHY you need links

Have been building/buying/stealing links

Have wondered before why link building/etc. „stopped working“

What DID matter in link building Precise Anchortext Because LSI is in full effect and anchor text filters (since 2006!) Google Pagerank Because it‘s crippled by Google (since 2007!) Alexa Rank Because it‘s skewed (since ever) Google Backlinks Because it‘s crippled by Google (since 2004!) Google Cachedate Because it‘s crippled by Google (for a while!)

Precise Anchortext

Because LSI is in full effect and anchor text filters (since 2006!)

Google Pagerank

Because it‘s crippled by Google (since 2007!)

Alexa Rank

Because it‘s skewed (since ever)

Google Backlinks

Because it‘s crippled by Google (since 2004!)

Google Cachedate

Because it‘s crippled by Google (for a while!)

What, no page rank? Matt Cutts Says (SMX Advanced Seattle 2008) We return random page rank data if we feel like to – it‘s fun!  Lesson learnt: don‘t look at PR

Matt Cutts

Says

(SMX Advanced Seattle 2008)

Lesson learnt: don‘t look at PR

What still DOES matter in link building! RELEVANCY & TRUST

RELEVANCY

&

TRUST

7 Golden Rules of White Hat Link Building Relevant page & in content links Domain trust Natural anchor text Nofollow Juicy Page (you‘ll get instructions and our secret tool!) No Spam! Don’t buy links for page rank!

Relevant page & in content links

Domain trust

Natural anchor text

Nofollow

Juicy Page (you‘ll get instructions and our secret tool!)

No Spam!

Don’t buy links for page rank!

Link Building Over Time (2005+) Google Guy says Build Content for Users, Not for Search Engines

Google

Guy

says

Golden Rules of White Hat Link Building (1) Relevant page with in-content links „ Presell Pages“ Coined by Aaron Wall in 03/2005 Links in RELEVANT content R.I.P irrelevant footer links (devalued 2004) Lesson Learnt: build links on relevant content pages!

Relevant page with in-content links

„ Presell Pages“

Coined by Aaron Wall in 03/2005

Links in RELEVANT content

R.I.P irrelevant footer links (devalued 2004)

Lesson Learnt:

build links on relevant content pages!

Trust Rank You need links from trusted sites to become trusted! Trust of linking FROM & TO domain Domain Age important Co-Citations super important … Q? Golden Rules of White Hat Link Building (2)

Trust Rank

You need links

from trusted sites

to become trusted!

Trust of linking FROM & TO domain

Domain Age important

Co-Citations super important … Q?

Trust Rank also means… Link quality is relative… Trusted domains respond differently & more quickly Trusted domains = more LSI Lesson Learnt: build trust, not (only) links! Golden Rules of White Hat Link Building (2)

Trust Rank also means…

Link quality is relative…

Trusted domains respond differently & more quickly

Trusted domains = more LSI

Lesson Learnt:

build trust, not (only) links!

Co-Citations & Neighborhood (2006+) Co-Citations & Neighborhood IMPORTANT WHO you link to with is WHO is linked with you is important! Awesome graphics by JimBoykin 

Co-Citations & Neighborhood IMPORTANT

WHO you link to with is

WHO is linked with you is important!

Awesome graphics by JimBoykin 

Co-Citations & neighborhood(2006+) Bad co-citation example AND – it‘s a navigational text link – devalued ANYWAYs …

Bad co-citation example

AND – it‘s a navigational text link – devalued ANYWAYs …

Natural Anchor Text Distribution Golden Rules of White Hat Link Building (3)

Natural

Anchor Text

Distribution

Google Update August 2009 -50 Penalty on Keyword / Page basis Anchor Text Overoptimization! Golden Rules of White Hat Link Building (3) Natural Anchor Text – Google -50 Penalty

Google Update August 2009

-50 Penalty on Keyword / Page basis

Anchor Text Overoptimization!

Solution Vary anchortext Add nofollows add „useless“ anchortext Brandname Site-URL „ cool site“ – „click here“ Golden Rules of White Hat Link Building (3) Natural Anchor Text Case Study (3)

Solution

Vary anchortext

Add nofollows

add „useless“ anchortext

Brandname

Site-URL

„ cool site“ – „click here“

Normal users don’t care about anchortext (and if all your links look like they were built by an SEO then you‘re in BIG trouble) Golden Rules of White Hat Link Building (3)

Normal users don’t care

about anchortext

(and if all your links look like

they were built by an SEO

then you‘re in BIG trouble)

Do you build NOFOLLOW links? (on relevant pages that is!) Golden Rules of White Hat Link Building (4)

Do you build NOFOLLOW links?

(on relevant pages that is!)

Yes, also - because you don‘t look at pagerank (do you?) Golden Rules of White Hat Link Building (4)

Yes, also - because you

don‘t look at pagerank

(do you?)

Even more YES, because normal normal users don‘t care about NOFOLLOW either Golden Rules of White Hat Link Building (4)

Even more YES, because normal

normal users don‘t care

about NOFOLLOW

either

Juicy Page = it does rank! I will show you in a minute how to check! (and give you access to our internal tool!) Golden Rules of White Hat Link Building (5)

Juicy Page

=

it does rank!

I will show you in a minute how to check!

(and give you access to our internal tool!)

No Spam! Links on duplicate content pages AKA article directories / article sites Adding Links INTO pages that are years old Bad Neighborhood Golden Rules of White Hat Link Building (6)

No

Spam!

Links on duplicate content pages

AKA article directories / article sites

Adding Links INTO pages that are years old

Bad Neighborhood

Choose your link sources carefully!! OMG it‘s full of SPAM And we‘re in the middle of all these link buyers! need this page, buddy? DO NOT GET A LINK HERE!!!

DON‘T BUY LINKS FOR PAGE RANK Golden Rules of White Hat Link Building (7)

DON‘T

BUY LINKS

FOR PAGE RANK

BUT, You don‘t look at pagerank anyway! (do you?) Golden Rules of White Hat Link Building (7)

BUT,

You don‘t

look at pagerank

anyway!

(do you?)

The Secret Gardens Check if a page is JUICY Finding relevant pages for links

Check if a page is JUICY

Finding relevant pages for links

Check if a page is JUICY (1) Pick unique phrase

Pick unique phrase

Check if a page is JUICY (2) Google for it in quotes stealing my content? Need to DMCA again! #1 for our phrase – won the JUICE contest

Google for it in quotes

Check if a page is (NOT) JUICY (3) Does THIS Look Like A Nice Site?

Check if a page is (NOT) JUICY (4) Hmmm… That site could not be found in these 6, maybe in the filtered results?

Check if a page is (NOT) JUICY (5) Oh man! 142 spammy article syndication sites same content… Is „my“ page there at all? No, the site was Not found in the 142 Results at ALL It‘s a DEAD page!

Check if a page is JUICY (6) Prefer to have this info at the click of a button

Check if a page is JUICY (7) YOU now can use our JUICE tool too… Leave your business card to get early access!

YOU now can use our JUICE tool too…

Finding relevant pages If Google thinks a page is very relevant for a keyphrase, then it probably is (in Google‘s eyes!)

Finding relevant pages for links Digging thru those could take some time tough… Damn, I‘d better find a new job, this link builder job looks like A LOT of hard work…

Digging thru those could take some time tough…

Finding relevant pages for links Use Combinations! my keyword information my keyword review buy my keyword purchase my keyword

Use Combinations!

my keyword information

my keyword review

buy my keyword

purchase my keyword

Finding relevant pages for links Then look at Is the page juicy? It should be if you found it in Google – did you check? Are there any spammy looking links on there already that look like a link-seller-paradise? If it looks like spam to you, it probably does to Google as well!

Then look at

Is the page juicy?

It should be if you found it in Google – did you check?

Are there any spammy looking links on there already that look like a link-seller-paradise?

If it looks like spam to you, it probably does to Google as well!

We tried to improve link research That‘s why we‘ve built our internal SERP research tool for our work

That‘s why we‘ve built our internal SERP research tool for our work

More tools … More Common Back Links tool (Competitor Links) Common Outbound Links (AKA authority finder) Backlink and Anchor Text Tool Over 27 analysis parameters Not just PR + Cache, but we got those too… Leave your business card to get early access!

More

Common Back Links tool (Competitor Links)

Common Outbound Links (AKA authority finder)

Backlink and Anchor Text Tool

Over 27 analysis parameters

Not just PR + Cache, but we got those too…

Basic Tools you will need Google Firefox SEOQUAKE SwitchProxy Plugin Spreadsheets or good CRM-like software

Google

Firefox

SEOQUAKE

SwitchProxy Plugin

Spreadsheets or good CRM-like software

Summary Don‘t look at Pagerank, Alexa, etc. DO obey the 7 Golden Rules of White Hat Link Building Don‘t worry about wasting PR or anchortext Think like a user, not an SEO! Be efficient!

Don‘t look at Pagerank, Alexa, etc.

DO obey the

7 Golden Rules of White Hat Link Building

Don‘t worry about wasting PR or anchortext

Think like a user, not an SEO!

Be efficient!

THANK YOUR FOR YOUR ATTENTION! QUESTIONS ? Want to have early bird access to our LinkResearchTools? Please leave your business card. We got a FREE Link Building Training (Signup) In other cases feel free to contact me: [email_address] http://www.cemper.com/ http:// www.LinkResearchTools.com

QUESTIONS ?