1.
Link building case studies, myths & fails

2.
ProSEO 2011

3.
“What did you say then, which you could
say now, and it would mean something
different?”

4.
Link building in 2017

5.
What does it look like?

6.
But…

7.
RankBrain

8.
Machine Learning

9.
AI

10.
Voice search

11.
Assistants

12.
This is all cool stuff

13.
But then I see this…

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Content-driven link building campaign

15.
119% increase in organic traffic

16.
Thinking about the future is cool (you should!)

17.
But that’s not what this talk is about

18.
I’m a pragmatist, I like results

19.
I love links

20.
But, you need big budget
for links in 2017, right?

21.
Actually, no. I’ll show you why.

22.
But you do need these things…

23.
You need…
Visual assets, preferably interactive

24.
You need…
Visual assets, preferably interactive
Visualise cool data

25.
You need…
Visual assets, preferably interactive
Visualise cool data
Recognisable brand

26.
You need…
Visual assets, preferably interactive
Visualise cool data
Recognisable brand
Relationships with journalists

27.
You need…
Visual assets, preferably interactive
Visualise cool data
Recognisable brand
Relationships with journalists
You need to go viral

28.
You need…
Visual assets, preferably interactive
Visualise cool data
Recognisable brand
Relationships with journalists
You need to go viral
To launch at the right time

29.
You need…
Visual assets, preferably interactive
Visualise cool data
Recognisable brand
Relationships with journalists
You need to go viral
To launch at the right time

30.
These are all preconceptions

31.
I had them

32.
I’m going to show you case studies
where we didn’t always have
these things

33.
Small
companies
Large
companies
Budget
Team size

34.
96% of UK businesses employ 0-9 staff
Source

35.
If we were going to work in that
space, what would it look like?

36.
I’m going to show you

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7 case studies
3 content pieces that totally bombed
2 terrible outreach experiences

38.
…and the stupidest thing
I’ve done for a link

39.
Let’s talk case studies, myths
& mistakes

40.
Case Study #1
A slow starter
Myth - you need to visualise cool data

41.
Can you see the story?

42.
Started very slow

43.
Then we noticed something

44.
We pushed that angle harder

45.
Toyota logos…

46.
150+ pieces of coverage with 77 links

47.
It’s ok to start slow, but watch the
coverage you get closely and react

48.
Be sure to display big images within a
lightbox or popup

49.
Case study #2
How to reduce risk in link building
Myth – you only get one shot at getting it right

50.
Idea Production Outreach
Content-driven link building process

51.
It can work very well

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But carries risk

53.
Create content around several events

54.
Plug in new data and promote again

55.
Case study #3
Low budget campaign and
a lesson in going viral
Myth – you need big budget & to go viral

56.
I thought that going viral
was a requirement

57.
“Links work, sometimes”
Tom Capper
SearchLove San Diego 2017

58.
Slow and steady can win the race

59.
Launched June 2016, now has just
over 50 links and counting

60.
We’ve now produced lots of content
for them
Not a single one has gone viral

61.
It’s consistency that
wins – not going viral

62.
Case study #4
Learning from traditional PR
Myth – you need a visual, linkable asset

63.
Traditional PR doesn’t need
visual content

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Take traditional PR principles
& apply them to digital

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You need some data, information or
an opinion that is different

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You need relevance & timeliness

67.
Write one press release or a piece of
advisory copy
(tips, tactics, takeaways)

68.
Pitch this into several sites, letting
them take the bits most relevant to
them

69.
In 12 months…
100 links profiling one person – no
infographics or visuals

70.
Great for B2B and low-budget clients

71.
Case Study #5
Relationships and brands aren’t
everything
Myth – you need to be a brand & have great
relationships

72.
“Just because you are worthy, doesn’t
mean you’re newsworthy.”
David Henderson, CBS News

73.
Journalists don’t give a shit about
what brand you are or what history
you have with them

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The story wasn’t clear

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Journalists we’d worked with before
weren’t returning emails

76.
Being a brand wasn’t enough

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Relationships can be hard to build

78.
Also, there's no such thing as National Tolkien
Reading Day. It's just Tolkien Reading Day and it's
an international event.

79.
Also, there's no such thing as National Tolkien
Reading Day. It's just Tolkien Reading Day and it's
an international event.
We invented it, so we should know.

80.
Case Study #6
Launching content on a Friday
Myth – you need to launch at the right time

81.
“I’ve got a random
idea for a client.”

82.
“I’ve got a random
idea for a client.”
“It won’t work, but try
it anyway.”

83.
Took a couple of hours

84.
Launched on a Friday at 2pm

85.
…by 5pm.

86.
Lowest budget piece of content
we’ve ever launched

87.
Case Study #7
Sometimes, shit happens
Myth – you don’t need to launch at the right
time

88.
US Election data from Google Trends

89.
US Election data from Google Trends
Don’t launch you content here

90.
Revisit content and relaunch

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And finally…

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The stupidest thing
I’ve ever done for links

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What happens when you eat chillies…

94.
What happens when you eat chillies…

95.
What happens when you eat chillies…

96.
What happens when you eat chillies…

97.
I’d like to say it was worth it

98.
How many links?

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Zero

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To wrap up

101.
These things are important

102.
But, you need big budget
for links in 2017, right?

103.
You need…
Visual assets, preferably interactive
Visualise cool data
Recognisable brand
Relationships with journalists
You need to go viral
To launch at the right time

104.
But hopefully I’ve convinced you that
you don’t need all of them

105.
You can’t rely on links alone

106.
There isn’t a single answer to making
your website link worthy

107.
Brand, product, experience, price,
reputation, trustworthiness

108.
Forget these, link building may
as well be dead for you

109.
Small
companies
Large
companies
Budget
Team size

110.
Thank you!
paddy@aira.net