1. The document provides 10 strategies for building links to drive competitors crazy, including blogs, news media, social media, jobs sites, directories, shopping sites, trusted sites, business sites, sites that already link to you, and co-linking. 2. It emphasizes researching link prospects thoroughly, creating valuable content to engage audiences, and turning existing activities like customer interactions into link building opportunities. 3. The key is to make link building a routine part of business by focusing on sites that are relevant and well-established and by starting small with targeted blog outreach.

1. 10 link building strategies to
drive your compe77on
crazy!
Ken McGaffin, CMO Wordtracker
www.wordtracker.com/linkbuilder

2. 3 ways link building helps your
website

3. (i) Links boost your search engine rankings - so you
get more traffic and sales on your website

4. (ii) People follow links like cars follow road signs - so
you get more traffic and sales on your website

5. (iii) Links position you as leader – the more links you
have, the harder you are to compete with

6. November 2009 - A blog campaign
for a free keyword tool, ‘SEO
Blogger’ brought over 1000
inbound links to Wordtracker...

7. And it’s still bringing them…

8. And it’s still bringing them…

9. So how do you get links to
your website?

10. The days of JUST looking for
“Add URL” or “Submit a
resource” links have long
gone…

11. Now you’ve really got to
engage with your online
audiences…

12. 1. Get curious…

13. 2. Get organized…

14. 3. Get creative…

15. 4. Get busy…

16. 5. Get counting…

17. 6. Get curious all
over again…

18. www.wordtracker.com/linkbuilder/

33. Strategy 1
Blogs

34. h"p://denverchiropractor.com/blog/healthy‐valen7ne‐gi8‐ideas/

37. h"p://www.kendallgiles.com/kegblog/travel/

38. h"p://www.abebooks.com/blog/index.php/2009/02/23/socks‐the‐cat‐dead‐at‐19‐
and‐the‐10‐oddest‐presiden7al‐pets/

39. h"p://www.smallbusinessadvocate.com/small‐business‐braintrust/andy‐
dunn‐100222

40. November 2009 - A blog campaign
for a free keyword tool, ‘SEO
Blogger’ brought over 1000
inbound links to Wordtracker...

41. And it’s still bringing them…

42. And it’s still bringing them…

43. 1. We did extensive research
to identify blogs about how to
blog for business

44. 1. We did extensive research
to identify blogs about how to
blog for business

45. 1. We did extensive research
to identify blogs about how to
blog for business

46. 2. We created a free tool, SEO
Blogger

47. 3. We commissioned a book from
Chris Garrett that generated income

48. 4. We created a category and
content on our own site

49. 5. About 4 days before release
we contacted our top targets
and asked them to try the tool

50. 6. We wrote a series of
customized press releases

51. 7. We tweeted about the
launch extensively.

52. Strategy 2
News Media

58. Writing a link request…
…for an editorial opportunity
Subject: Story idea – The Handmade Brand

59. HelpAReporter.com

60. HelpAReporter.com

61. HelpAReporter.com

62. h"p://www.youngentrepreneur.com/blog/young‐entrepreneur‐interview‐sarah‐
preve"e‐of‐sprouter‐com/

63. h"p://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/734277/Where‐the‐West‐was‐shot.html

64. h"p://www.epicurious.com/ar7clesguides/everydaycooking/tastetests/
healthysnacktastetest

65. h"p://www.jsonline.com/business/49048151.html

66. h"p://www.woodworkersjournal.com/woodworking_blog/index.php/tag/furniture/

67. h"p://www.ne7mpera7ve.com/news/2008/june/9/coremetrics‐speeds‐up‐site‐
tagging‐7me

68. Strategy 3
Social Media

69. h"p://www.spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=87368

70. h"p://www.apartmen"herapy.com/ny/good‐ques7ons/adding‐rollout‐shelves‐
to‐exis7ng‐cabinets‐good‐ques7ons‐106832

71. What makes a quality
link prospect?

72. http://www.wordtracker.com/academy/evaluate-link-prospects

73. 1. The site…
• Is it relevant?
• Are there real people on the site?
• Is the content well-written?
• Is the content updated frequently?

81. 2. Their online
presence…
• Does the site link out to many
other sites?
• Has the site got good inbound
links?
• Is the site well-established?
• Does the site perform well on
keyword searches?

83. 3. Their policies…
• Are they easy to contact?
• Do they publish resources or
reviews?
• Do they invite articles or guest
posts?
• Do they interview people for
opinion or case studies?

86. Strategy 4
Jobs Sites

87. h"p://www.onedayoneinternship.com/internships/warby‐parker/#more‐7197

93. Strategy 5
Directories

94. Link: h"p://www.skaffe.com/viewCat/11594

95. Strategy 6
Shopping

98. h"p://www.coolmompicks.com/2008/11/holiday_baby_gi8s_that_is_actually.php

99. h"p://www.mommyenterprises.com/2009/03/eleven‐review‐and‐giveaway.htm

102. Strategy 7
Trusted Sites

110. h"p://www.na7onalcherryblossomfes7val.org/news/japan‐relief‐efforts/

111. h"p://www.ndsu.edu/caedm/partners/

112. Strategy 8
Business Sites

113. Link: h"p://www.woodworking.org/WC/members.html

114. h"p://www.outerbankschamber.com/vguide/rentalagents.cfm

115. h"p://www.bestofneworleans.com/gambit/wellness‐expoandtrade‐2009‐directory‐
of‐exhibitors/Content?oid=1253313

116. h"p://www.marke7ngprofs.com/ea/qst_ques7on.asp?qstID=12376

117. h"p://www.coolbusinessideas.com/archives/barber_stop.html

118. h"p://www.sema.org/sema‐enews/2009/28//full

119. Quick Tip: How to make the time to
build links…

120. Make link building as routine
as you can…
Many of these activities are
beneficial to your business in
their own right…
…so build them into your daily
routine

121. How to find the time to build
links…
1. You must convince yourself it’s important (you would
never be too busy to sell, would you)
2. Look at what you do already – talk to customers,
publish information, memberships – all of this can be
turned into link building
3. Make use of dead time
4. Put a set period aside every week
5. Interview yourself – it’s quicker than writing
6. Start small – focus on targeting specific blogs
7. Keep a notebook and review it every week.

122. Quick Tip: The best place to start
link building tomorrow…
…is with sites that already link to
you.

123. Strategy 9
Already Linking

125. Sites that already link to you
1. How much traffic do they bring you?
2. How popular is their site?
3. Have you done them a favor in return?
4. What can you say that is good about their site?
5. Do you know the names of the people behind the site?
6. What social sites are they most active on?
7. What linking text do they use and can you improve it?
8. What can you do to develop the relationship?

126. Strategy 10
Co-linking

133. www.wordtracker.com/linkbuilder/