This document provides advanced strategies for link building for affiliate sites. It discusses how links are the most important ranking factor for search engines like Google. While on-site optimization can help rank for low competition keywords, links are what Google uses to differentiate between similar sites. The document recommends analyzing competitors' link profiles to identify the types of links that rank highly, such as branded and keyword anchor text links. It also provides tips for link building through content syndication, guest posts, link exchanges, and more to build brand authority over competitors before focusing on keyword anchor text links. Paying for links is risky unless a site already has strong brand authority.

1. ADVANCED LINK BUILDING STRATEGIESFOR AFFILIATE SITESPatrick AltoftDirector of Search, Branded3

2. Affiliates & SEOBig advantage because sites can easily be edited & optimised compared to big organisationsBig disadvantage because affiliates struggle to get natural links unless they are brandsAn SEO savvy affiliate can always get rankings if they have the right strategy & can think big

3. Search Engine OptimisationMost people think SEO is aboutKeywords Page titles Meta tagsSite structureOn-site optimisation is enough to rank for very uncompetitive keywordsWhen all your competitors sites are well optimised who gets to be number 1?

4. Links are the most important ranking factorLinks are what Google uses to differentiate between similar websites

5. Links and PageRankThis isn’t new......Since 1998 links have formed the basis of the Google algorithmPageRank is a probability distribution used to represent the likelihood that a person randomly clicking on links will arrive at any particular page.The pages that have the most incoming links are deemed more important.

6. PageRank≠ rankingsPageRank is quite inaccurate – a higher PR does not necessarily mean higher rankings

7. Research & Analysis ToolsetYahoo Site Explorer for quick checksOpenSiteExplorer.org (from SEOmoz)MajesticSEO.comAdvanced knowledge of Microsoft ExcelWordle.net

8. Majestic SEO

9. Competitor analysisIdentify 20 target keywordsRecord domains ranking in top 20 search results for each keywordRemove duplicate sites

10. Competitor analysisExport all links to Excel

11. Competitor analysisRepeat for all competitors to create one giant Excel documentRemove duplicate linking domainsSort by Domain Authority or Page Authority

12. Competitor analysisUse filters to find valuable linksURL contains .ac.uk , .edu , .gov , .nhsAnchor text contains target keyword

13. Visualising your link profile

14. Case study – “mobile phones”Competitive keywordGood mixture of brands & affiliate sitesSites have lots of links

15. Anchor text visualisationWordle.net

16. mobilejazz.co.uk

17. T Mobile

18. Bestcontractmobilephone.co.uk

19. Phones 4U

20. Onestopphoneshop.co.uk

21. Dial-a-Phone

22. O2

23. Mobiles.co.uk

24. Carphone Warehouse

25. Carphone WarehousePivot tableFind top 10 anchor texts by count

26. Brand link authority

27. Link authority

28. Carphone Warehouse Link Profile

29. Unnatural Link Profile

30. Unnatural Link Profile

31. Brand Links

32. Keyword links

33. Is this a fluke?

34. The importance of brand linksWe tested 30 highly commercial UK keywordsEvery single keyword followed the same pattern: sites with large brand link authority rank higherNon-brands are using branded anchor text links to make Google believe they are brands

35. What about anchor text & paid links?Most people think that paid or unnatural links are devalued based on the site that they are placed onFor example if the site is openly selling links and putting groups of paid links in sidebars or footers...

36. NaturalnessWhat we found is that Google appears to be doing the oppositeThey are devaluing links based on the “naturalness” of a sites link profileSites with very natural link profiles can use obvious spammy or paid links with immediate positive resultsThe same links pointed to a site with lesser brand authority are devalued and have no effectVery obvious if you do reputation management

37. ImplicationsTo succeed in Google a site needs to have a high amount of “natural” links with more brand authority than competitorsIf you don’t have this authority already you need to create itOnce you have brand authority you only need a very small number of anchor text links to rank

38. Good newsIt’s a lot easier to get brand anchor text than keyword anchor text in linksVery few people know about this so you can get a head start on your competitors

39. Easy 4 step strategyAnalyse industry & find out how much brand authority the leading sites haveFind out how much keyword anchor text link authority they haveAnalyse your link profile and build up your brand authority so it’s higher than your competitorsThen build your keyword authority until you hit the top

40. Content syndicationWhen looking for brand anchor text this is highly effectiveMarketWirePRwebPR News WireEtcArticle syndication systemsBlog networks that syndicate contentGuest posts

41. Replicating competitor linksThink about why each link was givenIs it a paid link?Did the company attend a trade show or event?Is it from one of their business partners?What are your chances of getting the link?

42. Link QA processSome links are better than othersIf we’re paying for a link is it worth the money?

43. Link QA

44. Exchange linksThis still works very wellTry not to use links pagesSet up partnerships with bloggers where you link to them and they link to you once a weekDo this with 10 people and you get 520 links per year

45. Making contactSpeak to people over the phoneSend personal emails, one by one, to people who run relevant websitesMake sure it doesn’t start with “Dear Webmaster”Ask about advertisingAsk bloggers if they accept guest postsEvery time you get a link ask the site owner if they have any more sites

46. DesignInvest in stunning designDesign makes a site more linkableImproving linkability dramatically increases the efficiency of your campaignAllows the site to be featured in CSS galleries

47. ContentPeople don’t generally link to commercial contentInformational content attracts lots of free linksThink about added valueGuidesReviewsBlogNewsPhotosGood content improves linkability

48. Paying for linksGoogle is against buying & selling linksAny links that appear to be paid are likely to be devalued unless you have brand authority This is risky & delivers low ROIIf you choose to buy links sure they appear 100% naturalBe wary about using high profile link sellers......Always try to get permanent links

49. Don’t become a headlineBuying links is a risk, do it right or don’t do it at all

50. Infographics

51. Graphs

52. Tips for linkbaitMake friends with all the bloggers in your industryWhen you have a good article email each one of them individuallyHighly effective

53. Tools for link building

54. Tools for link building

55. Some final pointsLink-building is a very difficult taskResults can take a long time to deliverAnalyse the industry and your link profile to understand what type of links you needDon’t rely on natural link-building in the hope that you will get to the top eventually - you won’tDon’t assume that your big brand competitors who are using paid links will be penalised – they won’t

56. Learning moreRead Blogstorm.co.uk - UK’s largest blog about SEO with over 10,000 daily readersEmail patrick@branded3.com for free SEO advice Visit our website at Branded3.com