Link Strategies for SEO: an SEMrush webinar

Thanks
Thanks
so
much
for
a.ending
the
webinar
And
thanks
to
SEMrush
for
hos:ng,
and
for
the
great
data
and
industry
insights
See
this
slide
deck
on
my
page
at
slideshare.net/JakeAull

Outline
• Site
architecture
link
planning
• The
importance
of
good
keyword
drivers
• All
about
anchor
text
• Write
for
readers
&
engagement;
not
for
search
engines
• New
anchor
text
with
relevance
• The
difference
between
inbound
and
outbound
links
• Links
and
relaBonal
relevance
• Overall
digital
network
architecture
• Today’s
strategic
content
managers
• Examples
of
link
engagement
• QuanBtaBve
links:
SBll
have
any
value?
See
this
slide
deck
on
my
page
at

SITE ARCHITECTURE LINK PLANNING
• Plan
your
website
upfront
for
good
linking
and
SEO
results
• The
power
of
the
Footer
navigaBon
• Linking
throughout
the
site:
• It
sounds
cumbersome,
but
plan
links
through
every
page
and
blog
post
of
your
site
if
possible.
When
you
write
up
your
sitemap,
plan
which
pages
you
want
to
link
to
the
next,
and
so
on
and
so
on.
• Link
planning
doesn’t
require
a
long
list
of
links
on
your
website’s
pages!
• Target
a
primary
link
(maybe
2
or
3)
to
show,
and
push
web
users
conBnually
through
your
site.
• Blog/news:
• This
can
especially
work
for
the
blog
secBon
of
your
site
–
you
can
conBnually
link
to/from
those
posts
to
distribute
link
juice.

THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD
KEYWORD DRIVERS
• Good
copywriBng
is
vital
–
and
can
be
used
in
conjuncBon
with
good
keywords!
• CopywriBng
can
be
built
on
primary
keywords
for
a
page/post.
• Find
the
juncBon
of
readability,
SEO,
copy
hooks
and
website
usability
• Link
bait:
• Good
wriBng
intrigues
readers
to
read
on
and
share
your
link
• CTAs:
• You
need
good
calls-‐to-‐acBon
–
ensure
your
reader
takes
the
next
step
and
links
to
where
you
drive
them!

THE ROLE OF ANCHOR TEXT
• Be
observant
of
your
site’s
pages.
Each
page’s/post’s
copy
is
ideally
built
around
one
primary
keyword
phrase.
• It
used
to
be
that
when
Page
A
linked
to
Page
B,
the
link
would
be
wrien
with
the
“anchor
text”
of
Page
B’s
keyword
phrase
for
relevance
of
link
juice.
• (old
example:
“Our
website
sells
many
choices
including
root
beer
flavor
lollipops
and
other
candies.”)
• Link
strategies
for
anchor
text
were
prey
safe
and
sound
SEO
pracBces
for
years.
• But
more
and
more
it’s
been
coming
to
surface
that
keyword-‐rich
anchor
text
has
become
a
flag
for
Google
to
spot
potenBal
over-‐worked
SEO.

WRITE FOR READERS & ENGAGEMENT,
NOT FOR SEARCH ENGINES
• In
other
words:
sBff,
keyword-‐heavy
anchor
text
represents
professionals
wriBng
for
search
engines,
rather
than
marketers
or
subject
maer
experts
wriBng
for
readers.
• Google
conBnually
wants
the
laer
-‐
the
natural
wriBng
for
the
natural
audience
• So
write
for
“link
engagement;”
with
anchor
text
that
has
hook;
CTAs
that
pull
the
reader
to
click.
Think
that
way
first,
keywords
later
for
anchor
text,
and
your
results
should
be
fine.
• For
example:
“Harry
Po.er
wasn’t
the
first
:me
someone
thought
to
sell
nasty-‐tas:ng
candy
flavors!”
• Another
thing
I
see
recommended
a
lot
is
pure
brand
name
menBons
in
link
anchor
text.
That
can’t
hurt.
• For
example:
“CopyCandies.com
con:nues
to
be
a
family
favorite.”

NEW ANCHOR TEXT WITH RELEVANCE
• Personally
I
would
sBll
like
to
see
the
link
anchor
text
have
some
relevance
-‐
maybe
not
the
focal
keyword
phrase
for
the
page
of
copy,
but
some
semanBc
relevance
nonetheless
-‐
we
are
in
the
era
of
the
semanBc
web
aaer
all.
• So
for
example:
“While
all
the
candy
flavors
on
this
website
are
popular
with
customers
today,
historically
sarsaparilla
was
the
soda
people
requested
most
in
stores
which
sold
our
candies
a
hundred
years
ago.”
• How
long
is
too
long
for
anchor
text?
• Web
usability
• Readability
• Good
SEO

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INBOUND &
OUTBOUND LINKS
• Backlinks
vs
Referrals
• Inbound
links
vs.
Domains
vs.
IP
addresses
• noFollow
commands
in
code
–
what
do
they
do?
• noIndex
commands
in
code
• Don’t
buy
links!!!
• (and
remember
–
ads
are
not
organic
backlinks)
• Backlinks
metrics
such
as
authority
and
trust:
and
when
to
write
disavows
• To
what
degree
should
you
create
your
own
Backlinks?
Separate
blogs?

RELATIONAL RELEVANCE
• What
Google
looks
for:
• Do
the
sites
and
links
relate
to
each
other?
• Are
the
directories
relevant?
• VerBcal
(industry
nice)
vs.
locaBonal
relevance
• Local
channels
are
very
beneficial.
• Even
if
you
are
an
eCommerce,
if
you
have
a
locaBon
I
would
sBll
consider
opBmizing
locaBon-‐based
profiles.
Because
Google
loves
Google+Local.
And
Bing
loves
Bing
Local
and
Yahoo!Local.
• And
have
you
ever
searched
for
any
businesses
or
products,
only
to
see
Yelp
and
YP
lisBngs
on
first
page
of
results?
They’re
there
–
use
them
if
you
can.

OVERALL DIGITAL NETWORK ARCHITECTURE
• Planning
the
consumer
journey
across
the
web
space
• Because
web
users
“surf”
–
how
to
keep
your
digital
assets
in
front
of
them?
• Link
wheels:
• Are
they
good
or
bad?
• Even
3
years
ago
SEO
gurus
would
have
put
a
lot
of
faith
in
these.
• Today
many
SEO
sites
will
say
that
link
wheels
will
get
you
penalized
by
Google.
I
sBll
like
the
concept
of
the
link
wheel,
but
you
have
to
think
about
it,
again,
with
‘relaBonal
relevance,’
and
you
should
consider
it
surrounding
the
architecture
and
links
within
your
own
site.
• For
external,
inbound
links,
I
would
say
you
can
try
to
be
strategic
with
a
few
pointed
backlinks
if
you
are
able
to
achieve
them
through
reputable
means.
• Such
as
industry
trade
magazine
arBcles
about
you
or
industry
trade
show
website
lisBngs
and
bios
(quality,
relevance
over
quanBty).

OVERALL DIGITAL NETWORK ARCHITECTURE
• Guest
blogging
• Part
of
past
SEO
strategy
used
to
be
guest
blogging.
And
again,
many
current
SEO
gurus
will
warn
you
against
this,
because
it
has
been
abused
to
the
point
of
black
hat.
• How
to
use
the
concept
strategically,
less
for
quanBty
and
more
for
quality
(just
as
with
news
arBcles)
• Remember:
it’s
all
about
pushing
people
to
and
through
your
website
• Aaer
all,
this
is
why
digital
marketers
have
landing
pages
(and
hubs
and
spokes)

STRATEGIC CONTENT MANAGERS
• The
emphasis
on
content,
and
link,
quality
has
helped
drive
the
new
generaBon
of
“content
managers.”
• Whether
using
social
media,
copywriBng,
video
or
SEO
technology,
content
to
meet
digital
markeBng
goals
is
the
strategy.
• And
today,
it’s
a
strategy
more
of
quality
than
quanBty
–
for
Google
and
for
social
media
engagement.
• So
today
we
want
“link
engagement;”
backlinks
from
social
engagement
strategies,
relevant
content
and
referral
sites
–
everything
we’ve
discussed
here.

EXAMPLE OF LINK ENGAGEMENT
• Image
social
sites
are
good
for
a
couple
of
reasons
for
SEO:
• For
one,
images
in
sites
like
Flickr
and
Google+
can
appear
in
Google
Images
results
or
even
regular
organic
Google
lisBngs.
• Long
descripBons
(keeping
within
max
requirements
of
the
channel)
for
an
image,
uBlizing
both
keywords
(without
stuffing)
and
the
backlink
to
your
website,
can
help
with
your
SEO.
• Save
filenames
with
keywords,
such
as
seo-‐example-‐filename.jpg
• These
strategies
also
work
for
YouTube
videos.
• If
your
channels’
files
give
you
the
opportunity
to
have
thumbnails,
use
them
–
larger
files
will
slow
download
Bme
(which
Google
doesn’t
like)
and
will
aggregate
viewers
or
drive
them
elsewhere.
• Also,
if
you
have
opportuniBes
to
assign
store/office
locaBon
info,
this
is
another
opportunity
for
your
SEO.
• With
all
of
these,
don’t
forget
user
percepBon
–
if
the
descripBon
is
stuffed
with
hashtags,
that’s
how
it
will
appear
to
the
viewer!
SEO
is
a
compromise
with
good
usability
and
viewer-‐friendly
content

DOES ‘QUANTITY’ STILL HAVE A ROLE?
• In
a
word?
Yes.
• Because
if
nothing
else,
increased
website
visits
and
traffic
can
improve
your
overall
SEO
results.
• The
point
is
backlinks
in
Facebook
may
not
help
your
organic
Google
results
much
for
targeted
search
terms,
but
increased
traffic
from
Facebook
will.
• Likewise
with
adverBsing:
• So
even
when
adverBsing
links
are
just
aempts
to
push
traffic,
they
sBll
have
SEO
value.
Just
don’t
worry
as
much
about
them
to
build
link
juice
on
specific
website
pages
that
need
higher
rankings.

Link Strategies for SEO
Today’s new world of link engagement
SUMMARY:
• Keywords
are
sBll
vital,
but
no
longer
anchor
text
with
keyword
stuffing!
• Care
to
read
more
from
my
sources
on
SEO
changes
in
anchor
text?
Here
you
go:
delicious.com/jakeaull/seo-‐link-‐building
• Otherwise,
remember
to
write
for
readers
• Content
and
links
should
demonstrate
“relaBonal
relevance”
• Try
for
link
engagement
rather
than
“spammy
backlinks”
• Quality
over
quanBty
• All
of
these
factors
drive
strategic
content
management

My Bio
Jake
Aull
is
principal
of
ZenFires,
an
SEO,
branding
digital
strategist,
web
designer
&
good
guy
if
I
say
so
myself.
I
write
digital
markeBng
books
for
PrenBce
Hall,
teach
social
media
markeBng/SEO
at
Georgia
State
University
part-‐Bme,
have
been
published
and
cited
in
publicaBons
such
as
Atlanta
Business
Chronicle
and
Oz
Magazine.
I
am
President
of
SCAD
Alumni
in
Atlanta
&
was
co-‐founder
and
Chair
for
Atlanta
InteracBve
MarkeBng
AssociaBon
Social
Media
SIG.
I
regularly
speak
in
industry
conferences
such
as
WordCamp
throughout
the
southeast.
Please
check
out
my
book
WordPress
SEO
Success
available
in
Barnes
&
Noble
bookstores
and
online
on
Amazon
See
this
slide
deck
on
my
page
at

Questions? Thank You!
See
this
slide
deck
on
my
page
at

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