'Net Features : seo 2011

Acquiring Links via Direct Request Email

Pete Prestipino — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 17:15:00 GMT

Based on the information collected in the data-driven approach to link prospecting published last week in the Web Success Weekly email newsletter, those responsible for SEO can finally start initiating relationships with others - the groups, enterprises and individuals capable of helping actually execute the inbound link building strategy.

To build links to a Web property however you must first make your presence known – how could someone link to you if they don’t know you exist! Publishing content (whether in the form of articles, videos, surveys, infographics, applications, etc.) in high profile environments, which naturally spur Web citations, is the ideal way. There are of course other methods (e.g. asking on message boards) but the primary choice for many is through direct link request emails.

When using email in link acquisition campaigns, the aim is to not simply to just "get on the radar" but to get others take action on your behalf. That’s not always easy to do and there are no guarantees it will happen. If you are interested in using email to facilitate your link building efforts here are a few ideas to improve you chances of success.

Point Out the Obvious
Even when it seems like a link request seems relevant, it is unlikely you will be the first to ask. If the target website already links to several competitor websites, the chances of getting them to link to you improve dramatically. If your target currently links to no one, there may be a good reason (they just don’t link). For example, in an email to a prominent industry blogger you might point out the presence of their recent coverage of a trend, event or company and directly request a follow up which could or should include a link to the target destination.

Keep It Relevant
The problem is that most link requests are simply irrelevant. If you’re going to ask for a direct link to your website, and through email nonetheless, then it only makes sense that it be relevant (or can be made to appear so) to both parties (the linker and the linkee). For example, let’s say you are a real estate agent. Requesting links from car dealers to your real estate website doesn’t make sense (for users or search engines). Requesting links from a local events website to your website does make sense. Easier said than done? Maybe not. Let’s say our real estate agent is having an open house and that house or its surrounding neighborhood has a unique history. Offering up this information in an email provides new content for the local blogger and with any luck a link to your website.

Provide a Benefit
If there is one thing that moves people to action it’s the benefit they can gain. If you’re coming to the “link building table” with nothing more than work for the other party, then the chances of success are extremely low. So ask yourself what it is that you have to offer others and what others might be interested in receiving. It may be something as simple as a social gesture such as linking from your social profile to theirs. If you provide a product, contact the targets formally and offer to provide a sample for a possible review. If you provide a service, share survey information, an infographic or a short form educational video you created, and provide it to them exclusively. When it comes to link building it is better to give than to receive so if you are confident in the quality of your products, services or information let others benefit from it directly.

Acquiring Links via Direct Request Email
Direct link requests get a bad wrap as they are used (and often used poorly) by those that either don’t care or don’t know any better (believing inbound link volume outweighs inbound link quality – which it doesn’t). It should not have to be said but know that email link requests do not typically work when they are misdirected or provide no immediate or long term benefit to those providing the link. Indicate your familiarity with their work, keep requests relevant and provide a benefit and you will see more links over time.

3 Key Steps to Optimize for Local Search

Pete Prestipino — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 07:00:00 GMT

Because there are fewer competitors, local search engine optimization is not nearly as challenging as broader categories -- but it still has its challenges. Many of the same core SEO rules still apply, but thanks in part to improvements on the part of search engines and the intersection of search and social, it is far simpler than at any time in the Web's short but rich history to optimize for local search.

Be Everywhere That Matters: From Google Places to local directories, local links and user citations are the primary influencers of high rankings for geo-specific terms. Local users go deep for information, so even small, seemingly low-volume destinations can result in quality links. They may not receive a lot of traffic individually, but a few links from relevant blogs can go a long way - on the search result pages and even in your local community.

Ask for Reviews: If you're a local business and are not collecting reviews, you won't be in business long. Search engines rely on content, and in the eyes of search engines today there is no more reliable signal of businesses' authority and relevance to an individual query than the presence of reviews. You don't just need to ask for reviews here and there, you should consider making it part of either your business processes or marketing campaigns. If you run a dry cleaning business, what's 25 percent off your patron's next visit for a review? You don't need hundreds, but in order to remain fresh and relevant, your review assets do need to be constantly appended.

Set Up a Schedule: It sounds basic (perhaps overly so), but ask the next local business owner you encounter when was the last time they checked their position on the search results pages for keywords and phrases relevant to their business. The answer will likely be "it's been a while". Setting up a schedule to monitor position and the impact of individual promotions, just like spending time delivering paychecks to your employees, is a neccessary function of business.

Covario's Revenues, Reputation on the Move

Linc Wonham — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 13:00:00 GMT

Covario, Inc., one of the nation’s largest independent providers of search marketing software solutions and agency services for both search engine optimization (SEO) and paid search marketing, moved up two notches from No. 22 to No. 20 in the recently released Advertising Age magazine ranking of the Top U.S. Search Marketing Agencies.

Covario’s U.S. search revenues grew by 37.7 percent in 2010 – the highest growth rate among the top 20 search agencies in the ranking. The San Diego-based firm reported search revenue in terms of net revenue only, exclusive of paid search media fees and Web development work.

“As impressive as our U.S. growth was in 2010, international search marketing now represents more than 40 percent of our business and is growing at a faster rate than domestic campaigns,” said Russ Mann, Covario’s chief executive. “With our global revenue included we would have ranked even higher.”

Covario was one of only five search marketing agencies to improve upon its position in the ranking from the previous year when the firm made its first appearance on the annual Ad Age list.

Founded in 2006, Covario was also featured for the first time in the 2011 Forrester Research Wave of U.S. Search Marketing Agencies, along with eight other firms from among some 100 agencies considered. In Forrester’s summary of the report, Covario was noted as “best for SEO.”

Weekend Warrior: Building Links Post-Panda

Linc Wonham — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 20:00:00 GMT

If you happened to see Google’s interactive Earth Day doodle on Friday, you undoubtedly noticed the pair of Panda bears frolicking behind the omnipresent “G”. Do not be misled – those cuddly creatures mean business, and they are a not-so-subtle reminder to every company on the Web that the recently updated search algorithm nicknamed Panda is here to stay.

Most online businesses are having to make adjustments to achieve the desired search rankings under the new algorithm, and their approach to building links has to change as well. No longer do the old rules of link building apply, and the sooner that a company accepts that fact, the better its SEO results will be.

Here, then, are some guidelines for building links in this new Panda era:

Clean your own house first
The goal of the Panda update is to improve the quality of content on the Web, thus improving the quality of Google’s search results. Sites that engage in content farming or otherwise low-quality, “spammy” content creation have been the primary targets, and the updated algorithm was designed to punish those sites by significantly lowering their SERP rankings.

How this affects link building going forward is that businesses must be very careful about whom they share and receive links; linking to and from sites that Google has deemed as having a low quality of content is a virtual death sentence. Before setting out on any new link building initiatives, however, businesses and website owners must ensure they their own sites do not fall into this category, because their chances of acquiring quality links will be greatly diminished until they do this.

A professional design is imperative, as are acceptable page load speeds and signals of trust that provide clear indications to users and other businesses that your business website is a reputable destination. Most important, of course, and the whole reason behind Panda, is the ability to produce quality content that is useful, accurate, authoritative, current and free of grammatical and spelling errors.

New content strategy, new content
Panda does not require that all Web professionals suddenly become Pulitzer nominees, but a re-evaluation of your current content strategy is still a good idea. Even if it requires a temporary or part-time hire, ensuring that all existing content meets the above criteria before embarking on any new link building efforts is critical.

The next step, then, is to consider how your business can provide a high quality of useful content going forward, and that may require trying some new channels you have previously avoided until now. If your company is already producing regular blog posts and whitepapers that will draw in links from quality sites, perhaps now is the time to consider video, webinars and/or podcasts, and distribute them through YouTube, Vimeo, Viddler, Slideshare, etc.

Be social, but smart
The first, and most important, part of building links in the Panda era is about producing useful content to which quality sites throughout your niche will want to link. The second and next most important part is about forging and building those relationships that will be the most valuable to your business.

Like the mention of video in the section above, if you have not been taking proper advantage of social media until now, it is definitely time to start. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are three excellent places to start for finding and exchanging links with reputable websites in your specific niche or business category, but they are only the beginning. Building links in the Panda era requires a lot more work than previously, and hours of research and dozens of emails and phone calls may be required to build and maintain the necessary relationships with other website owners.

But be careful about the relationships you pursue, because the Panda algorithm will judge your business by the quality of the links you are able to build. That much has not changed; what has changed is the premium value put on today’s content, and the amount of work that will be required to create and distribute that content in order to build the quality links that will net the best search results.

2011 SEO Checkup

Pete Prestipino — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 15:30:00 GMT

In the January, 2011 edition of Website Magazine, SEO Corner addressed the factors that influenced successful search engine optimization in 2010.

But before proceeding toward SEO domination in 2011, it is essential to review the current SEO state of affairs on your own website with a quick checkup. Sites both large and small will benefit greatly from removing barriers, ensuring relevance, determining rankings and setting strategic plans based on insights from the previous year.

Review the "2011 Search Engine Optimization Checkup" from the February edition of Website Magazine.