social link building: an integrated approach
DESCRIPTION
Certain SEO techniques are gradually disappearing while Google Penguin continues to mature. With a focus on ‘earning’ links, more than ‘building’ links, social media is the perfect tool for link building today. Therefore the term 'Social Link Building'.TRANSCRIPT
Towards an ‘Integrated’ Approach
Social Link building
July 2013 – Truus Heremans
Biston Betularia
The peppered moth (Biston Betularia), once white with black spots, faced a strange challenge in London during the Industrial Revolution. Buildings and trees, stained with soot, turned black. The light colored moths could no longer hide against this backdrop, and were eaten up by birds.
But some peppered moths survived – by turning black themselves! To survive, you must adapt and change with your environment. Otherwise, you’re dead.
The times they are changin’
Tactical SEO games are coming to an end
Isolated on-page and off-page SEO tactics are no longer enough
SEO is now true marketing. It’s also about social media and PR
A new search landscape
Correctly uncovering searcher intent and understanding their problems
Identifying real and trusted people, using ‘signals’ that are tough to cheat
Gaining authoritative links from trusted authorities
“Think of any networking event you’ve been to. We’ve all met that one person with the business cards, right? You know, that person who boldly walks up to you, hands you their
business card and starts speaking at you about how fantastic they are and why their business is so brilliant.”
(Laura Hampton)
And it’s annoying… Because you don’t know that person and they haven’t taken the time to get to know you either.
A new search landscape
It’s exactly the same case online. You can’t expect to receive a link from somebody by asking for it straight away
It’s about building relationships and earning links, providing unique and highly relevant content
A new search landscape
And social media is perfectly designed for that…
Social Media can produce both direct and indirect links
Direct links
• Link connectivity via profile links
• Link connectivity via shared links
Indirect links
• As a result of increased visibility
• By leveraging social media channels and tools for research and outreach
Profile links
Pinterest and Google+ profile links are – for the time being – followed
Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn profile links are no-followed
Establishing your brand
Optimal combination for a natural link profile
Shared links
Google+ influences crawling
Twitter links
Building an active, engaged social presence
Choose the right platform(s)
Optimise your profiles
Maintain your social presence
Post regularly around relevant industry topics
Link back to your site
Use Social Media for Research
Identify key influencers
• FollowerWonk
• Linkdex
• SocialBro
Linkdex
Integrated features for SEO, social media, content and PR
Linking authors to content: great for your outreach efforts
Detailed link profile insights
Linkdex
Use Social Media for Research
Gain real-time insights into popular content
• Audience needs and interests
• Discover unnoticed trends and insights through interaction and observation
• SocialMention
• Topsy
• MentionMapp
MentionMapp
Topsy
Activity
Discovery
Influencers
Make your online content easily shareable by adding social sharing buttons • Gain insights into most popular content • Current trends and interactions • Identify potential link partners
Don’t build a brochure website, build a
‘Social Site’
Leverage Twitter
To find opportunities
• Anyone following you who isn’t linking to you?
• See what is popular and conversations you can tap into
• Getting your content in front of people who may link to it
• Twilert
• Twitter Advanced Search
To engage with influencers
• Follow industry leaders & engage
around the content they post
• Stay top-of-mind
Leverage Twitter
Help people
Leverage Twitter
Curate stories
Use Pinterest
http://www.sitevisibility.co.uk/blog/2012/11/12/pinterest-is-not-only-about-cupcakes-what-is-pinterest-and-why-does-it-matter/
• Pinterest is a great traffic driver • Builds brand awareness and engagement • Amplifies your existing content • Can help you find new link building opportunities
Social media offers a quick way to see that
you’re a legitimate source with an active interest in the field
And you’re not just out to spam any email address or
Twitter account you can get your hands on
Be personal
Make your message stand out
Email Social Media
• Use short and natural subjects
• Do not mention ‘link request’
• Send emails as an actual person
• Use names
• Include a natural salutation
• Converse with context
• Do not just tweet a link
• Brief and to-the-point
• Participate in conversation
• Relevant hashtag
Simply don’t, dot
Don’t send the exact same message to everyone
You will be perceived as a spammer
Build and leverage connections
Connect with key influencers • Get on their radar
• Give them a reason to link to you
• Leverage their contacts and social networks
Also consider virgin sites • Blogs that have few outbound links and are more
likely to be approachable
Build a network of bloggers • Aim for bloggers that are active on Twitter, Retweet
others often, and engage directly with other bloggers
Maintain relationships
After you have secured a link, continue to engage with your link prospect
Add them to private Twitter lists or Google+ circles
This will keep opportunities open for the future
A few closing notes…
We need to tear down the silos
All channels can effectively work together to get your message across successfully
The ‘Digital Team’
• To effectively reach and engage your target audience • Don’t let your digital experts work in ‘silos’!
It takes time…
Effective Social Link building doesn’t happen overnight
It is a long-term strategy, so stick with it consistently to see the results
Any questions?