Learn link building techniques for blogging. Find and interact with influencers in your industry. Build the kind of online relationships that will move your business blog and your website ahead.
5. IDENTIFYING INFLUENCERS
The Networkers – they know everyone and vice-versa
“Big net” value –
They’re a valuable
resource to small-
businesses because of
their reach. They’re the
“popular kids.” You’ll find them
engaging in most
social networks.
6. IDENTIFYING INFLUENCERS
Advantages to building relationships with Networkers
If you need a content writer, social media strategist, SEO, etc. they
have a list of options.
When others in their network are looking for (insert your industry here) you’ve
built report with them and chances are they will give your name as a viable
option for your product(s)/service(s).
7. IDENTIFYING INFLUENCERS
The Thought Leaders – the voices of trust & authority
Their content
is The engagement
getting shared on their blog posts are
constantly. abundant.
8. IDENTIFYING INFLUENCERS
Advantages to building relationships with Thought Leaders
Aid in establishing your trust & authority
When they share your content, mention you in a tweet/post, or offer to help
with your content (interview, ideas, etc.)
The piggyback effect.
Increased impressions & traffic to your site
More eyes, more clicks, more conversions.
9. IDENTIFYING INFLUENCERS
The Early Adopters – always on the hunt for the next best thing
They’re partly driven by ego These are the people with whom
because they want to be the to share news of a new
first one to share and/or upcoming
“their discovery” products or services.
with the masses.
Ask them to test
it, review
it and give feedback.
10. IDENTIFYING INFLUENCERS
Advantages to building relationships with Early Adopters
They are cheerleaders
They get others excited about what they uncover; love/think is “cool” or
innovative.
People follow them in droves
People that want to know what the future holds will follow the Early Adopters
because they share up-and-coming products services.
It’s easier than staying ahead of the latest things themselves, they just identify
and follow the leader.
11. IDENTIFYING INFLUENCERS
The Content Creators - responsible for writing or reporting on
your industry
Create a list of who
Bloggers, jour covers news/press
nalists, author in your niche.
s, etc.
This includes identifying and
building relationships as
soon as possible, so when
you have something to
share, you’re already
connected.
12. IDENTIFYING INFLUENCERS
Advantages to building relationships with Content Creators
Press, coverage and links.
The trifecta pay-off. It answers the question, “Why”?
Why spend all this time on content?
Why social media?
Why build relationships?
Build your:
brand rankings in search engines
online presence traffic
customer base conversions, etc.
They distribute the news of the industry to their readers.
They are the source of information for the industry and have a large audience. They
amplify your reach by sharing your products/services with their readers.
13. The Consumers – potential customers
IDENTIFYING INFLUENCERS
• Use social media as a way to become aware of their options. They want to know what
products and services are available and what people are talking about/sharing.
Low-hanging
fruit and often
overlooked
If you reach them they’re likely
to share their
experience with family
and friends
They help with content
ideas.
What questions are they asking on
social media channels and in industry
forums?
14. IDENTIFYING INFLUENCERS
Advantages to building relationships with Consumers
Win a customer, Win their family & friends
Building relationships helps build your brand. If you can get people to champion your
product/service they will spread the love by word-of-mouth.
Building your brand builds your revenue.
17. BECOMING AN AUTHORITY
Create a Strategy
Determine
Who To
Engage
What Topics
Will You Focus
On
Pick a handful to target
over a set period of time
Dig deeper – develop
your knowledge base
Remember, being a
valuable contributor
Prioritize Your Social should be your 1st
Media Channels priority
Build a community
around providing great
content
18. BECOMING AN AUTHORITY
Offer A Unique Perspective
Know What People Are Find What Essence Is
Talking About Missing And Create It
Build your foundation on it
19. BECOMING AN AUTHORITY
Write for the web
Practice, Practice, Practice
Find your voice
Organize information
Eliminate mistakes
Spelling & grammar
Have someone else look over it before publishing
20. BECOMING AN AUTHORITY
Guest post
Write for Bloggers in your industry
Online magazines in your vertical
others: Feature articles
News/Press Releases
21. BECOMING AN AUTHORITY
Share your work
Others:
Social Networks:
• Post to • Forums, blogs, Q
Facebook, Twitter, & A sites, etc.
Google+, LinkedIn,
etc.
22. BECOMING AN AUTHORITY
SEO your content
Add keywords that you are
targeting in the search
Title engines and the keywords Link to other pages/blog
tags, description, headers searchers are using in the posts
search engines. (Google
AdWords tool)
23. BECOMING AN AUTHORITY
Grow your audience
Use Analytics
This is a great way to check your progress.
Use this tool to set benchmarking goals
Submit to Blog
Directories
Technorati Listorious
Blogarama
Social Bookmarking
Del.icio.us
Diiigo
Digg
StumbleUpon
RSS Feed & E-mail blasts
25. FINDING THE INFLUENCERS
Blog Directories
• Technorati
• Blogarama
• Blog Hints
• Blogdigger
• Blog Listing
• Blog Directory
• Bloggernity
• BlogCatalog
• Blog Search Engine
• Ontoplist
• Bloggeries
26. FINDING THE INFLUENCERS
Queries / Search Engines
Exact Match:
“keyword”
Exclude a word:
-keyword
Include similar
words: ~keyword
Search within a site or
domain: site: keyword
27. FINDING THE INFLUENCERS
Look at Competitors
Who are your competitors following?
Who are they interacting with?
Who are they engaging?
28. FINDING THE INFLUENCERS
Types of Tools for Finding Influencers
Discovery
Monitoring
Scheduling
29. FINDING THE INFLUENCERS
Discovery tools
Discovery tools help you find influencers in your niche to follow and engage.
• Google / Bing / Yahoo
• Twitter search
• SocialMention
• Followerwonk
• Blog Directories
(Technorati, Blogarama, Blog Catalog, etc.)
30. FINDING THE INFLUENCERS
Discovery tools etiquette
Do
• Analyze followers and
potential follows
• Find conversations using
your keywords
• Engage & Interact
Don’t
• Automate follows
• Share your content
with influencers until
you’ve built a
relationship through
engagement
• Expect anything in
return
31. FINDING THE INFLUENCERS
Monitoring tools
Monitoring tools help you track your efforts, engagement and manage your
reputation.
• Google Alerts
• SocialMention Alerts
• Twilert
• backtweets
32. FINDING THE INFLUENCERS
Monitoring tools etiquette
Do
• Track brand, name, and
keywords
• Respond to both positive and
negative mentions
• Reply as quickly as possible
Don’t
• Add fuel to negative
feedback
33. FINDING THE INFLUENCERS
Scheduling tools
Scheduling tools help you schedule post with your content. Not all posts
should be scheduled.
• Hootsuite
• Socialyzer
• Sprout Social
• Timely
• Buffer
• Tweriod
34. FINDING THE INFLUENCERS
Scheduling tools etiquette
Do
• Use auto timer
• Space out
content
throughout the
week
• Share other
authors /
websites
content
Don’t
• Use only
scheduled
tweets/posts
• Schedule
responses to
outreach
• Auto DM for new
followers
36. Getting Their Attention
ENGAGING INFLUENCERS
Read everything they write, engage and promote.
Write good content and share it with them.
Their time is valuable and in short supply. It takes
great content to get their support.
It takes time, don’t give-up.
37. Read Stock Them
ENGAGING INFLUENCERS
Read everything they Comment on their
write on their blog, and posts, both on their
the articles they blog and SM channels.
promote.
Share their content on
your blog and SM
channels.
38. Write Great Content & Share
ENGAGING INFLUENCERS
Spend time researching your Share What’s Relevant
content. Techniques How To’s
What’s being talked about in your industry? What Ideas Thoughts
value can you add to the conversation? Skills Knowledge
Content
39. Respect Their Time, and Persevere
ENGAGING INFLUENCERS
Be mindful that they’re busy and don’t have a lot of extra time. If they don’t
respond to you right away, or acknowledge the first few times you try and engage them
in conversation– don’t give up!
41. IMPORTANCE OF LINK BUILDING
What Is A Link?
What a link isn’t
A word, or group of words that is linked to a webpage.
42. IMPORTANCE OF LINK BUILDING
What Is The Purpose Of A Link?
A vote
for your
page
Direct
Build your
brand &
reputation
Links people to
helpful
resources
Bring
traffic to
your site /
increase
sales
44. Link Placement
IMPORTANCE OF LINK BUILDING
Where the link is on the page
• Avoid side-bar and site-wide links
• Highest valued links are on top quarter of page within the content
The surrounding text
• The algorithms factor in the sentences surrounding the link. Are they relevant to the
anchor text? Is it natural? Does it make sense?
45. Link Anchor Text
IMPORTANCE OF LINK BUILDING
The words that are linking
• Exact match of the keywords you are targeting (avoid over optimization)
• Long-tail
• Brand name
• URL
46. Authority of Link Source
IMPORTANCE OF LINK BUILDING
What is the value of the page you’re trying to get a link from?
• Is the site indexed by Google (site:URL)
• Does it have good content?
• Interesting, informational, proper grammar etc.
• Is new content published on a regular basis?
• What is the traffic level to the website?
• Is there engagement?
• Social shares/authority?
48. Give to Get, But Don’t Expect Anything
LINK BUILDING THE RIGHT WAY
The way of link building:
• Build relationships
• Link to others
• Create value added content
49. Build Relationships
LINK BUILDING THE RIGHT WAY
Engage
Social Media Content
Forums / Q&A Blogs
50. Link To Others
LINK BUILDING THE RIGHT WAY
Acknowledge
Posts & Articles Resources
Videos
Add Credibility
51. LINK BUILDING THE RIGHT WAY
Create Value Added Content
Contribute
Posts & Articles Resources
Videos
Attack Links
54. Research Industry Content, Conversations, Ideas
GROWING YOUR LINK BUILDING
Know
what is
being
written
about
Know
what’s
being
talked
about
Know
what’s
being
innovated
55. Reach Out & Add Your Knowledge To Discussions
GROWING YOUR LINK BUILDING
Blogs, Forums,
Q&A
sites, Social
Media Channels
56. Reinforce Linking By Showing Appreciation
GROWING YOUR LINK BUILDING
When someone
links to you, be
sure to thank
them.
Continue sharing
relevant content.