SEO is Dad: The 30 Easiest Ways to Get Links and Exposure
Most website owners rely on quick website tweaks and the right tools for measurable website success. That’s not wrong but that’s also not enough. Being serious about business, a webmaster must get links to get additional exposure via search engines, of course predominantly Google.
Google still judges a website mostly based on the number and quality of links pointing to it (backlinks). So even today you got to get links, be it via outstanding content, viral campaigns or just conventional link building. Still most people do not take all the measures easily available on the Web today. Some have been around for ages, others just popped up recently. Check the 30 easiest ways to get links and exposure.
- Instant Link Building
- Submit to paid web directories free ones are often low quality lately
- Submit to a few quality article directories
- Send out a press releases via a few online services
- Answer questions on Yahoo Answers etc. and in forums
- Add resources to user generated content sites like Zimbio, Associated Content or others
- Ask your friends, family, employees to link to you
- Add your link to your profiles on Web 2.0 services like MySpace, Twitter (in the Bio) or Propeller
- Get a Delicious badge, and display the number of bookmarks as well as the tags
- Offer a badge of honor, something like “a carbon neutral site”
- Offer a button for voting to install on other websites & blogs
- Offer a widget for bloggers, something useful that will spread by itself
- Stage a contest, it should be fun and the prizes should be worth it
- Organize a blog carnival choosing a topic that matters for many people
- Link out plenty, especially to bloggers, some will link back others will bookmark, some links will appear directly as ping and trackbacks
- Contact people who might link to you (I do not mean a reciprocal link request)
- Mirror a popular high traffic site, all the webhosters do it that way
- Give away content with a creative commons license, especially if you can offer images or music (or other audio)
- Let people translate your content and republish it for free
- Praise experts in your area who have blogs
- “Pull a Calacanis” - Say something stupid to stir controversy (like “SEO is bullshit” or “Web directories are Web 3.0″)
- Be the first to break a story, indeed check original sources first before just recycling news
- Write a useful list, “100 ways of something” always get linked
- Give away a real freebie, a fee version of your product, should be valuable for users
- Use images of barely clad ladies, sorry I mean beautiful women to illustrate your point
- Support a cause, like Blogcatalog does
- Write something unbelievable, intriguing or that “strikes a chord”
- Do something useful for the Linkerati, a list of Digg users who blog for instance
- Create something for the lowest common denominator, best topic is cute cats
- Declare something alive and kicking dead but in a way it makes sense
- Say something funny like “SEO is Dad”
Common Linking Incentives
Link Bait Ideas and Practices
Please not that I intentionally did not include some not entirely ethical grey hat methodes like “submit to social bookmarking sites” or “comment on dofollow blogs” as these tend to become spammy in the wrong hands.
“Please not that I intentionally did not include some not entirely ethical grey hat methodes like “submit to social bookmarking sites” or “comment on dofollow blogs” as these tend to become spammy in the wrong hands.”
Thanks for the idea’s, time to go spam!
Comment by James — August 28, 2008 @ 3:04 pm
Saying “SEO is bullshit” will definitely do the trick. And a random list of diggers who also have a blog is a surefire way to get the links pouring in. Great tips. And don’t forget to mention that “Content is King”. And how about the DMOZ directory? It’s surely good to be in there. Have to stop here because I’ll spend the rest of the day praising experts in my area who have blogs. And god beware: I will definitely NOT use Social Bookmarking Sites or do-follow Blogs to promote my site because then I run a risk that Onlinepolice will shut my site down.
Comment by supaswag — August 29, 2008 @ 9:17 am
hi…thanks for giving valuable tips.
You have presented really nice ideas.
But,as you have said “Mirror a popular high traffic site, all the webhosters do it that way”, I would like to know whether analystics for both of the sites will be different or same?
Looking forward to more posts like this…..
Comment by seoCrazy — August 29, 2008 @ 1:23 pm
Great article! Zimbio is something new to me so I’m definitely going to check that out. I also like using Mixx and Kirsty to do some link building. The tag links from the site are only temporary, but the exposure to other bloggers is pretty solid and usually leads to more organic links from the bloggers and not the site itself.
Comment by Andrew Johns — August 29, 2008 @ 3:58 pm
Yeah, my dad is SEO as well
nice list, but did you actually try them all or just collected them from some other lists? I have nearly the same on my blog…
The thing is that if you write something relly stupid, than you are. People will laugh about you, but not link.
cheers
Comment by mj — August 29, 2008 @ 6:41 pm
Good job and Unique points about link Building. currently most of sites are using “Nofollow” Attribute so that’s the main problem in some organic techniques like Yahoo answers. we can get get good traffic from Y Answers but not back links due to problems of nofollow attribute.
article submissions and some dofollow social bookmarking sites can send you very good benefits.
Thanks
Eric
Comment by Eric Paul — August 30, 2008 @ 6:39 am
To a relative newbie, this provides a very comprehensive list to start buliding links for my blog.
Comment by Nic Avery — August 30, 2008 @ 7:20 am
If you know what you do…SEO is not dead….
Really. The tips you give,…I don’t know…do ethey stil surprise someone? I feel punk’ed.
Comment by Jab — August 30, 2008 @ 10:32 am
Great list…#20 is an interesting suggestion. A bold and sensational headline can get a lot of eyeballs looking your way.
And while some people may not take kindly to #24 there’s no arguing that sexy women in skimpy outfits attract a lot of attention!
Comment by Mike Collins — August 30, 2008 @ 6:20 pm
1. James, it’s not really an idea, everbody new to “SEO” tries that and the outcome is very annoying to say the least.
2. supaswag: I’ve seen the x sucks/is dead/is bull**** work again and again, getting dugg etc. it’s not only SEO. I’m not sure whether you are using irony here as your comment is very incoherent. Try to express yourself more clearly and without contradictions. If you are out to get large numbers of low quality links and to annoy bloggers and webmasters you can try the spammy SEO 0.0 stuff. Your site might end up on many anti-spam blacklists etc.
3./seoCrazy: I don’t understand your question. A mirror site will get a little less traffic and less links but it will get linked on the original site and thus get a high authority link.
4. Zimbio is indeed less popular and less spammy than other similar UGC sites.
5. I tried most of these methods. The SEO is bullshit/SEO is dead guys get dozens if not hundreds of links. It’s better to be well known and accepted to do that though.
6. Yahoo Answers is more for the exposure (targeted traffic), it’s very easy to optimize for it. There are other q&a sites that link properly though. Also do not forget the indirect links.
7. Thanks for the feedback! It was meant for all kinds of webmasters.
8. Did you mean “are they still useful” and “do they still work”? Yes they do. SEO is not the world. There are other niches where you can use these tips
9. I wouldn’t do #20 or #24 myself, but both work very well.
Comment by Tad Chef — August 31, 2008 @ 7:07 pm
Nice work.. Some great tips i didn’t even think of. Great stuff!
Now to find some scantly clad women shots…
Comment by Seops — September 1, 2008 @ 4:11 am
Thank you for the list of link building strategies. I completely agree with the thought that liks play a vital role for the site’s ranking, so one has to be very selective while getting links. anyway this is a good list .thank you.
Comment by Web development — September 2, 2008 @ 2:16 pm
Thank you for the list of tips for links. I completely agree that qualitative links are of primary importance for the site’s ranking and one has to be selective in getting links. Anyway this is a good list of strategies for link building. thank you.
Comment by Web development — September 2, 2008 @ 2:20 pm
It may be worth adding - check your links are not nofollowed. Web Developmment looks like he may not be aware of that one
Comment by Pete Young — September 2, 2008 @ 2:28 pm
I suggest trying all 30.. there is no way you can fail at this game.
Comment by Slim Fit Tees — September 3, 2008 @ 12:13 am
This is a pretty good list, but always remember “content is king”.
Comment by Shenaniguns — September 3, 2008 @ 12:15 am
remember “content is King”!!
Comment by Slim Fit Tees — September 3, 2008 @ 12:16 am
Point #4 = gold.
Comment by Jason — September 3, 2008 @ 1:00 am
very nice list..quality content is key. Like you mentioned write something unique that others will want to link to.
Comment by directory — September 3, 2008 @ 12:24 pm
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Comment by www.empreure.tk — September 8, 2008 @ 4:15 pm
Doing all the tips you mentioned would take a long time, but doing them is the only way to get visitors to your site. The more links you get, the more visible your site has to becoming.
Comment by Chris — October 4, 2008 @ 1:33 pm
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