How to Become a Link Magnet – SES NY 2010
Links are the lifeblood of the web. Without fresh links, your website has no authority in the engines or consistent referral traffic.
Some companies and individuals grow to attract links without really trying. Others struggle and never break through to the point of building links at increasing velocity.
We’ve mutual plenty of linkbuilding tactics at Online Marketing Blog, and it’s an ongoing well loved topic for search marketers. In addition to direct and mechanical tactics, becoming a link magnet in your own right is an indirect yet powerful strategy to attract organic links.
The rise of the social web has set the thought of personal branding on fire. By developing a brand for yourself, your company and even the individuals within it, you can build an army of advocates ready to link to everything you post.
How can you develop your personal brand so that you only have to circulate that sticky thought and links occur as a byproduct?
During SES New York 2010, Greg Jarboe, President & Co-Founder of SEO PR, moderated a notable group of linkerati:
- Rand Fishkin, CEO, SEOmoz.org
- Jennifer Slegg, CEO, JenSense.com
- Aaron Kahlow, Chairman & Founder, Online Marketing Peak
Jennifer Slegg, CEO, JenSense.com
Jen started things off by talking about the building blocks to making a personal brand with the goal of link charm:
First, question yourself, “What an I doing it for?”
- Rankings
- Clients
- Job opportunities
- Stardust
- Recognition
Figure out why you want to be a link magnet before whatever business else.
Next, consider your name.
Personal name
- Is your name honestly unique? If not, you may have a hard time building a personal brand.
- Are there others with similar names? If so, there is the potential for confusion, and you’ll want to consider developing a handle.
- Is the domain name available? This is vital for your blog, and you’ll want your domain name to be your personal brand if doable.
- If you use a handle, does it narrow your focus too much? I.E., if your name was “content queen,” you may limit your appeal.
Company name
- This is potentially problematic in that you and the company brand are forever merged. This can make potential company marketing conflicts in the future.
- Consider by a spin on a company name (i.e., GoogleGuy or Company CEO).
- Remember company name and your name will always be tied together. What if the company gets sold?
Setting the groundwork
Whatever name you go with, register it everywhere. Then, set up your blog on your site – all who wants to develop a personal brand needs a blog. Make a unique design/logo and ensure it is just as brandable as the name you use.
Define your personality
People link to personalities as much as quality information. What do you want to be?
Helpful – Fantastic way to start if participating in forums is key to your branding. If you show knowledge, people will follow and then link to you.
Informative/expert – The most vital business is, you need to know your stuff. If you don’t consider yourself expert quality, start researching and learning now. You’ll get called out if you post terrible info. Try these thoughts:
- Guest blogs
- Speak/participate in events (offline/online)
- Answer questions via Twitter
Controversial – Take the opposite stance on any well loved industry topic. If all is singing praise about a company, look at the negative. If a company makes a go that all likes or despises, take the unpopular view and run with it. But tread carefully – you could develop a reputation for being “anti” or “pro” on a topic.
Being a jerk – This is very hard to pull off, but those who are successful can be extremely well loved. This gets you noticed, but you live with the rep. It could prevent you from being an authority. So if that’s your goal, this route may not be the way to go.
The key point to remember is the entire world is a stage – everything you say or do will help or hurt your brand.
Rand Fishkin, CEO, SEOmoz.org
Rand started his presentation with the notion that link magnets are the new paradigm of link acquisition.
How is a link magnet uncommon than linkbait?
Linkbait = Content that’s built to attract links (but not necessarily reward their creation).
Link magnets emotionally or physically reward the linker, making an incentive.
Why is this so powerful? Overall, the web has become jaded. Previously, we used to get plenty of legitimate blog posts/links due to fantastic content. Now this has shifted. With a fantastic post, we’ll get tons of Facebook reputation updates, Tweets, etc.
There was a golden era of linkbait where people loved and supported fantastic content. Now we’re too sensitive; “The fish have figured out that there is a hook attached to our content.” This suspicion has made difficulties in attracting linkbait.
But people still link when it benefits them. Savvy marketers are rewarding linkers in non-financial ways.
For example, Yelp made a digital badge version of “People Like Us on Yelp” that restaurants could use on their websites. This made the most relevant pages on the web link back to the Yelp site.
There is the notion that fantastic content earns links. According to Rand, this is a myth. You could post the absolute best piece of content on a theme on the web, and people will not link to it just because it’s excellent. It’s like saying, “The best thoughts in politics are supported by the voters.” As a replacement for, it’s branding and marketing to sell a concept that has an impact on where content goes.
The new bait is an emotional and obvious hook. Linking to content should do something for the people linking to it. Play to a linker’s psychology:
- Self-fulfillment
- Satisfaction
- Efficiency
- Effectiveness
One of the most gorgeous things about the concept of link charm is that much of the time, especially when it’s embeddable, you have control of targeted links and anchor text.
You need a strategy for promotion & spreading of links. You need to make a delivery mechanism and a way to attract people, or it will never work.
Examples of fantastic link charm:
Vimeo – When you click the “share” button on a video, it makes the overlay box to copy-paste the code and share it. By embedding the video, Vimeo also gains three links.
OKCupid – They make trends all the time by their data to help market the site. Their blog is frequently an example of both linkbait and a link magnet. By sharing the information on the blog, users are rewarded by sharing something fascinating.
Techmeme – When they launched the learderboard, more than 30 of the top 100 bloggers associated to them.
Simply Hired – They circulate the data/stats/salaries behind jobs. It is both fascinating and useful data that frequently acts as a magnet for media.
Aaron Kahlow, Founder, Online Marketing Peak
Aaron chose to be interactive and not give a presentation. He gave just a few tips before turning over the panel to an consultation Q&A.
Content – If you don’t have fantastic content, there’s no reason anyone should link to you.
Personas/branding – If you don’t have a personality or aren’t comfortable with yours, you’ll never form the affinity necessary to gain links.
Social – Every time you make something, question yourself if your colleagues/constituents would share.
Friends – Make sure you build relationships with those who are link magnets.
Suggestions:
1. Choose who your butt market is, and then address them appropriately. For example, you can’t “geek out” and get technical if your consultation is not.
2. Make sharing simple and simple. For example, if your consultation is active on Twitter, leverage the Tweetmeme button on your blog.
3. When you find things you like, say something about it and link to it as opposed to always linking to the source.
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How to Become a Link Magnet – SES NY 2010 |
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