Day 14: Build Free Traffic – part II
Reminder: Goal-of-the-DAY... Get familiar with the four-step process of…
1) Submitting
2) Spider-tracking
3) List-watching
4) Keyword-ranking
Then, if you are using SBI! (so important for easy tracking) become comfortable with the Search Engine HQ and its reports…
1) Submit-Spider-List Report
2) Keyword Ranking Report
3) Keyword Searches Report
7.2. Improve Your Link Popularity…Build Incoming Links
“Pleasing” the Search Engines and your human visitors is why it’s important for you to develop an effective linking strategy. Links are one kind of off-page criteria that measure human reaction to your content.
The more sites that link to your site, and the more important the linking sites are, and the closer the linking sites are to the theme of your site (even to the topic of individual pages), the more “popularity points” Search Engines award to your site (and page).
Search Engines consider the number of in-pointing links to a site as a way to…
1) Establish credibility. An in-pointing link from a quality, related site tells the Search Engine that another Webmaster thinks highly enough of a site to link to it.
See how the link becomes representative of human feedback? The link constitutes a vote of confidence.
And the more highly a Search Engine regards the site that provides the link, the more powerful that “vote” is! For example…
Suppose you have a Web site all about porcupines. The Web authority on porcupines decides to link to your site. In essence, this tells the SEs…
“This is a credible porcupine resource. As such, it deserves to be listed in your database.”
This recommendation carries weight because the Web authority on porcupines already has established credibility with the SEs. Obviously, there’s no better judge of the quality of a porcupine site than a porcupine expert. Links from lesser authorities or from sites with related themes or topics (i.e., zoo, or animal sites) are helpful they don’t carry the same weight.
And what about off-theme links? Do not attempt to solicit links from sites unrelated to your topic or theme. Why would a Web site about Viagara or online casino games link to your site about porcupines? Usually it’s because they want to artificially increase link popularity, and manipulate the SEs.
The SEs don’t like to be manipulated, as it jeopardizes the integrity of their search results. So you can expect them to ignore, and at worst, penalize you for off-theme links.
2) Formulate ranking algorithms. More and more, Search Engines are factoring link popularity and link credibility (i.e., where your in-pointing links originate from) into their ranking algorithms. That’s why it’s so important not to fall into the trap of continuously tweaking your on-page criteria.
Chances are, the key to an elusive top 10 ranking lies off-page, not on-page.
Without a few credible links, you may find it difficult to get listed in some of the major SEs (especially Google). And of course, your site won’t make it into the databases of SEs that do not permit site submission. Their spiders must find your site on their own.
The good news is that for most businesses, a very small number of credible links will do the job. 99% of most Web sites do not have many in-pointing links. (If the SEs were to weigh in-pointing links too heavily, they’d make 99% of the Net disappear!)
Of course, if your topic is much more general in scope (i.e., “e-commerce,” “computers,” “sports cars,” and that sort of thing), obtaining links becomes more and more important.
Questions?
“When do I start building my link popularity?”
That’s a good one! Don’t worry about link popularity until you have built at least 20-30 content pages. Why?
Webmasters will link only to sites of value. Quality content is the currency of the Web so you will need a sufficient amount of it before you go link hunting. To get a Webmaster’s “vote” of confidence, your site must provide some benefit to his/her audience.
Directories too, are only interested in adding Web sites of substance and value.
A more mature site will also help you impress a human editor and secure a major directory listing.
Once you have your 20-30 high value pages, build a simple inbound link program, sprinkled with a few high-quality value exchanges (be patient) and even a couple of super-high-quality outbound-only links.
Here’s how to get your link program rolling along…
#1) Get IN-coming links from the major directories, and second tier directories. (See the Directories chapter for full details in the coming weeks.)
#2) Get IN-coming links from theme-specific sections of the major free directories.
#3) Participate in SiteSell’s Value Exchange. It is the simplest, fastest, most efficient, and (most importantly) most real way to identify high-value sites that want to link to your site.
It's also a true ethical use of the Net, exactly the way Search Engines want you to do it -- relevant sites linking to relevant sites only. And did I mention that it’s also free?…
http://value-exchange.sitesell.com/resources2success.html
#4) OUTbound-link with high-quality theme-related, non-competing sites as you happen to discover them in the course of normal business or surfing -- exchange links with them, if possible.
Linkage counts both ways, IN-pointing and OUT-pointing. If your outgoing “linkees” go to an income-generating source for you, even better!
Links OUT count with the human editors of directories and your visitors, too. If directory editors see that you provide bona fide links to other quality sites, your site is more credible, a more valuable resource for their directory. Visitors appreciate being presented with quality, credible links to related material that further enhances their surfing experience.
On the other hand, nothing is more damaging to you, your credibility and your ability to build your business than linking to an inferior Web site. By providing a link, you are in essence placing your seal of approval on the linked Web site.
Should that site be of low quality, visitors will question your judgement.
The SE’s will not take a positive view of such practices either. Should you linkout to a low quality site that practices deceptive linking strategies, the SEs may penalize you. After all, you are in essence condoning such activity.
What’s the take-home message here?
While you can’t control which sites link to your Web site (and therefore cannot be held responsible for it) you must choose your out-pointing links wisely.
IN-pointing and OUT-pointing links are both important. In general, of course, you want to have far more in-pointing. And don’t make all out-pointing links purely monetary links. You want to show your visitors that you have their best interests at heart, not just yours!
By far, the easiest, long-term strategy for building link popularity is a passive one.
Simply build a site of such high quality that people want to link to it in order to increase the value of their own visitors’ experiences.
What could be easier? Your link popularity builds itself!
7.3. Build Word of Mouth Buzz
Building word-of-mouth buzz is a secondary traffic-building technique.
Depending on your situation, some of the strategies outlined in this chapter will work very well for you. Others will not.
Either way, wait to investigate secondary strategies until after your business has a solid foundation of quality content. In other words, until you have at least 50 quality content pages, your efforts are better utilized by focusing upon…
C -> T -> P -> M
… and building traffic from the major Search Engines. As far as “bang for the buck” goes, this approach yields a far better Return On Investment (ROI) for your time.
How do you build word-of-mouth buzz? First piece of advice, don’t bother with those “recommend-a-friend” scripts. Less than one visitor in a thousand fills them in. There’s a far simpler way to get “word of mouth.” Deliver great content.
Want an example? Let’s say that you have a wonderful theme-based site about succulent plants (i.e., cactus, euphorbia, etc.). You have a terrific page about all the tricks you have developed for propagating them.
Other aficionados find that page at the engines. Do you think they’ll tell friends, or forums, or cactus associations, about this terrific info? Sure they will. Just one more huge benefit of OVERdelivering! But one big warning…
Average content = near-zero world of mouth. After all, have you ever been excited by “average?”
Great content is the only way to go!
When the time is right, use the following techniques to seed word of mouth buzz, especially if you are selling your own product or professional service…
• write articles for e-zines or article distribution sites
• make posts in forums, discussion groups, mailing lists, newsgroups (depending on your niche and situation, these can be fairly effective… or totally useless)
• publish your own blog, a Web log/diary (will discuss in the coming weeks)
• use a signature file (i.e., contact information, including your URL and preferably your VPP) in your daily e-mail correspondence.
Depending on your circumstances, some or all of the above techniques could be effective in seeing an increase in your word of mouth buzz…
Circumstance 1) The “nichier” your site, the better. If your site covers a topic already well-addressed by a zillion other sites, it will be much harder to stand out from the crowd and make an impression with your visitors.
Circumstance 2) Your site should have over 50 pages. There must be substance.
Circumstance 3) Your content should be of outstanding value to targeted visitors.
If all three circumstances are present, then investigating “word of mouth” strategies makes sense. There’s no point in making a post or writing an article otherwise.
OK, suppose you’ve got a high-quality content-rich niche site that delivers outstanding content. You make a fantastic post at a relevant forum, including your conservative signature file. What happens next?
Forum visitors visit your site, tell their friends, put a link on their site to yours, and discuss your site at relevant forums and discussion groups. Talk about a homerun buzz!
Now, before you proceed to DAY 15, please complete your DAY 13-14 Goal-of-the-DAY at the beginning of this post, and take note of your Ongoing Goal...
Ongoing Goal... Create more relevant, quality content. Build a solid links program. Be patient and trust the process.
Next step? Paid Search Engine traffic…
Stay tune…
Enjoy A Music Video: "I Love My SBI!"
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