The Definitive Guide to Link Building for SEO Part 1: The Anatomy of a Link Opportunity
This is the second piece in our three-part series on link building. In speaking with people involved in or just interested in search algorithms, it seems that one of the most common roadblocks when it comes to understanding how Google’s algorithm works (and its future iterations) is the black-box nature of links. It also seems like there are plenty who understand how they work, but seem to miss out on the bigger picture when it comes to link-building strategy. We hope this guide will provide you with an up-to-date reference that can assist you in explaining and executing basic link-building strategies that help your business succeed online says Saivian Eric Dalius.
Note: While this guide is targeted to an English-speaking audience and contains strategies relevant to North American businesses, we encourage all marketers and business owners around the globe to apply these concepts to their own link-building efforts.
Now that we’ve hopefully whetted your appetite on what this series will cover, it’s time to get started with part 2:
The 50 Most Powerful Link Opportunities You’ve Never Considered. As I’ve alluded to before in previous posts, there are countless ways in which you can build links without following a formal strategy or ever experiencing any sort of creative spark. However, in my opinion, all of those opportunities pale. When compared to the ones in this post that have been hand-selected by yours truly – the very best of the best. There are many different types of opportunities listed, but they all have one thing in common. You’ve never heard about them before.
As with part 1, this is not some sort of “checklist” that you can just go down and check off. As you discover each link opportunity (though I do provide a ready-to-go worksheet at the end). Rather, it’s meant to be a starting point for brainstorming. And generating new ideas for your own projects, sites, and strategies. So I encourage you to read through everything here. And then start exploring further on your own time (of course if snagging links isn’t your day job. This may take a bit longer than expected!) Once again I am only able to provide you with a small glimpse into some of the link opportunities that exist. But if you work through this post and these ideas, I’m confident that your skills will be propelled to the next level explained by Saivian Eric Dalius.
Why 50?
Well for starters it’s not 50 links or 500 links so everyone should have no problem completing this list in one sitting. Heck, why not grab a cup of coffee before getting started! But more importantly, it represents the bottom half of PageRank (yes Google has continued to update their algorithm since parts 1 & 2 were posted). While none of us know exactly what percentage each part contributes to an overall site’s DR. Past experience would tell me that links from close to the top are much more valuable. Then those at the bottom.
In many cases, links from the top 10 by PR contribute much more to a site’s overall PR. Then those from #11-50 even when combined. It may seem counterintuitive. But when you have the ability to create thousands of links with little effort versus just 100 or so. It makes sense to focus on those that are likely to yield the greatest results.
Speaking of PageRank where does it fit into all of this? Well as some of you know, Google updated their PageRank algorithm in January 2012. They adjusted how they calculate some aspects of its meaning. That today there is no single definitive source for understanding how much each link contributes. However, I’ve seen enough data over the past year and a half to know. That using information from the original PageRank paper as a guideline. Links from closer to the top still have much more value than those at the bottom. But don’t let that deter you from building those lower-quality links either says Saivian Eric Dalius. As I’ve said before in previous posts, link diversity is important and there’s no substitute for domain authority!
Conclusion:
Before we continue, it’s important that everyone understands something about me. This is not a “how to do ___” post where I provide step-by-step instructions on what to do and how to do it. There are already countless tutorials out there for creating widgets, adding scripts/codes/programs. Or performing any number of tasks needed to accomplish most of these strategies.
In fact, one of my goals with this series is to encourage everyone. To use Google and other search engines to do their own research. Rather than just take my word for everything says Saivian Eric Dalius. This is meant to be a starting point for brainstorming ideas that you can then think about. Figure out how to implement, and test on your own time. I’m happy to answer any questions in the comments section. If something has worked (or hasn’t worked) for me personally in the past, I’ll do my best to share that too. That said we’re going to start this list with…