We all know about the Linkerati by now - how to identify them, how they're segmented and why they're the secret to SEO. Yet, time and again, I see link builders and companies pass up amazing opportunities to earn links and attention from those who have the best ability to help your content/brand spread virally.
I'll lay out two scenarios below to help illustrate this point:
Scenario 1: Emailing a Prominent Blogger/Writer/Journalist/Site Owner/Social Media Personality/Etc. Hoping for a Link
You/your company:
- Identify a list of Linkerati that may be relevant/interested in your business/content
- Send a carefully crafted email to each individual, hoping to attract their attention and interest
- Follow up with those who reply (and maybe those who don't) with emails or even a phone call
- Request a review of your product/tool/site/idea
Scenario 2: Meeting that Same Person First, then Following Up
You/your company:
- Identify prominent (or even relatively less known) Linkerati in your city or at an event you're attending
- Schedule a meeting / invite them to coffee or to tour your offices (or even just go to an event you know they'll be at)
- Introduce yourself politely and humbly and mention you're a fan. Exchange business cards, have a chat and let them know what you do (also helps if you can find some non-work related topics to bond on as well)
- Follow up with an email thanking them for the meeting and asking if they'd take a look at your product/tool/site/idea
I'd argue that while Scenario 1 is more scalable, it's also potentially damaging in the long run. When you first introduce your work to someone who can help it spread, you have that single chance to make a first impression. If the relationship matters and you're seeking a high "conversion rate" for attracting attention from the Linkerati, use Scenario 2.
The beauty of these links is that they not only create value for SEO, but often attract second-order effects like increased brand awareness, links/tweets from the followers & fans of the Linkerati, and improved odds that you'll be positively remembered and introduced when someone mentions they need "X" (whatever it is your product/tool/site/idea does).
In-person connections have always been powerful attractors of value for me in the SEO, social media and startup worlds and when I see early stage (and mature, later-stage companies) engage in this fashion, it's almost always positive. Just make sure you're professional, candid, friendly and never over-bearing in your interactions; chances are you'll get much more than a link.
spanning back to your previous post, and my comment on it - I think this harks of bizdev meets linkbuilding.. To quote one of my favourite SEO's (dave naylor) the best linkbuilders, are NOT linkbuilders.
The best linkbuilders are bizdevs or sales people, who are able to engage people on a human level, and inspire (financially or otherwise ;)) people to link back to their sites.
We all collectively need to get over this hangup on linkbait, widgets et al and get back to some good old traditional business sense, that gets the best links, from the best sites!
I agree with you.
The fact is that sometimes we forget that SEO is just apparently doing with Search Engines... the final users of all our efforts are human users and serps are human based. The S.E. are just the medium.
In a more and more Social Web and where Web and Real Life tends IMO to converge more and more, it's essential - as you say - to reconsider some good old school practices.
For instance, in my previous professional life (Gfiorelli1 v1.0), it was very much easier to gain a great tv series' rights package becoming personally "friend" of the distributors than just having a mail/phone professional relationship.
I couldn't agree more wtih MOGmartin. And while the efforts required for quality bizdev/linkbuilding will often simply be too much for smaller (or less value adding) websites, I think that's kind of the point. The sites and businesses that really put forth the effort to network add value to others will be rewarded.
Regarding the 2 scenario's of the article: for those that may still opt to use scenario 1 (emailing requesting links), it would be wise to take some of the principles from scenario 2 and incorporate it into your emails. For example, instead of requesting a link right off the bat, begin by complimenting the site owner and possibly giving something of value (a tip on a related tool/topic) and hope for a response. Build the relationship first, then ask for a link down the road. You'll likely get less links, but if done correctly it can have a greater payout in the end.
Scenario 1 - How does this differ from what SEO folks were doing many years ago? Identifying and contacting other site owners with related sites has always played a big part in SEO. The only difference is that rather than offer a reciprocal links we are attempting to sell the quality of our product/content and use that to generate a few links.
Scenario 2 - this sounds like good old fashioned networking to me! Athough I wouldn't want to explain to a client that I'd gone through all of this to get a link, it would have to be one hell of a link!
I think the key point here is that scenario 1 is something you can realistically do for clients that don't have 6 figure budgets.
Scenario 2 is something we can all do for our own sites where we are happy to invest unlimited (!!) amounts of time..
If you do SEO for clients, getting those clients to understand the value of links, and getting THEM to implement the concept in scenario 2, is one of the best things you can do for their SEO.
You'll find that the business owners/managers are already out there in their niche networking, and they just need a small push in the right direction to turn those face to face meetings into links.
I agree with you in principal Whitespark, I've been through this exact process with clients. Educating them on the importance of links, asking them to think "link, link, link" at every meeting and event.
..and a couple of clients have even listened and applied this with some success, the majority however are simply far too busy.
Ultimately, this is often why they've outsourced the task in the first place..
They just don't get excited about links like we do!!! ;-)
Oh, when I equate links to dollars, every client I have ever educated about it has been more than excited. I show them the SERPs, do an analysis of the top sites with SEOmoz pro tools, and in pretty much all cases (except for where the keywords are in the domain), the reason one site ranks higher than another can be explained by quantity or quality of links. Then I show them the dollar value of being in the top positions using Seth Besmertnik's spreadsheets. Do that with your clients, and you'll make them CRAZY for links. That's when they really get that they can help you help them.
They still employ us for monthly SEO consulting, optimization, strategy, and link building, but are also keen to pull in a few links of their own when the oppotunity arises.
This is always a good place to start with each client:
https://www.seomoz.org/blog/the-full-list-of-suppliers-to-ask-for-links
You're totally right, it's all about teamwork in SEO consulting projects., there are a lot of in-depth issues (regarding the products/services of SEO clients) that just cannot be better explained than by the SEO clients themselves.
Hey Whitespark. Thanks for the link and mention of Seth's spreadsheet. Somehow I marked that WF as read in my RSS reader and I missed it entirely.
Well that stole my post! There I was just plucking up the courage to expose my naivete to the experterati of Seomoz by writing a post that suggested that talkng to people was a good idea as I had met three people in related businesses within the last two weeks to discuss how we could work together better and a totally unexpected by-product had been one PR7, one 5 and lousy little 4. Oh yes and an article by one of them pointing straight into a deep page of ours that was published in a sad and undernourished PR8 (yes folks that was an eight). Which was tweeted to me from someone who has 2174 followers at last count so presumably they got it as well.
But you got there first Rand, so all I can say is I agree with everything you said....
When you are a new site following method 1 described above has never really given me any significant results. I will admit to not trying number 2 but I do this more out of interest and as a hobby than for business reasons (we have a terrible agency at work who I just watch and often squirm/smile to myself when I hear speak/read their emails)
Rand - I think for many people they will find themselves naturally in Scenario 1. And ebcause of this, success can be somewhat limited!
Scenario 2 is ideal, but again if you are restricted in terms of budget/time/whatever, getting results from this kind of method may be difficult.
I think picking up the telephone is a great middle man between the two, because you avoid the anonymous nature of emails, whilst building a rapport with your linkerati.
I know for a fact that if i was a member of the linkerati elite, i would appreciate a phone call (without feeling like im being sold to) explaining the who/what/why of a product, rather than an email.
Anyone care to share any interesting examples of where this has worked extremely well?
Chris makes a good point about what we can "realistically do for clients" - physical networking on their behalf becomes unmanageable (and unreasonable). That's what salespeople are for.
For our own business however, Scenario 2 is what has allowed us to be successful in our early stages. The personal and professional referrals from networking at conferences, seminars and events have been the source of our best business - its the links that become the second-order effects, not the other way around.
Nice job Rand.
Whitespark is right too. A lot of the local business people are just waking up to the internet (I know, but really it takes pressure like a slow economy to get a lot of them to start thinking outside their own box)
Rubbing elbows and getting involved educating them to the ways of the force may not bring in tons of money but it does build from there...
Teach them when they're asking questions, like Whitespark said, show them what it means in dollars and cents.
Great stuff. thanks
I like Whitespark approach to it. For clients, going around networking and asing for links can be a bit to much. I wouldn't mind doing it for my own projects which I'm way more pasionated about, but it would simply be to much work for a client.
Getting into a culture of inspiring and teaching the client however, can do wonders. I've been working out a transcript that I use with clients, where I give simple suggestions on how they can get inbound links by asking supplies, partners, dealers, the neighbors kid who blogs and so on. Some people pick up on it, some don't.
As much as we'd like to think how cool internet as a media is, for almost all business endevours comes a point you need to go offline.
Most definately the best business practice. Unfortunately, it's also the hardest, most time consuming and frankly, er, um, some of us are not that comfortable socially.
We'll try though Rand. Thank you!
If you have a board, let them use their contact net.
Big guys always know other big guys.
...... if you happen to have on or two big guys in your board then..
A solid "community building" idea here too, Rand...well put as always!
:-)Jim
You can never underestimate the power of a first impression. It's something that they'll remember for years to come.
Thanks for the advice.