I promised in my last post that I would disclose a link building strategy that small businesses have access to but tend to over look. Note that most small businesses may not need hordes of links to target the niche keywords that we identified via our Keyword Discovery Process.
Photo Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tiggywinkle/141187362/
Full Disclosure: Personally I don’t think any of the ideas below are revolutionary. It just takes simple logic to come up with the right strategy for the business.
The key success of my Small Business Link Building Strategy is full client cooperation. Without your client's input, the whole strategy hits a big FAIL. The whole process begins with a simple explanation of what link building is. And to be honest, “Links are Votes” as an analogy is one I found most effective. While explaining the value of links, I sometimes give them a tour of Yahoo Site Explorer, which kind of results in a big “Oh!” when the clients see exactly how many links their competitors have.
Photo Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/krishnade/2546232664/
We always talk about how Content is King, but who creates the content? The specialist who actually has the knowledge behind the subject matter. And if your client isn’t a specialist in their own field, what are they doing running a business, anyway?
Why do I stress this point? It's to highlight the fact that most small businesses have been in existence for a while and have had a series of financial and non-financial relationships. And these past relationships and successes as well as their selective “micro brand” that they have built up are assets to exploit.
Priming Yourself
As usual, the process begins with a few discovery questions, but in this instance it's important to see what YOU know about the business and the industry it operates in.
- Specify in strict terms the nature of the business (to yourself). Understand what it's background is to you.
- What would you link to the business, commercially and non commercially?
The above two questions force you to analyse the business and objectives and sphere of influence mentally, which puts you in the right frame of mind to proceed to drain the client of ideas.
Priming the Client
The series of questions to ask:
Professional
- What regulatory bodies monitor your industry?
- What business groups do you belong to?
- Who refers business to you?
- Who do you refer business to?
- Do you know your regular clients or customers?
- Who provides complementary services to you?
- Who are the key manufacturers that you deal with?
- Who are your key suppliers?
- Do you know any contemporaries that you don’t compete with because they are in a different geographical location?
Personal
- Do any of your relatives and friends run businesses?
- What professional groups do you belong to?
- What local businesses do you have more than casual acquaintances with?
- Are there any websites that you visit frequently as a contributor?
- Are there any hobbies or activities that you excel in or are known for?
- Do you belong to any community projects or do any charity work?
- Do you have a web profile anywhere?
I hope I am not confusing you by this time and that some of the brighter lot have started clocking on to what I am trying to establish.
But for clarity's sake, the process above identifies what I call “quick wins.” Once you have the details above, it's easy to establish which one of these resources or contacts have their own websites. On an average, the above delivers about 150-200 possibilities.
These then are sorted into those that have a web presence, and those that don’t.
This list is further categorised into:
- Close contact
- Fair contact
- Occasional contact
- Business or formal contact
Side tip: The above list is made in layman’s terms because most clients don’t understand terms such as “top prospect,” “possible convert,” etc. When dealing with non-web savvy clients, keep the language simple. Don’t try to impress with knowledge, but try to impress with your strategy.
By this stage, the client is usually on board and sees what you are getting at. We are basically reverting to the traditional method of link building – manual and one on one contact. This in itself isn’t the real meat behind the strategy, but the process that that we used to gather the information. And to clients, it is reassuring to know that they contributed and will continue to contribute to the success of the strategy.
The next step is to analyse each one of the above categories and pursue a strategy that is (in my experience) optimal in acquiring that elusive link. This post is to follow, hopefully in the next couple of weeks.
Resources:
- One of the best Link Building Organisation articles I have seen: Divide and Conquer: Creating and Managing Your Link Campaign
- For a quick summary of the above article, see Organising Your Link Lists for Effective Link Building
- One of the articles that mirrors some of my views on link acquisition: There's No Shortcut for Link Building: A Case for Relationship Building
- Melanie is one of my fav writers and this is a great resource: Link Request Strategies for Blogs, Edu’s & .Gov’s: Respect My Authoritah!
- Melanie isn’t the only one sneaky enough to advise on best practice for gaining links from .Edus: Link Lust: A Lesson in .Edu Link Building
- As you can see, I optimise link opportunities, and this articles does justice to the scope of being good at it: Are You An SEO Link Opportunist?
- Nothing gains good links or makes your site more link worthy than Strategic Content as Marketing for Link Building (and the Win)
Tools:
- Check your present backlinks.
- Check who YOU link to.
- Back Link Anchor Text Analysis
- Make link research easy – use the Juicy Link Finder
Don't Go Yet!
If you would like to know other processes that I use, please feel free to read my take on SEO Swot Analysis and the Boston Consulting Matrix. If you enjoyed my writing, I invite you to catch up on my previous posts or follow me on Twitter.
The single most practical and useful post I've ever read on Youmoz. Thank you Rishil. Great job.
aww Sean! too much credit for such a simple write up. Thanks.
Rishil,
Some times simple is the best!
Especially when it works.
Take the credit, excellent article, I have been looking for this information all over, very practical and to the point. Thanks rishil.
Damn good post here. Wish I would have read it ealier!
i second that its a great post i ask the same type of questions but i never thought to make a list ill be referring to this later
VALUE! Why can we only vote with one thumb?
I especially like the bike chain picture. I've used the "links in a chain" as an analogy. The links to a website turn the cogs of the search engine. (Visually, the spokes of a wheel would be more appropriate.) But I mention the links are best when they are interconnected like a chain, meaning they are in the same neighborhood.
Best take-away:
This means, try to impress them with rishil's strategy!
Funny how you mention spokes of a bike... keep a lookout for the next in the link series...
Nice work, Rishil. I've really enjoyed this series. I'm amazed how often new clients want to rush right into technical details and not tell me anything about their business or industry. One of the first things I always do is get them talking about themselves and try to convince them to leave the technical stuff to the pros.
Excellent... Now I need more..
As you stated, nothing new per say, but after reading your post it all seems so simple... The process is the key and it is great! Thanks for sharing
PS: I miss your old avatar. Sorry but I just had to say it
Excellent post Rishil. As you say, nothing new but the clear and logical way you have laid it out here gives the material a new spin.
How do we vote for this to moved to the main blog then? ;)
Excellent writeup Rishil. Congratulations on the FP promotion... totally deserving :D
Btw, sphunn!
I like reading your posts, Rishi, not just because you're a great writer but because it gives me an idea of what someone would have done with me if I hired them to do SEO when I was first launching my business.
Luckily, I did a lot of this on my own, but I certainly didn't have the clear, logically laid out approach that you do. And you've mentioned a few things that I've never thought of...so a very enthusiastic thumbs up to you!
Thanks Lorisa. To be fair, I learnt that sometimes taking a step back and working with basics first makes a huge impact.
All I am doing is displaying what I try to use, but I would appreciate anything at all you can add here. The lists above are still limited. Links are easy to find if relationships are established from the onset.
The only thing that occurred to me - but I didn't mention it because I think your next post will talk about it - is that the manual link-building techniques you share are just the first step.
I did that too at the beginning, but was also concentrating on building quality content and valuable resources that anyone would want to link to, not just my friends and business contacts.
Then I was able to taper off the manual link building after awhile. But you're right, it's the essential first step for small business, especially those who are just starting out.
Dang Rishi, you the man. The tactic in this article alone is enough to get results that will dazzle most small businesses with real results. Excellent.
This should be one of the permanant SEO basics articles.
Rishi, as many have already said - nice write up. We use the "votes" analogy a lot -- and that some votes mean a lot more than other votes too.
This is going to seem like a plug, but we run a blog called Link Building Best Practices, I plan to use some of your ideas in future DoFollow Tuesday posts (we cover a new vertical market every Tuesday) as we tend to look past some of the most obvious examples of where to get links.
If you ever feel like writing a guest post for a specific vertical market, just drop me a note via our site. Would be happy to post your insights.
great post and i'm enjoy to read your articles
tumbs up!
Great post Rishi. Looking forward to the follow-up!
I've made this article "required reading" for several people I am currently dealing with.
Should make my job a bit easier too.
Excellent post Rishi :)
We also work with some small businesses and I totally concur with your approach.
In terms of link building we find that the best source often comes from 'who refers business to you?' - we also find it's a great way of explaining the purpose of a link - essentially it's a referrral.
Awesome post R!
Very concise. Excellent article. Simplest is always the best and you nailed it on the head. Looking forward to the follow up.
Waka! great post rishil...
Very interesting and pragmatic strategies for small business visibility building.
Here in Italy I work only for that sort of "brands" and daily I recommend them to use a similar approch to grow in online popularity :)
I'm waiting impatiently your next post...
Excellent Article!
I am glad I found this article today on SEOMOZ. Great Link building advice and resources. I look forward to more of your articles in the near future.
Well done, Internal nav is one of the most important on-site factors in today's G
Great post! As a small business owner (retail) I can really apply a lot of this. Thanks!
excellent post Rishil, your tips are enlightening and expanding my knowledge, something the obvious is not common to some like me. I have actually made a client worksheet document out of your post. keep posting, cheers
i think all of my vist to this website paid back just due to this one most excelent peice of work, excelent work, i love to see these type of article but unfortunatily here i usually get article instead of talking about the point they talk how the spend night before and they try to use show how much english they know by just using typical hard term, simple is best and you nailed it mate
This is a great article and the very same strategy I use to empower clients when I provide them with a backlink guide. Since our company currently doesn't offer link building campaigns, we offer a personalized guide that does this for them: prompts them with these kinds of questions, gets them to tell the difference between worthless and worthwhile directories, gives them a few potential links to try and acquire to get them used to the idea. Glad to see I'm not the only one with this strategy!
When they're a small business employing a small business, we all need to work together to reach their objectives and 9 times out of 10, they enjoy that level of participation and know that we must not be full of crap when we're so willing to disclose so much to them.
Great post!
Nice! for a starter, this would greatly help.
simple and completely detailed. strategy and tips add's to my knowledge and skill in link building. truely a nice read!!
Great post. Informative. Practical. Easy to read. And even well illustrated ;-)
Keep up the good work!
Very good analysis and strategy. Link building is a very time consuming task, especially if you're trying to acquire good quality links from reputable like minded industry. Very concise and astute methodology for link building. Keep up the good work Rishil.
Another top post Rishi, keep them coming please!
I too use the "Quick Wins" approach - I find that esp with small clients with limited budgets, or simply those not used to SEO, they are much more receptive to quick wins than a full blown long contract.
One thing I would add is revisiting the links the already exist from natural link partners and tweaking / optimising the anchor text (often these natural links will just be URLs). Its basic stuff but it can work wonders and its so easy to do since you already have the editorial vote.
Big thumbs up..
Thanks for mentioning our post Rishil over at SEO Design Solutions. I enjoyed the article immensely. The thing I find right now as the real question is, do SEO's really need clients?
I am not saying this is a tainted way, I just think that it is important to note that with all of the time and energy expended on managing clients, just think what one could do on their own with the same energy.
I would love to get the ball rolling on this chain of thought, so anyone interested in elaborating their opinion should visit our blog or use this one as I am interested in hearing your thoughts.
Great post Rishil and very informative.
The only downside I can see to this is when you are working with a client who is in an industry that doesn't have a large online presence.
The only downside I can see to this is when you are working with a client who is in an industry that doesn't have a large online presence.
I would love to have clients that are in such an industry. Think of the potential benefits of first entry to the market! One of my medical clients was the first in the UK to commercially promote his specific service - its a very sensitive subect, and he was struggling to get business.
He was referred to me by another client, and was at first reluctant to get a website. When he did finally, and was the first to appear commerially for his keywords, you wouldnt belive the difference it made to business. Now over 60 specialists in that field have their own sites! But hes on top :P
This is a great post. I run some small businesses. The logic behind this post is right on target. Look for those with whom you have existing relationships.
The only hard thing is that in the small business community some of the other business owners are so remote from their actual websites that ultimately getting the link, or the link you want, or the location of the link takes time. Its not a detriment to doing this, its just that one may not get links as quickly as you wish.
Of the many suggestions, there are a couple that if expanded upon can generate far greater results than one might imagine.
Terrific article.
I think this questions are perfect. Getting your personal and professional contacts to link to you is a great idea.
This is a great post. The question list is invaluable. Thanks!
Great post Rishil and very valuable! Looking forward to the followups. Thx.
Great post Rishil, and awesome follow-up discussions.
Even though I own a small web based business, but never paid attention to basic link building. I am just about to hire an SEO agency to help me with this exercise. This article helps me in taking an inward look and prepares me to ask appropriate questions for selecting an agency.
Awesome article. This is a great reminder that the e-business landscape is just the same as in regular life, where business partnerships and associations bring greats mutual benefits in terms of clientele and visibility. Another point that could have been made is the use and promotions of press releases announcing your client's latest accomplishments.
Great post again
I've just read this and it's damn good :)
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