Link Love: Don't Overlook These Link Building Opportunities

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Top Jobs Senior PPC Manager Austin, United States Internet Marketing Manager Northwestern Mutual Milwaukee, United States 912435 Target , United States Account Executive- Platform Sales ContextWeb New York, United States VP Platform Sales / Business Development Adify New York, San Francisco, Washington DC, Atlanta, Philadelphia, United States , United States More Jobs Don't Overlook These Link Building Opportunities  LINK LOVE By Justilien Gaspard, Search Engine Watch, Jan 8, 2009 Columns  |  Contact Justilien  |  Biography Link development isn't getting any easier. With each passing year it becomes increasingly difficult. Yet we all tend to overlook good link opportunities. Are you skipping over possible good link opportunities? Let's take a look at some common ones. New Sites People often pass over new sites since they have few inbound links and no PageRank. The thinking is, they're worthless for link development because they have few inbound links. In reality, if a new site has a passionate owner, or is from a publisher with a history of success, it can be a goldmine. Over time, that site will gain momentum and attract quality links. It's much easier to get links from a new site than one that's already successful. Get in on the ground floor and build a relationship with the site owner. That could lead to many more links down the road. It's all about relationship building. Plus, you never know what other sites they manage. Pages with no Visible PageRank People often pass over link opportunities because the single page has no visible PageRank on the Google toolbar. First, the toolbar is a mere litmus test. It's not the actual PR that Google uses for their rankings. Second, the toolbar PR has been known to be incorrect. Instead, explore how well the site and page ranks for their keywords. There's a misconception that a page with no PageRank won't rank in the SERPs. We've all seen pages rank well in Google without having any PageRank. Remember: links that drive traffic are better than non-traffic producing links. Next, examine the overall inbound link quality to the site and page for a better indication of quality. Keep in mind that the page in question could also be new. It would be a shame to skip over a link opportunity on a site with hundreds of inbound authority links just because the page was created last week. Temporary and Nofollow Links Would you turn away from an opportunity to have your site mentioned on a major TV network simply because it was a "one-time" 30-second news bite? That exposure would lead to buzz, higher traffic, and (hopefully) sales. Then other traditional media outlets, blogs, and social media would pick up on the story. That would lead to links. Yet, how often are link opportunities passed over online because the link won't be there in a day, week, month, or year? Or because there will be a nofollow on the link? Instead of passing over temporary and nofollow links, think of the buzz, word-of-mouth marketing, and exposure that a link can create. Examine what kind of audience the site has and what exposure it can create. Several companies can give insight about a site's audience, including Quantcast, Compete, and Alexa. Remember to take each with a grain of salt, because data is a sampling and can be manipulated. That is especially true for Alexa. As link building gets more difficult, take a moment to look at good opportunities that might be disregarded. It could just give you the advantage over your competition in the near future. » Print this article   » E-mail a colleague   » Send feedback Biography Justilien Gaspard is an independent consultant that provides custom link building, seo consulting and link training. His area of focus is organic search. He has spoken at Search Engine Strategies conference (SES), authored 3 advanced search optimization courses for Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization's (SEMPO) Learning Institute and runs a link building blog. He has worked and consulted on link development campaigns that included Fortune 500, top online retailers and small to medium size businesses in competitive fields. » Contact Justilien Gaspard Article Archives by Justilien Gaspard: » Don't Overlook These Link Building Opportunities - January 8, 2009 » Look for SEO Opportunities in these Dire Economic Times - December 11, 2008 » Use Online Public Relations for Link Marketing - November 13, 2008 » Use Humor for Link Marketing - October 30, 2008 » Content Promotion for Link Marketing - October 16, 2008 » Link Marketing -- Solve a Customer Problem - October 2, 2008 » More Articles by Justilien Gaspard We want to know what you think about Justilien Gaspard’s column, "Don't Overlook These Link Building Opportunities". Rant. Rave. » Voice your opinion

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