In stead of making up for the Link Building this Week posts I’ve missed during the past few weeks (I was quite busy changing diapers and stuff 
), here’s my view on what happened in the field of Link Building this Year. Although it’s near impossible to capture a year of link building posts in a dozen-or-so links, I’ll still give it a try. Sure, it isn’t as thoroughly as Tamar’s Internet Marketing Top 250, but this also means that it doesn’t take you a week to wade through all links!
New to link building? Look no further!
Debra Mastaler compiled a great intro into Link Building which will be used by rookie link builders for a very long while (at least it will be used by mine ). After reading Debra’s article, make sure to check out Michael Martinez’ Beginners Guide as well.
Link lists always work like a charm.
And that’s why Brandon Hopkins’ 66 Ways to build links in 2007 probably will be read quite often in 2008 as well.
Relevance, Authority and Transfer.
A great post that you might have missed is Peter van der Graaf’s post about RAT Link Value. The value of a link is something that has also been discussed by Matt McGee.
There are no absolutes in Link Building.
This is something that the Link Value Factors made clear as well; There Are No Absolutes in Linking!
Interviews tell you a lot!
Link Building interviews rock, so SugarRae’s Link Developer Group Interview sure is worth a read. So are Peter da Vanzo’s interviews with Aaron Wall and Michael Gray and Aaron Wall’s interview with Debra Mastaler, by the way.
Google got angry: Selling Links Can Hurt Your Site!
This resulted in a lot of coverage and community discussion and lead to multiple penalties and other weird reprimands. I’m sure this item will continue in 2008…
And a honorable mentioning goes out to…
- Things to consider when hiring a Link Building firm, by Loren Baker
- 15 Link Building Methods, by Alexandru
- 7 Tips for Training Link Developers, by Justilien Gaspard
- Build Links like a Hare Krisha, by Jonathan Fields
- The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Link Builders, by Debra Mastaler
- Building Links for Authority and Reputation, by Dan Thies
- What Makes a Good Directory, by Rand Fishkin
- 11 Guidelines for Attracting Authorative Links, by Eric Enge
I might have missed something, so please drop me a comment if you know a post that should have been included.
Just like last year (and 2005), Search Engine Journal is organizing the Search Blog Awards. I really am honored that, although I’ve only been blogging since June of this year, I have been nominated in the Link Building category (thanks for nominating me, Justilien 
). Considering the fact that my name is being mentioned together with industry professionals like Jim Boykin, Debra Mastaler and Eric Ward, this nomination sure felt like a late Christmas present.
Just like Barry, I consider the Search Blog Awards to be really important community awards as well. So if you’re planning on voting for your favorite SEO blogs, consider me as well . While this may sound strange, I want to make clear that I’m not aiming at the top spot in the Link Building category. This is because, well, let’s be honest; I don’t think I deserve that spot. Yet . The nomination already feels like winning the grand prize, so everything better than finishing last would be awesome.
You can vote right here, but please note that 5 is the highest vote, and 1 is the lowest.
December 14, 2007 8:41 amIt’s a boy!
On December 13th, at 8.17PM, my girlfriend gave birth to a healthy and beautiful baby boy, Liam. It’s our first and we’re both very, very, very proud
Yesterday, I received yet another unrelated link request, which suddenly made me think about Joe Pulizzi’s post about myFord Magazine I read earlier this week. The link request I received was set up in exactly the same way. The email contained no less than 17 times “we”, “me”, “I” or “us” and only two times “you”. And both of the you’s weren’t even positive you’s.
If I’m not linking to your website, and you think I should, you have to explain why. This sounds stupidly simple, but this principle is the foundation of every link request. If you manage to do this correctly, you might end up with a link. Seriously, in some cases an email can make me think “You’re right, that page is relevant for my visitors.” However, if you’re willing to make me think this, you have to convince me. And convincing doesn’t mean throwing in random arguments that aren’t relevant for me.
Sending out link requests involves empathy. If you want to convince me to link to you, you’ll have to know what arguments might be valid for me. Although it might seem somewhat unbelievable, both ‘helping you to rank better’ and ‘improving my PageRank’ don’t sound very interesting to me. Thinking in terms of relevance for my visitors, increase in sales (and I mean my sales, not yours) or just great content might improve your chances for success.
So, if you’re choosing for push link marketing in stead of pull link marketing (and sometimes you have to), try to push the right buttons. A successful link request email includes at least one solid argument why linking to you is good for me. And, because something that’s good for you does not necessarily mean that it’s good for me as well, coming up with a solid argument might take some research first.
SEOmoz’ Search Engine Ranking Factors is probably in the top 10 of the most valuable pieces of SEO documentation online. Where else can you find over one hundred years of SEO experience on one page? While link value is one of the factors being discussed in this piece of research, I would have loved to see more about this subject. And this is why I tried to do the same for link value influencing factors.
17 Link building and SEO professionals have shared their thoughts about nearly 40 different factors that might (or might not) influence the value that search engines can assign to a link. These opinions have been bundled into one document: The Link Value Factors.
Like stated in both the intro and the comments, it’s nearly impossible to design a piece of research that is 100% accurate. Especially when it comes to links, because no two links are exactly the same and no two links will be treated exactly the same by a search engine. In my opinion, however, the page with Link Value Factors is an in depth piece of content that can serve as link building background info for both link building newbies and pros from the field pretty darn well. Enjoy!
