Link Building this Month (07.2009)

Although July (just like August) usually is a quiet month in terms of news and good content, I still came across quite a few interesting link building related posts last month.

A good link marketing strategy contains several different tactics. You want to avoid *just* having link spikes, and should aim for a natural link growth profile instead. In my opinion, the optimal approach to reach this, is to start with a foundation of ‘single’ links first. This could include a handful of directories, business listings, interviews and other low hanging fruit.Try to get a good flow of continuous links going at the same time, for example by publishing a large amount of images, while providing the right creative common attribution info. Or just by launching a blog, where you add good content on a regular basis. From there, you can move on to the ‘peak’ links; press releases and linkbait.

Let’s start with the first of the two. This can be very effective, but sending out mass press releases can also be one of the most ineffective link building tactics, if you’re ‘just sending out press releases to get more links’. Try to understand why press releases get rejected, avoid the most common press release pitfalls, and understand that web PR is all about relationships, you’ll have much more success.

Linkbait starts with a good idea. For those of you who just ran out of good ideas: Lucy Langdon listed a few ways to come up with great new ones, and Garrett French went even deeper into the process of researching, creating & distributing linkbait content. Oh, and don’t forget to measure your success…

And also:

• Whom did you wake up with this morning? – Christoph Cemper
• 10 Link building strategies for new website or business owners – Greg Shuey
• The 5 B’s of bad link building – Pete Caputa
• When your link portfolio is devalued – Eric Ward
• Link building: a balancing act – Julie Joyce
• Adam Lasnik offers link building advice – Michael Martinez
• Google’s Vince update – Brand or no brand? – Richard Baxter
• Page segmentation and link building & Understanding linking intent; the spam connection – Dave Harry