A look at high risk linking vs. lower risk organic linking. What to avoid and trends in content marketing that result not only in links, but authority & citations to your brand.

1. Risk & Reward in Link
Building
Loren Baker
@lorenbaker

2. About MeAbout Me

3. Links In 1998Links In 1998

4. Links In 2003-2010Links In 2003-2010
• Link Rentals
• Links On Fake Blog Networks
• Links in Content by Fake People
• Forum Links
• Sidebar & Footer Links
• Article Syndication
• Blog Template Links
• Social Bookmark Links (from bookmark sites people
don’t use)

5. Linking Goals TodayLinking Goals Today
Relevance – Websites and Content that support your product and service offering,
and the niches that you market to
Audience & Engagement – Sites that actually have traffic and onsite/offsite
engagement including comments, social votes, email newsletters and other sharing
capabilities
Authority & Trust – Sites and authors that have credibility in their networks,
proper Authorship and do not compromise their trust and influence for money.
REAL PEOPLE!
Onsite Optimization – Links used to be a short cut to rankings and the inability
to make onsite changes. Focus on SEO and autonomous publishing solutions to
drive branded links and citations to, then it’s up to you to funnel that equity.

6. Links For Corporate AmericaLinks For Corporate America
• Car Insurance
• Banks
• Health Insurance
• Retail Stores
• eCommerce
• Media
• Sports Teams

7. Links in Hyper Competitive
Industries
Links in Hyper Competitive
Industries
• Payday Loans – 8 Years!
• Online Pharmacies – Buy Viagra
• Bankruptcy Attorneys
• Online Dating
• Debt Consolidation
• Online Gaming
• Forex
• ORM (Celebs, Nations, Foundations)

8. Learning from Both Makes a
Better Linker
Learning from Both Makes a
Better Linker

9. But There’s Always Risk
Involved
But There’s Always Risk
Involved
• Publisher Experience w/ SEO’s
• Money changing hands (other
vendors)
• Emails get published & FWD’d
• Your Client put themselves
on the line to sign you.
• Other divisions have their eye
on you.
• Vet your vendors (and the
vendors of vendors)

10. How To Avoid RiskHow To Avoid Risk
1. Never offer money
2. Do Your Research
3. Be as transparent as possible
4. Have your client or boss on your side
5. Communicate chances of risk internally
6. Never ask for exact match anchor text
7. Educate publishers & stakeholders

11. Let’s Look at Some RISK!Let’s Look at Some RISK!

12. What’s Wrong w/ This Email?What’s Wrong w/ This Email?
Hi Steve
We are interested in producing editorial content for your site.
We can pay you $100 for a guest editorial referencing my client's site _________
(_______.com), a provider of ___ products for both men and women in the US
(NSFW).
I know time is valuable these days and I appreciate yours.
Sincerely,
XXXXXXXXX
Marketing Assistant

13. What’s Wrong w/ This Email?What’s Wrong w/ This Email?
Hi Steve My Name is Not Steve.
We are interested in producing editorial content for your site.
We can pay you $100 for a guest editorial referencing my client's site _________
(_______.com), a provider of adult products for both men and women in the US
(NSFW). Thanks for telling me it’s NSFW after clicking the
links!!!
I know time is valuable these days and I appreciate yours.
Sincerely,
XXXXXXXXX
Marketing Assistant

14. Do Your ResearchDo Your Research

15. Low Risk Linking (Marketing)Low Risk Linking (Marketing)
• Don’t throw the ball in Ed
Reed’s direction
• Branded Links > Exact Match
• Branded + Semantic Modifiers
• Your Links Cannot Live on an
Island
• Your Links Need Backup (even
in Payday)

16. Get Teams On BoardGet Teams On Board
• Content Marketing is owned by
social, PR, SEO, branding,
corporate …etc.
• No one likes surprises
• Upfront education is worth
every penny
• Spend the time to develop a
strategic foundation.
• Time spent will result in
corporate buy-in

17. Take Control of Your BlogTake Control of Your Blog
• Mindless keyword content is not
what you need
• Engage readers to comment
• Bring in Guest Authorities in
your industry with audiences and
Authorship
• Interview Influencers
• Build an Editorial Calendar
• Make Sure it Works

18. Work with PublishersWork with Publishers

19. Work with PublishersWork with Publishers
• Cobranded Content
• Tap into their Active Audience
• Natural Syndication = Co Citation Map
• Trickle Down Effect
• Comments, Shares, Tweets
• Share within their Facebook Groups and Others
• Email? That’s the Golden Ticket
• DON’T FORGET LOCAL PUBLISHERS

20. Do Your ResearchDo Your Research

21. Link RepoLink Repo
• The Art of Link Reconciliation
• Google Queries and Alerts for the Title of Your
Work
• Be Picky, Only Reach Out to the Sites with Value
• Ignore sites in Bad Neighborhoods
• Don’t ask for Exact Match
• Just Ask for Proper Citation
• Google Image Search is your Friend

22. Do Your ResearchDo Your Research

23. Invest in the MothershipInvest in the Mothership
• Make sure your blog is
publishing this content too
• Engage those readers and get
them to subscribe, like,
comment …etc.
• The day you hit the pubish
button and links naturally
occur, it’s time to party.
• Hub / Spoke / Rim

24. Squeeze That Juice!Squeeze That Juice!
• Conduct Outreach Around Your Content
• Contribute to Communities like MyBlogGuest and
others.
• [Watch out for blogs that have sold their souls to
guest blogging.]
• Slice & Dice Your Content
• Publish in Visual.ly, Imgur, Pintrest & other popular
social image sites
• Monitor RTs from these sites and the publsiher and
build a relationship with those users

25. Loren Baker @lorenbaker
http://copyblogger.com/