1. SEO vs PR vs Bloggers – FIGHT!
Linkbuilding & Outreach in a savvy -blogger world

2. ➡ Got on the Internet in 1986 at my school lab
➡ Working online with search since 1996
➡ Paid & Natural Search plus social media
➡ Worked in-house within e-Commerce, Publishing & High Tech
➡ Have worked with Google (SEO for product sites), Orange, COI,
NatWest/RBS, National Gallery, CIPD, Fidelity, GalaCoral, NBC Universal,
Readers Digest, Bayer, Family Search, Amadeus, AMD, AmEx , TotalJobs,
Virgin.com, Virgin Startup & more
➡ Chosen as a founding Modern Muse, contributed to book “Pimp My Site”,
judge of the UK & European Search Awards, one of the SEO Chicks, blog on
Huffington Post & run MostlyAboutChocolate.com plus on con committee for
Eastercon 2015 (Dysprosium) for my sins
AM I
Who Obligatory slide !Judith Lewis
@deCabbit
@JudithLewis

3. I give away
chocolate for
relevant questions
at the end of the
talk

4. MY NOTES
The law
The ASA guidelines + CAP clarifications
Google guidelines
It’s a fight
SEO are crap
PRs are crap
Other bloggers are scaring the crap out of bloggers
Good
Dangerous - a few blogger network examples with
badges

5. Bloggers aren’t print
publications but they
can have more engaged
readerships, more
targeted audiences and
be more influential in
their niche thus CAP
code

6. Changes to the Law & Google Guidelines
Google guidelines against “Link Schemes”:
https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/66356
ASA Reminder to bloggers about their responsibilities:
http://www.asa.org.uk/News-resources/Media-
Centre/2013/Blurring-advertising-and-
blogs.aspx#.U47NEigVfzM
CAP Guidance on the ASA guidelines:
http://www.cap.org.uk/News-reports/Media-
Centre/2014/New-words-on-the-
blog.aspx#.U47NLSgVfzM
The LAW the ASA guidelines are based on:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2008/9780110811574/
contents

7. This is a fight between SEOs
and PRs to win Bloggers
But it’s also Bloggers
vs PRs/SEOs

8. From a CLOSED Blogger FB Group
Bloggers share – they share PR/SEO contact details,
pitches and payments (so they know what you paid before)
They also deride your bad approach

9. Bloggers are
ncreasingly
eing targeted
oth by SEOs
PRs with an
SEO remit
PRs are being
asked to do the
job of an SEO
while being a PR
– a difficult
balance at times

10. Some SEO Approaches Gone Wrong
The following are approaches and the blogger reactions from a
closed blogger group (all spelling is theirs, not mine!)
“Repeated demands that I publish their great (great =generic) post immediately
with a do follow link”
“…those that pay for a sponsored post and then when publish demand a do
follow link even though we state no follow links”
“Offering content wriiten by them, on the basis that 'it will help our traffic‘”
“Then a company who thinks it's ok to ask for 3/4 follow links to pages that have
nothing to do with the product being reviewed”
“One company asked me to change all my links to 'follow' links and remove the
disclosure because 'they could get penalised and her boss was worried'. I
explained that I couldn't do that (for obvious reasons) - still insisted”
“…were contacted by a SEO wanting links removed (pretty normal) but this one
blamed us for the companies penalty and then threatened to report us to google
if we didn't remove the link”

11. I was once offered to
place an infograpic on
my blog for “no
charge”.
SRSLY WTF?!?

12. PRs Aren’t Blameless Either
PRs are increasingly being given SEO targets of links built,
rankings increases and associated traditional SEO metrics
“I was offered baby shoes for my son who had died a few months previous
at 11 days old. My blog was pretty much exclusively about him at the time”
“Recipe competitions where you hand over all rights to your content to the
brand by entering.”
“they send you a product to review, you tested it, didnt like it and reviewed it.
they didnt like the review and are asking to change the review or theyll
remove you from their bloggers group”
“A PR working for a large brand asking people to join their blogger network.
You join then hear nothing for months and then get asked to promote one
competition after another without ever getting to review anything for the
brand”
“I've had an email asking me to promote products from a dentistry site. I
don't mean a site that offers toothpaste/tooth whitening etc, but a site that
sells dentist chairs, drills etc”
“Diet companies wanting me to promote their products and services when
my blog is clearly against the diet industry”

13. This isn’t just about violating
Google’s ToS – ASA guidelines,
Google, CAP, other bloggers &
mixed messages are confusing
bloggers.
Bloggers who have posted on UKFB,
“The Secret Blogger”, UK Bloggers &
other boards have terrified other
bloggers that they will be penalised
and possibly sued/jailed

15. “Google Can Go To Hell”

16. So holy crap what do you do?
So WTF are
you
supposed
to do?!?

17. Sweeten it
to Win a
Bloggers
Heart

18. Successful Approaches

19. Over time,
bloggers
have become
more “savvy”
and less
amenable to
working
without
compensation

20. Chat with your
targets on the
phone after
initial email
contact
The way I pitch
things is carefully
worded but I make it
clear verbally what I
expect within the
law & guidelines

21. This is How I Do Successful Blogger Outreach
Now – here’s the thing:
I’m not going to write it down on slides
I’d appreciate it if you didn’t blog it
I’d be thankful if it was just something you learned
I’m hopeful you won’t tweet it
Thank you!

22. Invest in good
blogger
relationships

23. Example of an OK Sponsored
Post – disclosure, shares, non-
EMAT links

24. SEO
is a part of
Online
Marketing
which includes
PR.

25. I have decided to not work with bloggers based on:
Too many badges
EMAT
Too many sponsored posts
Beware – It Isn’t Always A Clear Path

26. WOAH!

27. http://www.mumreinvented.co.uk/

28. Don’t be
a jerk to
bloggers
Word
spreads
fast

29. SRSLY
Mark Hall???

30. Engage and Be Interested
Do not ask them outright to violate the ASA or
Google guidelines – honey catches more flies
than vinegar ;-)
Have a clear agreement by phone
Increase payment value as their value increases
Ensure brand shares content & feeds back
Stop with the competitions already
Always be polite
Cast your line further with better bait for the big
fishes
Steps to Blogger True Love

31. THANK YOU!

32. You Can Stalk Me Online
Twitter: @JudithLewis
@MostlyAboutChoc
LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/judithlewis
Google+: https://plus.google.com/117564004595435401158/
Web: http://www.decabbit.com
Blog: http://MostlyAboutChocolate.com
SEO Blog: http://www.SEO-Chicks.com
HuffPost: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/judith-lewis
...and the list goes on