This presentation is from Affiliate Summit East 2014 (August 10-12, 2014 New York City). Session Description: Overview of cutting edge link building tactics. How to leverage current events & trending topics, reverse content marketing, publisher relationship building and a discussion of pitfalls to avoid.

1. Link Graph – Map of the Web
Statistical analysis of link graph can show:
•a. Connections between sites & groups of sites
•b. Connections between web pages
•c. Connections between semantic parts of a web page and other web
page sections
•d. Reveals hierarchical structure of the web, like a directory

2. Figure 4 shows the distribution of
outbound links.
The blue oval denotes web pages
with unusual numbers of
outbound links (outliers).
A review of the blue sites showed
they were almost all spam sites.
http://www.martinibuster.com/?p=247

3. Typical statistical calculations & observations
•Number of inbound or outbound links
•Number of anchor text used for inbound links
•Discovery of groups: Link spam forms tight communities

4. Me: Can I have that with no cheese, please?
Waiter: By no cheese, do you mean absolutely no cheese?
Rule of thumb
Any link where you can dictate or control the anchor text or placement
of the link may be considered spam and may get your site penalized.
Goal
A positive approach is to create a reason for a link.

5. Top Link Building Mistakes
a. PageRank
Toolbar PageRank, like all tools by Google, has limitations built in to prevent it’s use as an SEO tool
for ranking better.
b. Third party metrics
Many third party metrics are focused on metrics associated with sites that tend to rank well. This often
results in low scores for high quality sites that are not trying to influence rankings. The irony is that
Google's goal is to rank sites that are not trying to rank well.
C. Quantity
Top ranking is not a contest of which site has the most links. Indiscriminate link acquisition is useless
at best and may trigger a penalty at worst.

6. Top Link Building Suggestions
a.Conservative outreach
Think about ways to make your site worthy of a link, such as resources, *relevant articles, product
sections, reviews, tests, photos, community
b.Build awareness
Outreach to tell others can be fine. But be aware of risks.
Awareness building doesn’t necessarily mean obtaining do-follow links
c.Seek authority: you are defined by the company you keep.
Contact industry associations and organizations to suggest a link to your resources or participation in
their newsletters, blogs, and magazines (both online/offline, with or without a hyperlink, regardless if
do-follow or no-follow).

7. The no-link link building paradigm
a.Magazine offline?
No problem!
b.Links no-followed?
No problem!
c.Links are not hyperlinks?
No problem!
Build awareness. Awareness creates trust, brand, and links. Social networks,
blogs, news sites or word of mouth are useful to your promotional efforts.

8. How to approach industry associations
a. Start at the national level then work your way down to the state level
b. Once you have published in national level it makes it easier to secure
regional/state level projects. Mention previous projects in your outreach.
c. Once you have published in regional/state level it makes it easier to get
county/city level link projects
The direction can be reversed (city – state – region – national). But for some
niches there’s more resistance at the local level. Test the waters!

9. Get in the news!
HARO (Help a Reporter Out)
- Warning: Never do an anonymous HARO
- Warning: Do not make HARO cornerstone of link building. It's a supplement
- Warning: Do not request anchor text
- Research author prior to answering a HARO request
a. search author + name of online periodical
b. Review previously published articles (looking for signs of spam)
c. If articles pass review then answer the HARO request
d. Goal is the occasional high quality project

10. Cultivate evangelists
Evangelists are folks who recommend products like yours
•Consultants
•Bloggers
•IT professionals
•Department managers
•Industry associations
•Sales professionals

12. Industry conference networking
1. Not necessary to speak at industry conferences
2. Attend industry conferences
3. Network with retailers because:
a. Most have blogs you can publish in
b. A well read or respected blog puts you top of mind at the publisher and in the minds of
those reading their blog, typically their clients.
4. Invite experts to be interviewed on your own blog
Research vendors & speakers online prior to conference. Identify those that are active
with social media, press releases, blogs and otherwise actively promoting themselves.
They will actively promote your blog interview.

13. Industry conference networking
5. Experts can be invited to publish on your blog
Experts are link magnets. Publish their article then contact other bloggers and sites that are
interested in this expert and links will pour in.
6. Invest in a quality business card
a. Spend money on a business card with impact: Good paper stock and a good design.
b. A poor business card will undo all the goodwill you have cultivated through personal networking
c. A good business card makes a lasting positive impression.
D. Hand write a call to action on the business card so what was spoken is remembered.
“Let's work on an interview!”
“Looking forward to publishing your article!”

14. Establish credibility
► Social media
► LinkedIn and Facebook
► Blog
► Leverage peers

15. About Roger Montti
- Independent web publisher
- Link development moderator at WebmasterWorld.com since 2003
- Winner of BusinessWeek Magazine Best of the Web Award
- Advanced Link Building Newsletter: http://www.martinibuster.com/newsletter/