How I took a gamble on 'big' content for link building. My presentation for BrightonSEO April 2013.

1. go big or go home…
Hannah Smith
@hannah_bo_banna

2. …a phrase usually used to
goad someone into an
outlandish or awesome act
@hannah_bo_banna

3. @hannah_bo_banna

4. …actually often said act is
pretty dumb
@hannah_bo_banna

5. @hannah_bo_banna

6. today‟s not about
big drinking
@hannah_bo_banna

7. today’s about
big content
@hannah_bo_banna

8. WTF?!
@hannah_bo_banna

9. expensive
content
@hannah_bo_banna

10. WTF?!
@hannah_bo_banna

11. takes more than
40 hours
to create
@hannah_bo_banna

12. plus
further time
to outreach
@hannah_bo_banna

13. sounds like a
gamble?
@hannah_bo_banna

14. funnily
enough
@hannah_bo_banna

15. I used to be a
betting shop manager
@hannah_bo_banna

16. @hannah_bo_banna

17. gambling is a
mug‟s game
@hannah_bo_banna

18. which presents something
of a problem
@hannah_bo_banna

19. because investing in
big content
@hannah_bo_banna

20. is a major
gamble
@hannah_bo_banna

21. and I am
risk averse
@hannah_bo_banna

22. this is the story of how
I learned to embrace
gambling
@hannah_bo_banna

23. but first,
some context…
@hannah_bo_banna

24. @hannah_bo_banna

25. it was always a competitive
niche…
@hannah_bo_banna

26. Jan 2012:
we‟d been working
together for over a year…
@hannah_bo_banna

27. „small‟
content
@hannah_bo_banna

28. @hannah_bo_banna

29. + some guest blogging
@hannah_bo_banna

30. consistent
results
@hannah_bo_banna

31. then
@hannah_bo_banna

32. @hannah_bo_banna

33. @hannah_bo_banna

34. @hannah_bo_banna

35. @hannah_bo_banna

36. it got
@hannah_bo_banna

37. @hannah_bo_banna

38. @hannah_bo_banna

39. the stuff we were doing
@hannah_bo_banna

40. playing it
safe
@hannah_bo_banna

41. small
content
@hannah_bo_banna

42. small
gamble
@hannah_bo_banna

43. small
reward
@hannah_bo_banna

44. these consistent
results
@hannah_bo_banna

45. were not going to be
enough
@hannah_bo_banna

46. to really
compete
@hannah_bo_banna

47. the client was
happy
@hannah_bo_banna

48. the client was
happy
@hannah_bo_banna

49. the client was
happy
@hannah_bo_banna

50. but we were on
borrowed
time
@hannah_bo_banna

51. go big
or go home?
@hannah_bo_banna

52. sounds
risky
@hannah_bo_banna

53. remember, I‟m
risk averse
@hannah_bo_banna

54. but
@hannah_bo_banna

55. is it really a
gamble?
@hannah_bo_banna

56. maybe not when you‟re the
agency
@hannah_bo_banna

57. but you still need to
persuade
the client…
@hannah_bo_banna

58. they are the ones that
stand to
lose
@hannah_bo_banna

59. @hannah_bo_banna

60. they agreed to a test

@hannah_bo_banna

61. don‟t expect the client to
pay more
@hannah_bo_banna

62. we pitched to go
slower
@hannah_bo_banna

63. moved from a 4 week
content cycle
to an 8 week content cycle
@hannah_bo_banna

64. we absorbed some
risk
@hannah_bo_banna

65. we
over-delivered
@hannah_bo_banna

66. like
crazy
@hannah_bo_banna

67. we
figured
@hannah_bo_banna

68. if we could
prove
it worked
@hannah_bo_banna

69. we could pitch for
more
money later
@hannah_bo_banna

70. it was a
gamble
@hannah_bo_banna

71. but that nag
romped
home
@hannah_bo_banna

72. @hannah_bo_banna

73. 148
linking root domains
@hannah_bo_banna

74. what
happened
next
@hannah_bo_banna

75. it‟s not about going
big
once
@hannah_bo_banna

76. @hannah_bo_banna

77. 101
linking root domains
@hannah_bo_banna

78. @hannah_bo_banna

79. @hannah_bo_banna

80. 79
linking root domains
@hannah_bo_banna

81. @hannah_bo_banna

82. @hannah_bo_banna

83. 74
linking root domains
@hannah_bo_banna

84. @hannah_bo_banna

85. @hannah_bo_banna

86. 197
linking root domains
@hannah_bo_banna

87. @hannah_bo_banna

88. @hannah_bo_banna

89. 55
linking root domains
@hannah_bo_banna

90. @hannah_bo_banna

91. @hannah_bo_banna

92. 188
linking root domains
@hannah_bo_banna

93. @hannah_bo_banna

94. @hannah_bo_banna

95. 6
linking root domains
(don‟t panic, it‟s new)
@hannah_bo_banna

96. it‟s not been the
smoothest
ride
@hannah_bo_banna

97. 250
200
150
100
50
0
Linking Root Domains
@hannah_bo_banna

98. however
@hannah_bo_banna

99. per £1 invested in
content
& outreach
@hannah_bo_banna

100. we‟re now building
more than
double
the number of links
@hannah_bo_banna

101. we‟re twice as
effective
now as when we were
playing it safe
@hannah_bo_banna

102. but it‟s not just about
links
@hannah_bo_banna

103. results you actually
care
about
@hannah_bo_banna

104. Jan 2012
versus
Jan 2013
@hannah_bo_banna

105. improved
rankings
for head terms
@hannah_bo_banna

106. @hannah_bo_banna

107. @hannah_bo_banna

108. 45% increase
in organic traffic
@hannah_bo_banna

109. increased
conversions
@hannah_bo_banna

110. conversions are
money
#justsayin
@hannah_bo_banna

111. happy
client
@hannah_bo_banna

112. @hannah_bo_banna

113. 5 tips for
going big
or how to avoid going home
@hannah_bo_banna

114. @hannah_bo_banna

115. your content needs to
support the brand‟s
positioning
@hannah_bo_banna

116. in order to get
sign off
@hannah_bo_banna

117. & in order to be
repeatable
@hannah_bo_banna

118. „whacky‟
ideas
@hannah_bo_banna

119. cost too much
time
@hannah_bo_banna

120. & are hard to
repeat
@hannah_bo_banna

121. @hannah_bo_banna

122. evergreen content is far
less risky
@hannah_bo_banna

123. @hannah_bo_banna

124. use your best idea
first
@hannah_bo_banna

125. but have plenty more in
your
back pocket
@hannah_bo_banna

126. it‟s not about going
big
once
@hannah_bo_banna

127. @hannah_bo_banna

128. set benchmarks for
„success‟
@hannah_bo_banna

129. before
launch
@hannah_bo_banna

130. @hannah_bo_banna

131. don‟t believe the
hype
@hannah_bo_banna

132. “great content produces
out-sized
returns”
@hannah_bo_banna

133. one cold
email
@hannah_bo_banna

134. @hannah_bo_banna

135. sadly, that only happens
sometimes
@hannah_bo_banna

136. great content gets you
top-tier
guest posts
@hannah_bo_banna

137. @hannah_bo_banna

138. @hannah_bo_banna

139. @hannah_bo_banna

140. a word of
warning
@hannah_bo_banna

141. I was hoping to build a
flywheel
@hannah_bo_banna

142. #naive
@hannah_bo_banna

143. nevertheless
@hannah_bo_banna

144. investing in
big content
@hannah_bo_banna

145. is a major
gamble
@hannah_bo_banna

146. that can
pay off
@hannah_bo_banna

147. & if you too are in a
rut
@hannah_bo_banna

148. small
content
@hannah_bo_banna

149. small
gamble
@hannah_bo_banna

150. small
reward
@hannah_bo_banna

151. & it‟s not
enough
@hannah_bo_banna

152. to really
compete
@hannah_bo_banna

153. @hannah_bo_banna

154. @hannah_bo_banna

155. @hannah_bo_banna

156. HANNAH SMITH
Caffeine Addict
SEOmoz Associate
Writer for State of Search & SEO Chicks
Principal Consultant, Distilled
hannah.smith@distilled.net
@hannah_bo_banna

157. Image Credits
Shots - http://www.thethirstypig.com/2011/01/13/100-shots-at-blue-frog-%E8%93%9D%E8%9B%99/
Please drink responsibly - http://lmaotwitpics.com/2012/12/27/drink-responsibly/
Ladbrokes - http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaggers/8047471537/sizes/l/
F*ck Yeah - http://www.fastcodesign.com/1669791/infographic-the-rise-of-tumblrs-fuck-yeah-movement
1 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/204714598/sizes/l/in/set-72157594159394280/
2 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/5489483429/sizes/l/in/set-72157594159392957/
3 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/94877877/sizes/l/in/set-72157594159391763/
4 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/5122443605/sizes/l/in/set-72157594159390514/
5 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/4322212584/sizes/l/in/set-72157594159389491/
Clock - http://digitalbloggers.com/gregfionascott/how-to-stop-procrastinating/
Your best shot - http://www.forbes.com/sites/jessicahagy/2012/10/04/40-things-to-say-before-you-die/2/
Go big or go home - http://kristiehuey.com/GO-BIG
@hannah_bo_banna