From the SMX West Conference in San Jose, California, March 1-3, 2016. SESSION: Link Building Fundamentals. PRESENTATION: The Art and Science of Building Links - Given by Matt Siltala, @matt_siltala - Avalaunch Media, President. #SMX #14D

1. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala#SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
LINK BUILDING FUNDAMENTALS
SMX WEST 2016
THE ART & SCIENCE OF BUILDING LINKS
Matt Siltala | Avalaunch Media

2. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala#SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
AGENDA
UNNATURAL
Links
LINK
Popularity
LIGHTNING
Round
TACTICSPENALTIES &
Disavow
RANK
Brain

3. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala#SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
Algorithms &
LINK POPULARITY

4. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala#SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
MOST POPULAR SEARCH ENGINE?
Almost 70% of the world uses Google
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Excite
Lycos
Ask
AOL
Baidu
Yahoo
Bing
Google
Total Market Share
Total Market Share

5. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
Paid
Organic
Domain level links
Page level links
Page Level (Title, tags, content)
Mobile
Query data (long & short clicks)
Social media metrics
Location personalization
HOW ARE PAGES RANKED?
Over 200+ factors contribute

6. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala#SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
Most of the changes/filters are done to help DEFINE, EVALUATE
and RATE links and the pages they come from.
Authorship
Removed
Aug 28
“In the News”
Box
Oct 01
Penguin
Everflux
Dec 10
Authorship
Photo Drop
Jun 28
Page
Layout
Feb 06
Sep 23
Panda
4.1
Dec 22
Pigeon Expands
(UK, CA, AU)
Jun 12
Payday
Loan 3.0
Oct 17
Penguin
3.0
Mar 24
Unnamed
Update
May 19
Panda
4.0
Jul 24
Pigeon
Oct 21
Pirate
2.0
May 16
Payday
Loan 2.0
Aug 06
HTTPS/SSL
Update

7. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
There are four components of link popularity…
LINK POPULARITY
Link popularity measures the quality and quantity of links pointing to a
webpage.
Considered an off-page factor.
Engines weigh off-page factors more heavily than on-page*.
SLANG: Link Juice, Link Love, Link Pop, Link Equity

8. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
LINK POPULARITY
Four components and a lot of moving parts
QUANTITY QUALITY RELEVANCE ANCHOR
TEXT

9. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
LINK QUANTITY
The number of links pointing to a webpage from different websites/pages
A
B
D
E
YOUR
WEBSITE
C

10. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
LINK QUALITY
Determined by the authority of the host sites and the sites linking them
X
X
C
X
AX
X
BX
X
X
YOUR
WEBSITE

11. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala#SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
LINK QUALITY
All three engines have a formula to measure and compute quality
PageRank™ TrustRank NetRank

12. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
Quality pages have unique characteristics, they show:
WHAT MAKES A QUALITY PAGE?
The power of PageRank™ – Yep, it’s still around
Algorithms reward quality and factual accuracy*
AUTHORITY EXPERTISE TRUST

13. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
RELEVANCE
Establishes your topical and/or geographic dominance
Costa Rica
Vacation
Rentals
Baby
Strollers
Diamond
rings
petfinder
wfmz
pawlooza
huffingtonpost
app.pickering.ca
donatenow.networkforgood
peternity
somepuppytolove
saveacat reseausecoursanimalmontrea
LINK: PETFINDER.COM

14. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
RELEVANCE
Relevance is keyword, relationship and fact based
Relevance factors change constantly
as the index grows
Your relationships may influence
what is returned
Factual accuracy plays a part in
determining relevance

15. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala#SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
Anchor text is the clickable part of the link you see
My son and my money go to The College of William & Mary
My son spends a lot of money buying college text books
Visit us at www.poor-parents.org for more information
Anchor text is a query ranking factor
ANCHOR TEXT
An endorsement of what is to come
anchor text influences the
queries your website ranks for in
the search results”
GOOGLE
“ anchor text helps define the
theme of a linked page”
BING
“

16. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
Make your anchor text part of the conversation
ANCHOR TEXT
Hyperlink when it makes sense
Any links intended to manipulate… a site’s
ranking in Google search results may be
considered part of a link scheme and a violation
of Google’s Webmaster Guidelines.
Additionallym creating links that weren’t
editorially placed or vouched for by the site’s
owner on a page, otherwise known as unnatural
links, can be considered a violation of our
guidelines.”
- GOOGLE
Doesn’t matter what you
do, if Google thinks your
inbound links are anything
but editorial, YOU LOSE.
“

17. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala#SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
YOUR GOAL WHEN BUILDING LINKS:
QUANTITY
of links
QUALITY
pages
ANCHORS
conversational
RELEVANCE
audience

18. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala#SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
Unnatural
LINKS

19. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
Paid links
Large scale guest posting
Low quality directories
Footer links
Template links
“UNNATURAL” LINKS
What the search engines (especially Google) want you to avoid
Large-scale reciprocal linking
Press releases
Widgets & badges
Forum drops

20. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala#SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
Do not acquire a lot of the same links quickly
Avoid using same anchors over and over
Avoid linking with low quality pages
Avoid placing links in navigation and sponsored
areas
WHAT TO AVOID
Avoid these flags and footprints
Avoid pages/sites hosting excessive reciprocals
and template links
Avoid sites with excessive Adsense
Don’t make directory links (even niche directories)
a large part of your portfolio
Avoid sites with no Contact or About Us info

21. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
THINK BEFORE YOU LINK
Questions to ask
Is the page hosting your link in the search
index?
Been cached lately?
Do they use nofollow attributes?
Does the website participate in social media?
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Does the webpage rank for relevant keywords?
Is the website tied to a network?
Is the content relevant to my site?
Search “complaint” + URL?

22. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala#SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
Penalties &
DISAVOW

23. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
GOOGLE PENALTY OR ALGORITHM UPDATE
Not hard to figure out but bad either way
IF YOUR SITE:
OR
YOU EITHER HAVE:
OR
a manual penalty
affected by changes/filters to
an algorithm
disappeared from the search
results
lost ranking

24. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
MANUAL ACTION NOTICE
Google love notes in your Search Console … not so sweet

25. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala#SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
MANUAL ACTIONS
Two Types: site-wide and partial
Unnatural links pointing to your site
Hacked site
User generated spam in your blog/forum
Thin content with no value
Cloaking/spammy redirects
Hidden text/keyword stuffing

26. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
RECONSIDERATION
Asking Google to review your site after manual penalty (request a review)
A good reconsideration request does THREE THINGS:
Explains the exact quality issue on your site.
Describes the steps you’ve taken to fix the issue.
Documents the outcome of your efforts.

27. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
RANKINGS DROP DUE TO CHANGE IN ALGORITHM
How do you determine which search engine update affected you?
CHECK GOOGLE &
Other Analytics
GOOGLE ALGORITHM
Updates History

28. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala#SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
STEP
01
STEP
02
STEP
03
STEP
04
STEP
05
Pull Backlinks
Use links from WMT
and at least one
commercial tool.
Audit Backlinks
List unnatural links in
spreadsheet
Contact Info
Use a tool like
URLProfiler to pull
email from list of
unnatural links
Reach Out
Ask to remove
Repeat after 10 days
List no responses
(provide details!)
Disavow
Ask Google not to
take low-quality links
into account when
assessing.
It takes Google some time to process the information you’ve uploaded, (weeks!), these links will continue to be shown in your Search Console.
DISAVOW
Cleaning up and disavowing links

29. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
Watch your backlinks like you watch your rankings!
RANKINGS DROP
Watch, watch, watch
BE PROACTIVE, DON’T WAIT FOR A SLAP DOWN!
Analyze your website’s backlinks and identify
what caused your rankings drop.
Once you identify the links, try to remove them.
Disavow the ones you cannot get removed.

30. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala#SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
Link Building
TACTICS

31. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
It is less about what you do and more about where.
Links help get you ranked but clicks show you deserve to be
there.
You need to have something worth linking to.
REMEMBER THESE 3 SIMPLE FACTS
In link building

32. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala#SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE YOU LINK
And some tools to help
Does the page rank well?
RankRanger
AuthorityLabs
Does the site have a varied
backlink portfolio?
RavenTools
SEOBook Tool Set
OSE
Cache date recent?
CachedPages (free)
Content relevant to yours?
Buzzstream
Inbound links use a wide variety of
anchors?
Majestic
SEMRush
BacklinkWatch (free)
Lots of social signals from several
networks?
Sendible
Buzzsumo

33. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
Un-Linked Mentions
Citation Building
Resource Pages
Image Gifting
Image Galleries
Content Sourcing
Author Prospects & Curator Mining
Repurposing Content
Link Roundups
LINK BUILDING TACTICS
Reclaiming Broken LinksContent Outreach
(on your site & content you
send away)
Content Marketing
Tactics:
Foundational Tactics:
Credibility Links

34. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
LINK BUILDING TACTICS: CONTENT MARKETING

35. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
Foundational Tactics:
Reclaiming Broken Links
Un-Linked Mentions
Credibility Links
Citation Building
Resource Pages
Image Gifting
LINK BUILDING TACTICS

36. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
Help position you as a brand expert and credible, factual source
Identify your brand in an ever-growing link graph
Puts you on credible/authority sources
Tend not to change
Inexpensive to acquire
Content marketing SHOULD NOT be your only link building strategy!
FOUNDATIONAL LINKS:
Links get you ranked but clicks show you deserve to be there

37. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
Tactic twist: 404 pages
FOUNDATIONAL LINK TACTICS: RECLAIMING BROKEN LINKS
Tools: Citation Labs | Ontolo Tools | Check my Links (Chrome plug-in) | Fix what’s broke
Ontolo Tools:

38. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
Find unlinked mentions of your brand
Contact webmaster
Ask for hyperlink
NOT A BRAND?
Find unlinked keyword phrases (where it makes
sense)
Find mentions of out-of-business competitors
FLT: UNLINKED MENTIONS
TalkWalker | RankTank
TalkWalker

39. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
.
Find #1 site ranking for your keywords
Copy their name, address and telephone number
Search using quotes
Results are potential sites you can add your information to.
“excel spreadsheet” + citation building
Use competitors to find sources to add your site to
WhiteSpark
TIP
FOUNDATIONAL LINK TACTIC: CITATION BUILDING
Tools: WhiteSpark (Mentions of a business by name, address & telephone number)

40. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
Establish trust signals:
FOUNDATIONAL LINK TACTIC: CREDIBILITY LINKS
Establish trust, set expertise
Chamber of Commerce
Industry Associations
Better Business Bureau
Wikipedia*

41. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala#SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
Your keyword in url: LINKS
Your keyword in url: RESOURCES
“USEFUL LINKS” your keyword
“HELPFUL LINKS” your keyword
FLT: RESOURCE PAGES
Find opportunities on academic & government outlets
Tool: SoloSEO
(no charge) use ‘recommended” function

42. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
Search for blog posts and magazine
articles using your keywords.
Offer photo at no charge
Own the photo!
FOUNDATIONAL LINK TACTICS: IMAGE GIFTING
Giving the gift of an image to an article that needs it

43. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
Fun images help sell content
Creates memorable content
Stimulates linking!
FLT: IMAGE GOOD, CINEMAGRAPHS BETTER
Also known as a .gif
Make your own http://makeagif.com/
Backlink topical gif’s found in directories:
http://giphy.com/search/gif-directory

44. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
LINK BUILDING TACTICS: USING CONTENT
Content Outreach
(on your site & content you send away)
Image Galleries
Content Sourcing
Author Prospects & Curator Mining
Link Roundups
Repurposing Content
Content Marketing
Tactics
Repurposing Content

45. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala#SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
Do not over use keyword anchors in posts/articles/bios
Hyperlink conversationally.
Avoid blog networks.
Do not partner with a blog/site not using social media (especially
Google Plus and Twitter)
Do not partner with a blog/site that does not have an active
About Us page.
BEST PRACTICE: USING CONTENT TO ATTRACT LINKS
Don’t over do the anchors
L
I
N
K

46. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
WHAT IS HOT IN CONTENT OUTREACH?
Know what your audience wants to read & where they are reading it
LISTS VIDEOINFOGRAPHICS SURVEYSROUNDUPSPRODUCT
Reviews

47. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
Written reviews with images are most frequently linked to
(the longer the better)
Keep best reviews on your site, promote from there, unless…
Issue press release for substantial reviews
Target social networks for distribution
Bundle reviews into ebooks with email paywall
Reviews dominate on YouTube
CONTENT TACTIC: PRODUCT REVIEWS YOU CREATE
Highly sought after written & video content, taps factual

48. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
Search for older reviews
Back link, look for sources
Offer your “newer” review as a source, or
Write a comparison piece
CONTENT TACTIC: PRODUCT REVIEWS BY OTHERS
Use what other people have written to gain links
1
2
3
4

49. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala#SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
SEARCH FOR:
Daily Link Roundup + keyword
Link Roundup + keyword
Weekly Link Roundup + keyword
Identify blogs/sites in your niche doing
roundups, contact the owner and show
your very best content
Set an alert and let
roundups come to you
LINK ROUNDUPS
A collection of favorite posts from around the web
Ask to have your content
included in the roundup

50. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
LINK ROUNDUPS

51. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala#SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
CONTENT TACTIC: IMAGE GALLERIES
Let news media & publishers know. Conceptual, factual, & historical images

52. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
CONTENT TACTIC: FLICKR GALLERIES
Use Flickr to find images to backlink, or host your image gallery

53. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
CONTENT TACTIC: RECLAIMING IMAGES
Asking webmasters to link to images they “borrow”

54. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala#SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
CONTENT TACTIC: CURATOR MINING
Get your content added to curation outlet, use to find new sources
Paper.li
“paper.li + keyword”
Rebel Mouse
“rebelmouse + kw”
FlipBoard
“flipboard + kw”

55. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
CONTENT TACTIC: USING PINTEREST
Look for sources to host your content, look for writers, get yourself pinned
47%
RECOMMENDED
RATE

56. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
Tool Tip: https://drive.google.com/templates
CONTENT TACTIC: AUTHOR PROSPECTING
Find the writers, find the sources, hire them to write for you
FREELANCE
WRITER
+ Keyword
EDITOR
+ Keyword
CONTRIBUTOR
+ Keyword
COLUMNIST
+ Keyword
GUIDE
+ Keyword
WRITER
+ Keyword
AUTHOR
+ Keyword

57. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
CONTENT TACTIC: TRANSLATING CONTENT
Translate or add subtitles to audio/visual content, promote on media/social networks, look for “multicultural” and “international”
WEBINAR PODCAST VIDEO

58. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala#SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
In-depth article with images.
Evergreen piece.
PRODUCT
REVIEW Create presentation on each
section, add to SlideShare.
PRESENTATION SOCIAL MEDIA
SNIPPETS
Each blog post covers a
section of the review.
MULTIPLE BLOG
POSTS Create infographic
using steps in product
review
INFOGRAPHIC
Extended G+ posts, Tweet
series, posts on FB
CONTENT TACTIC: REPURPOSING CONTENT
Reach wider audience, attract links, drive more traffic, avoids duplicate content issues

59. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala#SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
Lightning
ROUND

60. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala#SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
Keep the key components of link popularity in mind when building links.
Don’t scrimp on a copywriter.
Make sure your links sit on mobile friendly sites/pages.
Invest in SEO/link tools after using free trials.
Create evergreen content that has been personalized for your target audience.
Add email capture to everything, look into “content for a tweet”.
Create “Knowledge Vault” quality content, Rank Brain.
Site uses nofollow but the link is worth having? Point it to your social profiles for traffic.
LIGHTNING ROUND: INSIGHTS 2015

61. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala#SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
Contests, sponsorships, scholarships, etc – all good ideas but one-off, time sensitive tactics.
Follow key media on Twitter and LinkedIn. Engage!
Fax press releases directly to media, forget the press release submission outlets.
Local media outlets love, love, love interviews.
Media doesn’t link out except when they have to. Images are that exception.
HARO (Help A Reporter Out) great resource but be quick! <3 hours
HARO not the only site of its kind, do “similar” search
LIGHTNING ROUND
Good tips

62. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
Keep an eye on the sites ranking behind you.
Yes, that’s right, behind you.
They are the webmasters looking to unseat you, they want your spot in the serps.
Watch what they are doing, follow on social media.
Load their domain/brand names in your alert services.
LIGHTNING ROUND
My best tips

63. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
MATT SILTALA
Avalaunch Media
Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.
THANK YOU!
- HENRY FORD

64. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala#SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
THANK YOU!
SEE YOU AT THE NEXT SMX!
SMX ADVANCED: JUNE 22-23, 2016
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

65. #SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala#SMX #14D @Matt_Siltala
https://www.netmarketshare.com/search-engine-market-share.aspx?qprid=4&qpcustomd=0
http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2007/03/get-more-complete-picture-about-how.html
http://www.bing.com/webmaster/help/webmaster-guidelines-30fba23a
http://arxiv.org/pdf/1502.03519v1.pdf
http://makeagif.com/
http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2014/03/pinterest-encourages-shoppers-with-new-gift-feed.html
http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/flickr-stats/
https://cefait01.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/slow-blink.gif
RESOURCES