The same shifts we've seen in machine learning, deep learning, and user behavior are coming to the link world. In this presentation, Rand explores what it means for SEOs, and how to combine long and short term strategy to win the SERPs

1. Rand Fishkin, Wizard of Moz | @randfish | rand@moz.com
Link Building’s Tipping Point
The same shifts we’ve seen in query & content evaluation are coming to
links. What does it mean for SEO? And how can marketers react?

2. Slides:
Bit.ly/linktippoint

3. Where Link Evaluation
Algorithms Have Been…

4. PageRank

5. Source Diversity

6. Anchor Text

7. Trust Distance

8. Domain Authority

9. Location on Page

10. Spam Outlink Analysis

11. And Dozens More Individual Factors
Outlink Propensity
Rate of Link Acquisition
Nofollow vs. Follow
Links in Images
Link Density
Content Relevance
Website Relevance
Trust Factors
Co-Citation
Content Duplication
Links within Tags
Geography of Host
Surrounding Text
Surrounding Text

12. Where We Believe
They’re Going Next…

13. From Reasonable Surfer to
All-Seeing Eye
Together we see all…
We know all…
There is no escape…

14. Google knows where
visit paths begin…
Where they
go next…
And where
they end up.

15. Their Goal is Searcher Satisfaction

16. Google’s Core Search team is
always asking the same question:
Are searchers satisfied with these
results?
How do they get the answer?...
Aggregate Behavioral Data

17. Do searchers, on average, click the
results we rank highly more than the
results we rank lower?
Aggregate Behavioral Data
35% of clicks
19% of clicks
11% of clicks
All Good!

18. Do many searchers click on nothing at
all, and instead change their query, or
choose a “related search?”
Aggregate Behavioral Data
If it’s these, maybe we show more
results for commercial &
manufacturing equipment up front.

19. Do searchers, on average, “short-click”
some results, while “long-clicking”
others?
Aggregate Behavioral Data
If clicks on Probake.com results in a
quick return to the SERPs
While the NYTimes.com piece gets
high engagement w/ few bounces…
Google might swap their rankings

20. Not Sure You Should Believe Me?
Here’s Google Ranking Engineer Paul Haahr:
Via Paul Haahr

21. Machine and Deep-Learning Models
Sites & pages that
satisfy searchers
Sites & pages that
don’t satisfy
searchers
Sites & pages that
link to these good
resources
Sites & pages that
link to these poor
resources
ML model to identify
traits highly
predictive of good
vs. bad links

22. ML Models Can Apply to Spam, Too
Editorial, high value,
search-quality-team,
hand-reviewed links
Links that point to good
stuff, but are
manipulative, sketchy,
paid, or coerced
ML model to identify
traits highly
predictive of good
vs. bad links

23. Domain Reputation & Author Authority
Based on what
Techcrunch links to &
its own link attributes,
Google may vary the
ranking equity passed
by its outlinks

24. Domain Reputation & Author Authority
But, Google might assign
different weight to articles in
different subsections, or
different authors.
e.g. Samuel Scott’s links
may deserve to pass value
“Anonymous executive”…
not so much.

25. Google’s Transforming Itself into a Company
Built Around Learning Models
Via Backchannel

26. To Build a Sustainable
Link Strategy for the Future,
Every Marketer Needs…

27. A Strategic Roadmap
Link
Goals
Strategic
Approach
Tactical
Initiatives
KPIs/
Metrics

28. An Example…
@randfish

29. This is my kinda
website!
A) Mustachio’d
mascot
B) Pasta-centric
C) Solid reviews

30. LineaPasta’s Long-Term Link Strategy
Rank in search
for key terms
and earn direct
traffic from
linking
endorsements
Apply a product-
centric link strategy.
Use our
partnerships &
endorsements by
chefs, restaurants,
& media to earn
links.
Outreach to current
partners, sales
mentions to
restaurant buyers,
leverage founder’s
contacts w/ chefs,
PR w/ media
1. Links from our
partners
2. Links &
mentions from
media/press
3. Rankings for
key terms
4. Search visits
Link
Goals
Strategic
Approach
Tactical
Initiatives
KPI
Metrics

31. We Also Need…
@randfish

32. Buy-In on Experimentation
Via PointBlankSEO and Allie Brown
Link tactics like an
event photo gallery
might work, but it also
might fall flat. Link
building needs room to
try and fail.

33. The Right Expectations Regarding
Time-to-ROI
Via WB Friday

34. A Balance Between Long-Term
Investments & Short-Term Hacks
High upfront costs Pay (in time/$$) as you go
Long-Term Investments
Slow to show ROI
Earn links while you sleep
Non-existent Spam Risk
Can Show Fast ROI
Effort In = Links Out
Can Have Spam Risk
Short-Term Hacks

35. Long-Term Link
Strategies that Work5

36. The Community/UGC Path
@randfish

37. Enable a platform where a community earns value
by contributing content, products, ideas, reviews,
submissions, etc.
How Does It Work?
Invest in amplification of the contributions
Nudge your contributors to drive the links
1
2
3

38. This is Yelp

39. It’s TripAdvisor

40. It’s Etsy

41. It’s Medium

42. It’s Dribbble

43. It’s Memeorandum

44. It’s ProductHunt

45. It’s Ravelry

46. It’s ForexFactory

47. The Press & Media Path
@randfish

48. Focus on people, a product, an industry, or a
problem that naturally attracts press interest
How Does It Work?
Leverage the fundamentals of fame, controversy,
storytelling, etc. to amplify
Associate your narrative with the keywords most
important to your search traffic
1
2
3

49. This is Tesla

50. It’s Warby Parker

51. It’s Dollar Shave Club

52. It’s Uber

53. It’s Goldie Blox

54. It’s Simple

55. It’s Glowforge

56. The Embed Path
@randfish

57. Create a platform (media, commerce, etc) or
product (tools, graphics, forms, etc) that works via
installation on 3rd-party websites
How Does It Work?
Build the initial audience that uses your embed and
helps it to reach broad adoption
Leverage the embed’s format to earn the right links
to the right places
1
2
3

58. This is Slideshare

59. It’s Vimeo

60. It’s Typeform

61. It’s RottenTomatoes

62. It’s Walkscore

63. It’s TradingView

64. The Partnership/Alliance Path
@randfish

65. Find an audience for your service that forms links
alongside the partnership/relationship
How Does It Work?
Craft a common structure for the ask or nudge you use in
the partnership (in the contract, with a suggested style,
logo use, citation requirements, etc.)
Vary link destination & anchor text over time & across
partners to give boosts where you need them
1
2
3

66. This is ReturnPath

67. It’s FullContact

68. It’s Trulia

69. It’s Box

70. It’s Sendgrid

71. It’s Otis Elevators

72. The Content Marketing Path
@randfish

73. Publish content that has high chances of earning
natural links & citations from others
How Does It Work?
Market your content through channels that reach
the audiences most likely to link
Grow a scalable process for amplification to
continue attracting new potential link sources
1
2
3

74. This is Eater

75. It’s Master of Malt

76. It’s Wordstream

77. It’s Collectors Weekly

78. It’s Politifact

79. It’s GrooveHQ

80. It’s Polygon

81. It’s KPCB

82. Why Isn’t Manual Link
Acquisition Strategic?
@randfish

83. Find places to get links (competitors’ link profiles,
directories, broken links, et al)
How Does It Work?
Figure out ways to acquire each link
Move on to the next potential source on the list
1
2
3

84. Manual Links Don’t Scale w/ Decreasing
Friction
Directory Links
Broken Links
1:1 Email Link Outreach
Guest Post Links
Profile Account Links
Same Work Required
Day 3 as Day 300

85. These 5 Strategies Do:
Community/UGC Path
Press & Media Path
Embed Path
Partnership/Alliance Path
Content Marketing Path
Over time, less work
yields more links

86. Great Link Builders Focus
on Their Flywheel

87. Moz’s
Flywheel
KW Research +
Industry Intuition
Publish
Content
Promote via
Social Channels
Push to email +
RSS subscribers
Earn Links +
Amplification
Grow social, email,
RSS, & WoM channels
Grow Domain
Authority
Earn Search &
Referral Traffic
Rank for More
Competitive KWs

88. KW Research +
Industry Intuition
Publish
Content
Promote via
Social Channels
Push to email +
RSS subscribers
Earn Links +
Amplification
Grow social, email,
RSS, & WoM channels
Grow Domain
Authority
Earn Search &
Referral Traffic
Rank for More
Competitive KWs
In 2006, I was lucky if
new content led to any
links or rankings at all

89. KW Research +
Industry Intuition
Publish
Content
Promote via
Social Channels
Push to email +
RSS subscribers
Earn Links +
Amplification
Grow social, email,
RSS, & WoM channels
Grow Domain
Authority
Earn Search &
Referral Traffic
Rank for More
Competitive KWs
But, by 2016, nearly every
post earns a handful of
links, & some earn a lot!

90. Moz is a Business Built on Content

91. Dollar Shave Club
was Built on a Press
& Media Flywheel
Via NYTimes

92. Dribbble was Built on a UGC/Community
Flywheel

93. But… Almost Every Flywheel Finds
a Point (or Points) of Friction
Publish
Content
Promote via
Social Channels
Push to email +
RSS subscribers
Crap… We’re not reaching anyone
who will link/amplify us 

94. Link Building Growth Hacks
Can Accelerate a Flywheel

95. Hacks aren’t necessarily evil, spammy,
or without value.
They can be highly useful when applied
to a sound link strategy.

96. 10 of My Favorite Hacks
@randfish

97. #1: Republishing
Take an existing
piece of content
Re-create a part or
the whole
Create additional traffic, reach,
and/or rankings
X
Xa
Xb
Xc
3X

98. Medium is a great cheat-code for this:
Via Medium
The built in network, the ability to
use rel=canonical (and/or link to
the original post), and the domain’s
ranking ability make it a sweet
republishing platform.

99. More Republishing Tips & Tactics
in this Webinar:
Via Mozinar

100. #2: Guest Contributions
Via LitHub
The best guest posting advice I’ve ever read

101. A Tactical Tip for Guest Contributions:
The language you use in
these queries matters
“submit post”
“guest blog”
“guest post”
Often Sketchy Usually Solid
“share your story”
“write for *”
“guest author”

102. #3: Local Links
Geography can be a big
link opportunity… But it
can be a process to find
potential sources. Try
this:
Let’s say you’re Ace
Spirits, just off Main
Street in Hopkins, MN

103. Step 1: Find the two
most popular, similar
businesses in your
region.
We’ll skip chains,
since Ace is a
single-store, and go
with Surdyk’s and
Zipps (they have the
most reviews)

104. Step 2: Use a combined query for
those businesses plus the region
Boom! A link opportunity.
And another one.
And another!
It goes on like this for page after page
We can repeat this with combinations of
all the other competitors, too

105. PSA: Be cautious visiting online liquor stores
late at night while building slide decks…
I’ve become a
cautionary tale…

106. But, then I got this note from the owner


107. #4: Small Site/Content Acquisitions
Likely a very inexpensive purchase that
adds lots of high-relevance visitors
Via OSE &
Similarweb ProMore details about this tactic in my blog post

108. #5: Be Someone Else’s Press
Via Peach and RetailWorks

109. #6: Bio Links
Anchor links on my bio led to rankings for
G’s blog, as the bio was republished

110. #7: Resource Lists (& Directories)
Once again, language
structure matters
“directory”
“submit link”
“add your site”
“add url”
Often Sketchy Usually Solid
“resource list”
“recommended sites”
“inurl:resources”
“KW + websites”

111. #8a: Testimonials
You don’t have to wait to
be asked. If there’s a
product, service, or
company you love, email
the founders or folks on
marketing and offer an
unsolicited testimonial.
Via Buzzstream Discovery

112. #8b: Case Studies
If you’re up for a heavier
commitment, offering to be
a vendor’s case study is
another strong path
Via Bynder

113. #9: Brand, Image, & Content Reclamation
If you have content (particularly logos,
brand names, or visuals) that have
widespread use, ID’ing pages with
them that don’t link back can be an
easy, powerful link grabVia Vertical Measures (who does, BTW, link back)

114. For visuals, my
best results come
from “search
Google for image”
(e.g. 200+ vs. 5 in
G Images & 7 in
Tinyeye)

115. Using FWE, you can run
queries for unlinked
mentions, like this
Better yet, set up an alert
so you get notified as
they happen
Via FreshWebExplorer

116. #10: Orthogonal Alignments
Your website
& business
Social Causes
Geographic
Connections
Network
Connections
Artistic
Intersections
Accessibility
Programs
Founder
Attributes
Technology
Applications
Employee
Programs
Sponsorship
or Support

117. Artistic Intersections
There are literally thousands of
web design galleries focusing
on various aspects – mobile,
web, responsive, use of CSS,
use of JS, etc.
Via BestWeb &
MediaQueri.es

118. Social Causes
Where your businesses values
overlap with causes (e.g. Moz &
Women in Tech), there’s great
opportunity to support visibly &
earn link value
Via GSBA &
50/50 Pledge

119. Sponsorship / Support
If you host events, sponsor groups,
help charities, etc, links are often a
nice byproductVia StartupGrind & Ronald
McDonald House

120. My Final Advice:
Align Your Strategy to Where
Google & Users Are Going.

121. Ask: Do your links mimic how people
might find you without search?
The NYTimes writing a feature
about pasta machines might be a
strong starting point for
restauranteurs & chefs in need
Via NYTimes

122. Ask: Are your link sources pointing to
content searchers find valuable?
By its very nature, sites like Hacker
News (despite the nofollows) indicate
a degree of value provided to the
audience by the links (and rankings
tend to follow)
Via YCombinator

123. Ask: Will your link profile pass Google’s
machine-learning smell test?
Think of learning models like savvy
SEOs manually reviewing your link
profile by hand. If they think “this all
looks legit,” you’re probably in good
shape. If not…
Via OSE

124. If your strategy fails to align, you
may have a long-term issue w/
Google’s evolving link algorithms.

125. Link building is far from dead.
Links are still critical to rank.

126. The best marketers will combine
long-term strategy & short term
hacks to win the SERPs.

127. Slides: bit.ly/linktippoint
Follow Rand: Twitter.com/randfish
Rand’s Blog: Moz.com/rand
Thank You!