When I posted my directory recommendations before, I left out Best of the Web (based on its price, not its quality). Thanks to Brian Prince for sending me a heads-up on some things that make submitting there a lot more attractive:
I appreciate the suggestion of offering a directory submission option without a recurring fee, which we launched on BOTW in August. You commented that you felt the price point is a bit high at $99.95 â but please understand that this is the âretailâ or standard price. We offer a reseller program with recurring commissions of 25%, so anyone who signs up for the reseller plan can immediately get the one-time listing price discounted 25% to $74.95. In addition, one of the BOTW traditions is to offer substantial monthly promotions (up to 50% off or two for one listings, etc) to all existing customers â so once you are a BOTW client, there are many ways to save on the directory costs of a submission.
Last but not least, I would like to reiterate that Best of the Web has a FREE Non-Commercial submission program (in constrast to most âotherâ directories) for webmasterâs marketing non-profit and non-commercial sites. We feel that this is a big differentiator between us and other tier-two directories within the industry, and hopefully respected SEO gurus such as yourself also value this community effort.
I think their willingness to review non-profit sites for free is a good quality indicator, since it shows they are making an honest attempt to categorize the world's Web sites, not just make an easy buck.
Bottom line: consider BotW along with the others.
p.s. Another great thing about Best of the Web is its age -- it's been around forever and Google seems to heavily favor age and trust these days. Speaking of their non-commercial free submission policy, I'm going to go submit my pet project (s) there!
miércoles, 19 de octubre de 2005
lunes, 17 de octubre de 2005
Eric Ward on the Hyperlink Hot Seat
Eric Ward is one of the most well-known names in linking. To learn more about his services, visit Net Post or URLwire.
1. I know you've done link building for a lot of high profile sites (such as Amazon.com). That aside, which of your past link building campaigns was the most fun for you?
A cable TV network had a web site with companion web content, and they ran an online contest, the "Three Stooges Year Supply of Pies" contest from American Movie Classics. As a kid I loved the Stooges, but hadn't really researched them online. I dug into it was amazed to find fan pages, discussion lists, forum boards, etc. that Stoggtes fans had created. And when I contacted them they were quite excited. What's funny is that the links to the contest page I was able to obtain were 100% about people, not bots. I never pursue links based on some hoped-for algorithmic ranking boost.
2. Do you think that there are aspects of link building that the average webmaster just doesn't "get"?
Most webmasters understand links, especially since they likely receive 1,000 spam link request a day. :) But what I see them missing is an understanding of the power of editorial based links to drive topically interested people. They are consumed with SEO and links.
3. Link building can sometimes get to be a tedious task. Do you ever feel like you need a break from it?
Only when I'm working. Serisously, there are some projects that do make my eyes bleed. But then I get a fun one and the response is such that I smile again.
4. Tell us a bit about your upcoming link building seminar.
Plan is to do an intensive day-long linking workshop in Charlotte. I'm teaming up with Debra Mastaler for this. She is one of the most cerebral link builders I've even known, and also a really fine person, and between the two of us hopefully we can put a few people in the seats and help them learn to link, without too much pain and suffering.
5. Maybe in order to understand mankind, we have to look at the word itself: "Mankind". Basically, it's made up of two separate words - "mank" and "ind". What do you these words really mean?
That you'd better make sure to double check your anchor text.
1. I know you've done link building for a lot of high profile sites (such as Amazon.com). That aside, which of your past link building campaigns was the most fun for you?
A cable TV network had a web site with companion web content, and they ran an online contest, the "Three Stooges Year Supply of Pies" contest from American Movie Classics. As a kid I loved the Stooges, but hadn't really researched them online. I dug into it was amazed to find fan pages, discussion lists, forum boards, etc. that Stoggtes fans had created. And when I contacted them they were quite excited. What's funny is that the links to the contest page I was able to obtain were 100% about people, not bots. I never pursue links based on some hoped-for algorithmic ranking boost.
2. Do you think that there are aspects of link building that the average webmaster just doesn't "get"?
Most webmasters understand links, especially since they likely receive 1,000 spam link request a day. :) But what I see them missing is an understanding of the power of editorial based links to drive topically interested people. They are consumed with SEO and links.
3. Link building can sometimes get to be a tedious task. Do you ever feel like you need a break from it?
Only when I'm working. Serisously, there are some projects that do make my eyes bleed. But then I get a fun one and the response is such that I smile again.
4. Tell us a bit about your upcoming link building seminar.
Plan is to do an intensive day-long linking workshop in Charlotte. I'm teaming up with Debra Mastaler for this. She is one of the most cerebral link builders I've even known, and also a really fine person, and between the two of us hopefully we can put a few people in the seats and help them learn to link, without too much pain and suffering.
5. Maybe in order to understand mankind, we have to look at the word itself: "Mankind". Basically, it's made up of two separate words - "mank" and "ind". What do you these words really mean?
That you'd better make sure to double check your anchor text.
miércoles, 12 de octubre de 2005
Vary Your Links' Descriptions, Or Else
I think most good SEOs have been varying link descriptions for some time now. It's just another thing we can do to make our links look "natural". Admittedly I've never been one to use 100 descriptions when I get 100 links -- but I would try to use 5 or 10 variations, for instance.
This is one of those SEO methods that we say is forward-looking. I.e., in 2001 when a lot of people did this, you better believe it didn't matter. It really didn't. But as long as you're building links, why not build links that will probably still help in 5 years?
5 years later, it matters. I just came across this WMW thread , where Robert Charlton says:At SES, in the search engines' linking session, Matt Cutts was very explicit that Google looks at the uniqueness of descriptions when evaluating links. For a bunch of reasons outside the scope of this thread, I'm very much inclined to believe him.In other words: showing links with many duplicate descriptions is almost certainly evidence of aggressive link building, and it appears Google is filtering / devaluing those links. Note: MSN probably isn't. But they may in 2007 ;-)
Bottom line: if you aren't already, start varying your links' descriptions!
This is one of those SEO methods that we say is forward-looking. I.e., in 2001 when a lot of people did this, you better believe it didn't matter. It really didn't. But as long as you're building links, why not build links that will probably still help in 5 years?
5 years later, it matters. I just came across this WMW thread , where Robert Charlton says:At SES, in the search engines' linking session, Matt Cutts was very explicit that Google looks at the uniqueness of descriptions when evaluating links. For a bunch of reasons outside the scope of this thread, I'm very much inclined to believe him.In other words: showing links with many duplicate descriptions is almost certainly evidence of aggressive link building, and it appears Google is filtering / devaluing those links. Note: MSN probably isn't. But they may in 2007 ;-)
Bottom line: if you aren't already, start varying your links' descriptions!
jueves, 6 de octubre de 2005
eComXpo is sweet... NOT!!
Well, eComXpo has finally begun. Truth be told, I'm pretty pumped about it, since it's so cool.
Wait, not 'cool', what's the word I'm looking for, oh, right, 'stupid'.
What eComXpo has taught me about good marketing
if your web site doesn't work in many browsers, it's cool!
charging people $100 to "paint" a virtual booth is a smart, creative marginal revenue stream
sending attendees 30 emails a day is good for branding, this will create an emotional connection between them and your company
if you want to impress people, use Flash!
Open letter to Seth Godin:Dear Seth,
eComXpo seems to have gotten some buzz this year, partly because you have been plugging it. Question: are you sure you want to associate yourself with these people?
Sincerely,
Andy HagansNo more blogging for now, I gotta get back to our booth.*The views expressed above are the personal opinions of Andy Hagans. They do not necessarily reflect the position of Text Link Ads Inc.
Wait, not 'cool', what's the word I'm looking for, oh, right, 'stupid'.
What eComXpo has taught me about good marketing
if your web site doesn't work in many browsers, it's cool!
charging people $100 to "paint" a virtual booth is a smart, creative marginal revenue stream
sending attendees 30 emails a day is good for branding, this will create an emotional connection between them and your company
if you want to impress people, use Flash!
Open letter to Seth Godin:Dear Seth,
eComXpo seems to have gotten some buzz this year, partly because you have been plugging it. Question: are you sure you want to associate yourself with these people?
Sincerely,
Andy HagansNo more blogging for now, I gotta get back to our booth.*The views expressed above are the personal opinions of Andy Hagans. They do not necessarily reflect the position of Text Link Ads Inc.
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