How Relationships Drive Link Building

How Relationships Drive Link Building
Jon Henshaw
Co-Founder & Chief Product Ofﬁcer
Raven Internet Marketing Tools
http://raventools.com
@RavenJon

Thursday, July 26, 12

Fact
If you build links the wrong way, Google
will destroy everything you love.


The best mentions/links are ones that are natural and real, and are relevant and contextual. They are also the hardest
ones to get, and they usually only come from relationships.

Warning
• This presentation contains
post-meme images
• and arbitrary bullet points
• to piss off Rand and kill kittens


Post-meme is like the Anti Joke Apple. It’s cooler than you.


No kittens were killed from using bullet points, but they may have been injured.

Good link building is hard


Relationships
aren’t easy
either


Let’s make them both work together


What do most
people want from
a relationship?


Listening, Giving, Common Interests, Humility and not belittling the other, Acceptance, being Genuine.

Characteristics
of a healthy
relationship


Grow over time, Golden Rule: Treat each other the way you would want to be treated

People do
NOT want...
• ...to be sold something

• ...to feel like a pawn or object

• ...to talk about links


If you only want them as a customer or link, it will show

How do you target someone without treating them like a target?


Paradox!

Be
Genuine

Most people see through disingenuous behavior. Who wants to live their life being fake? If you don’t like a person,
regardless of motivation, move on…nothing good will come from it.

That’s enough
psycho mumbo
jumbo...
MOVE IT ALONG
BUDDY!!!


Find Websites


Through whatever means you choose (OSE, Google, Ontolo, blogroll, etc…).

Who are the
people
behind it?


Author, owner, editor, etc…

Follow the trails


Twitter, personal blog, Facebook, etc…

Google them


Where are others mentioning them, interviews, etc…?

Who are their followers and friends?


Look for common connections

Use FullContact to ﬁll in the blanks


Use FullContact (or similar) to ﬁll in the blanks.

Monitor them


Name and RSS feed(s)

Interact


Even simple interactions, like retweets/mentions, likes and pluses, do not go unnoticed by most people.

Use spreadsheets or CRM


Use a spreadsheet or a CRM to help manage your outreach.

Keep Good Contact Records


Keep Good Link Records


Use recurring social tasks


Recurring “social” tasks in Raven will automatically reset the task after you tweet the person.

Keep good notes


Leave notes as you discover common interests or other important info.

Develop
relationships
naturally


If they’re an editor, don’t go in for the kill. If they get to know you, and they like you, and you have something that’s
useful to them, they’ll ask you.

Don’t overwhelm them


Don’t overwhelm with replies, posts…especially when they actually interact with you.

Stay on topic...
not your topic


Keep discussions on topic. Don’t look for a way to slip in your own stuff.

Create a positive
experience

It is in our nature to give back, to give thanks for positive experiences. Positive experiences create reciprocity.

Be patient
or else


Wait for the opportunity to present itself, either through conversation or the other person showing interest in what
you do. Otherwise, you may miss your target.

What’s the
outcome?


Real
Friends


Connect with
your friends’
friends


Social
Exposure


Links, likes, +1’s

Natural
Links


Natural links from trusted and relevant sites

Unexpected
Mentions


http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/blog/socialmadness/2012/06/i-dont-want-to-see-my-lawyer-on.html

Unexpected
Mentions


http://www.maine-seo.com/social-media/4-solutions-for-scheduling-tweets-and-facebook-posts-which-one-is-
right-for-you

Being a
Resource


http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=32179

Going above
and beyond


http://www.searchhigh.co.uk/Blog/great-service-stronger-brand.html

Showing
appreciation


Thanking people (with gift baskets) http://www.speedyseo.com/blog/view/what-a-lovely-basket

Being a
good host


http://www.ppcassociates.com/blog/experience/tribe-of-danny-traveler/

Donating to
a good cause


Donating http://danalookadoo.com/cycling/livestrong-2012/

Helping
Others


http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/blog/socialmadness/2012/07/911-crisis-management-using-social.html?
ana=lnk

Collaboration
and leading by
example


Contributing to the community http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/twitter-chat-guide/

Link Pimp


Joe Hall asks me to pimp something via Twitter DM or IM, and I’m like sure!

First rule of
secret groups is
that we don’t
talk about
secret groups


Pay it forward


Doing favors, giving breaks, etc... to the little guy can provide excellent karma (free hosting got me Coors, Iomega,
etc...)

Think long term


Just like SEO, quick wins are usually short lived. Building and maintaining authentic relationships will only increase
your exposure over time, not diminish it.

•Jon Henshaw
•Co-Founder & Chief Product Ofﬁcer
•Raven Internet Marketing Tools
•http://raventools.com
•@RavenJon


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