Jon HenshawCo-Founder & Chief Product Officer

Raven Internet Marketing Toolshttp://raventools.com

@RavenJon

How Relationships Drive Link Building

Thursday, July 26, 12

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

Fact

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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.

•This presentation containspost-meme images

•and arbitrary bullet points

•to piss off Rand and kill kittens

Warning

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

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

Good link building is hard

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Relationships aren’t easy

either

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Let’s make them both work together

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What do most people want from

a relationship?

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

Characteristics of a healthy relationship

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

• ...to be sold something

• ...to feel like a pawn or object

• ...to talk about links

People do NOT want...

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

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

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Paradox!

Be Genuine

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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 enoughpsycho mumbo

jumbo...MOVE IT ALONG

BUDDY!!!

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Find Websites

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

Who are the people

behind it?

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Author, owner, editor, etc…

Follow the trails

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Twitter, personal blog, Facebook, etc…

Google them

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Where are others mentioning them, interviews, etc…?

Who are their followers and friends?

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Look for common connections

Use FullContact to fill in the blanks

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

Monitor them

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Name and RSS feed(s)

Interact

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

Use spreadsheets or CRM

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

Keep Good Contact Records

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Keep Good Link Records

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Use recurring social tasks

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

Keep good notes

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

Develop relationships

naturally

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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

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

Stay on topic...not your topic

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

Create a positive experience

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

Be patient or else

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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?

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Real Friends

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Connect with your friends’

friends

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Social Exposure

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Links, likes, +1’s

Natural Links

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Natural links from trusted and relevant sites

Unexpected Mentions

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

Unexpected Mentions

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

Being a Resource

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

Going above and beyond

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

Showing appreciation

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

Being a good host

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

Donating to a good cause

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

Helping Others

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

Collaboration and leading by

example

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

Link Pimp

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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

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Pay it forward

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

Think long term

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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

Thursday, July 26, 12