SEO vs PR vs B logge rs - F ight !

@JudithLewis

➡ Run DeCabbit Consultancy doing SEO, PPC, Social Media and

integrated marketing campaigns - working with bloggers for link building

➡ Got on the Internet in 1986 at my school lab

➡ Working online with search since 1996

➡ Worked in-house within e-Commerce, Publishing & High Tech

➡ Have worked with Google (SEO for product sites), Orange, COI,

NatWest/RBS, National Gallery, CIPD, Fidelity, GalaCoral, NBC Universal,

Readers Digest, Bayer, Family Search, Amadeus, AMD, AmEx, TotalJobs,

Virgin.com, Virgin Startup, Zopa, GE, Blue Cross, Vapemate & more

➡ Chosen as a founding Modern Muse, contributed to book “Pimp My Site”,

judge of the UK, US & European Search Awards, one of the SEO Chicks,

blog on Huffington Post & run MostlyAboutChocolate.com food blog

AM I

WhoObligatory slide !

Judith Lewis

@JudithLewis

SEOs vs PRs vs Bloggers

Links are important for ranking *BUT* bad links

can harm a site

Who is best to reach out to bloggers – PRs or

SEOs?

Are Bloggers the right people to get links from?

@JudithLewis

@deCabbit DeCabbit Presentation 4

PR is about

relationships,

influence and

communicating a

positive story to an

audience for the client

SEOs build links

to help increase

visibility in

search engines

by ranking

pages higher

Bloggers are

increasingly

being targeted

both by SEOs

& PRs with an

SEO remit

PRs are being

asked to do

the job of an

SEO

Sometimes People Build Bad Links

@JudithLewis

Bad Links Result in Bad Penalties

@JudithLewis

Sometimes PRs Get Outreach Wrong

Bloggers share: they share PR/SEO contact details and

pitches and payments - they know what you paid and to

whom

@JudithLewis

Facebook Outreach Groups

@JudithLewis

SEO

is a part of

Online

Marketing

which includes

PR.

Some SEO Approaches Gone Wrong

The following are approaches and the blogger reactions from a

closed blogger group (all spelling is theirs, not mine!)

“Repeated demands that I publish their great (great =generic) post immediately with a do follow

link”

“…those that pay for a sponsored post and then when publish demand a do follow link even though

we state no follow links”

“Offering content written by them, on the basis that 'it will help our traffic‘”

“Then a company who thinks it's ok to ask for 3/4 follow links to pages that have nothing to do with

the product being reviewed”

“One company asked me to change all my links to 'follow' links and remove the disclosure because

'they could get penalised and her boss was worried'. I explained that I couldn't do that (for obvious

reasons) - still insisted”

“…were contacted by a SEO wanting links removed (pretty normal) but this one blamed us for the

companies penalty and then threatened to report us to google if we didn't remove the link”

@JudithLewis

Over time,

bloggers have

become more

“savvy” and less

willing to working

without

compensation

Chat with

your targets

on the phone

after initial

email contact

The way I pitch things

is carefully worded

but I make it clear

what I expect within

the law & guidelines

Changes to the Law & Google Guidelines

Google guidelines against “Link Schemes”: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/66356

ASA Reminder to bloggers about their responsibilities: http://www.asa.org.uk/News-resources/Media-Centre/2013/Blurring-advertising-and-blogs.aspx

CAP Guidance on the ASA guidelines: http://www.cap.org.uk/News-reports/Media-Centre/2014/New-words-on-the-blog.aspx

The LAW the ASA guidelines are based on: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2008/9780110811574/contents

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Outreach

Find Influencers

@JudithLewis

Possible Link Targets

@JudithLewis

Check Their Stats

@JudithLewis

Auditing Link Targets-More than Numbers

@JudithLewis

Research Other Sites (Competitors)

@JudithLewis

Research Other Sites (Competitors)

@JudithLewis

Auditing Your Links With Majestic

@JudithLewis

Auditing Your Links

@JudithLewis

SEMRush Analysis of Sites

@JudithLewis

When Link Building Goes Well

@JudithLewis

@JudithLewis

10 Link Attraction Ideas

Be Controversial

Be The Font of All Knowledge

Take a Stand

Be a Personality

Share/Curate

Be Funny

Be Prolific

Be Mysterious

Offer something unique

@JudithLewis

@JudithLewis @MostlyAboutChoc

?

Questions?

You Can Stalk Me OnlineTwitter: @JudithLewis

@MostlyAboutChoc

LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/judithlewis

Google+: https://plus.google.com/+JudithLewis

Web: http://www.decabbit.com

Blog: http://MostlyAboutChocolate.com

SEO Blog: http://www.SEO-Chicks.com

HuffPost: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/judith-lewis

...and the list goes on

T H AN K YOU FOR YOU R T I ME

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