No BS Guide to Backlinks: 7 strategies Google loves

[James Watt]

The No BS Guide To Backlinks: 7 Ways To Get Backlinks Google Will Love

I know with local SEO and serving multiple clients (especially in the same vertical) scalability is a huge issue. Some of the more creative link building efforts isn't something you can do for 5 different companies very easily, if at all. I still decided to post this article though, since it's a good overview of some of the cool techniques I've seen and started playing with... for those of you who are here to help promote your own business, or who have a few rock star clients that you'd like to do a little extra for, this might be a good bit of brainstorming, especially if you don't know much about 'backlink building' and wonder what it's all about here in 2016.

#7 was a particularly interesting idea though. It might be a fair bit more scalable too, so I'd be really interested in hearing if anyone's done anything like it. The gist is to see if the client has a budget for giving away product of some kind of bloggers/reviewers/whatever in the local space in exchange for written reviews on their site. Might be a better fit for some industries and cities than others, but still an interesting idea I hadn't thought of before. I'd be interested in hearing if anyone's tried it before and had any success with it.

 

[JustinB]

#7 was a particularly interesting idea though. It might be a fair bit more scalable too, so I'd be really interested in hearing if anyone's done anything like it. The gist is to see if the client has a budget for giving away product of some kind of bloggers/reviewers/whatever in the local space in exchange for written reviews on their site. Might be a better fit for some industries and cities than others, but still an interesting idea I hadn't thought of before. I'd be interested in hearing if anyone's tried it before and had any success with it.

Google just came out and said that's a big no no, offering free items in exchange for posts or "reviews".

 

[James Watt]

Good to know. I knew that would be true of course for gathering actual reviews on your profile, didn't know it applied to Bloggers too. Maybe the author's note that 'a lot of SEO's overlook this technique' isn't so much that it's being overlooked, as that people staying in guidelines choose not to use it. I'm still getting up to speed on some of the more organic ranking issues, so I appreciate the share.

 

[JoyHawkins]

Yeah, I wouldn't use that as a strategy. I reached out to Marie Haynes on Twitter after this came out to get more clarification: https://twitter.com/sengineland/status/708293822137147392

She said it's more of an issue with sites doing this a lot. So I definitely wouldn't do it multiple times.

One strategy that we've used a lot that is similar and scaleable to some extent is the one Mike Ramsey listed here:

"Every business has other local businesses that they’ve done business with in the past. (That’s a lot of business for one sentence.) Examples of these companies are: cleaner companies, construction companies, painters, contractors, grounds maintenance, etc. The idea here is to reach out to these companies & offer to give them a great testimonial in exchange for a link back to your site. The testimonial could be given to them to post on their site or you can even create a page on your own site with these testimonials. Then all they have to do is link to that page. This is a great way to establish rapport & goodwill with other local businesses (beyond just gaining a link). Who knows, they may even send new business your way to return the favor."

 

[Linda Buquet]

Thanks for sharing James. Backlinks always make for a good discussion.

FYI giving product for a review also is under scrutiny by the FTC and needs to be disclosed per law (in most cases.) Have you noticed all the Amazon reviews that say I was given a product in exchange for a review? That's because it's illegal not to disclose if there is a financial or free product type of relationship.

There is a ton out there. Here's one. https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/bus...tcs-endorsement-guides-what-people-are-asking

 

[Nevyana]

Thanks for sharing this post, James

What caught my attention is the WikiGrabber - I will play with it to see if it offers valuable opportunities. Even if nofollowed, the Wiki links are a good asset to have. Though the creation and maintenance of a respectable editor profile could take some serious time. I guess with the tool automatically showing you broken links, you could quickly scale on this effort and get a head-start on the platform.

As it comes to #7 I'd agree with Joy and Justin that Google is going after the bloggers offering product reviews, but I'd also raise the issue here as to whether this 'attitude' is justified.

You could read Barry Adams' opinion on the issue at SEW, that I tend to share: https://searchenginewatch.com/2016/...ofollow-links-for-free-gifts-the-expert-view/

As he said, just as once Google required nofollowing all guest posting content, now they are requiring from bloggers to nofollow the product reviews, simply because the SE consider those scalable link building techniques that the algo cannot account for.

"Google doesn?t like it when any link building tactic achieves scale. Every single time a tactic has become scalable, Google has acted on it.

Where possible, it will employ penalties ? the higher profile, the better ? to ensure there?s a sufficient level of fear and apprehension and the tactic is quickly discredited and abandoned.

Google combines this with big pronouncements like the recent blog post, leaving no room for doubt about what they see as ?disagreeable?. The end result is the majority of the SEO community jumping, without Google having to say how high. "

The whole interview is pretty interesting, I'll refrain from quoting more in the comment, but there are some fine insights on the possible upcoming wave of link penalties.

 

[James Watt]

Glad I posted, I learned a lot of good stuff. Joy, I like that strategy you mentioned of making those connections with B2B resources and finding an organic way to turn that into links. Thanks for posting your two cents too Nevyana, somehow I missed Google's releasing a statement about this specific issue 2 weeks ago.

As that article you posted itself says though... it's going to be very challenging for Google to figure out any kind of a way to separate a bribed link from a blogger that felt like writing about it... I suspect that of all their penalties, this one in particular is going to be the hardest to police fairly. Just another reason it'll be an interesting year in Google Land.

 

[DanLeibson]

Google just came out and said that's a big no no, offering free items in exchange for posts or "reviews".

Google penalty incoming for Amazon and every other big retail brand in 5.4.3.2.1....

In all seriousness, this is a totally legal (as long as you don't pressure them for positive reviews) and long standing tradition in the product marketing field that isn't going away anytime soon. $GOOG says stuff like this to spread FUD because they can't programmatically determine it.

 

[JustinB]

Google penalty incoming for Amazon and every other big retail brand in 5.4.3.2.1....

In all seriousness, this is a totally legal (as long as you don't pressure them for positive reviews) and long standing tradition in the product marketing field that isn't going away anytime soon. $GOOG says stuff like this to spread FUD because they can't programmatically determine it.

Funny you mentioned Amazon, was looking for an item, and all the reviews were, "this seller gave me this item to review, I didn't have to review it, or rate it positive blah blah blah". This is basically a beacon that admits to all product sellers, send me a free sample and I may review it.
I don't see how they could police it to be honest.

 

[Eric Rohrback]

Like Linda said, if you're doing product reviews on your website you just need to disclose a relationship somewhere. The FTC guidelines don't say you need to disclose in the review, you just need a page on your site that states you may have a relationship with some of the companies you're reviewing. Doesn't mean you need to outright say "I was given this product from company X, so now i'm reviewing it." As long as you follow the real legal guidelines, then you'd be OK. Pay close attention to what's law, not what Google says you shouldn't do.

 

[Linda Buquet]

Like Linda said, if you're doing product reviews on your website you just need to disclose a relationship somewhere. The FTC guidelines don't say you need to disclose in the review, you just need a page on your site that states you may have a relationship with some of the companies you're reviewing. Doesn't mean you need to outright say "I was given this product from company X, so now i'm reviewing it." As long as you follow the real legal guidelines, then you'd be OK. Pay close attention to what's law, not what Google says you shouldn't do.

Actually the way I read it you do need to disclose in the article or review or blog post.

"How Should I Disclose That I Was Given Something for My Endorsement?
Is there special wording I have to use to make the disclosure?

No. The point is to give readers the essential information. A simple disclosure like ?Company X gave me this product to try . . . .? will usually be effective."

"Would a single disclosure on my home page that ?many of the products I discuss on this site are provided to me free by their manufacturers? be enough?

A single disclosure on your home page doesn?t really do it because people visiting your site might read individual reviews or watch individual videos without seeing the disclosure on your home page."

"Would a button that says DISCLOSURE, LEGAL, or something like that which links to a full disclosure be sufficient?

No. A hyperlink like that isn?t likely to be sufficient. It does not convey the importance, nature, and relevance of the information to which it leads and it is likely that many consumers will not click on it and therefore miss necessary disclosures. The disclosures we are talking about are brief and there is no reason to hide them behind a hyperlink."

There is a whole section on reviews that should be read too:
https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/ftcs-endorsement-guides-what-people-are-asking#how

Oh crap, sorry honey. (Oops Ha ha! I didn't say that to you Eric. Dragon typed that when I apologized to my kitty for accidentally knocking her off my lap.)

 

[DanLeibson]

The Verge, and lots of other major consumer electronics review sites, do have a disclosure page (not in the individual reviews):

Ethics Statement | The Verge

Section 8

 

[Eric Rohrback]

weird, i've seen more sites listing the disclosure under a link to a main page. I was thinking specifically about Perry Marshall's advertising disclosure page - https://www.perrymarshall.com/1528/federal-trade-commission-testimonials/

the top is about testimonials, so that's a different beast. The bottom is about affiliate income, so would that fall under this guideline or is it difference since you're not directly getting paid for the write up? I mean technically you may be getting something for that endorsement if you're making affiliate commission, but does that fall within this guideline since you would only get paid after someone clicks a link to another buy page (and it's not guaranteed)?

I might be pulling this thread in a different direction that originally intended, so let me know if this is better for a separate discussion.

 

[JustinB]

Here's an example I just ran across, all the way at the bottom of their recent posts right side bar widget.
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