The process of building those connections can be tedious. First you have to find sites in your niche, determine whether they’re relevant and of respectable quality, and then figure out the best way to contact the people behind them. It can be overwhelming. But I have three simple steps to get you started.
Link-Building Step #1: Link Research
The first step is to do a bit of research. What kinds of sites do you want to get links from? How do you go about finding them? There are several strategies, but one that will get you going in the right direction is to research your competitors’ links.
Let’s say you just launched a new site selling homebrew supplies. You would likely know that a popular competitive supply shop is NorthernBrewer.com. By finding the sites that link to the Northern Brewer website, you would instantly have a list of relevant sites that would potentially be willing to link to your site as well.
And you don’t need any fancy software. Both Google and Yahoo provide ways to perform this link research right from their websites:
• Link research on Google. To research the sites linking to your competitor, Northern Brewer, on Google, you would enter the following in Google’s search box:
link:http://www.northernbrewer.com
• Link research on Yahoo. To research the sites linking to your competitor, Northern Brewer, on Yahoo, you would go to a special section of Yahoo’s site called Site Explorer (https://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/) and enter Northern Brewer’s URL in the field at the top. Make sure to click the “inlinks” tab to get the list you are looking for.
Now Google is a little stingy with their information. They will typically display only a portion of the links that they have in their database, which is why it’s a good idea to use Yahoo’s Site Explorer as well. In our example, you’d see that Google shows only 352 links for Northern Brewer while Yahoo shows 62,810.
Any way you slice it, that’s a lot of links. Now the hard work starts. You have to go through all those sites and determine which ones you want to have link to your site. Why not just pick them all? Well, just because a site is linking to Northern Brewer doesn’t mean they were asked to do it. Remember, any website can link to any other website for any reason at all… and without the site owner’s knowledge. There can be some link farms and other dubious low-quality sites in the mix, and you definitely don’t want to get links from them.
Link-Building Step #2: Link Quality
You want the good links - the high-quality, relevant, highly trafficked websites. So how do you weed them out? There are a few online tools that can help you make the distinction between a good link and a bad link.
• Alexa.com and Compete.com. These websites give you a general idea of the kind of traffic a particular site gets, and that can help you determine the quality of the site. High traffic typically means high quality.
• Google Toolbar PageRank (PR). Always controversial in SEO circles, many debate whether this particular little number means anything at all. Whenever I mention it, I always recommend taking it with a grain of salt. But a site with a higher Google PR is seen by Google as a higher quality site with a respectable number of links. In other words, a website you would want a link from.
These are good tools to have on your side, but not the only ways to determine the quality of a potential link. You can also use a kind of website common sense.
• Does the site have quality relevant content?
• If the site makes it possible for users to leave comments about its content, are they participating? This can be a sign of how active the site’s community is - a sign of quality.
• Does the site consist of nothing but links to other sites? If it’s not a known directory like Yahoo, etc. it’s likely a link farm - so stay away.
• Does the site have good design and navigation? Or does it look like it was patched together with FrontPage in 1998 and left to die?
Once you’ve identified the websites you definitely want to target for links, you have to determine the best way to approach each one.
Link-Building Step #3: Link Request
Gone are the days of the generic link request form letter. E-mails addressed “To Whom It May Concern” are usually deleted automatically by website owners
Link requests are now a request for a kind of partnership. That doesn’t necessarily mean reciprocal linking, but it does mean that site owners want to know that you have a genuine interest in their sites, not just in the “link juice” they can pass on to you.
Try to get familiar with the sites you want a link from. If you are targeting a blog, read it. Make some non-link-related comments. If you become part of the blog’s community, you’ll find the site owner much more receptive to a follow-up link request. You may also find that other commenters on that site have their own sites – and they may be willing to link to you.
If you find that you have no choice but to send a cold e-mail, try your best to find the e-mail address of a person to send it to. Not just a webmaster@ or info@ e-mail address. And when you write to that person, make it personal. Talk to them about why you like their site and why you think a link to you would be a fit for their readers/customers. Spouting off stats about your PageRank and traffic could be a turnoff for the site owner. If those things are really important to him, he knows how to do his own research (and will).
Link building may be a slow and tedious process - but it’s an absolutely necessary part of a successful SEO initiative. Knowing how to get started will make it much easier for you to build the links you need. And once you start acquiring some really solid quality links, you will no doubt begin to see improvement in your search engine rankings, your website traffic, and even your sales.
[Ed. Note: Running a successful online business takes more than just throwing up a website - but it doesn't have to be complicated or confusing. Get a step-by-step guide to link building, search engine optimization, and more as a member of ETR's Internet Money Club. Spaces are limited, so find out now if there are any spots left for the "Class" of 2009.]
You probably know not to light up a cigarette when refueling your car. But there’s another fire danger at the gas pump you may not be aware of: static electricity.
According to a survey from the Petroleum Equipment Institute (PEI), most static fires occur when people return to their cars during the refueling process. You can pick up an electrical charge when sliding in or out of your car. Then, when you touch a metal surface - like the gas cap or the fuel nozzle - you can create a spark. The spark, in turn, ignites the fumes from the gasoline.
Approximately 100 static-related gas station fires occur each year, according to the research firm Fowler Associates - so your chances of being involved in one are slim. However, to keep yourself - and those around you - safe while filling your tank, the PEI suggests taking these three precautions:
A “bulwark” (BUL-wurk) - from the Dutch or German for “tree trunk” + “work” - is a person, thing, or concept that is a defense or protection.
Example (as used by John E. Miller in Becoming Laura Ingalls Wilder): “For Laura’s mother the church, in addition to what spiritual significance it possessed, stood out as a bulwark of civilization in the midst of a still forming, rough frontier culture.”
[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker ... build your self-confidence and intellect ... increase your attractiveness to others ... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's new Words to the Wise CD Library.]
___ It offers an attractive return in the long term.
Buying into a company because it has bottomed is a non-sequitur. You can’t really know when it has bottomed. Even if it has dropped 95 percent, you could see it drop another 50 percent.
Buying a cheap company just because its price is low is tempting… but not smart. Many companies are cheap for a reason. Some aren’t. The former you should ignore. The latter are much better investment opportunities. (More on that in a few seconds.)
Huge dividends lure many investors. But understand that some dividends are high because investors are fleeing the stock… lowering the share price… and thus raising the dividend yield. Before you buy, you have to ask yourself why so many other investors are selling the stock. It’s only a matter of time before many such companies reduce their dividend rates.
Highly rated companies are safe bets, right? Two things you need to know. First, many analysts engage in ratings inflation. If the company doesn’t stink to high heaven, it gets a “buy” rating from Wall Street. Second, if all (or most) of the analysts are rating the company high, there’s no room for them to upgrade it - and news of a ratings upgrade brings in new investors in droves. I prefer analysts to be lukewarm (at best) about a company. If the company is any good, ratings will rise, bringing in new investors who will drive up the price.
The only reason to buy into a company is if you think it will give you good returns in the long term compared to other investments. Such companies may go down some in the short term - but they have demonstrated an ability to grow profits, manage their cash prudently, are in pretty good sectors, and are reasonably priced. Getting a great price on companies like these is not necessary, although in this market it’s not hard to find them at 40-60 percent off. All the better.
Here’s an easy way to octuple your revenues: Collect your customers’ e-mail AND mailing addresses.
You’re already aware of just how important it is to collect your customers’ e-mail addresses. Once you have that valuable bit of info - and permission to e-mail to them - you can send useful advice, updates on your company, and sales letters for your products.
But why does Internet marketing expert David Cross recommend that online marketers get their customers’ postal addresses too?
“Businesses that have - and utilize - both their customers’ e-mail and regular postal addresses as part of their marketing efforts report remarkable results,” says David.
In fact, he says, revenues from those customers (with whom you communicate via both e-mail and snail mail) are between 8 and 12 times the revenues from customers with whom you communicate using only one of those channels.
So get out there and start grabbing e-mail AND postal addresses. Then make sure you communicate with your customers regularly using both.
[Ed. Note: The more marketing "channels" you use to communicate with your customers, the higher your chance of getting them to buy. To learn more about marketing with multiple channels, pick up a copy of the Amazon.com best-seller by Michael Masterson and MaryEllen Tribby - Changing the Channel: 12 Easy Ways to Make Millions for Your Business.]
My favorite holiday tradition is actually brand-new this year - at least it is for my family.
We took our two-year-old son to see Santa Claus… in an unlikely venue.
Last year, we waited in line for an hour at the local mall. Meanwhile, we were subjected to nonstop trailers for a horrible holiday movie projected on big screens, and were surrounded by “themed” decorations based on the same film. Talk about the commercialization of Christmas. Anyway, after all that, my son took one look at Santa Claus and started crying so hard that his face turned the same color as cheery old St. Nick’s suit.
But this year, we hit the local Outdoor World (a megastore that sells hunting, fishing, boating, and camping gear) and things went very well - despite the creepy presence of reindeer that had seen the business end of a taxidermist.
The line was short. And instead of screaming, my son stared at Santa in wonder (it might have helped that we’d been prepping him for this all year) and then quietly asked for a “fishing rod.” No, he hadn’t just seen a store display. He’s been going on about fishing rods since we took him on a kayak trip through a popular sport fishing area on the west coast of Florida.
I guess fishing on Christmas Day will be another tradition we’ll start this year… so I’d better learn how to fish.
Whatever your goal is for 2009 - to lose 20 pounds, to start a business, to learn how to play the guitar - you can reach it much faster if you apply Bob Cox’s two success strategies.
On very rare occasions, I like to unwind in front of the TV with an episode of Law and Order. In one of my favorite episodes, Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy was enticed to take on a high-profile case, but he refused. You see, the case involved working against his boss, District Attorney Adam Schiff. When asked why he refused, Jack said, with a wry smile, “There were many reasons to say yes and onebetterreason to say no.”
That phrase has stuck in my mind. And I believe it can be a potent reminder to stay the course when working toward your goals.
Yes, achieving your goals can be difficult. It can be time-consuming and frustrating. At times, you may feel like throwing in the towel - and that’s when you need to remember Jack McCoy. There are many reasons to quit, but there is one better reason to keep going.
I’ve had my share of failures. But I’ve had even more successes in my life. And those happy accomplishments were often dependent on how fervently or how often I said “YES!” to moving forward.
Why make goals for yourself if you know you’re going to feel like quitting? That’s a good question. You need to take a good hard look at what you want to get out of life. Then realize that setting goals can actually help you get past those negative feelings and achieve success.
• Goals give you a clear starting point.
Let’s say you are sick of feeling winded every time you climb the stairs. You’re tired of wearing extra-large clothes. And you want to feel attractive again. So set a goal for yourself. Resolve to lose 20 pounds in 2009. Just setting that goal gives you a jumping-off point for feeling healthier, more attractive, and better about yourself.
Not only that, but setting the goal gives you a blueprint for how to achieve it. Once you know you want to lose 20 pounds this year, you can break that bigger objective into smaller, easier-to-achieve chunks: Lose 10 pounds by June, lose 5 pounds by March, and so on.
And once you accomplish the goal, you’ll find that it “transforms” into a new goal - a starting point for maintaining the weight loss and/or becoming even more fit and healthy.
• Goals help you define what is important.
It’s always easier to accomplish things that are important to you. Simply setting goals for yourself is a great way to announce - to yourself and the world - what’s meaningful and significant in your life.
Starting your own business this year says “Financial independence is important to me.” Losing 20 pounds says that you take your health seriously. Joining a family bowling league says that your family means a lot to you.
• Goals help you set priorities.
One you’ve chosen a goal that’s important to you, that goal will dictate your priorities.
Let’s say your primary goal is to start your own Internet business this year. That makes it a top priority in your life. So instead of going out for drinks after work, you might work on your website. Instead of sleeping in on Saturday morning, you might write your weekly e-newsletter. Instead of saying yes to dinner with that couple you hate, you can spend time on creating a new information product.
Your goal moves to the top of your list of responsibilities, and takes precedence over everything else.
As I said earlier, it’s not easy to do what you have to do to reach an important goal - and there will be times when you’ll be tempted to quit. But you have a better reason to keep going: the amazing feeling of - finally! - accomplishing it.
Here’s a story from my personal experience…
I would sometimes dream of going to an airport, hopping on a plane, going down the runway, and soaring into a clear blue sky.
I had this dream several times a year for more than 20 years, and I often thought about it. Then one July morning I woke up, realized my 56th birthday was a few days away… and I had a compelling urge to turn my dream into reality.
So off I went to a nearby FBO (Flight Base Operations) airport to sign up for flying lessons. My wife, Karin, had tried to stop me. “Bob,” she said, “it’s raining. Why don’t you go tomorrow?”
Not a chance! My decision had been made and a new goal (to obtain a private pilot license) was set. I wasn’t going to put it off any longer. The rain was irrelevant!
It took me almost eight months, and involved more time, money, sweat, and tears than I ever imagined. Yet I stayed the course and didn’t quit - even when quitting made good sense. After all, I was surrounded by young pups (students and flight instructors in their early 20s). I had absolutely no background in aviation or engineering. How was I going to be able to understand the instrument panel? Flying an airplane is not like driving a car. You don’t just turn the key and go.
On March 17, 2006 I took my FAA check ride and passed. Karin was at a Spring Training baseball game when I called with the joyous news. I could hear the crowd cheering for a home run, and I felt like they were cheering for me.
My initial goal to get a private pilot license then transformed into new aviation-related goals that I continued to pursue. I had no idea when I started that I would eventually own my own airplane and set two world airspeed records.
It began with a recurring dream. The dream turned into a goal - something that was important to me, no matter how much time and energy I had to devote to it. And it ended with the realization of a 20-odd-year fantasy.
What about you? Do you want to learn to play a musical instrument and give a recital? Do you want to enjoy working in your garden and create a hybrid rose named after you? Do you want to write a collection of poems? Do you want to build or buy your dream home?
Start on that goal now… and don’t give in to all the reasons that will come up for quitting. Turning your dream into reality is the one better reason to say YES.
[Ed. Note: Success mentor Bob Cox - who has worked with four billionaires during his career - strongly believes that setting goals can help you make your longest-held dreams come true. Learn 3 more powerful but surprisingly simple success strategies from Bob Cox right here.
Bob can also give you the "insider secrets" that helped four Average Joes become billionaires. Best of all, you can master these billionaire success techniques in just 30 days. Learn more here.]
A “balletomane” (ba-LET-uh-mane) - derived from “ballet” + “mania” - is an ardent admirer of the ballet.
Example (as used by Jennifer Balderama in a New York Times review of Reading Dance, edited by Robert Gottlieb): “This is, in short, one big brick of dance-nut manna, a loving exhaustive compilation by an editor-balletomane of sterling pedigree.”
[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker ... build your self-confidence and intellect ... increase your attractiveness to others ... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's new Words to the Wise CD Library.]
