paynt - 3:23 pm on Apr 16, 2003 (gmt 0)

The challenge of one-way linking is to not only to become the bait that attracts the best link but also to figure out what the best links are. I think it’s the same initial approach, as you would take with reciprocal linking. Do the research of the online industry, the online competitors and then figure out what’s missing. What can you offer the industry that isn’t there now? I’m sure there are many things. Some industries more than others really have nothing interesting or unique to offer.

I think that is the easiest place to start, with what is already there. Take an industry apart online. This is where the post I did on Linking Campaign Research - Tips for industry research [webmasterworld.com], is a must read. I just read it again myself and there’s vital information that will help anyone who wants to move forward with one-way linking.

I should have titled this discussion, “Become the Bait”. It’s really that simple. A few quotes I will expand on…

sites that everyone in the industry seems to be linking to and it’s helps to figure out why

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In every industry there are authority sites that head the pack. Look at Webmasterworld for example. What are the separate components that when added together make it an authority? Who links here and why? You find that information by tracing it back to the point of connecting. With an authority site like Webmasterworld you are not going to find those links in a reciprocal link directory. You’re going to find links to the homepage along with tons of deep linking and they show up woven through content.

What I do is look at the industry and see what’s missing. How can I be what Webmasterworld is to the industry even if it’s just to sell the most widgets. Imagine competing as an authority for widgets. You’d think every trick, every buzz, and every idea for promoting widgets is just about tied up. If that were true advertising companies would close up shop. When we are thinking about becoming bait for one-way linking we need to think like an advertiser. Not the advertising that buys and sells links but true brick and mortar advertising, looking for the next great buzz.

What amazes me is limited thinking. When discussing reciprocal linking for instance there are many posts about researching your competitors for links. The idea is to follow their trails and go for the same links. That’s okay for seeding the initial campaign but what you really want to be looking for with those links are not the reciprocal ones but the others. You’ll more often than not with higher-ranking sites find what I think of as a ‘true’ authority link. When I find those I start asking myself questions.

The most important question is why. Someone added a link, with no visible return so, why? Figure that out and you will have a key.

Now do you just go and recreate that on your own site, hoping you can remake the same thing to get the same effect? Reverse engineering; an important tool but tools are just that. They get you to the point of the result.

But this is what you want, that link or a link like it.

Let’s say you figured out that link was placed because the widget site it is linking to has a really cool tool. Do you go and put that same tool on your site and then chase people to link to you by offering the same thing? Or, do you realize that this site found a ‘tool’ important enough to link out to.

What do you do with that information? Buzz…

If I could I might make a tool, improve that tool, write about sites using tools, become the tool, review the tool, interview the website owner about the tool. If I think I can draw linking in from my information about the tool as a means to generate one-way linking. I just look for what's missing about 'tool' and fill that need.

If I am really smart I see then that I actually have a new audience or market. I’m not tricking or cheating anyone. I’m not taking with reverse engineering what someone else is doing and mirroring. I’m using reverse engineering to take me back to the point of impact and then I build and create from that point.

I haven’t had a chance to read through all the posts yet folks. I offer this as something to think about.