Acquiring Links and Purposely Linking to Competitor

[gmac17]

We have an opportunity to acquire some links on another site mostly via writing articles.

In order to make these new links **seem** better, we plan on also linking to at least one other industry competitor. Specifically we'd be linking to the #1 player in the industry who we have little chance of ever unseating for terms they are going for. We'd prefer to link to an industry trade group or something but there really isn't much for our industry.

Any thoughts on this strategy? Will this help make our links look less suspicious?

[ecmedia]

I think all those articles that are written for purely SEO purposes are suspect anyway. Google figures out those websites pretty quickly and discounts their effect. So it really doesn't matter what you do.

[Hissingsid]

What is suspicious about having a link to your site in some unique content that you happen to have written. Happens all the time and is as far as I am concerned completely white hat. I wouldn't worry about adding an authority link. The host site will probably have other links on the page anyway.

I'd be interested to see what others have to say.

Cheers

Sid

[bwnbwn]

We have an opportunity to acquire some links on another site mostly via writing articles.

I don't understand why you would want to link to another site other than your own in your article. I have a different view point on this as I feel this is a great way to add value to your site.

I quit a long time ago trying to use articles or links for the SE's and focus my attention on generating traffic to the site be it links, articles, blogs or forums. I feel if you take the approach in this manner you will be fine.

[Hissingsid]

Google figures out those websites pretty quickly

I see "some of those websites" ie article/zine sites ranking quite well in their own right for some terms I target. Apparently one of these ranks simply because a competitor has put quite few articles on there on a range of related subjects. The competitor site has gained as well.

Cheers

Sid

[gmac17]

This is not an ezine site - it is a highly regarded PR6, 10 year old industry related website. I am just (overly?) paranoid that we already have a few links from them on their site, and that it might be suspicious if they keep adding links to us and only us.

If everyone says don't worry about it, I won't....

[bwnbwn]

I would take this as your articles are good and worth posting on their site.

[edited by: Robert_Charlton at 6:50 pm (utc) on Sep. 16, 2009]

[gmac17]

yes, the articles are legit. I get the sense I shouldn't worry as much as I am.

[julinho]

Instead of linking to a competitor, link to sites whose topics complement yours and are not your direct competitors.

If you are selling Ferraris, then write an article about Ferraris with a link to your site, and include links to important sites about great Ferrari pilots, important Ferrari winnings, etc.

[gmac17]

good idea, thanks julinho.

[webdude]

I have been approaching site building from an entirely different point of view then the normal e-commerce stuff out there. I think it is better to create an authority site for the sake of your users and make the selling of your product secondary. It all depends on what you are looking for... a .5% conversion on 10,000 visits a month or a .1% conversion on 1,000,000 visits a month. Authority sites are and always will be sites that benefit the target audience. I have always believed that Google and others place great emphasis on authority sites. Non-profit, .edu and .gov sites, sites that sell nothing and do not depend on the SERPs have always faired well in the SERPs. These sites are there to give information on a certain subject and it is the information that people come to look at. I have always thought it possible to transform an e-commerce site to an authority site and the benefits of doing so could help immensely in more then just search engine placement. Microsoft and Apple are both considered authority sites, yet they do sell products either directly or indirectly to their users.

Being an authority on a subject means you are an expert. Authority in the search engine world means that a returned page is relevant and useful to the query. It is also a state of mind and another way of thinking. Any widget site could become an authority on anything that has to do with their widgets. Your need to think outside of the box and not be afraid of your competion... just put out a far superior site then your competion. Adding content to your sites as in a forums, directory, help programs, chats, etc. will keep people coming back and to attract users other then people who want to purchase something (GASP! REALLY?). The benefits will eventually follow... I think this is the key.

Articles on widgets, listings of upcoming events about widgets, a forum, widget news, latest products (ANOTHER GASP!-EVEN COMPETITORS), etc. would attract more then just users looking to buy your product – it would make your site "The Place" to go for anything related to widgets. Think of this from a users point of view. The more information and content that is written or generated, the better off you and your users will be... could be a great way to try to rope in new buyers of your widgets, too. It is also a great way to garner deep links to other parts of your site. The biggest benefit though, is it would be a way to generate more traffic. Because someone types in "blue widgets" or "red widgets" in the search engines does not mean they are looking to buy that widget... but wouldn't it be cool if your site was the first one they would come to to find out about those widgets.

Keep it fresh, keep it new, and write the dang thing for your users.

[ogletree]

Article writing still works very well if done right. I have seen sites rank number one for competitive keywords almost purely on article submission. They wrote very good articles and submitted a lot of them to article directories. Good content does amazing things if you put it on your site or others. The bigger your net the better chance you are of catching things.

[serenoo]

ogletree Do they submit the same article to all the directories or do they write all different articles for each directory?

[CainIV]

Just look for the most authority websites you can that provide real good content, and link to them, regardless of whether they happen to be competitors. What is good for the goose is good for the gander.

[martinibuster]

Is your goal to place your site within the orbit of your competitors link neighborhood and play a supporting role to their continued success? Or do you want to challenge your competitors link neighborhood?

The way I see it is that their link neighborhood is the base of what makes them successful. I don't understand the logic of supporting ones enemy as a way to to defeat them.

You may want to consider rethinking that strategy in terms of Link Cliques [webmasterworld.com]. < note - link requires subscription >

[edited by: tedster at 3:26 am (utc) on Sep. 20, 2009]
[edit reason] add note [/edit]

[webdude]

Excellent post, martinibuster, and something I have never considered. I read the thread with great interest and it gave me some ideas for some of my sites. Why beat to death the add url and submit your site queries when you should be thinking way outside that box...

[Badcol]

We have steered clear of linking strategies for the past 2 years. Since getting whacked by Big Daddy we have seen more and more updates trying to adjust the imbalance caused to serps by mass linking schemes. We acheive good quality double word phrases simply by writing good content and submitting to industry related sites for occassional one way links, more to acheive a constant flow of visits from Googlebot.

"Quick to rise, quick to fall"