Link building 2011

[wheel]

Earlier this year I started on a project (and have another one in the back of my mind) where I started with a different premise.

Rosalind in another thread summarized my plans for link building and marketing going forward:

Have you tried creating interactive content that's difficult to copy and too much effort to imitate?

It's probably not my original idea, but it's the first I've seen this thought posted outside my own head :).

And it's not vague advice either - I specifically brainstormed for things I can do that no one else is going to be bothered copying or that other's can't do for reasons like gov't regulations.

e.g. maybe there's gov't regulations or accrediation you can leverage? Additional services one can offer that others won't because of the extra effort?

Anyone else doing this as a technique?

[Planet13]

The content you plan on creating, will you be giving that out to other sites in exchange for a link back?

Or is this content you will keep on your site in order to attract links?

I haven't done this yet, but being an ex-photojournalist living in a foreign country, I have lots and lots of photos from overseas, most of them relating to a particular social area.

Now, one can find such photos on the internet and many of them have a creative commons license. However, I am going to be that most webmasters are overworked / lazy and can't be bothered to find the photos, crop them, post the creative commons requirements on their site, etc.

So instead I will find those webmasters and email them with a couple of photos related to the subject of their sites and crop them so that they fit in with the other images on their sites, and give them the code so they can put them on their sites as easily as possible.

All for a link back.

I don't know but is this something along the lines of what you were thinking?

[wheel]

I'm not specifically giving out content, but that's certainly valid if your content can't be duplicated - like your polaroids.

If you know every junkyard and wrecker in the country, you could offer a free parts locator to consumers. They call you looking for a bumper for their 1953 chrysler, you call the three chrysler specialists you know and hook them up. If you're selling used cars, your competitors are unlikely to do this, and affiliates and the like can't duplicat this (because they're not on a first name basis with all the junkyards).

[CainIV]

Its a smart angle, because there are mega budgets in SEO and most people will take money in exchange for links that others find in your profile unless there is truly something preventing them from being to do this.

I've seen this done online with a company who offered an extended service via a tool, and then supporting labor (free) to support it. None of the competitors wanted to touch it because it was a free service, and inevitably the page which offered the service developed a significant number of quality links because of it.

[FranticFish]

Have you tried creating interactive content that's difficult to copy and too much effort to imitate?

+ 1

[Planet13]

I'm still trying to get my head around what it is you are proposing...

It sounds to me similar to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) that real estate websites offer. You search for a 3 bedroom, 2 bath hose in Hoboken and it returns the results.

Of course, that became a commodity because the National Association of Realtors (NAR) offered that to every brokerage and all the real estate agents who are registered with NAR.

So would the service you are mulling be automated? Or Not automated? If not automated, it seems like a very labor intensive task.

(And I apologize if I am not understanding what you are proposing.)

[wheel]

Not automated, at least the first one I'm working on. It's just plain work. Biggest barrier to entry right there, do stuff that people find to be drudgery.

I just go looking for ideas, no formula yet - other than I sit down and think "what can I do that costs less than $5#*$! and my competition are unlikely to duplicate, and affiliates can't duplicate'.

If your industry requires any sort of govt regulation or standards, there's opportunities there. My industry requires gov't licensing and control, I'm thinking may way through that arena.

[SevenCubed]

My industry requires gov't licensing and control, I'm thinking may way through that arena

That by the way is one of the very first avenues I tend to when link building. When it's warranted I place a link OUT to government sites that backup the theme of the page. The "link-juice" backwash is precious.