Category Archives: link building

Penguin 4 Update And The Months To Come

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Penguin 4 has replaced its Penguin 3 algorithm with the Penguin 4 algorithm, which is currently being implemented. Comparison between Penguin 4 and Penguin 3 reveals interesting insights, which are outlined below:

1. Penguin 4 does not place much emphasis on penalties, and it can be considered to be more lenient than its predecessor.

2. Google has used Penguin 4 to design the metrics used by the present manual spam team.

3. It can be inferred that Google considers the feature of disavow files to be redundant.

4. The novel granular formula that Google is implementing will take time to be computed, and its final release may be months away.

5. On 2nd September, Penguin 3 was terminated and removed by Google, so as to pave way for Penguin 4, which was ushered in on 23rd September.

Penguin

What do the Changes Mean?

The changes in the core codes of Google algorithms mean that the spam detection format will change. Previously – even before the Penguin 3 algorithm was implemented – detection of spam links was based on index of suspicion as computed by the search engine algorithm. This old format identified spam by detecting suspicious activity, including one IP address feeding multiple links to another IP address, domain having a lot of spammy anchor texts, quick addition of lots of links, and competitors filing spam reports. This would raise the suspicion of Google, and its manual spam team was then tasked with verifying the suspicions by reviewing the implicated website. If confirmed, the links were severed from the linking-out domain, and the penalized target domain was notified about the penalty. In the public domain, this penalty is invisible; but changes in page ranking can be spotted. Likewise, a penalty score could be added, and it was set to expire after a specific duration of time. Even so, this format of spam detection has changed with the implementation of Penguin 4.

Penguin 4 Algorithm

It uses a spam detection system that improves on the old detection format, in addition to introducing new and intuitive changes – including comparison of each new link added to the domain against the whole link graph of that domain, along with the link graphs of domains linking to the domain of interest; and detecting and identifying any unnatural comparisons. As expected, the process of iterating and comparing the links is not only resource-intensive, but is also time consuming. However, this ranks as the most intelligent scheme of detecting unnatural (or spam) links, as the spam domains normally work in concert when sending out spam links. Therefore, it is only by comparing the unnatural links with link graphs of all the related domains that one can identify and map out all the spam domains.

Another feature of Penguin 4 is that it can classify all the domains that are owned by a single entity. This function allows it group domains based on ownership, with domains owned by a single entity forming a single network. Thus, domains within a single network can be valued appropriately based on the nature of their links. Moreover, it allows for identification and comparison of natural and unnatural links within a network. The granular component of Penguin 4 will analyze the commonalities of the links among the domains contained in a network, and how each domain links to the other domains in the same network. It also inspects outbound links emanating from a single network. Therefore, based on the ratio of natural to unnatural links, an accumulative index of suspicion can be computed.

Accordingly, the penalty score will be computed as the sum of the individual penalties of all the domains within the network. The granular component of Penguin also maps the unnatural links across the domains in a single network, and this allows for identification of spam patterns. Even so, emphasis will be on the target domains that ranks the highest in search engine results. This allows the algorithm to pin down the domain that is manipulating its page ranking in search results. Thereafter, the suspect links will be purged; while legitimate domains that seem to have inadvertently linked to the suspect domains will not necessarily be penalized.

How Aggressive and Accurate is Penguin 4?

Penguin 4 uses the most intelligent algorithm to date to eliminate manipulation of search engine results using spam links. Its granular nature means that it will be much more effective than the earlier algorithms in detecting spam links, and relating them to their domains of origin. Thus, the system is both aggressive and accurate. The laser precision in detection of spam is evident in the confidence Google has in penguin 4, to the extent that it has abandoned the Penguin 3 algorithm in its entirety, including retiring the manual spam team that used Penguin 3 for spam detection. This also means that the cost of using more resource power will be offset by the savings Google will make after retrenching the old manual spam team. Likewise, the effects on SERPs (rankings in Search Engine Result Pages) will be quite noticeable, with the percentage of affected SERPs estimated to be as follows, in comparison to Penguin 3:

Penguin 3: 6% of SERPs are affected

Penguin 4: 18% of SERPs are affected

Nonetheless, as mentioned earlier, the full effect of Penguin 4 will not happen instantaneously as there is need to re-compute the existing link graphs, as well as reclassify the link graphs as appropriate. Thus, the effects will not be immediate nor real-time, but will be felt in months to come.

How We Came to Love Blogger Outreach for Link Building

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Link building is one of the most challenging aspects of SEO. With on-page optimization, it’s enough to rely on one’s own SEO expertise, but with link building campaigns, blogger outreach is necessary to see success. Building low quality links with spammy sites is no longer an effective strategy, as sites who do so will be penalized by the search engines and as a result rank very low or not at all in the SERPs. The proper way to build high quality links is by cultivating relationships with webmasters who own trustworthy sites with high domain authority, usually through some form of content marketing.
Link building through blogger outreach can be a very time-consuming process. You have to gather web site owner contacts and get them on board with creating a link that points to your site. The process is complicated by the fact that you don’t want to be directly competing with sites that give you backlinks, but are still related to your site’s content. Finding sites that fit that criteria isn’t always an easy task. Once you’ve formed a partnership with a website owner, you’ve got to come up with an attractive title that will make people want to click on it and quality content. An important thing to keep in mind is that without quality content, it’s not worth it for website owners to publish. Make sure that whatever guest content you give to webmasters will provide value for them and their audience.

Search engines rank the websites of the Internet like a big popularity contest. Links are seen as votes of confidence to the site that they links to. The sites that have the most links linking to them are seen as providing more value to searchers and as a result, get ranked higher. The rewards of having respected websites linking to yours can be substantial. More quality links pointing to your site means being ranked higher in the search engines and in turn, increased traffic to your site.

Finding authoritative websites willing to post your material can be like finding a needle in a haystack, as the Internet is a big place. For the purposes of this article we will focus on gathering website contact emails and sending emails that communicate the value that you will be bringing to a site’s readers by publishing one of your guest posts. We’ve used several services that aid in the process of finding sites and blogs to post your content marketing to. Three that we found particularly useful in their own ways include NinjaOutreach, BuzzStream and Bloggers Required.

Ninja Outreach

ninja

Ninja Outreach is a sophisticated tool that has a bit of a learning curve due to its complexity, but is completely worth it because of its powerful capabilities. Ninja Outreach’s principal feature is its ability to search for keywords that you want to target for your site and results are pulled from multiple search engines. This means that you’re not limited to a single database – the results span the entire indexed Internet. Once you’ve got your results of prospective sites, you can compile them into a list. Your lists are then crawled to retrieve email contacts from each site. Once you’ve gotten a list, you can use Ninja Outreach’s Influencer Outreach Tool.

Using Ninja Outreach greatly speeds up the process of your email campaigns. A feature made for sales but that works great link building purposes is Ninja Outreach’s custom sales templates. You have the option of creating multiple email templates and with the help of Ninja Outreach’s tracking system, you can use the statistics you’re given to assess what messaging is working best in regards to your proposals. If you write out two separate messages, you can send message one out to a group of webmasters and message two out to another group. You can then take a look at the statistics that Ninja Outreach measures for you (opens, clicks and replies) and then focus your efforts on the more effective messaging.

As with all of these tools, there are a few downsides to Ninja Outreach. The Ninja Outreach system only allows you to use a Gmail address. Additionally, if you use the service to send a high volume of emails, your account can get flagged for spam and shut down, and thus losing the work you’ve done.

BuzzStream

BuzzStream is much like Ninja Outreach in that it uses crawlers to pull emails from search engine searches which you can then use in whatever way you’d like. BuzzStream is also similar in that it is a complex tool and as such, can be a difficult tool to master. Using BuzzStream to conduct these outreach techniques do take some time, but when used intelligently and persistently, can lead to some fantastic results.

BuzzStream does a great job of categorizing the contacts that it pulls for you. Website and contact info are automatically sent to your BuzzStream dashboard, saving you from the arduous process of retrieving and organizing all of that information manually. You can then specify how you’d like particular sites or contacts are categorized by factors like date found, page rank, contact status and type of link. BuzzStream also has a backlink checker which notifies you when a backlink is achieved. It also has the capability to show if your backlink has been deleted, if the page it was posted on suddenly becomes full of spam, if a link was nofollowed and even if a link’s anchor text was changed.

On the negative side of things for BuzzStream, it is somewhat expensive so its use may be more relegated to firms whose main focus is SEO. It’s also highly specialized for backlinks, so it doesn’t have some of the features found in other SEO metric tools.

Bloggers Required

Bloggers Required is a network that helps connect bloggers with businesses that need quality content. It’s easy to use and is relatively inexpensive. To get started, all you have to do is register with the site and then post assignments. Bloggers who have a background in the content of your assignments are then able to pitch their blog to you. Some of the blogs you’ll find on this site are low quality or receive very little traffic, but you can pick and choose which blogs work best with the type of content marketing you’d like to promote.

How We Came to Love Blogger Outreach for Link Building (part two): How to do outreach

Getting in Touch

When it comes to blogger outreach, email is by far the best method of communication. People in general, not just website owners, sign into their social media accounts far less than they do with their email. Messages on social media accounts also tend to get ignored or forgotten. The cost of communication through email is free, or if using more advanced email management systems, very affordable.

Before you approach them…

When putting together an email campaign, you’ll get lots of details and contact information from bloggers that may want to work with you. Creating backlinks through blogger outreach can be a hit or miss strategy – for whatever reason, the logistics simply will not work with all bloggers that you reach out to. Some may feel that your content may not be relevant enough to post to their site. Some may think that your site is too much in direct competition with theirs. If not pitched well, some may conclude that you just won’t be able to provide any content of value for them. Regardless of the reasons, the fact of the matter is, blogger outreach is a numbers game and you will have to contact several bloggers before getting quality backlinks. The point is, if you’re doing blogger outreach on a larger scale, using some form of mail merge will make your life a whole lot easier and more efficient.

Personalisation and mail merge

When your lists are built, you can use systems like NinjaOutreach and BuzzStream to organize details and automate the process. These systems take all relevant information and compile them in a way that lets you access them as quickly and easily as possible. The URLs, contact emails and website owner names are all stored together so that you can personalize your messaging. Email templates can be used, but peppering your emails with personal touches greatly increases opening rates and you’ll see far more effective results. If your emails sound too scripted and generic, website owners will be turned off by that and may ignore your message as a result. By personalizing your emails by name and learning about the person’s website, you greatly increase your chances of forming a relationship that will be beneficial for both parties involved.

Due to the amount of emails to website owners it takes to come away with quality backlinks, automating the process can be a good idea. To do this, you can use MailChimp or an smtp service. Aweber is also a solid option. Aweber is a paid service and many people use it because of the fact that it allows affiliate marketers to use it, whereas MailChimp does not. In the case of blogger outreach, this is not a concern so you can use whichever service you find has a better interface.

Get to the point

For writing blogger outreach emails, keeping it simple is the name of the game. You don’t have to write a novel to each potential site owner. Be friendly and to the point. Saying something nice yet honest about the person’s site goes a long way. Make sure to state your purpose for contacting the person clearly so there’s no question as to why you’re emailing them. Also, it’s important to give the person some form of incentive to working with you – there has to be some form of benefit for them. Finally, include a call-to-action so that the site owner has a clear idea of what you’d like them to do. Even if you write the best outreach emails in the world, being rejected is just part of the process, so don’t get too discouraged if some people aren’t on board with the idea.

5 Benefits of Having Guest Posts

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With the new digital age upon us, blogging has truly taken a life of its own. No longer is blogging simply a part of any online marketing or advertising campaign. In fact, today’s blogs play a pivotal role in establish brand validity, awareness and greater visibility across Google. The key to successful blogging, however, is to effectively attract and engage readers with captivating and compelling content. Your blogs should also be relevant to the industry you serve, as well as orientated towards customers and clients. Like any weekly writing series, however, content can get repetitive and writer’s block may set in. To prevent your blogs from drying out, having a guest author is highly recommended.

Guest Blog

Post Different Views.

Guest authors can add a different view to your blog – one that might sway from the norm. Different authors will also use different keywords, while presenting new ideas and points of view that you might not have thought before. In a nutshell, guest bloggers can truly spruce your blogs, while offering a breath of fresh air and new perspectives on categories and topics. In recent months, several well-established blogs have brought in guest bloggers to discuss a myriad of issues related to specific industries and sectors. Why not do the same with your blog and see how interesting it can be?

Fresh and New Content

Maintaining a weekly blog can be a time-consuming and tedious affair. Guest writers can add fresh and new content to your site, which can truly engage and draw in more visitors. Remember, the more likes and subscribers you get – the higher your conversation rates and visibility. This can lead to higher profits and revenue, along with a steady flow of loyal and recurring readers. Guest bloggers also offer new and interesting aspects on your industry covering points that maybe you missed out on in the past.

Establish New Relationships

If your guest poster has amassed a loyal following, you might have that new business partner you were looking for. In fact, guest bloggers can manage your blogs if you wish – this allows you to concentrate on other parts of marketing and advertising your business to core, niche or mass audiences. Hiring or working with guest writers also builds new friendships that can last for years to come!

Secure New Followers

Guest bloggers create shareable content, which is essential in attracting new customers and followers. It’s almost certain that your guest writer will have a Twitter of Facebook account with a lot of followers. This is the perfect platform to share your blog and articles with his or her followers, resulting in greater exposure and visibility across vast digital networks. This is simply a win-win situation that can generate a lasting buzz about your brand, site, blog and especially services.

That Expert Touch

Guest writers may be experts in a field where you have little to no knowledge of. This adds true value to your site and presents your brand as a true professional entity. All it takes is a little legwork to network and connect with the right guest posters for your blog. This includes checking the Internet, along with existing blogs that are relevant to your business, clientele and niche. Happy Blogging!

What is Blogger Outreach?

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Blogger outreach continues to play a pivotal role for new and existing businesses. In a nutshell, blogger outreach are simply businesses working with bloggers to create genuine and engaging content. This can be blog posts geared towards promoting particular products or services. They can also revolve around blogs that help establish brand validity and awareness. As always, these posts must be authentic and designed to attract potential customers and clients. They must also be relevant to the brand in question, which is vital in helping businesses foster growth and compete in their particular niche or industry.

The Rise of the Blogger and Social Media

Blogging is an essential part of any online or SEO marketing campaign. In fact, long gone are the days of blogging as a supplemental tool to promote products and services. Today’s bloggers are gaining serious traction over the Internet – and as a result – brands can use their influence to gain higher visibility and popularity for their products. With the new digital age upon us, blogging is also intertwined with social and mobile media marketing. From Facebook to Twitter, bloggers have the tools and expertise to help brands market and advertise their services across vast digital networks. This results in stronger lead generation, as well as customer patronage and visibility across Google and other leading search engines.

Content Marketing and Giveaways

With online reputation as important as ever, positive, honest reviews and testimonials help brands establish identity and true professionalism across the board. In fact, brands can contact bloggers and offer them products in exchange for reviews. This helps generate a buzz about your products and services, while ensuring timely and positive reviews that boost visibility and recognition. Brands can even contact bloggers about writing valuable content for their sites. This can include essential links that connect new and existing customers to the products and services they seek. With content marketing and giveaways, brands are able to utilize the writing expertise of bloggers – while using their skills as marketing vehicles for brand or product promotion.

Getting Started

In order to reach out to bloggers, simply search for them on Google, Facebook, or Twitter. These platforms feature countless bloggers that may represent your specific niche or sector. It is also important to create contact lists and start e-mailing them about your needs and aspirations. As always, make sure these e-mails are relevant and sensitive to your specific brand. Bloggers are very busy and do not have time for lengthy e-mails or proposals as well. Therefore, make sure your e-mails are not spammy, and simply be precise, concise, and straight to the point.

With blogger outreach at an all time high, now is the right time to connect with these writing experts. Not only do they have the tools and expertise to achieve desired results – the also stay abreast of all the latest industry trends and developments. This enables them to formulate strategic plans of action that help brands attain higher visibility on the Web. As always, they will offer industry insight and ideas on how to promote your brand via blogs and other essential tools.