Back Linking Strategies for 2016
Are you an SEO Specialist (or a wannabe SEO) who is struggling to find that connection between off-page SEO and search rankings? This article on back linking strategies for 2016 is for you!
Now, there has been a lot of debate on link building. Very often, the question is “Does it matter at all? I know several sites which have good rankings even though they have hardly any off page activity”. Well our experience suggests that it does and we will cover why subsequently.
Still, even if back linking does matter, we still face the following questions as to what back linking strategies to use:
1) There are a number of classified directories where we can create links. But will this do any good or will it be harmful to my rankings? Should I purchase a premium listing or would it be a waste of money?
2) I've checked the backlinks of my competitors and there are several who seem to have acquired good rankings by commenting in irrelevant blogs. Should I do the same or is it not worth the risk?
3) My site is PR 3. If I acquire a link from a PR 2 site, would that be harmful to my rankings?
4) Should I go in for press releases? I am not sure because of the high cost involved!
5) What about article submission sites? I've heard they don't count anymore so am I wasting my time creating blogs there?
6) Which forums are best to create high quality back links?
7) What about social bookmarking and other social media sites?
To answer these questions, let's delve deeper into why backlinks came into existence as an SEO factor.
The original reason for giving credit to backlinks was the theory that "If a reputed website links to you, it does so because of the relevance of your site to the subject. Therefore, if your site is linked, that means it is relevant and deserves a good ranking”.
No one knows the exact formula on the exact impact backlinks make since this is a closely guarded secret and we are sure Google often changes algorithms whenever they decide they have a better idea. So more than the exact theoretical impact, my personal experiences with link building have taught me to look at this from a completely practical approach.
As we said before, backlinks do matter and they will matter more when they come from relevant sites and look natural. And yes, while we endeavor to acquire natural links as far as possible, there are some tricks in the trade which help you achieve some really good back links. Over a period of time, our research and observations have meant that there are some kinds of links that have worked really well. I don't want to go by a fixed pattern or state a claim that classifieds are no good or irrelevant blog commenting is harmful; the point is to share with you some practical results we have seen on link building strategies and help you achieve the rankings you need for your business growth.
Here are the tips and examples which would cover the questions above
#1. Classified Directories: These are mostly avoidable for SEO and paid listings are unnecessary unless you really believe potential customers would search for your service in that directory. However, for the purpose of generating a follow backlink, here is one which has my vote and green signal: R-TT is a reliable do-follow link directory and it is completely FREE! Submit your URL along with a unique description here --> www.directory.r-tt.com/Submit_Site/
#2. Blog Commenting: Random blog commenting is an absolute no-no. You may have come across articles with 100+ comments, tempting you to add your own. All such comments have only one purpose - to paste links. Avoid these by all means! Yet, do make use of blogs when you see the topic is relevant to your link and contains some already existent natural comments. Put in your own genuine response with a link that doesn't look like it's advertising. If the comment box allows you to enter a URL, please go ahead and add it! Note however, that such backlinks have a minor impact on rankings.
#3. Getting links from lower PR sites: If the site looks credible and natural to you, go ahead and take the link. The low PR will not matter. After all, don't we all keep linking to Wikipedia? And, Wikipedia has still stayed on the top, right?
#4. Press releases: Yes, you should go in for these if you can afford them and they have the potential to generate several natural links if picked by a journalist and published in an epaper or magazine. My personal favorite is www.prnewswire.com
#5. Article submission sites: Contrary to common opinion, there are still a few credible article submission sites where you can still create articles. Most offer no follow links but these are worth it too so go ahead with article submissions. Do make sure you limit yourself to a reputed ones only like:
www.ezinearticles.com
www.articlesbase.com
#6. Forums: Yes, these do work. Make sure you update your personal information with your website URL or add the website to your signature. You can then comment on ongoing topics with some relevant answers. Here are my favorite forums:
www.studiopress.com
www.warriorforum.com
www.freehostforum.com
www.ewebdiscussion.com
#7. Social Media: Here are some really good examples of where to get high value backlinks from:
In addition to Facebook, Twitter, Google +, LinkedIn that we are already familiar with - There are a number of social media & link sharing sites where you can create accounts and save links. Make sure you have accounts in all of these:
Update your main URL in the account settings or provide a link in the profile description if it permits. Google+ does allow you to put in a link in the profile description, so make use of that. You should also create article posts where available like LinkedIn Pulse. Though it is debatable whether this will shoot up your rankings, it adds to your online presence and the www acquires another link to your website after all!
Other Quick & Useful Back linking Strategies:
Here is my personal, current and valuable list of back linking sites:
1) www.dpreview.com : Just create an account and make sure you enter your URL in the profile settings
2) Job sites/ internship sites: Create job postings in internship sites. This leads to a lot of natural traffic to your website and also provides natural high PR backlinks. E.g. www.careesma.in and www.internshala.com are popular in India.
3) www.genius.com : Same deal. Just create an account and paste links in the description. No HTML is needed here.
4) http://advertise.bingads.microsoft.com : This is an excellent source of a back link. The only catch is you need to appear for and clear the online Bing Adwords exam and you can add the link in your company profile description. It’s worth the effort since this gives you a natural and highly relevant link from microsoft.com.
5) https://kdp.amazon.com/ : Amazon provides you an opportunity to be a Kindle publisher for free. Even if you do not have anything to publish, you can still create a KDP account, go to the community and enter your URL in the settings. Ask a few questions in the community or answer some and you are all set to have a link from amazon.com !
6) https://discussions.apple.com/welcome This is Apple's discussion forum where you can get a link through the personal profile section.
7) https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/community/forums/html/public?lang=en Same principle as above. Get a high value link from IBM through their community forum.
8) http://www.socialmediatoday.com/ Create an account, update your profile and enjoy a high value backlink!
9) Website Design feedback sites. You can submit your URLs here for review and receive feedback on design and other aspects. You will need to critique other sites too to gain credits. Go with http://www.criticue.com
10) http://viesearch.com/ Same tactic! Just create an account.
Hope this article on back linking strategies for 2016 has helped clear your doubts on backlinks. Please test out these links & let me know the results they gave to your website rankings through the comment box below. Also feel free to add your own set of reliable back links!
5 Reasons why Print Advertising is Important
If Digital media is getting saturated, it is time to break the communication barrier with customers by getting back into print advertising!
In today's digital age, it's easy for your target market to become saturated with online advertisements and email marketing. Reconsider the stability and results you get with print advertising.
In a recent research survey by Forbes Magazine, print materials and publications offer your customers and prospects a brand experience that can't be replicated online. Below are 5 important reasons why print advertising will never go out of trend and will make a lasting impact on your target market.
1. Print is Credible.
Like the feeling you get when you see The Times of India or your favorite magazine on the rack, there is something to be said about the feeling of legitimacy that comes from print. You are able to put the printed piece down and comeback at any time to resume your reading. And print requires "real estate". As marketers, we like this! A printed piece placed on the corner of a desk will be there day after day until it is picked back up to be viewed.
2. Print Establishes Your Brand.
Printed magazines and other branded materials is an excellent method for brand building. It allows you to bring the aesthetic qualities of font, colors, images and texture that helps to establish your company's brand recognition.
3. Print Can Reach Your Target Market.
The design, placement and timing of your company ads in publications, newspapers and magazines can help you reach your target audience, whether it be a niche market or the common public. By leveraging analysis of demographics, you are able to strategically place your brand in the right place at the right time, in front of the right audience.
4. Print Advertising is More Engaging.
Websites are often skimmed through very quickly. When a customer or prospect reads a printed material, they are more engaged for a longer period of time. The average reader spends half an hour reading the newspaper a day whereas the engagement time on a webpage barely exceeds 30 seconds.
5. Less Print, Is More For You.
With more organizations taking their marketing efforts online, old has become new again as print becomes the new trend. Advertisers have more information and data to make calculated - decisions about content, consumption, consumers, and collateral types.
Email inboxes are overflowing with unsolicited ads and non-worthy news, most of which is largely ignored. With this in mind, designing and sharing a great printed marketing piece should be high on your list of strategic marketing initiatives.
Contact Vivitsa for all your print advertising needs. We deliver customized high quality images designed to meet your marketing objectives.
Lead Nurturing: From Awareness To Action
Lead generation through online media like search is often an activity where several companies end up investing more than what they could afford in terms of time and money. Often, this is because of a lack of complete understanding of the customer cycle.
In a recent article by SearchEngineLand, the author has highlighted the importance of a comprehensive understanding of the lead nurturing cycle. You need to be aware of the four main phases a customer passes through. i.e. Awareness, Interest, Desire and Action. Understanding of these aspects of the customer journey is vital to achieving high value leads and sales in addition to achieving efficiency in your lead generation efforts.
Knowing what people search for and what they are interested in finding during each phase can help you better align your strategy. Create content that addresses your customers’ needs, building your relationship and solidifying a sale.
1) Awareness
The Awareness phase is the first step in your customers’ journey. An aware customer is one who is in the process of researching products and services that can help him/her resolve a particular pain point. These visitors are most interested in reading content that gives them an informative and engaging experience of the topic in which they are interested. That is why in-depth articles, informative graphics and videos can be excellent types of content for this phase.
You must be willing to engage your customers through ads, social media, email or alternate channels. Your consistent efforts will help them generate interest and move to the next stage.
2) Interest
As prospects progress to the Interest Phase, they begin to move from making informational searches to using navigational queries. They have now interacted with your brand and you are a viable option for them.
They may be in the phase of finalizing who to choose and determining what advantages you have over others. This is the time when you need to step up your lead nurturing activity by cultivating their interest.
Apprise them about:
- What is the difference between your competitor and you?
- What makes your product better?
Produce content that positions you as an industry expert in the field — someone people can trust when they want help solving their problem.
3) Desire
When people graduate to the Desire Phase, they start making commercial enquiries.
They may be looking for demos and reviews of the product. These customers are interested in learning more to help them make their final decision.
Give them content that guides them through their choices and helps them understand why your brand is worthy of their investment. Nurture your leads by sending them comparisons and videos and testimonials.
4) Action
The Action Phase belongs to customers who are using search search queries like
- The product name
- Buy [product]
They know exactly what they are looking for and need to be directly taken to the product details and benefits. These are your highest value prospects and you are just one step away from making the sale!
Customized Lead Nurturing By Vivitsa
Vivitsa’s customized lead nurturing and demand generation program comprises of understanding each stage of the customer and nurturing him through the most appropriate means suited to the phase, from awareness to interest to desire to action.
Our focused programs take special steps customized to every stage including:
- White paper and case study syndication
- Video and media syndication
- Online marketing
- Press releases
- Webinars and event registrations
Are you in need of a partner to energize your sales process? Enquire about our lead generation program here!
Marketing and Sales terms
Marketing and sales are two related aspects of a business. But most people aren't sure as to what should be classified as Marketing and what constitutes Sales. The same is true for many common terms we use but can't define.
We have below a list of common marketing and sales terms you need to know:
Lead – "A lead is a potential sales contact – an individual or organization that expresses an interest in your goods or services."
Sales – Taken as a department within an enterprise, sales basically functions "to 'sell what's in stock". The company has specific products or services and the job of Sales is to sell those things. Sales develops relationships with customers and/or channel partners."
Lead Conversion – "Lead Conversion is the process of converting a lead into an account, contact, and/or opportunity."
Closed Deals – Successful sales engagements. Basically, the term denotes an agreement wherein buyers, after making inquiries, purchase certain products or employ the services of entities selling them.
Lead Generation – A series of activities that are designed to stir buyer interest and generate engagements anchored on securing a successful purchase.
Lead Scoring – "Lead scoring is a methodology used to rank prospects against a scale that represents the perceived value each lead represents to the organization. The resulting score is used to determine which leads a receiving function (e.g. sales, partners, teleprospecting) will engage, in order of priority."
Lead Qualification – The process of determining whether a lead matches an enterprise's ideal client profile, in which case such a lead has a higher chance of committing to a sale.
Appointment Setting – This refers to a phase in the buying cycle in which an enterprise contacts prospects and "warms" them up for a sales meeting.
Prospecting – According to Entrepreneur, prospecting is essentially the process of "(reaching) out to qualified prospects and (moving) them through the sales cycle from cold to warm to hot."
Customer profiling – This refers to the task of scouting and identifying contacts that correspond to an enterprise's ideal client requirements.
Business list – This refers to any list containing names, email addresses, and contact numbers of businesses that can be guided through the sales cycle.
Account management – This is a set of activities that involve managing the accounts of high-profile clients. But Investopedia also explains that account managers provide "customer support, upselling, technical assistance and general relationship management."
Dialer – A tool allowing organizations to contact prospects automatically and determine whether such prospects are ready to accept a call or not by effectively filtering out answering machines and busy signals.
Marketing Automation – A set of technologies that allow business organizations to manage a high volume of customer data. To put it bluntly, such software systems allow organizations to undertake a variety of marketing tasks across a variety of audience engagement channels efficiently.
Pipeline – This is a representation of an organization's sales model dissected into steps. Depending on the organization's own definition of its sales pipeline, clients typically start from an initial contact and are guided through each succeeding step until they reach a point where they consider purchasing a product.du tam
Multi-channel Marketing – This is described as an approach that allows an organization to interact with its constituents through a variety of platforms or channels (for instance, email, social media, telemarketing, PPC).
Event Marketing – This is mainly a set of marketing tasks designed specifically to promote an event (for example, a trade show) with the intent of hitting a set number of attendances which the event needs to become successful.
This post originally appeared at Sales and Marketing Solutions.
The latest Facebook facts and statistics
The latest Facebook facts and statistics
Here are some fascinating numbers on a range of Facebook facts and metrics from mobile, revenue and a host of other facts to share in your presentations and wow your next dinner party guests.
- Every second there are 20,000 people on Facebook. This means in just 18 minutes there are 11 million users on Facebook
- On average there are 486,183 users a minute accessing Facebook from their mobile
- 79% of all users are accessing Facebook from their mobile.
- There are 745 million daily mobile users
- Facebook is adding 7,246 people every 15 minutes or 8 per second
- Every minute there are 150,000 messages sent
- Every 15 minutes there are over 49 million posts. To be precise 49,433,000 or 3 million posts per minute
- There are 100,000 friend requests every 10 minutes
- There are 500,000 Facebook “likes” every minute
- Facebook generates $1.4 million in revenue every hour
- Nearly 73% of Facebook’s ad revenue comes from mobile advertising
- Facebook earns $2.5 billion a quarter from mobile advertising
- People share 1.3 million pieces of content on Facebook every minute of every day
- In November of 2014 the number of video uploads to Facebook exceeded YouTube video uploads
- Facebook generated $12.47 billion in sales in 2014 (a rise of 58% year on year)
- Photo uploads are 350 million per day
- Users spend 21 minutes per day on average on Facebook
- 31% of US senior citizens are on Facebook
- 66% of all millennials (15-34 year olds) use Facebook
- People spend 927 million hours a month playing Facebook games
- There are 1 billion mobile app links enabled on Facebook