The cost of using bargain basement companies for backlinks

How should your links be created?

According to Matt Cutts of Google a large number of backlinks not related to your keywords or your brand is bad. You don’t want linked to products your customers have no interest in. These can actually do you more harm than good. Bargain basement companies can actually cost you in long term pagerank.

Backlinks you build yourself are better

You know what your website is furnishing; as well as what keywords you are using.  The bargain basement company you hire doesn’t care. They are going to build backlinks to any website they think they can. In essence they are spamming hoping someone doesn’t have filtering. They also hope to give just enough information to filtered sites in a general way in hopes the blog owner will let it by.

You don’t need a lot of of them

People are ranking really well with very few back links. If you believe you really need them create them through article directories and use the pyramid system linking you own articles. This is well accepted by search engines.

The pyramid system explained

Simply stated you are linking to your own work. It also gives you more leeway in the keywords you can rank for. The best approach is linking to your own work. First write a few articles which link to your website, then write articles which link to those articles. This will help raise you rank with information you know relates to your niche.  Make sure these contain information of value to those in your niche.

Google + authorship

If you have claimed authorship for your blog this is going to give you a PR10 link along with other perks. They say that not every article you write will show up with your picture next to the Meta description. Enough should though once you have proven yourself as an expert author.

Other forms of links

Social media links especially from social sharing are the best you can get. Most social media are PR10 links. Google wants to see them especially from social sharing. Dot edu backlinks come in second. Those are hard to get at least for us. They let a search engine know you are considered an expert in your field.

How many do you need?

The last we heard 25 is plenty. From that point on they will build on their own. This is provided they are high page rank and relate to your keywords. This is not something which should be trusted to some overseas company, or any company who is giving you a bargain basement price.

Choosing a search engine optimization company

If you use a Search engine optimization company choose one which already has a track record. You want it in writing how your links will be created. Take your time to read how they will be created as well as checking out how they have been created.

How can you check?

Alexa shows who you are linked to. All you have to do is look there. Once you learn how it isn’t hard to do. They don’t show up immediately. There have been times when it has taken about a month for us personally.

How do you build links search engines love?

Content the readers are commenting on and sharing will do this for you. If you write to your audience giving them information of value chances are good some will share. The best idea is to put your article link on your social media. The people who are liking you, +1 you and tweet your work are the best ones to gauge if your work suits them.

Who should you trust?

Our money is on Matt Cutts. Since he is the one who is behind Panda and Penguin he shoots straight from the hip. What he wants is the same thing every search engine wants.

This was written after receiving 161 unusable comments to our website blog in a single day.

Quality content

They, search engines, are looking for quality content written to keywords which search engine users are typing into the search bar. Search engines are also looking for websites which deliver what a searcher wants.  So although a few backlinks is still a good idea you don’t need anywhere near as many as it used to take.  Now if you use a bargain basement company chances are it will hurt more than help.

©June 13, 2013 11:55 PM CDT Dennis Thorgesen for Lisech eMarketing, All rights reserved

Your brand; the six “P’s

It is impossible to create your brand without the six “P’s.” The same applies to those who are using only face and name self branding. They are Passion, Position, Packaging, Promoting, Profit, and understanding how to be prosperous.

Passion

A passion based business will always do better than one where the owners are not. The reason for this is when you are “selling;” passion plays a large role. People who have a passion will keep learning, and passion will help a person through the rough times.

Position

This covers more than positioning yourself in front of your target audience. You have to position yourself with like-minded people who are ahead of you. Those are the people who are going to give you a boost as you go. Some may help financially however most will be the ones who give you a pat on the back when you do something good.  This is done by building relationships with people you meet both online and off.

Packaging

Packaging deals with the package people will see when they meet you. This is where your talents and the talents of others build your reputation and show your image and identity. Show potential clients what you have to offer.

Last night we saw a Pinterest page which could use some improvement. The page was not branded at all; it was put together in a way where someone who wanted the product knew exactly what to expect, yet the page builder missed the point. People buy from people.

Promoting

This is where we see a lot of marketers missing the point. They are promoting a product first. Using Zig Ziglar as an example of the right way, Zig promoted himself and showed others how to do the same. Brand you first then worry about the product.

Profit

This is the reason you are doing what you do. The only person who can change the amount you are earning is you. If you find you are not doing as well as you should go back to the four above and make changes. If people are not buying from you, you are missing one of the points above.

Prosperity

Smart marketers plan on residual income. They want to work less if at all and still have an income coming in. According to statistics only two percent of internet marketers get this right. Between the stock market and housing market many baby boomers are finding the nest egg they planned on for retirement is no longer there. This makes a residual income important for them. Most don’t want to try to survive on 40% of what they couldn’t survive on before retirement. The best vehicle for a steady or ever increasing income is finding a way to have residual income.

The Six “P’s” will put your brand where it should be

If your brand is based on personal passion you will become good at what you do. Proper positioning will have you working with the people who can be of the most help as well as in front of your audience. How you put your package together will entice readers and buyers. With your package you should be promoting you not your product. If you get this right you will be in profit. When you have you will be well on your way to being prosperous.

© December 6, 2012 11:00 AM CST Dennis Thorgesen for Lisech eMarketing, All rights reserved.