Linking and Publicity Opportunity Watch

Do these right now:

1. There are at least ten different ways you can potentially obtain links from Yahoo? Have a look here to see what I mean. To this add Yahoo Picks of the Week and Yahoo News Full Coverage, both of which can mean a new link for you but...please only do this if it truly makes sense for your site. There's plenty of ways into Google as well. More on that next time.
2. You can obtain links for individual content elements on your site. What is a content element?
   Here are a few examples.
   • If you have a blog and/or RSS feed (and who doesn't?), use this wonderful list to get links for it.
     http://www.masternewmedia.org/rss/top55/
   • You've launched a Podcast? Seek links for it here.
     http://www.podcasting-tools.com/submit-podcasts.htm
   • You have content on your site designed for children or parents? Request reviews and links at the sites listed here
     http://searchenginewatch.com/links/article.php/2156191
   • Your site runs a Sweepstakes? Go forth and submit.
     http://contests.about.com/library/blsweepslist.htm
   • Your site has Flash? Really good Flash? Go to http://www.thefwa.com and let them know about it. A pile of boring White Papers? They aren't boring to these sites. Submit them.
     http://www.ebizq.net/white_papers/submit.html
     http://www.webbuyersguide.com/buyers_guide/whitepaper.asp
     
   • You have a web cam pointing at your fabulous new office? Tell http://www.camcentral.com/

The strategy here is to see your site is the sum of its parts. And some of those parts can be linkworthy. See beyond your homepage URL.

People can link to your site in many ways. The most common way is by using your company name, like this:

IBM Corporation

The part of the link that is clickable is called the Anchor Text. Many people feel that anchor text comprised of keywords helps their search engine rankings. Like this:

IBM Securty Products

So far, so good. But don't go crazy and ask 500 other sites to link to you using the identical anchor text. All this does is end up creating an unnatural inbound linking signature for your site that a search algorithm can spot. A better approach is to create a detailed Linking to Us page like this one:

http://www.healthfinder.gov/aboutus/linking.asp