What about link building?

In light of the increasing importance of social signals over traditional ways of link building---as discussed in this article---we should more than ever strive to create useful and shareable content.

Terri's recent wizzle offers some very interesting aspects on a good post-Panda affiliate marketing strategy.

Here's another interesting read from Problogger: A New Linking Strategy - Out Is The New In

Linking to authority sites is not knew, has worked for years still does. However I must say I think the current smoke screen about social signals is just that. 

I have sites sitting at #1  because they have "manufacturer" links, they are still #1 - nothings changed in the last year.And there seems to be just as many companies buying links - apparently they pay good money because it still works 

What I get out of all the above reading materials is that in the future you'll be better off with useful content and generous linking to outside resources than with self-centered articles that contain tons of links to only your own, other materials.

And that tons of backlinks from directories or article submitters will count less and less.

I'm pretty unconvinced by the social signals stuff too. I think that may affect really popular and trending topics. 

But if you start doing this for longtail searches then the result is junk. I'm seeing this a lot at the moment if I search logged in to my google account. I have a friend who is incontinent with the google+ button and this pushes a lot of less relevant results up. Just because he liked it, it really doesn't make it more relevant to my search. 

I link out to my stuff, authority stuff, or just someone's unheard of blog, if and when it's useful (or necessary for a credit.) Of course, I'll favor my stuff when it is relevant. 

I basically make the assumption that google does want to push useful stuff to the top and will correct itself over time. I much prefer this approach to chasing the current latest seo thinking.

(BTW I'm a techie, I understand all the SEO stuff, it's just not the way I choose to run my business.)

That's why I cited you as a great example for a better approach in the future, Terri.

In a nutshell - usefulness will increase as a ranking factor, and SEO techniques will decrease in value.

Thanks Chef!

Yep. Useful is where we want to be. 

I've got some other articles brewing on related subjects. 

Why do people think usefulness and SEO are opposing things? I think I'm an OK writer, but everything I've written here is SEOed to an inch of its life - why does that make it less useful. 

The most useful article in the world is of no use if no one can find it 

chefkeem: 16. Jan 2012, 15:43

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That's why I cited you as a great example for a better approach in the future, Terri.

In a nutshell - usefulness will increase as a ranking factor, and SEO techniques will decrease in value.

Lissie: 16. Jan 2012, 21:14

Why do people think usefulness and SEO are opposing things?  

Nobody says that, Lis. We're talking about the importance of different aspects of online writing with regard to better rankings..

Of course, we need some SEO to get found. But I venture to say that a high-quality article with only one keyword may in the future have higher ranking chances than a quality article with keywords all over the place.

The typical, uber-SEO article marketing stuff may fade into the sunset, and the truly-personal, creative, uniquely-useful, one-of-a-kind content may rise to the top.

It's what Google has been saying for years. Only now they seem to make greater strides in their algo adjustments, so they put out some words to the wise.

All that generic stuff we get in on a daily basis---semi-informative SEO rehash of widely available info for the sole purpose of backlinking---is already a waste of time, and we reject most of it.

On Wizzley we have a wonderful crew of  high-quality writers, but there is still a large part of our membership who would benefit from raising their standards with regard to upcoming Google updates.

I really hope it is true that useful and unique content rises to the top of the search engines.

It really ticks me off that my very best work online, my 'how-to' tutorials which contain unique content, original photos etc get almost zilch traffic while my salesy pages which don't normally contain original photos rise to the top. Of course I try hard with writing all types of articles but it seems the ones which I put the most effort into are the ones which always sink without a trace!

Thankfully I'm persistent and I keep on trying hard regardless. But it can get a little soul destroying at times to think that no one sees your best work online because the search engines don't love it.

Lissie: 16. Jan 2012, 21:14

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Why do people think usefulness and SEO are opposing things? I think I'm an OK writer, but everything I've written here is SEOed to an inch of its life - why does that make it less useful. 

The most useful article in the world is of no use if no one can find it 

chefkeem: 16. Jan 2012, 15:43

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That's why I cited you as a great example for a better approach in the future, Terri.

In a nutshell - usefulness will increase as a ranking factor, and SEO techniques will decrease in value.

 

OK, we've slipped into using the term SEO to mean a specific kind of SEO. I'm completely aware of making sure readers can find my pages, that's the whole point, right! 

Lis, you're very much more experienced that me. You're probably making a huge amount more money for your time than me. 

But a lot of people are making very little and get disheartened. I wanted to share an approach where the focus is on your knowledge of the subject you are writing about, not on SEO. 

Also there are a lot of myths around that you must do all that stuff (keyword research, backlinking, niches, blogging, social media) to be successful. Maybe you do need to do it to be as successful as you are. But you don't need to do it in order to earn enough money to live on through part-time hours. Which a lot of people would be very happy with. (Not me, but I'm enjoying the journey.)

What I do is certainly on-page SEO and I do market analysis instead of keyword research. 

Marie, 

I'm afraid I don't see things changing in that way. 

For the immediate future you're going to need to have the right words in your article to draw people in. 

It's definitely possible to get good traffic to craft and baking pages if you pick the right topics and use the right words. 

kinworm: 17. Jan 2012, 00:57

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I really hope it is true that useful and unique content rises to the top of the search engines.

It really ticks me off that my very best work online, my 'how-to' tutorials which contain unique content, original photos etc get almost zilch traffic while my salesy pages which don't normally contain original photos rise to the top. Of course I try hard with writing all types of articles but it seems the ones which I put the most effort into are the ones which always sink without a trace!

Thankfully I'm persistent and I keep on trying hard regardless. But it can get a little soul destroying at times to think that no one sees your best work online because the search engines don't love it.

You just need to think about your audience - I've picked your Jam Heart Cookies recipe because it kinda illustrates my point . 

First off most search traffic is American - why ? A) because the country is huge and b) they love to shop online. So you have to speak American. Jam is not jam in the US - its jelly, and as you got right you and I would call biscuits, cookies. So you can have Jam Heart Biscuits or Jelly Heart Cookies but not the variation you went for. 

But more than that - the searcher is probably not looking for your recipe by name. I'm guessing here but I would think something like: "romantic baking" "valentines day recipes" or even "valentines day cookies" may get you more search traffic. 

You could write exactly the same page (though I would give the ingredients in US terms either as well as or instead of the UK version) - the title is different - that's all. In fact you could put a page of that name - write another reicpe or give some romantic baking ideas and then link to your Jam Hearts page. 

TerriRexson: 17. Jan 2012, 02:46

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OK, we've slipped into using the term SEO to mean a specific kind of SEO. I'm completely aware of making sure readers can find my pages, that's the whole point, right! 

Lis, you're very much more experienced that me. You're probably making a huge amount more money for your time than me. 

But a lot of people are making very little and get disheartened. I wanted to share an approach where the focus is on your knowledge of the subject you are writing about, not on SEO. 

Also there are a lot of myths around that you must do all that stuff (keyword research, backlinking, niches, blogging, social media) to be successful. Maybe you do need to do it to be as successful as you are. But you don't need to do it in order to earn enough money to live on through part-time hours. Which a lot of people would be very happy with. (Not me, but I'm enjoying the journey.)

What I do is certainly on-page SEO and I do market analysis instead of keyword research. 

The figures you are quoting in your progress page are a significantly higher than I was making after 18 months! 

I agree there is an awful lot of confusion out there - generally promulgated by the gurus in order to line their own pockets. 

You are actually doing very smart marketing by doing "on-page SEO and market analysis" - you clearly know your market well and whether or not you are using a tool you clearly understand picking the right keywords very well. 

I don't do the social media stuff - its not necessary for almost all niches - people hang out on facebook and twitter to waste time - not to spend money. People who want to buy something google something like "green lantern toys". I've done blogging - that's for if you want to be world famous like problogger and have your book published and make your money going to conferences telling people how to blog for money - its the nastiest side-track that many beginners go down. 

I think I might have to write a page on simple SEO - because it frustrates me no end how people think its "too hard" when - particularly if you can write and know your niche well - its by far the easiest part of the process. 

TerriRexson: 17. Jan 2012, 02:59

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Marie, 

I'm afraid I don't see things changing in that way. 

For the immediate future you're going to need to have the right words in your article to draw people in. 

It's definitely possible to get good traffic to craft and baking pages if you pick the right topics and use the right words. 

I'll keep trying with that! I manage to hit the nail on the head sometimes but never with what 'I' think is my best work! I'm sure it's down to lack of experience too because I haven't been doing this for a year yet. So, I'm learning as I go along. 

Lissie: 17. Jan 2012, 03:28

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kinworm: 17. Jan 2012, 00:57

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I really hope it is true that useful and unique content rises to the top of the search engines.

It really ticks me off that my very best work online, my 'how-to' tutorials which contain unique content, original photos etc get almost zilch traffic while my salesy pages which don't normally contain original photos rise to the top. Of course I try hard with writing all types of articles but it seems the ones which I put the most effort into are the ones which always sink without a trace!

Thankfully I'm persistent and I keep on trying hard regardless. But it can get a little soul destroying at times to think that no one sees your best work online because the search engines don't love it.

You just need to think about your audience - I've picked your Jam Heart Cookies recipe because it kinda illustrates my point . 

First off most search traffic is American - why ? A) because the country is huge and b) they love to shop online. So you have to speak American. Jam is not jam in the US - its jelly, and as you got right you and I would call biscuits, cookies. So you can have Jam Heart Biscuits or Jelly Heart Cookies but not the variation you went for. 

But more than that - the searcher is probably not looking for your recipe by name. I'm guessing here but I would think something like: "romantic baking" "valentines day recipes" or even "valentines day cookies" may get you more search traffic. 

You could write exactly the same page (though I would give the ingredients in US terms either as well as or instead of the UK version) - the title is different - that's all. In fact you could put a page of that name - write another reicpe or give some romantic baking ideas and then link to your Jam Hearts page. 

 

Thank you, Lissie, for the excellent tips there. You're right, I did mess up on the name somewhat which Terri kindly pointed out early on after I published it. I should have thought that through better!

I like the idea of linking from another page seeing as I have a number of cookie recipes. So I might try that out.

I'm sure many people would really appreciate an article on Simple SEO too. 

Here we go! 

http://wizzley.com/seo-for-writers/ 

Its late here though - I'm off to bed! 

kinworm: 17. Jan 2012, 04:27

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Lissie: 17. Jan 2012, 03:28

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kinworm: 17. Jan 2012, 00:57

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I really hope it is true that useful and unique content rises to the top of the search engines.

It really ticks me off that my very best work online, my 'how-to' tutorials which contain unique content, original photos etc get almost zilch traffic while my salesy pages which don't normally contain original photos rise to the top. Of course I try hard with writing all types of articles but it seems the ones which I put the most effort into are the ones which always sink without a trace!

Thankfully I'm persistent and I keep on trying hard regardless. But it can get a little soul destroying at times to think that no one sees your best work online because the search engines don't love it.

You just need to think about your audience - I've picked your Jam Heart Cookies recipe because it kinda illustrates my point . 

First off most search traffic is American - why ? A) because the country is huge and b) they love to shop online. So you have to speak American. Jam is not jam in the US - its jelly, and as you got right you and I would call biscuits, cookies. So you can have Jam Heart Biscuits or Jelly Heart Cookies but not the variation you went for. 

But more than that - the searcher is probably not looking for your recipe by name. I'm guessing here but I would think something like: "romantic baking" "valentines day recipes" or even "valentines day cookies" may get you more search traffic. 

You could write exactly the same page (though I would give the ingredients in US terms either as well as or instead of the UK version) - the title is different - that's all. In fact you could put a page of that name - write another reicpe or give some romantic baking ideas and then link to your Jam Hearts page. 

 

Thank you, Lissie, for the excellent tips there. You're right, I did mess up on the name somewhat which Terri kindly pointed out early on after I published it. I should have thought that through better!

I like the idea of linking from another page seeing as I have a number of cookie recipes. So I might try that out.

I'm sure many people would really appreciate an article on Simple SEO too. 

I'm not sure you messed up too much by using jam - it does get searched for. I left you the comment to make sure you also had the word jelly in there. My approach is to throw it all in there!

I'd put in words like easy, quick, homemade, fun to make with kids. Always give a variant using chocolate even if you didn't make it - chocolate is popular! Give alternate filling ideas like caramel. 

I'd also mention they're a bit like Jammie Dodgers (yes you can find those on Amazon.com.) They also seem to be a bit like something called Thumbprint Cookies. I'd mention that they are like Valentine's thumbprint cookies or something like that. 

You do have to work a bit harder on these things when you're not American! 

I would give American quantities in the recipe. I think a lot of Americans just hit the back button if they see anything else. 

Lissie: 17. Jan 2012, 05:34

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Here we go! 

http://wizzley.com/seo-for-writers/ 

 

Its late here though - I'm off to bed! 

Wow - that was fantastically fast, Lissie. I will check that out in a moment.

Thank you so much @TerriRexson too for sharing such helpful advice. You're right about having to work harder if you're not American. That is so much great help to me and tips I can apply to future articles too.  

Marie, I'm always willing to help out with something as simple as word choices. If you want an American vocabulary, I can help!
I would look for your cookies with the terms sandwich cookies, thumbprint cookies, heart cutouts. And a combination of those terms. Jam or jelly probably would not come into play.