GASP! It’s been a while since I last did this huge list thing, hope I still got the Kidblogger in me. I’m getting old!
But this was rather late to say the least. I was supposed to post this the other week but got loads of stuff got in the way. Still, I’m quite happy to finish writing this BIG article so I hope you like it.
ALERT! Disclaimers below…
First disclaimer, some ideas just happen to pop out my head so you might find them a bit “rad”.
Second disclaimer, some tactics are so bad ass and effective, people “just happen” to not like them 😉
Third disclaimer, I’m not gonna talk about submitting to web directories, press releases and all those rehashed stuff. I’m not saying that they don’t work, I’m saying that it has talked about a lot of times before.
Other than that, I’m pretty sure you’ll like it…
Do The Link Bait
To bloggers, this is a household name. To others, it might sound weird. So…
What the heck is link baiting anyway?
Tons of people tried to explain link baiting in long articles that go on and on. I’ll be frank, I can’t read long articles that don’t talk about big trucks, some mighty cool weird facts and chicks.
So let’s keep it simple – link baiting is simply “something” (article, tool, picture, anything) that make people want to link to you.
Here are some goodies you can do…
1. Make a list – No need to explain, examples will tell ya: 50 most important people on the web, 100 best movie lines, 69 ways to build backlinks 😉
2. Perform studies – There’s a stats junkie inside of almost every people – wanting to know every new website linking to you, conversion rates of certain colors, how people look at a webpage and all sorts of stuff. But hey, it’s solid content and damn interesting.
3. Make graphs that are hard to understand – Just something that might help you with #2 up there. Can’t help myself to include this. OCD? Nah… complicated = good (at some point). Ok seriously though, when you perform studies, presentation matters. Churn out spiffy graphs that’ll help you explain what you found out.
4. Expose a scammer – Works all the time. Heck, anything with the word “expose” in it will be a link magnet! (hint: controversy) But be careful, you have to back up yourself on this one. You need SOLID proof.
5. Quizzes and tests – “Mark completed the quiz ‘Are You Awesome?’ with the result AWESOME!.” Sounds familiar? Yep, Facebook! And it’s popping every minute! Why do you think the IQ test industry is so big?
6. Show off – $100,000 Adsense check, $40,000/month via blogging – what do they have in common? They Flaunt, they show off BUT how do they get away with it? (this one is stolen from NLP) They portray the “reluctant hero” story line – “I’m just an ordinary guy, I don’t want this attention, but people keep asking me so…”
Try Google’s Web 2.0 Favorites
The idea is simple, you make these “midget blogs”, slap an article on it with a link back to your site, publish it and forget about it.
You can do this by using your own domain, hosting them in different IP’s and stuff BUT that would need some upfront cash. So instead of buying hundreds of domains and paying a monthly bill on hosting, you can slap those articles on these free “midget blog” sites.
7. Squidoo – Probably my favorite of all the “midget blogs” available. Totally far-out drag and drop modules, not so strict moderators, solid backlinks and a chance to get some quality traffic too. Hey, it’s Seth Godin!
8. Hubpages – Cool site and sweet community. You might need a better article though because before they do-follow your links, they’ll look at your article first and they’ll decide if it’s worth do-following your links.
9. Blogger – My second favorite. Again, drag and drop stuff, no strick moderators and solid backlinks. Almost zero traffic though.
10. Bloggersbase – This one is pretty sweet. They understand that you’re there for promoting your own blog so it’s ok for them to put an author info at the end of your article.
11. Ever – Weirdest.Photo.Ever.com, Sexiest.Blonde.Ever.com, Best.Guns.Ever.com – cool sister site of Squidoo.com. The idea is simple, when you get to the site they have a drop down of adjectives you can choose from – that’ll be the first word in your domain and the second or third is up to you.
12. Webs – Please bear with me though if I cry while typing stuff about Webs (formely FreeWebs, it’s just that this is one of the site I was used to when I first started, it’s so memorable to me *cry cry* 🙂
OK, seriously, I like the easy interface. They do post a wide AdSense ad on top of the page though, but other than that, you’ll like it.
13. Devhub – Here’s a new player in the field, one account, tons of sites, referral program and automatic monitization + cash out at $5, so you make money while building links too, sweet!
14. Tumblr – Tumblr blogs are for vanity and just for pure social networking so when you post stuff here, appear natural. Write like you’re talking to your close friend. You might want to add some nonesense pictures too, BIG ++ in appearing natural 😉
15. Xanga – My dad used to use this waay back when I was 10, posting pictures and stuff – multiply-ish type of site.
I haven’t tried the 6 “midget blog” sites below personally…
16. Webjam – Create your own social networking site kind of thing, looks promising.
17. Weebly – Drag and drop stuff, no advertising and lots of templates.
18. ZoomBlog – Integrates with Flickr, Bloglines and Technorati
19. Wikidot – Another cool wiki site.
20. Nexo – Another multiply-ish type of site, kinda hard to get it because it has the “For family and friends” site feeling.
21. Rateitall – This one’s pretty unique – you can make a post and let others rate it OR you can be the one who rates stuff. They’ve also filled the site with tons of quizes.
(WARNING – powerful hint: interlinking.)
Social Bookmarking
22. Digg – Weird stuff, odd pictures and tech – that makes it my favorite social bookmarking site 🙂 OK, aside from being my favorite, Digg has a very slick interface.
23. Slashdot – “News for nerds. Stuff that matters.” Very very strict moderators. Mainly because, the site is PR 9 since way back then. So I suggest post “real” cool stuff that the slashdot community would be interested in.
24. Spurl – Very simple, clean interface, lesser ads, I like it.
25. Plime – From the looks of it, it’s a heavily customized Pligg, splashed with weird but attractive colors – brith of Plime!
26. Dotnetkicks – This one only allows system stuff (ASP, C#, C++, XML, etc) Another site that looks to be built upon Pligg.
27. Searchles – Has a wide category for the internet marketing niche, voting is from 1-5 stars (or circles)
28. Bibsonomy – Another very clean and simple social site.
29. Tweako – One of the social sites I was able to see the actual growth, literally almost the start. I was able to talk to the founder, awesome dude.
30. Yattle – Social bookmarking site with a mini-blogging service
Don’t Be Shy – Upload Videos
If you can’t stop talking, better grab a camera and record it, another easy way to get a backlink.
For camera shy’s out there, you can always make use of camtasia or powerpoint, way easier. It doesn’t have to be totally cool, it just have to be good enough to get accepted on these sites (and of course, to show to the public :-D):
31. Dailymotion – Just upload any of your own video and get a link in the profile page – that easy.
32. Videojug – A video site full of how to videos. I’m pretty sure the videos are moderated, but heck, I bet it’s easy to get in.
33. Viddler – Slick interfae, and unlike the two above, you get a link on EACH video you submit!
Giveaway YOUR Docs
After slapping your articles on those “midget blog” sites, you can submit it as documents on these sites and still get away with a link. You can also submit a free report you already have, no duplicate content issue.
34. Scribd – The pioneer in the document-submitting industry 😀
35. Issuu – Sleek interface with voting system.
36. Docstoc – Pretty promising with referral reward system.
Make Use Of Torrents
Same idea as submitting your report or articles, but this time you give them away via Torrent. You get a link on the torrent search engine’s description area.
37. Fenopy
Ordinary Persons Too Have A Voice – Petition
Make a petition related to the niche you are in and introduce yourself with a link to your blog, that easy:
38. ipetitions
39. Gopetitions
40. Petitionthem
Social Networking Profiles
I’m pretty sure there’s a lot of social networking profiles out there that doesn’t have the no-follow tag in the links on your profiles, but these are some quick finds:
41. Friendster – Friendster has been on the platue recently probably due to the tons of bugs the site have, still worth creating a profile there though.
42. Gather – Social networking site where you can create a blog that links to your site 😉
Flattery
Most of these stuff take advantage of human nature, it’s almost as close as pointing a gun at their head asking them to link to your site, OK not really but these stuff works pretty good.
43. Rank and rate them – Definitely “tickles” human nature. Rank people in your niche using any weird ranking factors, but works best with trusted 3rd party sources. Check out the top 100 make money online blogs and the Youngest Bloggers (WARNING: Self promotion, self promotion!)
44. Interviews – Wow, very old, very saturated tactic that STILL works. Heck, I bet it will always do – it’s a win-win. The interviewer gets good content, the interviewee LINK gets good exposure.
45. Awards – Another human nature tickler. Simple idea really – you award people in your niche for something. For example, the most absurd blogging blog (OK, that’s not a good example, heh), the blog design, the best writing style. Then, give out a plaque, or in the online world, a badge or a small spiffy graphic to post on their blog.
Use One Of The Most Potent Weapons Of Influence – Reciprocity
GASP! Human nature stuff here again.
Has someone ever helped you and asked for nothing in return? Then when he needs something, whatever it is, you feel obliged to help? That’s human nature talking to you.
You feel obliged to reciprocate. So that is what we’re going to take advantage here, we’ll make them feel obliged to link to us.
Even the Godfather uses this “persuasion” tactic.
46. Testimonials – A very saturated tactic here too that still works. Can get you a link from a very authoritative site and has a big chance to drive you loads of traffic.
47. Sponsor, donate – There are some blogs there that has an Amazon Wishlist or a “buy me a drink” donating buttons. Most of lists down all the people who have donated in some way. Maybe via blogroll or via a post, permanent link right there.
Fresh and funky
48. Interview someone on twitter – not a lot of people has done it, so you might even get top bloggers to link to you.
49. Give t-shirts – Dude, who doesn’t love free t-shirts?
50. Ask for the link – “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” – Matthew 7:7
Money doesn’t come to you, you come and get it (although in some cases, after you’ve made lots of it, they happen to come to you) it’s the same for backlinks, you come and get it – email bloggers that you’ve made an awesome post (hint!) that’s worth sharing to their readers. Of course, you wouldn’t want to do this for each of your post.
51. Yedda – It’s like Yahoo Answers, but it’s do-follow B-)
52. The new article marketing – The new article marketing just got more badass. Now, it gives you a heavy link juice concentrate and damn fine targeted traffic. Checkout the new article marketing.
53. Zug – Tell a joke, get a link. Simple. Rad.
54. Throw a contest – This got a bit saturated in the “make money” market because of the massive links contest hosts get before, but still works. Tip: to make this work, make it a lot easier for people to join. For example, twittering, copy pasting a small blurb of text to their blog, Stumbling the post, etc.
55. Hotscripts – You a programmer dude? Make a simple script and give it away. You’ll get a link back from the BIG hotscripts directory PLUS, you can request a link back from the people who will use your script.
56. Firefox extension – Ok, if you’re not a programmer, it’s worth hiring one just for this. addons.mozilla.org is PR 9 baby! If your extension gets approved, that’s a permanent link!
57. Make an article about Digg – Diggers REALLY dig posts about digg. Seriosly, very easy to take advantage of that. Remember the chick who made a song about Digg LINK? Works.
58. Blog about twitter – Hey, what the heck, Twitter is ON FIRE, it’s hot. Think about it, almost every Twitter app out there gets its time on the spot light at least once.
59. Eye catching design – This technique works best on design blogs (or other related topics). The idea is, make a great, unique design and get featured on design blogs like Smashing Magazine and CSS galeries.
5-minute changes
Actually, I’m pretty sure the stuff below won’t even take 5 minutes to set up. The reward is great and turnkey. I recommend doing the two…
60. Domain canonicalization – The name is the only one scary, this is just an easy fix. I made an article about domian canonicalization before.
61. Take advantage of scrapers – They are damn pesky but not “that” smart. They grab content from your blogs through your RSS feed – they grab the whole post INCLUDING links. So if you’re linking back to your blog in that post, they’ll link to that too. Of course you can’t always link back to your blog in every post, that would be weird. Here’s a plugin that’ll help you LINK.
Covert tactics
My favorite part, sneaky effective tactics here that requires very little work. Best part is, most stuff here are white hat – totally legit.
If you can’t finish the whole article, just finish this part, you’ll like it.
62. Post at .gov and .edu forums – One of my personal favorites. Totally whitehat and doesn’t require you to “think” at all. No kidding. Here’s a post I did back at 2007 on how to find .edu and .gov backlinks.
63. SELL your WordPress theme – Giving away WordPress themes with footer linking back to your site is old, still works, but old. What if you sell them? You get the link AND the cash. Besides, selling your WordPress theme instead of giving it away pumps up its perceive value. You also give better support because there’s less people to handle. (hint, hint)
64. Give FREE graphics and icons – I’m a big fan of slick icons and buttons and I bet you are too (if you’re not, you probably haven’t seen a good one yet!)
65. Referrer spam – I did an article about referrer spamming awhile back. Sneaky I tell you, but will definitely MAUL your reputation if you’re promoting a legit site. Your host should also be ready to get complaints because this is blatant spamming. On the bright side, this works well on made for affiliates/adsense sites 😉
66. Create a web directory then “make them” link back to you – I’m pretty sure you’re familiar with web directories wherein you submit your site and they include it in their directory for a link back or for an upfront payment. Now instead of requesting them to link back to your directory, how about requesting a link back to your site? Shotgun but turnkey.
67. Buy an old domain – Buy and old domain, install WordPress on it and slap an article with your link. Easy. Old domains are more authoritative than new ones… well because they’re old – so they give more link juice. Tip: Buying old domains that has a good name is expensive, very. So I suggest getting something that’s just in the middle.
68. Huge do-follow list – Spend 30 minutes a day on commenting on do follow blogs and you’re in for some quality targeted backlinks. Catch? Takes a lot of time. You have to read the blog post, spark some conversation and “appear” natural. Other than that, definitely worth the try – 1400 Do-Follow Blog List.
69. Pattern interrupt – Another one stolen from NLP (btw, I’m NOT an NLP “guru”, I’m not even close to one, I just happen to know some of their “tricks”) pattern interupt, do something your niche is doing the other way around. Quick example is instead of selling ebooks, sell take home study courses, CD’s or DVD’s.
Be creative
There are literally hundreds of link building tactics out there, and I bet thousands of undiscovered stuff.
It’s pure creativity.
Discovering new “midget blog” sites and new human nature “ticklers” are all forms of creativity (or a day sitting infront of my laptop 😉
