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I sometimes get asked by clients if they should ever link to the competition. Is it okay? Good idea? Bad idea? The answer I give is that sometimes it makes sense, and sometimes it doesn’t … there’s no blanket answer.

It’s an interesting question, and so it was with some interest that I stumbled upon the home page of one of my local TV stations, KVEW-TV, and discovered a “News Scanner” section that links not only to stories on the local newspaper web site, but also to stories on KEPR-TV’s web site — a primary competitor.

They’re not “clean” links — they’re being pulled from some kind of dynamic javascript widget, don’t show up in the source code, and so don’t pass any link juice. But still, it’s interesting to see one TV station posting links to a competitor’s web site.

The question for you… Do you ever link to the competition? If so, when? And, if you do, are they clean links or do you nofollow them? Share your thoughts and strategies in the comments…

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This is a post from Matt McGee’s blog, Small Business Search Marketing.

Do you ever link to the competition?

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Do you ever link to the competition?

Todd Malicoat from Stuntdubl.com was today’s guest.

On today’s episode of SEM Synergy — the can’t-miss WebmasterRadio show featuring Bruce Clay, Susan Esparza and a new expert guest each week — we devoted the program to link development. Link development specialist Todd Malicoat of Stuntdubl.com was our guest, sharing juicy tactics and recommendations for link building. Todd explains his process for training link developers, tracking link solicitation efforts, setting guidelines for staff, creating profiles for link building, and why he believes link building is considered mysterious.

That last topic was kind of what inspired me to put together a show about link building secrets. After reading a post on Link Spiel by link development authority Debra Mastaler, I started to get the feeling that members of the Internet marketing industry are on a quest for link development’s hidden treasures. But as Debra points out, the only link building secrets out there are the ones you don’t listen to. Years of speaking at conferences and frequent discussions with SEO professionals has highlighted the fact that no matter how comprehensive the presentation or how inventive the suggestions, Internet marketers still think of link building as a black box of mystery.

So to help dispel one of SEO’s greatest myths, I thought I’d do a little snooping to see what link building recommendations are really at our disposal. As predicted, there are more than a few resources available to link builders looking to better their craft.

Link Development Tools

BuzzStream: I wrote about BuzzStream a few months ago here on the blog, and I’m still willing to put money on this tool’s ability to streamline and manage link building campaigns. With this CRM for link building, you can research potential link partners, keep track of past discussions, and easily maintain backlinks. My 50 private beta invites disappeared faster than you can say “link building made easy.” Now that the product is open to the public, there’s no reason not to use it.

Wiep.net’s List of Link Building Tools: You can find lists of tools all over the Web and, of course, some are better than others. But when tools are shared by a trusted source, there’s a good chance that there’s something worth checking out. Wiep’s list of indispensable link building tools are divided into categories of one-click analysis, in-depth analysis and link targeting. LinkDiagnosis, Link Sleuth and Link Harvester are among the link building tools listed.

Link Development Techniques

Link Baiting with Fake Web Sites: At SEOSmarty.com, Ann Smarty presents a creative and unexpected link bait concept — the fake Web site. With a sticky concept, a sensational domain and an influencer willing to promote your site, you’re on your way to attracting natural links. Whatever link equity is gathered there can be pointed toward the site of your choosing.

Link Baiting with Must-Click Headlines: Notorious link developer Lyndon Antcliff writes about link building, among other topics, at Cornwallseo.com. In a post last week he wrote that, on average, content must grab the reader’s attention in less than three seconds. Crafting a headline that reads like a brick to the face is his suggestion for getting and keeping reader attention in an info-overload environment.

Tips for Evaluating Link Opportunities

Know What Google Looks For: Buying links is a legitimate advertising opportunity on the Web, however as we all know, Google has said that buying links for the purpose of increasing PageRank is a manipulation of the system that will be penalized. At the SEOUnique Blog, Matthew Ridout looks at the ways which Google identifies paid links, such as unrelated content, unnaturally ideal anchor text and a too-rapid increase of links. With knowledge comes the opportunity to act.

Identify Nofollow Links: Also detrimental to link development efforts are links that don’t pass link equity. Paul Teitelman outlines 10 ways to identify whether or not a link is passing juice. Links with nofollow tags, links on robots.txt disallowed pages, links with redirects or refreshes, and Flash or JavaScript links are all low-value when it comes to link equity. Again, knowing what to look for or avoid is half the battle.

So there are a handful of resources I found after a quick stroll through my feed reader and the SEO Geeks Newsletter. Imagine what a little digging could do.

It might be nice to hold out hope for a link building easy button, but there just aren’t any link building secrets. You might ask, “If link development is so competitive and so important to search marketing, why did people give it all away in the first place?” No mystery there. They want links, of course!

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Link Development Tips and Tricks - SEM Synergy Extras

Tony Adam, Pamela Lund & Christopher Hart at IM Spring Break

During IM Spring Break last April, Christopher Hart spoke during the Internet Marketing Business session with Pamela Lund and Tony Adam. Pam talked about managing client expectations. Tony focused in on SEO evangelism. And Chris framed the conversation of online business as an evolution in response to a changing environment.

Understanding where we’ve come from and where we are now can help companies position themselves for the environments of the future. The evolution that has occurred in the business world since the advent of the Internet is not unlike the evolution that has occurred in the natural world. Chris was reminded of this while watching Planet Earth one evening, and, in a stroke of creative genius, drew some vivid parallels to illustrate the state of our evolved business environment today. He presented those lessons at IM Spring Break and was kind enough to share his presentation with me. Since these are stories we can all learn from, I thought I’d share them here on the blog.

Cooperation and Understanding Add Up

Photo by El Cap’n via Creative Commons

Did you know that Blue Whales measure up to 108 feet long and weigh up to 172 metric tons? The Blue Whale is the largest living animal and may be the largest animal to have ever lived. However, these giants feed almost exclusively on krill, tiny shrimp-like animals. For the massive mammals to survive on a diet of these tiny treats, they have to consume 40 million krill, or 8,000 pounds, each day.

It’s hard to believe that all those miniscule sea-bugs can sustain a marine titan like the Blue Whale. But it happens, every single day. Companies are like huge Blue Whales thriving on a steady stream of bite-sized nutrients. They require a constant input of small accomplishments in order to achieve large-scale success. At an organization, a number of employees within many departments each play a part in an online business initiative.

For instance, the task completed by the copywriter is passed on to the SEO who meets with the marketing manager to get approval for a new landing page on the site. The new page will be implemented by a member of the programming department in partnership with someone on the Web design team. A thousand tiny decisions from a hundred different people might be made on the journey from idea to reality. Evangelism at the highest levels is required before the culture of understanding required for communication and cooperation is cultivated. With everyone onboard, it’s more likely that the many decisions made across the company will support the best interests of the organization’s online success.

Communication is Crucial

Photo by exfordy via Creative Commons

Elephants, the largest land animals, live for 50 to 70 years in a highly structured social order. Herds are made up of 5 to 15 adults plus several young. These tight-knit family groups are lead by the matriarch, and female elephants are the core members of the herd with male elephants leaving the group upon puberty. When a herd gets too large, a female may break off to form her own small group. If resources are scarce or if migration is necessary, hundreds of herds may come together to form a clan that aids in sharing or safety. Considering the complex family systems that unite and divide on a constant basis, it’s no surprise that elephants rely on advanced communication to keep track of the process.

Imagine the chaos that would ensue if these mammoth animals, which can weigh up to 13 tons each, didn’t have tools of communication at their disposal. But because they do, elephants have evolved into large, intelligent animals with sophisticated social relationships that bring them to superior levels of efficiency. Like elephants communicating among the herd, a business must develop its internal communications so that the whole can function most effectively. The ability to easily and clearly communicate in terms that everyone understands is crucial to the success of each initiative and to the company’s survival as a whole.

The potential for chaos within a company is just as real as it is within a clan of elephants. A refined online business initiative will incorporate SEO, PPC, SMM and ORM, among other things. And yet we know that no one part can be eliminated without an exponentially negative effect on the whole. With so many vital working pieces coming together, it’s necessary to have clear and continual communication at every stage of a project, from every level of the organization. Only then can the full potential of an online business initiative be realized.

Flourish When Faced by Challenges

Photo by Oakley Originals via Creative Commons

Most of a cicada’s life is spent underground as a nymph. However, before the end of their life cicadas come to the surface to mate. With vast numbers emerging from the soil at the same time, cicadas avoid population devastation. North American cicadas have a life cycle of either 13 or 17 years. It’s believed that these long cycles occurring at prime number intervals are a mechanism to help the insects avoid predators. For instance, predators with shorter life cycles, such as two to five years, can not rely on cicadas as prey.

There’s a thing or two we can learn from our creepy-crawly cohabitators. Cicadas have evolved in ways that make sustainability of the species most likely. These insects, which are usually just one to two inches long, are vulnerable to any number of predators looking to engulf a juicy snack. And yet the 2,500 species of cicadas around the world continue to flourish thanks to clever evolutionary adaptations. In its own way, a company must adapt to today’s marketplace in order to survive. Fast reaction times, creative problem solving and flexibility are required to stay on top in the online marketplace.

Remember how the cicada spends much of its life below the visible surface? The majority of what an organization does will never be seen by the public eye. But, those “invisible” tasks that are accomplished every day are crucial to the success of the company. And while it would be nice for ROI, profitability and efficiency to always come measured in constant, reliable formulas, it’s usually not the case. Your marketplace, your competition, the search engines and the company itself are always moving, changing and growing. There are no cookie-cutter solutions to the challenges of doing business online; each obstacle requires a fresh strategy and understanding in order to craft a solution that works.

[ED: Our friend Dan emailed us to point out that the picture above is not of a 13 or 17 year cicada but a Tibicen superbus, a 2 year cicada. This Magicicada septendecim is the bug we were referring to. We regret the error especially because Magicicada is totally a cooler name than Superbus. --Susan]

The Natural World Meets the Business World

In the natural world, animals have adapted to environmental hardships for millions of years. But in the business world, the challenge of a new online environment has forced unexpected adaptations. Time-tested evolutionary methods employed in the animal kingdom can serve as a lesson to companies struggling to gain footing online. Remember that attaining buy in from the top down will facilitate cooperation and understanding. Of course, maintaining communication across the organization is crucial. And forget out-of-the-box solutions; custom adaptations are much better suited to the fast-changing online environment. Obviously, Mother Nature knows what she’s doing, so don’t be afraid to apply nature’s knowledge to your online business evolution.

More here:
Online Business Evolution: An IM Spring Break Presentation

Phew! What a week of cut throat competition. Life in the song and dance world can get heated! American Idol and Dancing with the Stars fans fell prey to some shocking upsets as underdog Kris Allen was crowned idol and Shawn Johnson took the mirror ball trophy home to meet her Olympic medals. [Spoilers! --Susan]

But there’s always room for new blood in the entertainment industry, and the BCI writers have located the next rising star. Katie Luke, you have a fan club!

Katie is the daughter of our favorite senior account analyst, Gary Luke. Last week Katie starred in the Moorpark High presentation of Thoroughly Modern Millie and got rave reviews (from me). Believe me, it’s just a matter of time before this starlet’s on Broadway.

While I’m on the subject of absurdly talented musicians, looks like Google has more than one on staff. I was tipped off to a video of the gnarliest beat box performance ever during what looks like a talent show at the search engine’s UK office. Fluteboxing is my new favorite performance medium.

Getting to share best skills and talents with your co-workers is the kind of positive energy generator that keeps staffs happy. But even Google’s stellar work environment hasn’t stopped the company from developing an algorithm to predict what employees are at risk of quitting. Forget the behaviorally targeted ads and monopolistic tendencies — this is real freaky.

At Ask this week, the engine’s home page boasts a skin ad for an upcoming movie. On Search Engine Land, Barry Schwartz asks readers if it’s “desperate or cool“. But hey, I want to see Night At The Museum, users don’t see the Ask home page for long, and I’m a fan of getting creative, so I gotta say I’m digging it. [I, however, am not. Stay classy, Ask. --Susan]

News surrounding Yahoo this week was mostly about its search event held Tuesday. The message from Yahoo was that the focus is shifting from a “web of pages” to a “web of objects” — whatever that means. At the Outspoken Media blog, Lisa Barone helped me wrap my noggin around the point of it all: Yahoo’s going to make user intent, engagement objects and openness its mighty search trinity. As Lisa shows us, those are values we can all share.

So, like the post title says, I’m all about the awesome talent today. That’s probably because wicked skills were spilling out of the Internet all week. There was the adorable tale of a banker who spent all day saving ducklings from almost-certain injury as they tumbled perilously toward concrete 12 feet below. Way to go, duckling-catcher-hero-man!

Then there are the college students playing hamster, generating electricity by working out on campus ellipticals. I’m always looking for new ways to reduce my carbon footprint, but physically pumping electricity back into the grid? That’s gotta feel good.

And you can’t forget the honorable service provided to us through product testers. At Gizmodo the question we’ve all been asking is finally answered. Which is best: the Slanket, the Snuggie, the Freedom Blanket or the Blankoat? Ahhh, finally. Wonder no more!

If like me, you’ve got a keen eye for detail, in the pictures linked to above you’ll notice some Star Trek memorabilia dressing up our Gizmodo author’s side table. One interior designer takes it a step further — or maybe a marathon further — by decorating his entire flat as the transporter deck of the star ship Enterprise, TNG style. The story says he Trekified his flat after his wife left him. What affection he lost from her has surely been replaced by this labor of love. [She must have been a Star Wars fan. --Susan]

And finally, everyone at Bruce Clay, Inc. wants to send an excited congratulations to tech and SEO blogger Tamar Weinberg and family. This week Tamar gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. Just precious!

Things I learned from Boing Boing this week:

• Talking with your hands actually helps you think! [Finally, I am vindicated! --Susan]
• Distaste for the word “moist” is almost universal. And just FYI, my least favorite word has always been “spore”.
• Next time you try to mount a Twitter marketing campaign, watch out for any rogue documentarians looking to hijack it from you.
• There’s a shark eating a kid’s head! Someone get this woman on Etsy, STAT!
• If you needed another reason to be scared of soda, researchers say it will make your muscles mush.

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Friday Recap - We’ve Got Talent Edition

Has a word ever stopped you in your tracks? What about a picture? It happens to me all the time. This morning I read a tweet from Ann Smarty and immediately decided what I’d have for lunch.

One lunch-sized pizza later, I’m here contemplating the power of Web content to implant irresistible messages in my brain. Here’s another one, this time using a simple image.

Does the computer come with the bacon? ‘Cause that would be a deal! I can totally see a shopper coming across this page and being compelled to click “I want one!” because of bacon-induced hypnosis. In fact, Susan almost did that this morning. [Shipping is only $5! Bacon! For $5! --Susan] Don’t worry; bacon-laced subliminal messages never hurt anyone. [Mmm, bacon. --Susan]

In all seriousness, Woot is obviously on to something. It’s not a new idea, but using your product or service to paint a pretty picture is a great marketing device. Sometimes a consumer will do it for you. They may already have a vivid image in their mind of how your product or service will fit into their life. Sometimes, though, they have no idea how your product or service is going to fit, how it’s going to make things easier, or why it’s something they can’t go without. Regardless of which side of the fence your potential customer might fall on, go ahead and err on the side of caution. Break out the figurative canvas and paint that picture because:

Let’s do a little exercise and paint “textual pictures” for three random professions. Through detailed imagery I’m going to try to address a few questions: What would a client have after receiving your services? What do they have now that’s not good enough? What smells will be present? What will it look like? What feelings might someone have?

Florist: Reaching out to someone in moments of joy or pain, the soft fragrance and silky blooms of an elegant floral arrangement can soothe the soul.

Car Detailer: Once gone, the new car smell of fresh leather and window cleaner can’t be replicated. Take care of your car today and extend the life of its classy interior.

Dentist: At Family Dentistry of Coopersville, we take gentle care of your ivories to turn them into shiny pearly whites usually reserved for the big screen.

What are the colorful, tactile images that come to mind when you think of your niche? When you’re writing, avoid figures of speech — most barely hold meaning any longer. You can also try brainstorming all the little details that might be present in the scene you’re painting. You may not use them all, but the image will be much more real and fleshed out if you’ve got an actual picture in your mind. And, of course, see how many of the five senses you can hit. Shoot for sensual overload and then scale back if it’s too much.

Whatever your process, it’s time to dust off that imagination. Or mention bacon. That usually does the trick.

More here:
Concrete Images, Convincing Messages & Bacon

I just followed a link from a comment in Aaron’s blog, and ended up in Igor Mordkovich’s Bizmord.com blog.

Igor blogs mostly about PPC, because that’s what his expertise is.

From the index, I was just a click away from 17 Most Common PPC Mistakes Web Marketers Make. I read the article top to bottom. It clearly shows that Igor paid a lot of attention when he wrote the article. Almost all the advices he written, are practical ones, although not all are for advanced PPC account managers.

Apart from the fact that if you do not involve yourself in the industry and start commenting on blogs, websites and communities that are related to your field, you won’t get much coverage for your content website (may it be a blog or a news website), from this single, quality, passionate and helpful article Ivan wrote and I read, I’m positive that Igor deserves a link from my blogroll. And I’ll be reading more in the future.

That’s how well written content brings you natural links from quality and related websites.

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The power of web interaction and quality content

I receive an email today in my inbox.

I laughed my ass of. Who sends these kind of e-mails ?

Mr. Christian, you the guru, the fish, the snake of SEM, you the greatest bear of them all.

Could you, Oh COULD you great Zen master of SEM, give me a link from your blog ?

Continued here: 
SEM gives you SOME satisfaction