The current and perennially hot topic of PAID LINKS has had me thinking since the summer about the nature of payment for a link and how all links might be paid links.
I work in the media sector. As such, I get some freebies from the journalists or am sent things directly for review. I also go to drinks events, launches, conferences and other events as part of my job.
It was at the Moo Summer party that I began to wonder – if I blog about this party and link to it, is that a paid link? YES and NO.
YES it IS a paid link because with several thousands being spent on food and booze, any links were clearly bought. Even though specific [...]

We have been getting a surge of comment spam that is obviously being done by very apologetic individuals. As a good Southerner, I appreciate the manners involved but let me list out a few things that won’t get you the links you want…
Saying something like “I like site give me link!” This is definitely to the point. I appreciate that, seriously, but at least give me a reason! Liking a site isn’t a good enough reason for us to allow your comment through. And of course you like our site. It rocks. Join the fanclub (cough).
Adding in a frowny face emoticon. While this always makes me laugh since it expresses the utter anguish of link building and the despair of [...]

It’s common practice to formulate a link development plan that includes tasks such as “build relevant inbound links” and “use relevant anchor text” when putting an SEO strategy together. I have even been guilty of making this recommendation without adequately qualifying it, and I expect to have my backside smashed about it soon.
Relevancy is, unfortunately, a concept that’s bandied about without most people actually taking the time to think it through.
The problem is that relevancy is not a black and white matter. We’re kind of told that it is when Google dictates that relevant links are ok, but when you examine the very nature of relevance, you’ll see that it simply cannot be this or that. It’s just not a [...]

Jim Boykin has an utterly fantastic new SEO tool that lets you view your outbound links. I have been on it like a hobo on a ham sandwich.
This was of such interest to me because I honestly have not paid all that much attention to my outbound links. Obviously I try to use credible sources and only link to sites that I trust (except for ones in which I link to sites because people bought me a drink/threatened my life/asked me to nicely), but in terms of working this into my overall strategy I admit to being somewhat out of the loop here. But no longer…I’ve seen the light.
Normally inbound links are my focus, when I’m not searching Google images [...]