Link Building Update: Checking For Google Cache

Here is a little Link Building update post. I recently noticed something and would like to update the information that I posted in the post Checking for Cache when Link Building.

As I frequently do when link building for clients, I often use the “site:” search phrase with the deep category links. For example, if I was looking for a medical category to submit a site in Pixelheadonline’s directory, I might put (more…)

Written by Pixelhead on February 13th, 2008 with 10 comments.
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Checking for Cache when Link Building

Sure it seems that Directory links are having less and less Google juice. Deep more relevant categories often are not cached by the deep Google spiders. So what can you do to ensure that you are getting the most Google juice for your buck or if the directory is free, for your time?

Before paying for a link, I always check to make sure that the page I am submitting to is cached. That is I copy the url, paste it into the Google search bar. If the page has been visited by the Google spiders, it will show up in the SERP’s.(Search Engine Result page). You can either submit to a page that Google has not visited and build links to the page so that you encourage Google to visit the page, or you can find a page that has been cached already.
What you can do is click around the different related categories of the directory, and copy and paste into the desired category page urls into the Google search bar until you find a cached page, or you can check the whole site to see what pages are cached using site:url. This will show you all the pages that are cached by Google. For example, putting site:http://www.pixelheadonline.com into the Google search bar, I see that 1,430 pages are cached in Google. Then all I need to do is page through the results and find an appropriate cached category page to submit my site.

1 more link building tip

If I go to the next level down in the directory, such as Business, and copy that url, and put in site:http://www.pixelheadonline.com/Business/ I can see that 17 sub-pages are cached. Using this method allows you to find cached subcategory pages in relevant categories without having to page through unrelated results.
So that is my tip for link building this post. Got any other link building tips you would like to share?

Update:

Check for cache with the site:url and with out the site:url. I believe that using the site:url returns pages that have been visited by the Google Spider that does deep searches, which are done with less frequency. If paying for links, I want to make sure that the links are cached by regular spiders as well as deep searching spiders for more Google juice for the link.

see Google Cache Update post for more current discussion.

Written by Pixelhead on October 2nd, 2007 with 26 comments.
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Link Building Four

This is the fourth post in my link building series, although the last one in the series was done in March in the Niche Directory post. Not much new in the link building scene. Directories continue to play a role in many link building campaigns. But as noted in a previous article about the many crappy directories that seem to be growing in numbers, quality directories do exist, and should be sought after and used.

Here are some tips for link building with directories.
Tip #1 Very your titles frequently- If the keyword I am using is “Link Building”, the phrase and only the keyword phrase should be used in the title at one time. Don’t submit a title with more than one keyword phrase. For example, I would not submit a title like “Link Building for Search Engine Optimization” more than one or two times for variation, because it uses the two keyword phrases “link building” and Search Engine Optimization”.
Variations that I might use more frequently include:

• Link Building | url(use the entire http://www…domain)
• url | Link Building
• Link Building from url
• Domain name – Link Building
• Link Building – Domain name
• Stop words* can also be used occasionally for variation – for example- Want Link Building?

Tip#2 Build links to your links. Ok, your site is listed in a directory, but Google and the other search engines are not caching the page. What do you do? You get some links to your category pages. This can be as simple as submitting the category page where your link is listed to a handful of directories.

Tip#3 Build a free weblog for nothing but listing your directory links to your site. Be sure to submit the Feed to the major directories. In addition to helping to get those links cached, often times your linking weblog can be used as a form of three way linking for sites that are involved in reciprocal linking.

Tip#4 Click on your Link- Many directories sort submissions by hits, and often times it is only the first page of a category that is cached(listed) in the SERP’s(Search Engine Results Page), so therefore the sites with the most hits will be on the first page and many times this will be 1 or two hits. So when your site gets into a directory, visit the category page your site is listed on and actually click on your link.

Thats it for Link Building Four, if you have any questions or have some other area of SEO that I or my associates maybe able to cover, please let us know.

Some other SEO Blogs that I recommend:

1. Darin CC
   
2. Matt Cutts blog
3. Search Engine Watch blog

*Stop words, like the word “Want” are words that the Search Engines(Google) ignores. Read this Search Engine Watch post about Stop Words for more info about them, and here is a nice list of Stop words.

Written by Pixelhead on August 6th, 2007 with 8 comments.
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Link Building with Niche Directories

Before reading this, it is suggested that the previous articles on Link Building be read.

I hope that I have not given the impression that the process of building one way links to a site is done simply by using directories. Directories, however, are a very important tool that can be used to build one way links. I have never used a directory and expected massive amounts of traffic to be directed to my site. It would be nice, but the probability is against it.

The first three posts in the series dealt mainly with using General directories such as PixelHeadonline.com to build one way relevant links to your site. The next topic in this series, progresses toward the area of Niche Directories, which offer a way to build links to your site that have an even higher relevance.

What are Niche Directories?

Niche directories like general directories, are broken down into categories, however, unlike general directories, the categories all pertain to a certain niche market, such as real estate. What is your niche? More than likely, if you have any competition in your niche, there will be niche directories for your site to submit your site. Sadly, many of these tend to be reciprocal linking directories, which really don’t help us with building one way links.

Three-Way Linking Anyone?

However, do try three way linking with these reciprocal sites, that is see if they will give you a link if you give them a link to another site that you may have access to such as a directory or a blog with a similar topic. Some sites will allow three way linking some won’t…it does not hurt to ask. (Please drop me a comment and let me know if you like or dislike three way linking)

What sort of Niche has Potential for a Good Niche Directory?

Niche Markets that have a good amount of focused traffic have the ability to be good Niche Directories. I don’t believe there is a niche out there that a directory does not or can not be made. For example, a site I work with sells corn stoves( a stove that burns shelled dry corn for home heating purposes). Talk about a niche market, and there is a Corn Stove Niche Directory, for this market.

One of the most interesting niche directories I have come across, that Lizzie Bean introduced me to, is an Industrial Niche directory. The interesting thing about this directory is that all of the sub-categories have their own unique url, and not a sub domain page.

My point of using these two niche directory examples is that any niche can be a good niche market for a directory. If there is interest, then a niche directory should be able to exist for that market.

What makes a Good Niche Directory?

A good niche directory I feel should have many of the same characteristics as a good general directory to include:

• Not built in frames.
• Does not use “No Follow tags“.
• Edited for quality to insure submission guidelines are met.
• Set submission guidelines.
• Three to four submission methods to such as reciprocal, free, express, premium etc.
• Unique look, or at least attempt to alter the design template if a popular template is being utilized. The Corn Stove Niche directory uses the same template as Pixelheadonline.com(we have altered ours a bit).
• Insure that any page with a premium listing has back links to it.
• Never utilize redirects.
• Make contact information available somewhere on the site.
• Check to make sure that all links on the site work(do this regularly).
• Don’t make submission procedures too difficult or too easy. Validation codes need not be a mystery.

I can go on and list many more things that make up good directories, but it would probably be better if you want to find some that I give you a list. If you see one that you think belongs here drop me a comment and I will stop by and evaluate it. I may also break the list down in the future into sub-categories of different niche directory markets.

My Short Niche Directory list.

This will be another post, as I there are so many out there, but for two great resources on these visit directorycritic’s list of and http://info.vilesilencer.com/

Written by Pixelhead on March 23rd, 2007 with 12 comments.
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Link Building (part3)

Please Read Link Building part I and Link Building Part II prior to reading Link Building Part III.

Link Building III

Directories for Inbound Links

side note

This is the second time writing this post, which I have been working on for the better part of a week. I had about 7 paragraphs done, when it mysteriously went away. The wysiwyg(What you see is what you get) editor was doing some funky things when I was using bullets. Things that I did not want indented were indented too far, and then upon trying to correct the situation, poof it was all gone. Perhaps one day I will learn my lesson and not work from this screen.

Link building is the process of getting inbound links to your site. In this post, I will focus on link building by submitting your site to directories.

Directories

Go to your chosen directory list, I frequently use DirectoryCritic. Click on a Directory. On the home page of the directory, the top level of the categories is visible, usually this is not were you want to submit, but this is were your category search will begin. Your category search can occur in several ways. You can simply navigate to a suitable category depending upon your site. If I were submitting Pixelheadonline.com to another directory, I would navigate to either a Computer, Internet, or Business top level category, then look for a “Directory” titled sub-category. If there is not a Directory sub-category, I will next look for a marketing subcategory. Most directories have either a top level or sub-category for directories. When submitting to multiple directories, I also tend to vary the categories I submit–variety is a good thing.

Choosing a Sub-category

When navigating through the directory, I also keep in mind how far down in the navigation I will go. 5 levels down may be really relevant to my site, but the odds of having this page cached or visited by a search engine spider are slim, unless you are willing to get this page a link on another site, that will force the spiders to visit it. If I am paying for a directory link, I am much more picky about were I am submitting. For paid links, I check to see that the page or category that my site will be listed is cached by the Spiders. If I have the choice of two cached category pages, and one has PR, and is just as relevant, I will go for the higher PR. I rarely pay for a directory link that is not cached. The only exception I would make for this would be for a highly relevant niche directory category page in a really competitive market such as real estate. For this instance, if it is not cached, I would resort to getting a link for this page that I am certain will be visited by the search engine spiders.

Submitting to a Directory

It is advisable to read the submission guidelines to all directories that you are submitting your site to, especially if it is a paid directory or one of the better free directories like DMOZ.

Follow all grammar and spelling rules.

Only use Keyword rich titles(no more than one keyword phrase) if the site allows this. Some sites require the actual title of the site.

Submit Deep Links only when allowed. Deep links may require different category submissions. For example, if I am submitting Pixelheadonline.com/blog/, I would not put this into a directory category, but a blog category.

Descriptions should not include sales hype, code, or excessive keyword repetition. Do include a description of what a visitor to your site will find.

Next Link Building post

Niche Directories and other Link building resources.

Please let me know if you have any other advice about submitting to directories or other areas of Link building advice you would like to be covered.

Written by Pixelhead on March 13th, 2007 with 1 comment.
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Link Building (partII)

What you need to get started with link building. Please read Link Building part I before continuing.

Keyword phrase list

How do you come up with a list of keywords?

I first look at my site and try and think like my potential visitor. In other words, what would a visitor type into the search bar to find your site? This is a good basic place to start. The next step would be to utilize keyword tools such as:

• Google Keyword tool, which gives lots of alternatives, but little quantitative data in relation to the number of searches.
• Overture Keyword tool, which is now owned by Yahoo. Gives results for monthly searches for words and monthly searches for related key terms. Does not break down singulars and plurals, does not filter many different searches, and results tend to be skewed due to the lack of filters.
• Wordtracker Keyword tool, does require a membership, but also offers a free trial.
  Results are daily searches, not monthly, and are broken down by singulars and plurals, and various filters are used to which create less skewed results.

Keyword research is a very important step in determining your sites SEO, so take your time and do it right. Here is a good Keyword Research post from Lisa Barone of Search Engine Guide.com, if you would like more info on the subject of Keyword Research.

Description Text

When I do link building I usually have numerous descriptions that go with each keyword phrase. I make some standard descripitions out ahead of time and place them in a notepad doc along with the keyword phrases and the urls I want to use. Other SEO specialists that I know, don’t use prewritten site descriptions, but prefer to make them up as they go. This does take a bit more time, but will insure you don’t overuse the same description too many times. These descriptions should not be spammy(use of multiple keywords), use html, or use sales hype. Just describe what a visitor will find on the site.

Keyword corresponding Sub-page urls

Each keyword phrase should have a sub url which can be submitted when deep links are allowed. As mentioned before, not all directories allow deep links. Several reasons for submitting deep links include higher relevance of deep link pages than the home page, and it will also help to get the deep linked pages visited by the search engines, which will also result in these pages as well as the home page showing up for the given keyword phrase. It has been proven that sites that appear in the SERP’s with two pages, get more clicks than those with only one result.

Important things to know about directories and link building:

There are similarities and differences with most directories.
• Most directories have a list of Guidelines you need to follow to increase your chances of having your site accepted into the directory.
• Most directories offer the option to submit your site as Featured or Sponsored, Express for a fee; and Regular or Reciprocal – usually free.
• If you have a budget to work with – choose the paid option, as these links tend to be accepted more often and far quicker.
• When choosing a category to submit to – choose the highest level category that the directory will let you submit to – that is still relevant to the site you are submitting. For example, if you’re submitting a site for breast cancer treatment and the categories you have to choose from are health/ conditions & diseases/ cancer/ breast cancer/ breast cancer treatments. It would appear that the breast cancer treatment category would be the best BUT because it is buried so deep within the directory it probably won’t get picked up by the search engine spiders very often. So, I would submit the site to the cancer category.

Link Building part III will focus on submitting to the best directories, the best categories of directories, and the best way to get listed.

Written by Pixelhead on February 27th, 2007 with 5 comments.
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