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linkbuilding

The Snowflake Method of SEO

Oct 17th, 2010
by Greekgeek.
2 comments

Challenge Lens Status: 3,983 on Oct 17, up from 84,121 on Oct 10

I'd like to talk about the Snowflake Method of lensbuilding, based on the Snowflake Method of fiction-writing (which is a good lesson on how to write content). Your lens topic is the kernel of a snowflake. Like the grain of dust a snowflake forms around, that core idea, its focus, will determine the shape of what's to come, along with weather and moisture (competition and search popularity) and other external factors.

You can't control external factors. But you can control what's inside.

A healthy lens needs six things:

  • Focused, useful, interesting content.
  • Organization and a logical flow from one section to the next.
  • Graphics and visual appeal (CSS, varying text with visual elements).
  • Strong writing: good grammar and spelling; compelling, crisp text.
  • Avenues for conversion: links to click, things to buy, or another action you're directing your visitors towards.

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Which Backlinks Count for SEO?

Jan 16th, 2010
by Greekgeek.
5 comments

This is  a huge question. Different tools find different backlinks. For example, checking my Free Web Graphics -- How to Get Them (Legally!) lens on SquidUtils' Backlink Checker, I get this:

This URL has 1000+ links from 6 domains.

  • angelfire.com 1
  • annbrundigestudio.com 20
  • digg.com 1
  • mythphile.com 25
  • squidu.com 952
  • squidutils.com 1

(Once again demonstrating the  limitations of social media for SEO, since the links from StumbleUpon, Del.ici.ous. Tagfoot and others don't show up.)

1000+ backlinks is pretty good, right? Well, yeah, assuming (a) all search engines see the same backlinks as Yahoo Site Explorer (the database SquidUtils uses), and (b) all search engines count those links as relevant. But of course, they don't.

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How Your Squidoo Bio Builds Backlinks

Dec 2nd, 2009
by Greekgeek.
3 comments

Ooo! Everyone's always wondering where to get backlinks. One thing people often forget about is that inter-linking counts. That is, links from the same domain as your page count as a backlink! That's why Squidoo cross-links lenses in so many ways.

There is a powerful backlink source hidden right in plain sight: your Squidoo lensmaster bio.

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SquidQuiz -- A Great Way to Build Relevant Backlinks

Nov 27th, 2009
by Greekgeek.
Comments are off for this post

SquidQuiz is a fun, quick kind of Squidoo lens. Create a trivia quiz on a topic you love, add a Featured Lenses module to your other quizzes, and you only need one more content module to get the lens featured. For those of us who tend to make long, involved lenses on topics, this is a great way to force us to be brief.

greek-mythology-trivia-quizgreek-myth-quiz-apollogreek-mythology-quiz-athena

But WAIT! Back up. See what I said back there? Add a Featured Lenses module to your other quizzes. Or any sort of links to your lenses on related topics!

I think this could be very powerful for SEO. I didn't figure out the system until lens #3, but I soon realized there's an SEO trick staring us in the face.

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Which Social Media Sites Benefit SEO?

May 6th, 2009
by Greekgeek.
8 comments

When a newbie asks how to build web traffic, one of the first pieces of advice they’ll hear is to submit their URL to StumbleUpon, Digg, Del.ici.ous, and other social media sites.

I got the same advice. I bought into it. But does social media/social networking really benefit SEO (search engine optimization)?

Hey, let me be social and ask you, the readers!

Which Social Media sites help SEO?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Now, let me give you my answer...

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Images and Videos as Linkbait!

May 3rd, 2009
by Greekgeek.
No comments yet

I often use Flickr and YouTube for hosting my lens images and video and as a way to drive traffic.  I prefer hosting my best-looking photos on Flickr as opposed to Photobucket or even my own website, because I can add something in the description field like "This is an illustration for Ancient Greece Odyssey: My Tour of Delphi" which gets keywords into the link. Having tagged my photos carefully for things like Greece and Delphi and Greek Art, I get a lot of traffic from people searching for those iamges on Flickr.

These are the kind of visitors you want most: a targeted audience who will be more likely to click your links, or even your sales modules, because they’re interested in what your lens is about.

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Links and Copyright: How to Solve Copyright Issues on the Web

Apr 18th, 2009
by Greekgeek.
No comments yet

As a writer and sometime teacher, I care a great deal about copyright and vigorously reject plagiarism. At the same time I appreciate that the web lets people combine material, collaborate and build on each other's work in ways that were not possible before information and content were available instantly and on a large scale. These "mashups" can provide value and unique content that were not foreseen by the original authors. How can we preserve authors' rights while encouraging the potential of this new medium? This essay suggests a possible solution.

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