Gone are the days of directory submissions, article submissions and reciprocal links. It’s now 2000 and great (2008) and the way websites generate natural links is more important than ever.

Link builders have to evolve with the times; they should have a strategic and creative mindset behind them now. If you work for an agency or website design company you have to let the higher management know this. Links can not be bought by the number any more, this will not work effectively.

So what of the old link building methods, why don’t they work anymore?

Firstly I’m not saying stop any of your on-going link building methods, for example submitting links to directories will not harm a websites performance in the slightest. However if you want to achieve the same kind of SERP movement as was available through 06 and the beginning of 07 then a new link building strategy must be created, this should be your social media strategy.

There has been an on going debate between seo gurus discussing if social media work is technically classified as seo. I have previously blogged about the subject does seo include social media if you’re interested to know my opinion. What I’m implying here today is that link building has now morphed into social marketing.

So how do I build links in 2008?

The graph below is a basic description on how quality links are generated through link bait and social marketing.

Using social media platforms to link build is a clear and effective method to achieve more search engine visibility for the content on your site. Making the content on your site more visible will open up new opportunities in terms of link building. In stead of the search engine seeing directory links and duplicate articles etc, they will see users bookmarks of your URL with a possible review. Webmasters and bloggers will usually get their information or news for their own blogs from social sites. It’s these links that are valuable, because they are usually high quality and will help with traffic and SEO positions. (Providing you have planned which keywords to use in your content title).

The root to success of this strategy should be the content that is promoted (link bait), this must be high quality and “link able” – this is where a cost might incur on your clients side.

Metrics and Deliverables will change

Previously keeping a note of submissions as well as new purchases of links may well have been included in your metrics. Your agreement with a client could have previously been based on a number (100 new links per month). All this should change! Show the following metrics:

1. Traffic per link bait
2. Social bookmarks per bait
3. Links gained (site/link analysis required)
4. Search traffic gained as a result of bait
5. SERPS analysis and benchmarking for keywords targeted

Your deliverables will obviously be unknown to start with but you should measure the overall link increase per bait and per month, this will give you some averages.

Of course this method of link building is not cheap and it does require a lot of time and effort, the results however are better than any other link building strategy on the table.

P.S – In regard to one of my posts (25 websites every seo should know) as to why I included so many social sites, link building is part of seo, without it you would not be able to achieve good search positions. Link building will eventually be based around social marketing – hence my inclusion of so many social sites.

I have never really opened the gates to a good old fashioned rant on Seounique before, so here goes!

Have you ever wondered why your interesting blog posts or link bait you pay hundreds of bucks for never makes it big on social media sites? You start asking yourself questions like; is my avatar too offensive? Is my title not “catchy” enough? Or is my blog just worthless?

Well the flat out answer is no, no and no! It doesn’t matter how ultra juicy your story or post may be, it’s all about whom you know and what kind of reputation you have. Unfortunately this seems to be the case in every social media environment, although if it wasn’t the case then the quality of the stories making “published” status would probably vary.

Now if you’re reading this for the first time, don’t panic, and whatever you do, please don’t think you can cheat the system. If you’ve read a blog post explaining that you need to build a reputation to get submissions noticed – don’t be an ass!

This is just one example of someone clicking the Sphinn button as many times as possible for as long as possible. This is not an isolated incident by any means and I’ve seen plenty of users do it, I imagine this happens across the board so this is by no means a punt at Sphinn.

What these people are doing:

1. Reducing the quality of stories by voting rubbish stories
2. Not achieving anything because your reputation will look false
3. Thinking a number is better than the interaction
4. Giving their brand a bad name (if applicable)

So I urge all you geniuses out there to stop trying to look good, its not big and not clever and it’s a waste of your time!

Rant over lol!

1. When you login to Mixx or visit the domain (depending on your browser setup) you automatically see how your stories are performing and you can see what stories have been submitted by your friends.

 

2. The submission process is clean and friendly, I could quite happily sit down and submit hundreds of stories, photos and videos without feeling confused.

 

 

 

3. It’s easy to create a good friend and fan base, and your friends are displayed in your account page.

 

 

4. Karma points encourage Mixx users to interact, be nice, start conversations and be part of the community.

 

 

5. You can buy Mixx products, such as a stylish Mug, all your co-workers will know where you go to bookmark, drink with pride!

 

 

 

6. The Mixx lounge and tools are easily accessible at the bottom of the page giving you access to feeds and other Mix goodies.

 

 

 

7. They have a unique social awards system to once again encourage people to be active and friendly!

 

None of these features are particularly mind blowing or revolutionary but the way the site is put together it adds a sense of well being to the site. I’m yet to see the harassment of members by others, it reminds me of stumble when it first started.

Mixx is already a fast growing social bookmarking site but with these features standing out to me I can see very big things for Mixx in 2008!