TRAFFIC
Link earning isn’t just another word for
link building.
One of the best approaches for affiliates
is to target sites that have the topicality and
authority that can help lift your rankings,
and coming up with approaches that can
make their existing content even better —
and justifying that link.
This is known as the skyscraper
methodology, because you’re simply adding
another level to existing content that you
know the website already has an interest in.
For example, if you run an affiliate site
based around sports betting, and you spot
a high-value site that has an existing article
about the transfer window and you happen
to know some strange stats about a particular
team or trend, why not offer up this insight
to the editor in exchange for a link?
The skyscraper methodology means
you don’t need to come up with ideas
from scratch — just find something you
can make better and earn that link.
However, be warned — if your content
makes claims that are easily shot down
or has stats that are out of date, your
coverage will be minimal — and publishers
will suspect your next piece will be awful,
potentially closing the door to future
collaboration. Get the research right.
3) Perfect your pitching
Because of the aforementioned landfill
content marketing, websites, journalists and
editors are increasingly harassed by people
looking for links. For you to have a chance
of earning a link — and creating a strong
relationship for future collaboration — you
must perfect your outreach and pitch strategy.
So, here are some things you might
be able to emphasise:
● ● Is your author particularly well-known
or insightful?
● ● Does your brand have special credibility?
● ● Is there any exclusivity or unique
perspectives?
And most importantly:
● ● Empathise with potential partners
and audiences
What type of content will resonate with
them? What is the right format? Is it text,
video, an interactive microsite or the
ubiquitous infographic?
Understand what site owners, and
their readerships, care about and make
sure they have that reason to care about your
content and a reason to link — data alone
isn’t compelling. Data that tells a story is.
To create a truly sustainable, scalable
and high-impact link earning strategy, you
should be continually testing new ways to
engage journalists and webmasters. The
more specific you can be about the value
your content brings to their site and their
goals the better.
household name.
Your team or agency should learn to
accept when a link just isn’t possible, and
negotiating is a waste of time that could
be better spent creating a more fruitful
partnership.
As in so many areas of digital marketing,
doing less of the things that don’t add value
is at least as important as doing the things
that do add value.
“To create a truly sustainable, scalable and high-impact
link earning strategy, you should be continually testing
new ways to engage”
Does the content you offer engage a key
type of reader? Does it bring traffic to a
priority area of their site?
Focus on what you can do for them —
not just what they can do for you.
4) Get. The. Link.
A well-placed mention of your brand might
be something you’re interested in, but it
won’t have a big impact on the SERPs.
When using content marketing to
earn links specifically to support SEO,
understanding how to get the link you
need in the most effective place is key.
Often, coverage is easier to achieve
than a link.
That’s why betting brands must focus
on creating on-site assets that are linkable.
That can be a microsite, super-page or
insightful and provocative piece of long-
form writing on your own site. But in every
case it should mean that to give readers the
full story, journalists and publishers must —
and should want to — link to you.
Ideally, links then follow as a natural
result of how you have structured your link
earning campaign and content strategy.
But if not — and make sure you are clear
and honest with potential media partners
that you expect a link — have a plan B
for those who are unwilling.
5) Don’t knock on closed doors
An effective link-earning strategy is one
that doesn’t waste time.
We all know there are plenty of sites
and publishers who simply don’t like
linking to betting and gaming sites, and
especially not to affiliates not seen as a
Summing up
I’ll be talking more about content
marketing and link earning at the Berlin
Affiliate Conference but, in the meantime,
I hope that affiliates reading will take
these five steps on board.
The key to a stronger, more authoritative
and more topical link profile that has a
measurable SEO impact is a high-quality
approach to link earning.
By elevating your outreach strategy
beyond what competitors are willing or
able to do, your betting brand can unlock
rankings and traffic that they can’t —
but it does take commitment.
NAME: MARTIN CALVERT
WHEN: 3 NOVEMBER@14:00
WHERE: ROOM 1
MARTIN CALVERT is
marketing director at
Blueclaw, a betting and
gaming-focused SEO,
content marketing, PPC and
social PR agency. Martin heads
up Blueclaw’s internal marketing team
and performs a strategic role on behalf
of a number of key clients.
iGB Affiliate Issue 65 OCT/NOV 2017
27