I was lucky enough to go to the #linklove link building conference last month with Guy Donnelly. It was great to take a break from the office and listen to inspirational speakers for a full day of SEO linkbuilding strategies.
I will not cover all of the slides presented as there have been some fantastic round ups by a ton of SEO’s already. Also I think I spent most of my time listening and not taking notes. Added to this, is the fact that the scribbles I do have look like some ancient hieroglyphics, that are indecipherable to all.
Luckily, perhaps as I did not go to the drinks afterwards, I remember a fair amount of what I heard. One of the themes of the day was about connecting with influential people online who will then amplify your content, thus achieving more chance of obtaining links naturally. For linkbuilders this can be essential, not only to work together but also share ideas. There is an age old saying, that if you surround yourself with successful people then this has a beneficial impact upon your own success. If that fails, you can always STALK them online, which was the purpose of Will Reynolds entertaining presentation. He recommended online stalking using iGoogle, to connect with them online by helping them, and perhaps inviting them out for a free coffee if they are in your area.
Is Google+ Author Strength Part of the Link Graph?
Another key topic discussed which looks set to rise in importance this year is how authorship and Google+ and hows this may affect linkbuilding. Tom Anthony presented his AuthoredPageRank algorithm theory, which he explains fully in a recent SEOMoz blog post. It will be interesting to see how authorship can be used and developed in some niches. Of course SEO’s are testing out authorship in their droves, but it may take a while before we see more widespread use. Will it be possible to stalk a prominent and prolific writer who has a large influence on Google+? Like the old fashioned reciprocal link buying we may see ‘reciprocal authorship’ schemes springing up all over the place. There is already similar sites with guest blogging exchanges, but it this form of linkbuilding may become more powerful when linked up with Google+ authorship. Would you prefer to write a guest blog post if you knew the authorship was correctly setup on the target website? For most, the answer would be a resounding yes.
Although I did not take impressive photos of the speakers like Mat Bennett, I did happen to take some photos of the food, so I will give that a little review. Usually you are lucky to get food at most conferences, so this was a welcome surprise. The first bowl of food I managed to grab was pretty much a giant leaf. Not really my thing, but I gave it a go. I was not a fan of the healthy starter, maybe because what I really craved was a classic bacon butty or a sausage sandwich. Luckily, my prayers were answered by the next dish, a delightful, albeit tiny bowl of sausage and mash. The gravy was the highlight for me, which must have been an onion-packed red wine reduction. I was on the hunt to find another bowl but alas, the waiter proved elusive.
I am not sure what on earth to call this desert, but it was pretty amazing by anyone’s standards. If anybody knows what it is, please let me know so I can try to recreate it. It had a pastry base and lashings of caramel, topped up with a creamy thing of some sort on top. Yum.
I started to think about what I would do to find some influential folks, whilst still involving my love of food. My thoughts turned to creating a close-knit SEO meetup in the locality, where the group would invite prominent online authors or influencers. This humble conference, or ‘Mashlove‘ as I call it could easily be hosted it in a local pie and mash shop for a bargain price. Once momentum is gained, perhaps get the fledgling event could be sponsored by ‘S&M’ or ‘Mother Mash‘ or another brand of mash producers (anything but ‘smash’). If anything, I am sure they will appreciate the powerful links from all of the SEO bloggers out there after the event!
