News

This past week there was a buzz about a patent that was awarded to Google that is being referred to as the Reasonable Surfer Patent.  The specifics of the patent reveal that it was filed 6 years ago and awarded in May 2010. 

The first thing I questioned was the relevance of the patent since so much has changed in the past 6 years in search.  The patent data include this text:

Ranking documents based on user behavior and/or feature data
Invented by Jeffrey A. Dean, Corin Anderson and Alexis Battle
Assigned to Google Inc.
United States Patent 7,716,225
Granted May 11, 2010
Filed: June 17, 2004

SEO pundits have differing opinions on the specific value of this patent but to save you the internal banter, I will try to distill what I think is most important.  This patent is focused on how Google will “weight” links on a web page.  The weighting may include predicting what a consumer would most likely click on a web page.  So a text link in the first paragraph of a blog article, with interesting anchor text, could have more “weight” than a link in the bottom page footer.

Links are critical in the overall visibility of any website and this patent is part of that discussion.  The discussion that has surfaced pertains to where is the best place for links on a page and how do different types of links “rate” with Google. 

For example, a link from the home page of Automotive News to any dealer’s website is a great link to have since that site is a recognized authority in the automotive industry.  This link would have more “weight” than a link from a brand new microsite or a friends landscaping website.

Building Inbound Links

Car dealers who have launched effective off-site SEO campaigns that produce high quality inbound links from well ranked websites normally have an edge over their competition with all other things considered equal. 

However, it is difficult for dealers to independently create hundreds or thousands of high quality links to their websites.   Dealers can obtain high quality links from press releases, social communities, car forums, article syndication, document publishing portals and business directories.  Increasing links is like an annuity of good will and create a digital marketing foundation.

If you have been considering increasing the links to your website, you should understand some of the basics of link building.  Some of the questions you may have are:

• How many links do I have directed to my website?
• What is a good link?
• Where can I find places to create links back to my site?
• Where should that link be located?
• Are image links better than text links?

To find the number of inbound links pointing to your website, and to make it easy for anyone to get a correct count, I recommend that you go to www.websitegrader.com .  Type in your domain name and then click on the “Create Report” button.  The free report and analysis includes the number of “inbound links”.

While you have the report, take a look at the data and one thing to spot is when your domain is going to expire.  If it’s less than two years, renew it today.  Also, if your score is under 70/100, it would be a good time to give PCG a call.

Dealers who want to be competitive in online search should seek to have a diverse set of high quality sites linking to their website.  I bring this up because often I see hundreds of links coming from only one website and so the number of links masks the problem of low diversity. The total recommended links will vary but I would like to see over 1,000 links to the dealer’s home page and hundreds of links to key inside web pages like service, parts, and used cars.

A good link is one that comes from a reputable website that has real content, real visitor activity and relevance to your business.  The site can also be unrelated to your business but one that has a high Google PageRank. There are many link building scams on the market, so be careful that you don’t waste your money.

 The Reasonable Surfer Patent   emphasizes what I have been recommending for years. Content based SEO strategies that include blogs, press releases, article publishing, posting articles on technical forums and social communities can deliver high quality links.  The key is to place that link in such a way that enhances the page and that links to the right page on your dealer website.

An example would be posting an article, outside of your website, about the different types of Nissan extended warranty plans available to a consumer.  In the article you would place links to the extended warranty page on your dealer website or even Nissan brochures on your website.  Car dealers who have been blogging for years or participating in automotive forums already know this. 

How Many Links Do You Have?

Do you know how many links are pointing to your website?  How about your competitor’s website?

You can see inbound links on any website by going to Yahoo and typing in your competitor’s domain name or your domain name with the “link” parameter.   For example, if you wanted to see where ABC Ford (www.abcford.com) was building links from you would go to Yahoo and type in the search box:

link:www.abcford.com 

No spaces. This will bring up the Yahoo Site Explorer  and it will show you the first 1,000 inbound links to any website. 

There is a debate whether a text link will not be as strong as an image that is linked because a “surfer” may be more likely to click on a photo or banner that is above the fold.  There is no uniform agreement on this matter.      Should you bold the text anchor?  Should you use larger fonts for the anchor text?  That is where the art of link building and testing comes into play.

What is most uniformly agreed is that a list of links in a sidebar or footer will not be as strong as links inside an article.  Of course I am talking about a well written article with links on anchor text that point to relevant pages on a dealer’s website.

If you want to target high value keywords that you want your website to appear on Google Page One, then a combination of good on-site content and a few hundred links from external sites may be just what you need.   The strategy for off-site links will be to use the keyword in content and hyperlink that keyword to an appropriate page on your website.   It’s a two part strategy that must be in place to win.

 If your keyword goal is very competitive you will most likely need thousands of links.  The point is that over time, you can compete and win against your local competitors if you have a strong content writing and off-site link building strategy.

Need help with link building?  Give us a call at 732-450-8200.

A recent post on an automotive social networking forum brought up the question about back links to their dealer website.  Having high quality automotive website linking to your dealership website is an important part of an Automotive SEO strategy.  However, getting links from other automotive websites is not an easy task.

Before I make some suggestions on how to build links, it is important to stay away from offers that sound too good to be true.  Every week I get email solicitations from companies from India, Russia and the UK offering one-way links for a low fee.  Most of these services create links from websites that will add no real value to your Automotive SEO strategy.

Automotive User Groups

In the automotive space, consider becoming a sponsor of popular automotive user group forums for your specific brand.  Many offer links building opportunities and banner advertising at a very reasonable cost.  For example, if you are a Nissan dealership you may consider becoming a supporting member of www.nicoclub.com  or www.nissanforums.com.

There are dedicated user groups and forums for every brand of cars.  These sites have high keyword density and relevance for the dealer brand they represent.  Articles posted on these sites, posting your cars for sale, or just advice to forum members can produce high quality links back to your website.

A word of advice; become a supporter and clearly identify yourself as a vendor. Also, take it slowly and build up your reputation and trust in the forum or you will be thrown out on your ass.

Outside of well ranked automotive user groups websites, look for automotive blogs that offer advertising space; many exist.  An alternative is to look for automotive blogs or communities that will allow you to post articles in a field of your expertise for free.  This is perfect for automotive professionals that like to write and share ideas.

If you don’t have the time or the motivation to write, considering hiring a firm to write articles on automotive topics and post these articles on “ezine” websites like http://ezinearticles.com or article directory websites like http://www.articledashboard.com .

The articles you write must be informative and not sales pitches. When done properly they can create powerful links and attract organic search traffic.  For example, writing an article on the benefits of purchasing a Toyota ExtraCare warranty over a third party warranty would be a good article to gain link relevance on extended warranty keywords. You can link to charts or warranty information on your website  and pickup a good back link.

Local Business Directories

Outside of these two strategies, look for ways to also establish local relevance for OEM car sales in your state.  These opportunities are normally found on reputable statewide business directory websites. Make sure that the website has a Google PageRank of 3 or higher. Banner ads or sidebar articles can often generate hundreds of links to your website from one advertising sponsorship.   The optimal advertisement will include some text that you can hyperlink with a strong anchor tag. An example is: http://www.newjerseyvisitorsnetwork.com

Press releases are another great way to build quality links and there are about a dozen great websites that you can utilize for PR and back links.  The key is to use press release websites that allow hyperlinked text in the body of the press release.  This allows for you to create “votes” for important keywords surrounded by relevant text. Try www.prlog.org and www.webwire.com .

If you donate to local charities, schools, colleges and churches ask for them to create a sponsors page and add a short note about your support with a link back to your website.  Links from these websites can be very valuable to establish credibility.

Free Linking Exists

Other opportunities like Yahoo Answers, Merchant Circle Blogs, Fast Company and SlideShare are just a few of the dozens of free sites that can provide a good back link that will raise your relevance for the keywords you are targeting.  Try to build links from blog articles that are about automotive topics.

You can also look for blog posts that you can reply to that allow links to be followed.  Firefox has a nice plug-in that will show you which website forms have a “no-follow” tag and those that do not.  Reply boxes that have a no-follow tag will not build back links.

In the end, link building is very important but it takes time and experience to know how to build the most effective links. Car dealers often do not have the time or expertise to build a consistent monthly link building campaign.

In the ideal situation, link building and other Internet Marketing tasks should be a shared responsibility between car dealer and outside consultant.  Techniques and strategies are constantly changing and someone who builds links all day is normally finding new sites every week which can be an advantage over your competitors.

If you have questions, drop me a line or an email.

Brian Pasch, CEO