4 websites that know how to earn links (and how they earn them)
Was explaining the SEO process the other day, when I got to the link part and was explaining black vs white. I started talking about “earned links” process and thought it might be a good idea to put a post together that showed some examples of earned links. Here we go:
Unsplash: stock image site
Unsplash.com is an extremely straightforward website: it posts 10 Creative Commons photos every 10 days. These images are hip, cool, and free to use “anyway you want.”
In the past week or so they earned about 200 links from 200 different domains. Not bad for a little Tumblr blog.
How do they earn links? By being consistent and providing a huge audience with a free resource on a weekly basis. They keep things really simple and don’t try to be anything they are not.
Unsplash also knows how to rub elbows the the right people. They flatter photographers (most of which have a lot of followers themselves) by featuring them on the site who in turn shares them with their audience and even links to them from time to time.
SEO by the Sea: technical SEO blog
Bill puts the “earn” in earned links. We’re talking hundreds of thousands of backlinks to his site throughout its lifespan. Bill puts days, weeks, months and sometimes years of research into the posts he puts out, and is always a source of new information for everyone in the SEO industry.
But you don’t have to be a mathematician or a patent expert to mimic what Bill does. Take the time to create a focus for your blog and don’t stray from that. Yes Bill primarily blogs about SEO but he focuses on the technical side of the algorithm as well as patents.
How do they earn links? By doing the work and putting in the research. I dare you to find an SEO blog that has posts of higher quality than this. If there is an SEO blog out there, chances are it has linked to SEO by the Sea. SEO bloggers are constantly looking to cite and reference their posts with information that they know is true. SEO by the Sea is one of those blogs that knows how to back up what they say.
The One I Love: handcrafted jewelry
A little shameless promotion here because this is actually a good friend of mine, but she is a true bawwws / hustler. Mia Moross created a jewelry brand from nothing and is a shining example of raw inbound marketing talent. Officially she has done no official SEO, but has still managed to amass a hundred or so backlinks from several dozen referring domains. 100% of these backlinks were earned by putting in hard work behind the keyboard. Several bloggers and news sites have picked her up and she has been shared several times by a number of a-listers.
Since I follow her brand on social media and her email list I get to see first hand the work she is doing, and doing very well.
How do they earn links? They take time and care into each piece of jewelry they carefully hand craft. They treat each interaction as it was a lifelong customer and for that they are consistently rewarded with links. The bulk of their online marketing strategy takes place via email marketing and social media.
Deliver Lean: prepared & delivered meals
Giving these guys a shout because they are down in our neck of the woods and they are killing it in overall terms of business success. Deliver Lean was one of the first, if not the first meal delivery and logistics companies in the US. They earn links by doing good work, and by being one of the “first to market” companies. Inventing a niche / industry then helping that niche go viral is one sure fire way to earn some sick links.
While the links might not be pouring in for them, they are doing quite well fort themselves by scoring some huge press links (no, not crappy “press release” links) real press and links from food bloggers.
How do they earn links? Deliver Lean takes care the time to put a little marketing magic into everything they do straight down to their branded tupperwear. What food blogger isn’t going to want to talk about a company that delivers food to your door every day? Their social media game is on point and really know how to make it happen.
Get Social!