At Vertical Measures we provide an array of services for our clients, from content development to social media marketing and local search marketing. However, much of what we do is traditional link building –sending targeted link requests.

The purpose of our blog is to provide readers and subscribers with tips and best practices to follow in all of the aspects of Internet marketing we work in. And though many businesses may not want to share “secrets to success,” we would like to share some of our link building success stories with you in hopes that you will share yours in the comments.  These successes came with personalized e-mails and creating content.

Getting Personal

The first two success stories are examples of how extremely personalized e-mail requests are pertinent to obtaining a link when manual link building.

1.  The Request: The number one competitor backlink for one of our clients was a pirate costume website.  When contacting the webmaster, our staffer reached out in pirate speak: “Ahoy Webwench, I like yer site.” The first email back was a rejection e-mail, though the webmaster was assured that if she changed her mind, there was rum in it for her.

The Result: A reply saying, “Argh, what the hell, I’ve added yer site.” The link with anchor text was placed on a very relevant PR 5 page on a PR 7 domain.  This link is likely to send qualified leads to our client.

2.  The Request: A staffer found a quality link opportunity by searching through competitor backlinks.  Upon further research of the webmaster, it was found that the site owner claims to be able to always predict the outcome of the Miss America Pageant.  The written request joked that we’ll have to call on him the next time we’re trying to predict a pageant.  The request sparked conversation and got us in the door.

The Result: The site owner added an in-content link and wrote an entire paragraph about our client and how that product integrates with his services. The page was very relevant and provided context for the link.  The link used a targeted keyword phrase and was placed on a PR 4 page on a PR 5 domain. Also, it was the first main content link on the page.

Content Creation

The final two success stories are examples of using content to obtain a quality link.

3.  The Request: Our staffer approached a SayCampusLife.com branded Twitter account after finding their blog appropriate for our client’s site. Then, she worked with the client to develop a blog post that was informational and topical for SayCampusLife.com readers.  The VM staffer also used the client’s social media clout and following as a bargaining chip to obtain the opportunity.

The Result: The post went live and the client tweeted it to its 35,000 followers.  Eventually the post gained more th an 20 backlinks and there were many retweets,  some by very influential tweeters in the education industry.  The client’s keywords were used and the domain is strong as a PR 4.  The page eventually became a PR 3.

4. The Request: I found a site that provided golf tips, which was very relevant to one of our clients.  I approached the site owner about adding a tip from our client, a professional and expert in the industry, with a link back to the client as a reputable resource.

The Result: I obtained the link, photo and tip from the pro with many thanks from the webmaster for providing useful content.  The client link was the only external link on the page.  The domain was very relevant and a PR 4.  Also, the client was able to position himself and his company as an expert in the golf industry.

What are your link building success stories? Share with us in the comments!

Abby Gilmore

Abby Gilmore is a content strategist at Vertical Measures. When she is not creating, tweaking and developing strategies for online content, she creates her own offline content as a freelance print journalist.

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Believe it or not we have covered almost 20 Vertical Markets in our DoFollow Tuesday features.  Everything from Real Estate to Jewelry to Law Firms.   Our team spent the last couple days looking at the popularity of various articles and posts we have added over the past year or so, and discovered that most of the interaction occurs on our general topics.  This is not a big surprise as our vertical market posts only reach a niche audience — as they are supposed to. 

However, we decided to return to our old format of general topics for a broader audience letting you apply the tips and techniques to your own specific markets.  Don’t worry, we do plan to offer solid link building advice for vertical markets once in a while, but it will no longer be on an "every Tuesday" basis.

Stay tuned as we get ready to roll out a whole series of informative posts covering ever thing from social media for link building, Google smackdowns, link building strategies and more   You will even see some guest posts from industry experts such as Dave Wallace, Chris Lang and Brian Offenberger.

One final note: we are link builders, we generally share the link love, but we are going to be a little more strict on the comment approvals in the future.  Only valuable comments will be approved from this day forward.   See this write up for some great blog commenting guidelines.

[tags] link building advice, link building tips, dave wallace, chris lang, brian offenberger [/tags]

Vertical Measures