Today we are going to exhaustively talk about links! Yep, that’s right, links. I’m not going to tell you how to “get links” yet (so don’t get all excited), but I will teach you to “understand links.” Foundations are important.

Internet Marketing Links

First up… listen now and listen good: the success of your website in the search engines depends on backlinks. Links to your site are endorsements of your content from other “webmasters.” You must get links and market your content… But before you can get links, you have to understand what they are, what they mean, where they come from, and how they evolve.

There are a bunch of vids in this post, so watch and enjoy. I want to make this real-world for you, so I am going to stick with the “DIY Niche” through these vids. (our website here will be www.theDIYdude.com … a real domain I purchased just for this series here) I want you to get some true examples while visualizing the concepts in the REAL WORLD! (yeah, I am always trying to get you guys to think like humans in the real world and pull your heads outta your “Make Money Online Blogging” arses!) so let’s get started:

What Are Links and Why Are They Important Online?

In this video, I illustrate backlinks by pretending we are at a gathering of businesses, and Mr. Google is the doorman, directing customers to each business based on the customer’s needs. Watch…

So you can see that links are those little blue underlined words on websites. Most of you probably knew that. But there is a lot more to it than just having a bunch of sites pointing at you. This video has set the foundation for the next ones that will appeal to your more intermediate internet marketing mind!

All links are not created equally and the next videos will help you understand some of that.

Links And Anchor Text

The first thing I want you to consider when you go out to get links (or when you link out to your friends), is the anchor text used in the link. I mean, it’s cool if you get linked up with www.theDIYdude.com because of the fact that your domain name itself has the keyword “DIY” (do-it-yourself) in it, but this is not the best way to get your links anchored. Keep in mind that the actual anchored (the blue) words tell the Google crawlers what your site is about. IOW– when the spiders follow the link, the words anchored give them an idea of what’s on the other side of the link. Those spiders remember that! (in a manner of speaking of course)

In the case of www.theDIYdude.com we would love to have the anchore text of “home improvement tips” instead of just www.DIYdude.com. Can you see how the actual anchored blue words are more telling about the site than just the URL? (please ask questions below if you cannot grasp this concept ok?)

Linking Someone’s Name

This is something that you bloggers out there need to learn: and that being how to link to your buddies. I mean, quit linking people’s names. Sure, some of you think that “your name is your brand” and linking your name would increase that, but tell me how many real humans using Google are gonna search your dang name looking for whatyou have to offer? Yeah, they ain’t, so why do you insist on anchoring people’s names when you link to their sites? Why not help a brother or sister out and link their keywords? Let’s pretend you have a site about home improvement and you want to send me some natural link love: here is how you should do it:

“…since we are talking about floor tiling, wall framing and related power tools, you all could definitely benefit from checking out my friend Allyn Hane over at his DIY Home Improvement blog. Leave him a comment and let him know I sent you.”

Glad we got that one straight… and …Now that you know about anchor text, can you see how that is a lot better than just saying “Go see Allyn Hane for more information on DIY home improvement projects.”

Guest Posting Links

And not that I am bashing here guys, but that is really one thing that annoys me when it comes to guest posting on well known blogs. Some of you are big into this concept and you may spend an hour writing a nice keyword enriched, helpful post for a big name blogger, and when he introduces you as the guest poster, he links your freaking name or just your site name. Why wouldn’t he take the time to anchor your keywords in the guest post instead? Hmmf!

Yeah, just so you know, the value of guest posting isn’t from getting a bunch of someone’s trickle traffic… it’s in getting the anchored link from an authority site! THAT is why you guest post… for the LINK!!! (start thinking like a marketer and not just a blogger ya’ll)

Links And Site Authority

In this video, we talk about getting links from sites with some authority and how important that can be to your results.

So now let’s put a couple of these concepts together shall we? We know so far:

1) you need to get links (endorsements)

2) links with keywords anchored help Google understand your site better

3) links from sites with authority (PageRank) are bigger endoresements of your content

Just so you know, in my opinion, page rank on your own site really doesn’t mean much. Sure, if your site is a PR3 or PR4, your new posts will get crawled and indexed faster, and it will be easier to rank for langtails, but that is really the easy part.

Where pagerank matters is when sites that have a lot of it (PR3+) link *to* you. Those links are ENDORSEMENTS from already trusted sites and that makes the search engines in turn trust you, thus raising your site and pages up into the better locations in search results. (BTW– if you ain’t number 1 for a keyword, you ain’t nuthin’ in most cases!)

Can you see how this is stitching together? Getting links that are keyword anchored from authority sites will help you rank for your keywords… in other words, get you to position #1 for the keywords that are anchored. (read that run-on again )

PageRank Of Page, Not Domain

One other word of caution here: when you go out to seek/find high PR links, you need to understand that the pagerank of the PAGE the link is on matters and NOT so much the pagerank of the top level domain. I have seen these snake oil salesman out there telling people “we can get you 100 PR8 links to your website for $$$$”
What those guys do is go to sites where the main page is a PR8 (like http://www.weebly.com/) and they create an account page for you there and give you a link. But the page they created is a PRn/a or PR0.. and THAT is what Google looks at, the PR of the page, not the domain. Get it? So if you buy into that, you are not getting PR8 links, trust me.

Links And Site Relevance

We are almost done here, so pay attention as I am now going to talk about the relevance of the links you get.

This part of the concept can be a little confusing, so let me remind you that there really are no “bad links” for the most part. (well, unless someone spam links to you 1,000 times with the term “cheap vi*gra” or something)… but let’s stay on track.. there are no bad links.
But there are better links. So let’s look once again at our progression here, afteral, repetition is the key to learning bitches!

1) you need to get links, period

2) links with keywords anchored help Google understand your site better

3) links from sites with authority (PageRank) are bigger endoresements of your content

4) links from sites that are in your same or similar niche are big endorsements also, maybe bigger!

You see, it’s cool if we get a link to our DIY site from a PR4 site/page that is about general news and events, especially if our keywords are anchored. We’ll take those all day long.

But it’s actually a little better to get a keyword anchored link to our DIY site from a PR3 site that is focused on home improvement tips its-own-self. The relevance there trumps that extra pagerank when it comes to endorsement importance.
Now, no one truly knows what is better and what is worse in the grand scheme of the web.

“Is a PR6 link from CNN to your DIY site better than a PR4 link from DIY Network’s website…?” etc etc etc.

See how that can get a little muddy? So like I said before, all the links you can get are better than nothing, but you should, as a general rule, gets links on sites that are similar in your niche when you can. So in the case of www.theDIYdude.com we would try to get links from sites about “home improvement” first, but would also go for links on sites about “kitchens and baths” “gardening” “tile” “wood flooring” “home furnishings” “painting” etc. Each of these niches are great and would help us out, especially if the link was anchored well and on a high PR page.

So what is the Perfect Link?

As my friend Vic says, the HOLY GRAIL OF LINKS is…

So the best link (endorsement) I can get for www.theDIYdude.com is a keyword anchored link from a PR10 DIY Home Improvement site. If I can score that, I am well on my way to the big bank I am chasing. So how do you get links like that? You’ll have to stay tuned guys… I’ll show you in due time!

Honest Talk At The End (Everyone Read This Please)

Now it occurs to me that a lot of you are sitting there thinking, “Holy crap I can’t do all of that. That’s too much work!”

If that is you, you are not the first. But honestly, you should probably just stick to being a blogger then. As a blogger, you can feel good about “getting out a post today” and you can take refuge in the fact that you “left 10 comments on other blogs today” and go tell your Mommy that you “retweeted 10 tweets today.”

But “posting today” and “commenting today” and “Tweeting today” ain’t gonna get you paid any time soon.
So are you in this for the blogging touchy-feely or do you wanna get paid like a real marketer? Which is it? Do you have the bullocks to get out and market your content to real people or do you just want other bloggers to kiss your arse and mention you on Facebook?

In the real world, in real niches, you have to MARKET boys and girls, just like REAL businesses market a product of service, and getting links is the first step to marketing your content so you can turn a profit. …until next time…

Anyway, I am writing about longtail keywords today. This is obviously nothing new or Earth shattering, but I need to convey it anyway. This is because I have about a dozen friends from the “real” world who are just starting up their internet marketing careers: this post is for them… but it never hurts to review… and, of course, you guys are welcome to add in your thoughts as well cuz I am sure to miss something.

What Is A Long Tail Keyword?

Longtail keywords in internet marketing are those basic/primary “search words” that are modified in some shape or fashion using adjectives, mostly, but sometimes verbs or points of action, or states of being. I am not a grammar nut, so I think it best to just give you examples.

Here is an example of a primary keyword: “vacations”

Now “vacations” is a major keyword and if you can rank your site #1 for it, I can promise you an easy $50K+ in revenue per week, probably more. But there are a couple problems with this thinking.

1) The term “vacations” by itself is very vague. That means you’d need a mega site serving all types and kinds of “vacations” in order to truly cover that search term and get any kind of conversion. And guess who owns that term? Check it out here. Yeah, the big boys, Priceline, Travelocity, Orbitz, etc.

2) You will NEVER beat those guys for the term “vacations” so don’t even try. They have the money and the power to command those rankings and they will keep them, all the while trading places in the top 3 or 4. There is no room for us there, believe it!

So What Can The Small Time Marketer Like Me Get A Piece Of The Action?

Here are some positives and negatives in regards to longtails:

1) the longer the long tail, the easier it is to rank for it (positive)

2) the longer the long tail, the FEWER searches there will be (negative)

3) most times, the longer the long tail, the more TARGETED the searcher is, ie: buying mode!

Classifications Of Long Tails

Adjective Modifiers

cheap vacations

cheap all inclusive vacations

cheap last minute all inclusive vacations

best tropical vacations

Predicate Long Tails

vacations for couples

vacations for honeymooners

vacations on cruise ships

Geographic Long Tails

vacations Cancun Mexico

vacations Clearwater Florida

Club Med vacations Cayman Islands

Question Long Tails (my favorite for $30K websites)

where is the best place for a getaway vacation?

what is the best place to visit in the Caribbean?

when is the best time to vacation in Greece?

who has the best vacation deals online?

Generic Product Long Tails

14 volt cordless drills

1 megabite Mp3 players

broadband mobile phones

Product Specific Long Tails

Craftsman 14 volt cordless drill

Craftsman 14 vold cordless drill model CFN78

RCA Jet 1GB Sport Media Player

Blackberry Storm model 7656 smart phone

“Review” Long Tails

Carnival Cruise vacations review

Carnival “Glory” Cruise Ship Vacation review

Craftsman 14 volt cordless drill review

Date Driven Longtails (people do search by month/season/year)

best lawn mowers 2010

cordless drill reviews 2010

January vacation deals

summer vacation ideas

Mis-Spelled Long Tails

all inclusive vacations cankun mexico

craftsmen drill reviews

Combinations (where the fun starts!)

cheap all inclusive cruises for couples cancun mexico

who has the best deal on all inclusive vacation cruises to mexico?

Carnival Glory 2010 Caribbean reviews

cheap honeymoon vacation destinations in February

Considerations:

1) not all longtails are “buying terms” … some are “informational” terms only. But when I build a site that I plan to use for Adsense, or flip for profit, informational terms are just fine IMO.

2) to target the terms, you need to BOLD them in the post, use them in the post tags, and most importantly, have the key words anchored and pointing to your post in the form of LINKS!

3) because of the lower traffic on some longtails, you should plan to target bunches of them in your niche. You can target one longtail per post, or if they are related, you can hit a few in the same post.

4) some longtails get mega searches and if you can, use one entire site dedicated to that long tail… Court called this a “sniper site” back in his Cowboy days.

So there you go guys, and in case you are wondering, “yes” I am taking my family on a cruise this year on the Carnival Glory and some of those terms are pretty real to me. And that is what I want to leave you with:

You need to learn to think like a real person and not an online money making internet marketer. I mentioned this in my recent video about “writing long posts” and I am mentioning it here again because of how important it is.

Amidst all of your scramble to be a Twitter Expert, you should realize that there are millions more people using Google everyday, and they are buying, not Twitting. If you think like a Google searcher, you will make money. If you think like a Twit, well, you know!

comments? additions?

Below is the example article I mentioned in the video. Click Here To Watch The Video if you can’t see it in the email feed (which, of course, you can’t LOL) Watch the video here, forget the written fluff below.

Ok, so there is a lot going on with this article and I will try to explain some of my thinking; but I also want you guys to tell me what you notice down in the comments as well. And, in case anyone is wondering, this article is a 100% original that I wrote just for this post and it will never be used elsewhere. (wouldn’t it be funny if I started getting longtail traffic for terms mentioned below?) Could happen… never know.

Anyway, it took me 11 minutes to write the article you see here. Keep in mind that in my opinion, you will need a minimum of 30 BIG POSTS (700+ words each) for the type of mega-giant site that will make money or eventually sell for good coin. We are targeting longtail keyword traffic here. You must understand that humans talk to the Google search box like it’s got a human inside of it. That is how you target longtails on a DIY site… thinking in the same vein as the humans who talk to Google like it is also a human. Get it?

Also, I made some of the words in the post blue, and those are to represent hyperlinks to other articles that I’d use to increase my internal linking structure. Since this is just an example, there are no real links there.

Here’s the article I wrote… maybe some of you might even learn something…imagine that eh? FLUFF is GOOD!

Is Premixed Thinset or Mastic Adhesive Good For Installing Tile?

You guys know that I love DIY home improvement projects, and nothing excites me more than installing a tile backsplash, ceramic tile floor, slate tile tub surround or outdoor tiled patio. But I must confess, the stuff that holds the tile down is much more important that the actual tile itself. You gotta learn to “stick it good!” Huh?

Tile Adhesive or Tile Thinset Basic Information

For time’s sake, there are basically two ways to make a tile stick to a surface. You can use thinset mortar (a cement based product) or a Mastic (an organic based product) to adhere the tile to the surface or substraight. If you go to Home Depot or Lowe’s right now, you will find all kinds of mastic and thinset all over the shelves. Some comes in bags, others in buckets. But MASTIC and THINSET are NOT created equal! On top of that, you also should be careful of the real “fooler” in the bunch, and that is the “premixed thinset“… you definitely don’t wanna get “stuck” (pun!) with the premixed!… read on and learn ya’ll…

Drawbacks To Using Mastic Tile Adhesive

You’ve seen it… big white bucket of “ceramic tile adhesive white” for $40, simple, easy-breezy right?…
I want you to logic with me for a minute: if something (like mastic) comes pre-mixed in a bucket, and during all the months it is sitting on the shelves of aisle ’42′ at Home Depot in that water tight bucket in a huge gloppy mass… it manages NOT to harden and dry… what makes you think it will dry in your shower walls when sandwiched between your water-proofing substraight (like Kerdi) and your hardened ceramic or porceline tiles?
Did you get that? Go back and read it again ok?… we’ll wait…

Ok, I will try to explain it another way: Mastic won’t dry properly in a situation where it is sandwiched between two water proof or nearly waterproof membranes. What’s more, if the mastic does dry after several weeks, and you get it wet again (like in shower) it will go right back to being gooey.. and this is not a good situation for a tiled wall in a shower!

I never recommend using mastic anywhere on any application that can or may get wet, period. If you do find a tile application that will not come in contact with water (such as a tile accent wall in a dry bar area) then you can use mastic and stick the tiles directly to the drywall behind. Other than that, stay clear of mastic. This is your mastic warning!

Is Premixed Thinset Any Good?

This one has fooled many DIY home improvement champs… don’t you be one!
Once again, to save time: don’t buy it! Most “pre-mixed thinset” products are really just mastic with sand added in and a grey colorant to mimic true thinset. In any case, most premixed thinset products that are marketed to do-it-youselfers like you are going to have the same problems I mentioned above. Remember, if it won’t dry inside a sealed bucket, it won’t dry between two sealed surfaces on your walls or floors.

What Is The Best Thin Set To Buy Then?

I don’t have the time or space to go into all the ins and outs of thinset mortar in this article, but I will say that true thinset; the good stuff that is made to adhere tile to properly prepared walls and floors comes dry in bags and you must mix it yourself. (which means you must purchase a quality half-inch drill also)
This type of thinset is portland cement based and will dry within 24hrs when applied properly. This is because it dries due to a chemical reaction within the slurry, and not based on “getting outside air.” When you add water to dry thinset mortar, the chemical reaction begins! Oh, the magic of DIY!!!
You can modify thinset with polymers and such to give it better flex for certain applications, but as I mentioned, we will get to that in another article.

Final Notes On Thin Set Mortar, Pre Mixed and Mastic

Guys, just don’t use anything that comes premixed in a pail for tiling applications. Remember, it is your house that you are working on here, and one of the things I always preach is that you, as a DIYer, can do quality work just like the pros, while saving money and getting a huge sense of accomplishment (plus some love from that adoring wife!).
So before you start that next tile shower project or tiled backsplash project, make sure you get the right thinset for the job.. and mix it your-own-dang-self!

Ok, so here are a few clues as to how I think when I write:
1) I think like a human, not a keyword analysis tool
2) I spell the words like humans would in different places ie: pre-mixed/premixed/pre mixed — thinset/thin set
3) I write like a human writes an email… loose and free on the punctuation. I also write “folksy”
4) I bold keywords all around. This does benefit humans, and Google too
5) I am a smart sucka.. so I can write for humans and search engines… you can too!
6) I come off as an authority because I freaking am an authority, but also a hobbyist like my readers
7) I link out to relavent articles on my site
I would include at least one picture. I prefer to take my own pics.

9) what else do you guys see? Can you see the longtails I am targeting with this puppy?

Now I am going to use this article over many of the coming posts. I will show you how I monetize it, of course, but I will also be talking about product review posts and “quick blurbs” in the near future and how they interweave with the BIG POSTS.

I mentioned in the video that I have not yet talked about buying a domain, and that is because I want you to decide if you can even make the commitment to this type site first. If you are not willing to build this kind of site, then don’t waste your money on a domain. There is a TON more info coming on this subject, prolly enough to make Darren Rowse blush and John Chow eat Panda Express … so stay tuned.

This post is #2 in a series about a Website I Sold For $30K. I’m telling you pretty much how I did it from the ground up. There will be tons of fluff posts included, as well as a ‘few’ F-bombs and the occasional insider secret to kick ass blogging, oh yeah! Plenty of beer too, so make sure you are fully stocked! You should check out the first post here: Introduction To Selling Sites For Big Money

So WTF is that title up there all about eh? Well, I can tell you this guys, today is a good day for you cuz you get two vids for the price of one. The first one is my little “warning” mixed with a “rant” talking about this Gary Vaynerchuk “cash in on your passion stuff.” Check it…

Now some of you are gonna think I am bagging on Gary and that is not the point. I am just trying to relate to the majority of you who did not inherit a business, or have someone pay your way thru college. Many of you (and me) are a little older than Vaynerchuk, have kids, bills, and whatever else. It is nice that Gary was able to take something his daddy built and make it bigger, but the rest of us have not been dealt such a hand. (BTW–if you are young, single and have no resposibilities, get your dumb ass off the Playstation and build something… go cash in on your passion you young bastards! ) In addition, if you turn your passion into a job, you may end up resenting it in the end… dangerous!

With that in mind, you can’t always cash in on your passions when you have to work a real job and support a family. So what can you do to still be wildly successful? You blog about shit you are already doing in your life anyway. These things could include hobbies for sure, or in the case of my site that I sold for $30,000, it was a blog about home improvement stuff. I already knew that I’d need to upgrade my crib, so why not “cash in” on my “regular life?” … THAT is the point! Let’s be real eh?

Video Blog Post #2

Now the next vid is my giving you some encouragement really. You see, so many young bloggers think they can’t beat the big company websites in the SERPS.. well, check it…

First off, I don’t dislike Home Depot. I actually love the place… Though I still think it’s a big company run by cocksuckers anyway. But the folks that work in the local stores are great! The point here is that big corporate websites suck ass in the content department. This is many times due to the fact that the creative minds in a company are stifled by big, arrogant mother f*cking CEOs and executives. (trust me, big company CEOs want complete compliance, not creativity) In addition to that, anything a big company puts out to the public is looked over by dozens of corporate lawyers for months prior… gumming up the creative juices, and killing the basic premise of a “BLOG”.

And that’s how you and me kick their cyber-butts! We can write freely, creatively, personally and believably! We can use keyword rich reviews to sell products, one-at-a-time. This creates a huge trust factor about a product… a single product recommended by a real human on a personal-feeling blog…, whereas Home Depot doesn’t necessarily sell a product based on the product itself.. rather, the Cordless Nailer is just another piece of their inventory, and here’s a picture of it on our site with a generic description. Do you see? (read the previous run-on sentence again if you need to)

Finally, I ranted a little about the lack of content on the page on the Home Depot site. Honestly, it probably isn’t that big of a deal. I am sure the Home Depot website collectively is full of “content”… but I can tell you this: Home Depot’s website does not look much different than a lot of the Build A Niche Store (BANS) sites I have seen de-indexed in recent years. You tell me where the standard is set?

Most of you are going to ask me “where is the site you sold?” … “can we see it?” …and the answer is that I will never tell. I don’t think it is right for me to flood the site with traffic from here as that is not why the buyer purchased it. They bought it for targeted search engine traffic. And don’t go trying to find it either because it never had my name on it and was privately registered in someone else’s Godaddy account from the beginning (yeah, Vic taught me well on keeping things private). I actually bought the domain about 26 months ago and put the site on line about 19 months ago.. so you can see that it was not very old.

Now many of you are gonna also wonder if I did anything to make the site “black hat” and the answer is “heck no!” In fact, the site was so squeeky clean that Baby Jesus Darren Rowse himself would be proud. And I am gonna show and tell you everything I did, why and how. I will share with you the traffic stats and how I got that traffic, the right way. You see, there is a very common misconception that people who follow Vic and Griz do things shady, and that IS NOT true. We just know how to write very good, long content that uses keywords properly.. Content Is King dontcha know?

SO here is a tip for you already: when building a niche site…, long, infrequent posts (1,000+ words) with lots of good pictures and other media, are more valuable than 10 short blasts in a week. That’s right guys, if you can post only a couple times per month, but those 2 articles are full of keyword rich, helpful, loving content, you will do much better in the long run… the search engine spiders will love to hang around and take shits all over your pages! …And the human visitors will also benefit (more on this later)… and the money will also roll in.

We also know how to make friends online and work with them… just like those who make friends thru Twitter… we do the same, but do it thru emails instead of 140 characters. There area  lot of other things we do that are nothing new and spectacular and are straight up white hat… we are just smarter than most of the other MMO cocksuckers out there, and that is why we get criticized. (sorry, rant there)

The site also did well on it’s own and made me money consistently. In fact, it accounted for about $900 per month of my online income. So, yes, I have dropped below the $5K per month now that the site is gone, but I am not upset for obvious reasons.

In this video blog post I also mention that the site never saw Twitter or other social sites, and that is true. You can’t make money on Twitter with niche sites like this. Anyone who tells you that is a flat out LIAR! Yes, you can make money with Twitter in the tech niche, the internet marketing niche, the MMO niche and you can even sell Twitter software from a niche site using PPC… but to have a real site in the real world without a brick and mortar business behind it, you are just WASTING YOUR TIME ON TWITTER!

This is not to say Twitter sucks. I have met some good folks like the Info Dude and Don the Business Development Dude on Twitter. but…  Again, if you have a brick and mortar cabinet shop behind your Twitter account, then yes, you can get some business from that. But for niche bloggers/internet marketers building sites OUTSIDE of MMO and TECH, Twitter is a time sucker…blah blah blah, I am rambling.  If you want to know how to make money on Twitter, then go see Josh at his marketing site.

You also will need to understand WordPress if you want to follow along here. I am not structuring this video series for complete beginners, so if that is you, go get some help for your WordPress issues. You can also get a free WordPress blog setup for you from my good buddy Steve.