SEO Pro Tip: Seeking Out Common Denominators for Link Building
When it comes to SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and the task of building links, you can never have too many tricks up your sleeve or references with which to build quality links. After all, you don't just want to build any old link on any old site; you want to find strong, authoritative pages to build links on. One such trick I've found immensely helpful throughout my endeavors has been searching for sites that use content management systems or platforms that use common denominators. What exactly does that mean? Follow my nose!
There are new content management systems popping up all the time. Invariably, the majority of them contain some type of common denominator -- typically within the footer -- that says something to the effect of "hey, my Web site is powered by this terrific product!" Long story short, let's say you've built a "dofollow" link on a page that uses some type of CMS (content management system) you've never heard of. Well, what are the chances that particular CMS has enabled "dofollow" links in comments by default? Why not try to search for something in the footer or elsewhere that looks like a generic identifier -- hoping for it to be a common denominator placed by default on pages powered by that particular CMS?
Let's assume you've found the jackpot: A CMS that allows "dofollow" links in comments by default... and that particular CMS is a widely-used one. Well, let's take things a step further here. Getting a "dofollow" link is great, but it's even better if you can place a comment on an article that's relevant to both the article and to the site you're building a link to! With that in mind, why not pick some keywords to add to your searches when searching Google for sites utilizing the CMS you've just discovered? Bam. All of a sudden, you have relevant pages where you can leave "dofollow" links within the comments section! Sound too good to be true? It's not.
I found one such CMS earlier this year and it just kept getting better and better with what all I could squeeze out of it. The control I had as a person leaving a comment was just... incredible. An absolute dream-come-true for an SEO (and no, I'm not going to give it away here; some things are sacred :) ). I could leave a comment, edit it, format it, up-vote it a number of times, anonymize my user account so people couldn't see all the comments I'd left (only the one they were looking at on any given page), and perhaps best of all, the comments weren't moderated on 95% of the sites. These were high-trafficked, constantly updated sites, too -- all on different IP addresses spanning the globe. I'm telling you, it was (and still is) a GOLD MINE. Having said that, such luck with a CMS is rare. I just happened to have an idea that I rolled with and I hit the jackpot.
So, with that said, I'd like you to bare in mind that this method doesn't necessarily have to revolve around content management systems, blog comments, or anything of that sort. Seeking out common denominators can take you a long way in your SEO endeavors and creativity is the key to making the most out of such methods. Mixing and matching with other methods can result in techniques like this. So, what will you potentially discover today? Best of luck with your link-building endeavors!