A few years ago I made the joke about Google buying digg.com and turning it into an affiliate site for gardening products.
After Google has now become a credit card affiliate and giving itself preferred ranking in its search engine it seems it is now competing with the very same sites it has indexed in its search engine.
Moneysupermarket.com gets a third of its revenue from Google organic searches and investment analysts are warning that Googles move into making money from credit card sales could wipe out two-thirds of moneysupermarket.com’s earnings. And the share price has dropped 8.1 per cent lower at 116.2p, its sharpest daily fall in four years.
Does this mean it’s the right time for those relying on Google to seek viable alternatives? But as Google has a virtual monopoly on internet search it’s difficult to see where else to go.
It’s one thing when a website has to worry about another competitor setting up a website, but when Google squats its Billion dollar corporate ass over your niche you may as well pack up and go home.
Time to think beyond Google
If you have been gripped by the Leveson Inquiry into Media Ethics as I have, you will have noticed that the lead council, Robert Jay Q.C. has a certain way of speaking and asking questions.
Yesterday a meme started on Twitter querying pop lyricists in the style of Robert Jay
“You may call it ‘sexual healing’, Dr Gaye, but I contend that some would consider it ‘serious medical malpractice’.” #popleveson
All of the boys, Ms Kelis? That is an extremely expansive claim for any dairy product. #popleveson
“You continue to blame it on the boogie, Mr Jackson. But evidence suggests that sunshine, moonlight & good times played a part” #popleveson
RT @janinegibson: I will remind you again, Miss Morrissette, that we are pursuing irony here and not mere inconvenience. #popleveson
RT @giantteddi: RT @DavidBlackm0re: “I will ask you again, and remember you are under oath – who let the dogs out? #PopLeveson
RT @johnmitchinson: Mr Bono, let me put it to you that the streets did indeed have names but that you have conveniently decided to forget them. #popleveson
Big-legged ladies lack soul? Seriously Mr Zeppelin, do you expect the court to accept such nonsensical assertions? #PopLeveson
RT @politicalhackuk: And did you honestly believe that rock and roll was an adequate foundation for a city of this size? #popleveson
Too vague Ms Turner, the depth of a river or altitude of a mountain has little relevance, exactly how close were you? #popleveson
RT @robdrummond: “I put it to you Mr Dury that you did indeed ask to be hit with said rhythm stick on a number of occasions, at varying speeds” #popleveson
RT @limeandonion: “Mr. Lennon, you are either an eggman or a walrus. You cannot be both, can you, surely?” #popleveson
If as you claim ‘you don’t like reggae’, why only moments later do you state ‘you love it’? #popleveson
“You continue to blame it on the boogie, Mr Jackson. But evidence suggests that sunshine, moonlight & good times played a part” #popleveson
Mr. Marley. I put it to you that if you did shoot the sheriff, you must also have been present for the shooting of his deputy. #popleveson
Mr Rotten, what evidence do you present that her majesty is directly responsible for your lack of education? #popleveson
Am I right in assuming Mr Joel that, despite all the evidence of arson that stands before you, you still deny starting the fire? #popleveson
RT @RevRichardColes: I ask you again: do you, or do you not, remember the good old days before the ghost town? #PopLeveson
The purpose of this post is to test a new curation tool that I will be using when offering the Web Content News Feed service. Currently it’s going out on Linkbait Coaching, but I will be offering it as a stand alone product to help with content creation ideas, ultimately leading to more links and attention.
My job is mostly about being creative, coming up with web content ideas, creating headlines, writing copy etc. It’s usually quite easy for me to do this and I have always thought that this could be taught, which is what I do at Linkbait Coaching.
Because I feel that it’s simply about having the right mind set, being in the correct mode and not having to be some mad creative genius.
Today I came across a video that reinforced everything that I believe about being creative. The video is by John Cleese, and it is well worth watching. But if you are in a hurry I had jotted down some notes below.
<- Notes begin
"Creativity is not a talent, it is a way of operating", John Cleese
Creativity is not an ability that you either have or do not have, it is absolutely unrelated to IQ as long as you are above a minimum.
The most creative people simply have developed a facility to get into a certain mood or way of operating to allow there natural creative to function. In other words an ability to play and to play for it’s own sake.
The closed mode is a business at work mode, but it is not creative. The open mode is more playful there is no pressure, there is time to play.
Open mode is the curiosity
We need to be in the open mode to ponder a problem, but then switch to the closed mode to implement it decisively, undistracted by doubts about its effectiveness.
There are certain conditions that are conducive to the open mode
Space
Time
Time
Confidence
Humour
Space and time is needed for unlimited play
It’s easier to do trivial things that are urgent and it’s easier to do little things than things we are not sure of.
Most creative professionals are prepared to spend more time with a problem and so create more creative and original solutions.
Keep you mind gently around the problem
Notes end->
I strongly suggest you watch the video if in any way you are connected to creativity. I provide the open mind, the playful creative space. If you find creativity difficult when it comes to content creation and mostly want to get on with implementation then you can hire the creative aspect at Linkbait Coaching.
We are always playing and always have a free roaming mind generating threads and threads of creative goodness on the forums.
Sometimes it simply makes sense to hire a specialist than to try and muddle through.
Don’t sell
Teach
Parts of this blog post were previously posted on Linkbait Coaching
Creating a list of potential headlines for a specific niche is a worthwhile start to any linkbaiting work. I would suggest:
- Turn off email, twitter etc
- Turn off computer (if you can) and use paper and pen
- Allow at least two hours, the first hour is mostly about getting the brain into gear for the second hour
- Consider the wildest of headlines, let your mind roam
- It helps if the content somewhat reflects the headline, although this does not always have to be the case.
- Walk and record ideas on your iPhone, if you are worried if people think you are mad, pretend you are talking to a client.
- Test ideas of other people, but make sure they are being honest and not saying they don’t like the idea because they think you smell funny.
OK, here are a bunch of ideas I came up with for an events based website that is somewhat focussed on London. It’s an important part ofwhat we do on Linkbait Coaching all the time.
10 Concerts that rocked the captial. (Stones in the park, Live Aid etc)
10 Tips on buying scaled tickets
10 Tips on sel;ling scalped tickets
10 Reasons why you shouldn’t buy scalped tickets
Google Maps mash up to busking
10 Worst stage divers
How to get past security at a rock concert
10 Best riots at football matches
10 buy executive boxes at London Football stadia
Why it sounds weird referring to the plural of a stadium as stadia
10 Similarities of gladiators and footballers
10 Rock stars who electrocuted themselves in concerts
10 Best London concert halls/stadia for toilets
Essential tips for going to the toilet at a concert
10 reasons you are an idiot taking pictures of your Rock here on your mobile phone
10 Reasons Lady Gaga wont be attending Glynbourne
Top London football clubs owned by foreigners
Why Maddona will not be playing Lady MacBeth at the RSC
Power politics at the Covent Garden Opera house
Most haunted Theatres in London
London theatres to arm actors to make Americans more comfortable
Shakespearien actors who translate to the silver screen (Berkoff, McEwan etc.)
How to tackle noisy people at the theatre
10 Reasons why beer should be served whilst you watch the opera
10 reasons scaffolders don’t go to the opera. (if brave you could interview scaffolders about this and offer audio)
How to pick up chicks at rock concerts
10 Outrageous divas who have played Wembly
e
Obviously many of these headlines can be interchanged or mashed up with others to hit the sweet spot. I have used “rock” as an interchangable term for any kind of style. There is a lot of juice to be had out of the physical aspect of the concert venue, offering tips of the best and worst place to sit, toilet, food, exit etc.
London has a lot of history but linkalicious content tends to have a contemporary feel, comparisons with the past and the present work very well.
Would Shakespeare write different plays for the Globe if he used an iPad?
Blueglass.com
The Explosive Power of the Retweet Revealed by Twitter
jeffbullas.com
Infographic Link Building: Reverse Image Search
paddymoogan.com
The Upside of Being Ordinary And Obvious
rohitbhargava.com
How To Optimize Your Twitter Marketing
searchenginewatch.com
The Dirty Little Secret Of Overnight Success
fastcompany.com
How to Create a Successful Editorial Calendar
unbounce.com
10 Reasons Why We Love Making [and Reading] Lists
npr.org
44 Must Read Resources on Content Marketing
kissmetrics.com
26 Elements of a Gamification Marketing Strategy
socialmediaexaminer.com
Pinterest – Spammers Are A Girl’s Best Friend
blogsuccess.com
How To Filter Your Twitter Stream by Using Twitter Lists
searchenginepeople.com
Building a Link Development Calendar
outspokenmedia.com
55 top tips and tricks from LinkLove London 2012
wordtracker.com
How to monitor your website for link equity loss
icrossing.co.uk
1 Simple Trick To Getting Millions Of YouTube Views
higherclick.com
Social networking goes to work
gigaom.com
Online Selling to the Subconscious
webanalyticsworld.net
Pinterest Popped: Why It Won’t Drive Traffic To Your Site
tudordavies.wordpress.com
Thought Leaders and Failures of Digital Integration: Why I’m Rejecting Inbound Marketing
jamescarson.co.uk
Displaying Social Proof – What the Marketing Experts Use
kissmetrics.com
The Talent of Persuading Social Tribes is more effective than pure SEO
Cornwallseo.com archives, dated Jan, 2007
Content Curation Guide for SEO – What, How, Why
seomoz.com
Proofing for Problems – SEO and Web Development
level343.com
mytoptweet.com
http://www.zemanta.com
Get to let bloggers know about your content as they create blog posts
http://followerwonk.com/
Explore what your followers are talking about
Easy subscribe to rss from Chrome
https://www.inboxq.com/
Find people asking questions about stuff you know
List of the top influential 100 people in the World
Coca Cola Content 2020 Part One This is goodWebsites
http://thingsappleisworthmorethan.tumblr.com/http://contently.com
http://www.influenceatwork.com
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/schmoozer
The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup ArtistsResources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of…_external_debt
I’ve been invited to speak at the Ionsearch, the advanced search marketing conference is in Leeds on the 18th of April, you can still get tickets if you hurry.
It has a very impressive speaker list including; Lee Odden, Ralph Tegtmeier aka Fantomaster, Dave Synder of Blueglass (these guys consistently produce top quality stuff, Martin MacDonald of Expedia, Patrick Altoft, Kevin Gibbons and a bunch more.
There are a few people who I have not heard of and am interested in learning more about. I am glad it’s only one day though, I find my brain hoovers up so much info it very quickly gets full.
There is a guy from Google going and looks like he’s going to rave about how great and wonderful G+ is, and interestingly Nick Garner from a gambling, gaming company is going to share insights on how beneficial G+ has been for them. Always ready to be convinced.
So it should be an interesting day, say hi and chat if we meet. It’s always great hearing other peoples experiences and views, which is frankly the best part of a conference.
I know this may be slightly off the beaten path of digital marketing, but I just want to let you know that if you are ever find yourself in Truro, the best pasties can be found at Rowes. What with the Govenment making the pasty 20% more expensive, I thought a shout out to my local pasty maker was called for.
And no they are not a client and no cash was passed under or over the table for this post, and no pasty either. Although any pasties that are sent are welcome ;)
There are other pasty makers who claim to be better and a lot of kitchen table outfits that go for the gourmet market. But these tend to be eaten by the tourists, Rowes is the place where the locals eat at. And there is always a queue when the pasty’s come out the oven.
OK, now making myself hungry again.
Their website looks cool too, although look at they only have 281 likes on their Facebook page and it’s a shame they didn’t knock up any magnetic content around the recent Pastygate.
When we put on the Magentic Web Content seminar refreshments will be pasties from Rowes
This article was previously posted on linkbaitcoaching.com
Game of Thrones
Link credit winteriscoming.net
I always say, target those who link, if you wish to get links with linkbait
Few link voraciously than fans of movies and popular TV shows.
If you create a piece of content that is based on their obsession and resonates with their fan mindset (and remember fan = fanatic) it will make them more suggestible to a link.
It’s wrong to think of this as a trick as you will only tend to get links if the content:
- Provides a solution
- Adds to the canon of content regarding the subject in a meaningful way
- Creates or continues a particular discourse.
- It respects the fan
It helps if the content creator has an understanding of the particular fan base and is not coming to the tribe cold. Interlopers are outsiders and not to be respected. A fan base should be seen as a tribe and approached accordingly.
It may be that one of the fans could be paid to create content that is linkalicious. Most fans do it for the love and would be grateful to be able to pursue their love and make a little wonga.
Also, if you commission work from a fan who has a large and vibrant fan base you have an instant traffic base, which may add any social media signals and result in helping you get more links.
This type of content may seem a bit silly if you are for example a Bristol plumber and specialise in blocked toilets. But the linkalicious content does not have to be within the normal flow of website and so people who are ankle deep in water trying to search for an available plumber don’t get confused with an article on Dragon Eggs and the most efficient hatching temperatures.
Although, well crafted content that is a little tongue in cheek can do wonders for your brand. Especially if you are in a dry sector like Bristol plumbing problems, having content that emotionally resonates with your customers will increase brand recognition.
Don’t believe me, one word.
Meerkats.
In fact, make that two words, Russian Meerkats, can you imagine how that initial idea went down at corporate HQ?
Insurance is a serious business, it’s about death, pain, loss etc.
Very few businesses are more serious than providing such a service and so back to our Bristol plumber, of course you can use content that is a little bit cheeky and a little bit silly and there is not going to be harm done to the brand.
Although I am reminded of a lot of blank, client faces that look back at me when I mention this particular way of getting links.
One of these days someone is going to say to me, “we want links, but we want them in a very boring way”.
Anyway, new series of Game of Thrones starts tonight. And if you think I wrote this to take advantage of that.
Well, duh!
p.s. also works well with the Hunger Games
