10 Yetis Insight Blog - Want Links? Here’s How To Get Them Without a Press Release

In spite of social influencers stealing the show where traffic and conversions are concerned, high Domain Authority links are currently still where the SEO crowd is at. As a result, links should be the number one priority of any good online PR for SEO campaign. SEO agencies will know this inside out, but there are still some PR agencies who don’t realise the power that they wield in terms of being link building warriors.

As we’ve been in this game for more than a decade now, we strongly believe that we are ahead of the curve when it comes to all things SEO and online (if we do say so ourselves), we know our way around linkbait content. One of the things we’ve learnt is that all content is not created equal and, to chuck in another cliché, there are different horses for different courses. We also know that just creating awesome content is not enough, you need to get eyes on it and this is where public relations activities can really help.

When you think ‘public relations’ you more than likely think of press releases. The reality is that PR is far more than that nowadays. Here are just a few of the ways in which you can get links for your clients that is well away from issuing a press release.

Widgets

Sometimes it is hard to get the media, or high domain authority websites to link to any page other than a client’s homepage. However, we know the importance of specific pages getting links into them, something that we have had to do for many clients in the voucher code sector. When these kinds of links are needed you need to put something on that page that would attract links.

Here is an example of that, which we carried out for a money saving website, we will call them Company X.

Company X wanted to get high authority links into its overall Groceries section on its website. High authority sites would not just do this without good reason. This was at the time when the horse meat scandal was at its peak. Our team created a brilliant widget that, based on visitors entering how many burgers and lasagne’s they had eaten that month, told the user what percentage horse they were. I know, I know, very funny indeed.

The widget was placed on the Groceries section of Company X and we duly let our friends in the media know all about it. Hey presto, the media found it hilarious and many news outlets wrote it up with a link to the page the widget was posted on.

Facemorphs

Any kind of concept image with a strong hook is generally considered excellent for linkbait, but facemorphs in particular are generally a winner. Imagining what celebrities’ children will look like as soon as the pregnancy announcement is sounded (or well before) is always a good one, as the entertainment press lap it up. If you release these while the celeb in question is in labour, you’ll be striking while the iron is hot and desperate to find more creases – after all, coming up with yet another angle on a closed hospital door is not easy! So the journos will be desperate for new content around the story – and lo and behold! There you shall be to provide it, in the form of some funny, tongue in cheek and maybe even a little cute facemorph.

Microsites

Microsites are a really natural and organic way to achieve links, without having to embed anything to the client’s site. Not all clients are prepared to put their names to controversial and newsworthy content, particularly if it is a little risky. Many bigger brands will be concerned about keeping the message ‘on brand’ and ensuring there is no damage to their reputation; but playing it safe is generally not going to score the attention and links they are after.

Microsites offer the opportunity to remotely host a site, without any involvement or link to the client, and the links can be redirected at a later date in order to deliver that same equity surge.

As an example of this, we launched a ‘Sex Calculator’ microsite for a certain anonymous client. Visitors were invited to input details of their shenanigans, including position, duration and their body type, in order to generate a rather tongue-in-cheek rundown of how many calories they had burnt. Clearly, this was all a bit of fun and not remotely scientific, however, the media flipping loved it and the lifestyle press went to town, linking to the site left, right and centre.

Afterwards, we redirected the links so they benefitted from all the equity and, there you have it, another successful online PR for SEO campaign!

Video

Media outlets love video and any kind of media other than streams of text, mainly because it mixes up their content and hooks our short attention spans for those extra few seconds. If you can plan some video content into your campaign, your chances of uptake will be hugely increased, plus journalists will link over to your video in order to embed it in their own news story.

Our confused.com video stunt was one of the most successful campaigns we have ever done, scoring pieces of coverage around the world, along with 100+ links. The campaign was a social experiment, which saw us stage a drunk man getting into his car, to see how many passers-by would help or hinder his plans. You can read up on it here…

Interactive Infographic

Another kind of content which makes for great links is the interactive infographic. Not only will it generate links due to the nature of having to send visitors over to look at it or try it out, it will also be naturally more engaging for the audience, encouraging them to actively interact with the brand.

For our long-time client, sunshine.co.uk, we constructed an interactive infographic around how quickly children without sun protection can burn when playing out on the beach or round the pool at the hotel. The infographic was a stark warning and reminder, and attracted the attention of the nationals as a topical and informative piece.

So there you have it, just a few ideas on how to smash that PR for SEO campaign out the park. And there are lots more ideas, and new ones every day, as content and channels evolve… so keep your eyes peeled on the next antics of the Yetis!