Comments on: Ouch: Relationship Building is Not about SEO at All!

By: Zack Marshall

Zack Marshall — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 10:29:37 +0000

I like the post due to two reasons, one being the issue of ethics, like when we add a flavor of strong relationship building it naturally becomes organic and alliance get stronger but it has inherited pitfalls of organic growth like slow, complicated, difficult workability and could be costly over time (short run). Second issue is coping with changing trends that demands speed and swift response. I myself is a believer of cooperation instead of competition (for the greater good) but reality lies in standing out. This is fulfilled by quantitative link building. On the other hand quality is a function of strong relationship.
This fairly draws a conclusion of mixed approach as equilibrium of quality and quantity. Instead of intertwining one another both relationship building and link building goes side by side and one prevails according to prevailing needs of environment.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 00:35:32 +0000

Relationship Building…. (I frigging hate this word) is actually what we used to call Networking in business before some SEO wanted some new fangled word for his/her blog.

Yes networking works, helping others works, yes I can get lots of new business through offering free advice that works for me in my business and I apply those rules on the internet too.

What doesn’t work is when a client pays me good money to help him make his site more profitable. Yes as a consultant I will distill within him and his team its a good idea to try this thing called the “Twitterz” and it’s worth his time networking online and yes he will ultimately get links from creating partnerships and “relationships” with his interwebz buddies.

But that’s not going to solve the problem that his website may as well have a DA of minus gazillion because for the past 2 years he’s done zilch to promote his website beside hire some schmoozer a year a go to spam him to oblivion and be charged £5000 for the privelege.

My client wants to see results, I want to help him get there as quickly as possible via the most efficient processes as possible he’s not paying me to write egobait about people in his industry he’s paying me to make his site make money.

So I create something useful on his site such as a javascript calculator that helps you work out your Taxes from an inheritance from your late aunt Beryl.

I then go find a load of people who write about finance, wills, probate, tax and ask them for their input…

I don’t ask for a link, they say hey Chris that’s really cool perhaps can you change XYZ… they don’t know me from Adam I just cold emailed these people…

I make the changes they say “yeah that’s frigging great can I embed this mother on my site or is it ok to link to it….”

All I’m doing is what you recommend above Tad I’ve created something of value & seeded it to a network of peers. My client, other webmasters & people looking for this tool/content/advice all benefit, no?

What I’m pissed off with are people writing blogs saying that all you need to do is make friends online & perhaps write some low level ego bait to get on their radar.

You & I both know that those hours sat on social media would be better spent creating something of value & then yes, seeding it within a network of peers, good old fashioned outreach or hey what about paid traffic.

We have similar beliefs Tad & as I say my gripe is with the “don’t worry about it the links will come” brigade.

By: Tadeusz Szewczyk

Tadeusz Szewczyk — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 13:17:54 +0000

You’re welcome Anthony. And yes, making friends solely to get a link is obnoxious. It doesn’t work that way.

Iain: Yeah, that’s why I had to write this. Otherwise people might mistake relationships for links and start going after “one link stands”.

Annalisa: Exactly, the more genuinely connections the better for the forming of an overall community.

By: Annalisa Hilliard

Annalisa Hilliard — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 12:34:51 +0000

…and the more people that employ this method, the more valuable a community is. Thanks for sharing.

By: Iain

Iain — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 11:35:46 +0000

I agree, but it worries me that this might not be common sense for everybody.

By: Anthony Pensabene

Anthony Pensabene — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 14:13:49 +0000

good message here, Tad, and thanks for the inclusion (drinks potion out of skull).

i get a little sick to my stomach each time i observe relation building coinciding with link building. no. the latter is not an alternative. that’s creepy to begin with.

link building got to the point that G had to put the kibosh on shitty endeavors. So now, the logical alternative is to make friends for links? WTF. Webmasters are human. Business people are human. Consumers are human.

If we assume we must offer something of value to get a link, then other humans must agree on our ability to make good on that endeavor. Being friendly to someone does not secure one’s ability to provide value. it never will.

build relations to learn/teach. Regarding link building, yes, it’s a sound strategy to be human, introduce a relation, and possibly, if the fit is right and value is offered, a link or many links (hard to predetermine) can result..