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Site Optimization in a Post-SEO World

8/5/2015 by Christopher Jan Benitez 19 Comments

Change can be a good thing. But changes in the Google algorithm is the death of SEO specialists.

For years, they have been finding ways to increase their search rankings. They do this by developing white hat off-page optimization strategies.

The problem with white hat SEO is the time it takes to get a site or blog to appear on top of search results. It can take months, if not years, for a page to rank on the first page for its target keywords.

Because of this, some specialists fall to the dark side and conduct black hat techniques. They get sites atop search results in record time through shady link building tactics.

Google has been rolling out massive algorithm updates as of late. It all started when Google penalized content farms for proliferating thin content in 2011. Another important algorithm update involves disregarding guest blogging as a link building tactic.

These changes ensure that search results provide users with useful content. By weeding out shady practices, they provide a much better user experience.

SEO specialists need to keep up with the changes to remain competitive in this industry. Keeping updated is a difficult thing to do should they continue to tread the black hat SEO waters. There is a chance that their sites or blog will get penalized sooner or later.

Because of this, specialists must not only adapt to the needs of SEO, but also to users. It is no longer about using the right keywords for the right pages. Instead, it is all about providing value to users.

In other words, it is time for SEO to get personal.

In this post-SEO age, specialists need to adapt their practices to the modern approach. I will discuss off-page optimization practices that are a cut above among other strategies.

Below are ways that they can maximize their SEO output.

Skyscraper Technique

skyscraper-techniqueThe algorithm changes mean one thing: the forefront of SEO is content. For websites to increase their search rankings, they need to have useful content.

But the most important thing is that it needs to have lots of words.

According to serpIQ, a page with at least 2,000 words has a greater chance for a page to rank for its target keyword.

Content length is not the primary barometer to determine its quality. But having lots of words in a post or article help flesh out the ideas much better.

Long-form content gives your site a better chance to rank and provides value to your readers. Both are strong indicators of a page’s SEO value.

Content by itself will never deliver the desired goals from the get go - you need to include research and outreach. Both ensure that your content is well-researched and reaches to your audience.

e9ff7887ec31f2ecc2109373b2bf8cefIf you’re serious about generating high quality links, you need to be very systematic with how you create and promote your content.

Otherwise you’re taking the “cooked spaghetti approach”: throwing a bunch of stuff against a wall and hoping something sticks.

Brian Dean, “Link Building Case Study: How I Increased My Search Traffic by 110% in 14 Days” at Backlinko, a digital marketing hub

Click Here to Retweet!

Developed by Brian Dean from Backlinko, the Skyscraper Technique lets you create linkbait content by applying a blogging outreach method. Below is a general overview of the technique:

  • Find viral content within your niche using Topsy and Open Site Explorer
  • Create a much better content compared to the ones listed down
  • Find sites that linked out to the original viral content using Ahrefs and reach out them

For finding “proven linkable assets,” you can also use BuzzSumo. Search for your keyword and see the top pages with the most shares.

screenshot-www.bloggingpro.com 2015-08-05 17-31-00

Reaching out to the sites one by one can be difficult. To manage the sites you will contact, use either BuzzStream and Ninja Outreach.

For this example, I love BuzzStream because it allows me to paste the list of sites for outreach.

screenshot-app.buzzstream.com 2015-08-05 17-34-16

The tool will find the contact details for me so I can focus on sending out the emails.

I can create an email template for this outreach campaign and customize the message for each site.

Throughout the campaign, I can define the relationship stage for each site. The stages give me a better idea on which course of action to take to engage them with my content.

Why is this tactic important in the post-SEO world? Link building is dead. Creating backlinks from different sites is not as sustainable a strategy compared before. There is a chance that a site will shut down or make changes to its linking policy. As a result, all the links you have built may disappear.

Instead of building links, you have to earn them.

The Skyscraper Technique is a great way to earn links from your readers. Because the content is of high quality, there is a chance that people will make an effort to link back to this page.

This way, you create an irresistible piece of content tailored to your readers. To reward you for your efforts, they can link to your page, allowing you to gain a backlink from them!

Relationship Building

The best way to combat Google’s algorithm changes is to build relationships with influencers.

Relationship building is not an SEO strategy in the strictest sense. But you can determine the value of each relationship by the kind of action you wish to take.

Before getting here, follow the steps below to make connections with influencers.

  • Find bloggers within your niche
  • Comment on their blogs
  • Promote their posts
  • Send an email and make the connection!

I have detailed each step in this post I wrote in The Blog Herald.

The steps should help you carve a meaningful relationship with influencers. It lets you create a footprint of goodwill towards their assets.

The endgame is for the influencer to reply back to your comments or thank you for sharing their content.

ea819aa8faaebeb385596d0f0b0df989Do some searching around on Google, or use social media to find the people you need to get noticed by. Once you have “acquired your target” (so to speak), preemptively follow the hell out of them on social media. Don’t stalk them. Just hit them up on their fan page, send an occasional tweet, give them a +1.

Rob Lons, “How To Rank In Google: A Step-by-Step Guide To Creating Clever Content” at RankPay, a Pay Per Performance SEO Service

Click Here to Retweet!

If you feel you have made an impression with them, you can email them with the following messages:

  • Write a guest post on their site – Google may have flagged this link building tactic. But guest blogging has other better uses aside from linking back to your pages in the content body. By writing a post for the site of influencers, you tap a brand new audience that you can direct to your site. For this to happen, you need to write a post that allows you to share your insights and knowledge related to the site.
  • Conduct an interview – Ask influencers if they are open to answering a set of questions for you. Publish their answers in your blog and send the a link to the live post. There is a great chance that influencers will share the content on social media or link back to it on his site.
  • Collaborate – You can ask influencers to work with you on a particular project you have in mind. Lay down the details of the project and explain the benefits of why they should work with you. It will take a good idea to get them on board your project. But by confirming their commitment, you can sustain a working relationship with them. In fact, you can even become an influencer yourself if all goes right!

While the reward is great, following this process may take awhile to finish. Instead, you can join different sites with a built-in audience that is ready to engage with you.

screenshot-myblogu.com 2015-08-05 17-24-10

MyBlogU is a community that is willing to share ideas and help each to achieve their online dreams.

The Brainstorm section allows you to get help in fleshing out your ideas for a blog post or a niche site. You can also share your ideas to existing brainstorms and increase your user rank.

Before answering the brainstorms, take note of the user’s Creator Response Rate. A high response rate increases the likelihood of the user featuring your answers on their site.

I have had success in brainstorming with other users that they featured my answer with a link back to my site.

screenshot-myblogu.com 2015-08-05 17-46-02

The Interview section lets you answer questions from different users for a blog post. If the users like your answers, they may publish them in the post with a link back to your site.

screenshot-app.buzzsumo.com 2015-08-05 17-29-56

Each interview requires you to provide longer, in-depth answers. I have not tried sending answers from this section yet for this reason. But I am sure that the effort will be worth it once they publish the answers.

Another site for building relationships is Triberr. It lets you build “Tribes.” From here, you can promote your content and interact with like-minded people.

screenshot-triberr.com 2015-08-05 17-22-37

The great thing in Triberr is the Bonfire section. You can find the right tribes and find guest blogging opportunities. The latter lets you increase your online reach by writing for other sites.

screenshot-triberr.com 2015-08-05 17-20-37

Why is this tactic important in the post-SEO world? Building sustainable relationships lets you combat against the algorithm changes made by Google. Forming long-lasting bonds with influencers lets you earn longer-lasting links from them.

How do both strategies play a role in a more personal SEO

Both strategies illustrated above help you make an impact with your audience. They allow you to earn backlinks by way of your readers and connections. The content you create and the relationships you have forged provides value to them. As a result, there is a greater chance for them to link back to your site.

Through both strategies, SEO becomes more personal. By leaving a mark with readers and influencers, you approach your online strategy with a personal touch. Personalizing your SEO allows people to trust you. By developing that trust, you gain their approval by way of a backlink.

More on site optimization:

The Age of Analytics: New-Age Tools to Boost Website Performance

5 Ways to Get Good Search Engine Ranking for a New Website

Author: Christopher Jan Benitez

Freelance writer for hireby day. Heavy sleeper at night. Dreams of non-existent brass rings. Writer by trade. Pro wrestling fan by choice (It’s still real to me, damnit!). Family man all the time.

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Filed Under: Blogging Tips Tagged With: backlinko, brian dean, buzzstream, buzzsumo, Guest Blogging, myblogu, ninja outreach, open site explorer, post-seo world, relationship building, site optimization, skyscraper technique, Topsy, triberr

Looking for flexible blogging and writing jobs?

Comments

  1. Sonia Pitt says

    8/5/2015 at 10:24 am

    Very interesting and useful article and enjoyed reading this. Skyscraper technique is a brilliant technique for natural and organic link earning and I am truly thankful to Brian Dean, as this technique earned me a couple of very good links form some authoritative sites within just last couple of weeks time. Even I have used this technique in some other ways which even got me better results in my niche. Triberr is another really handy tool to collaborate and interact with people on the same industry.

    Reply
    • Christopher Jan Benitez says

      8/5/2015 at 10:35 am

      Thanks for commenting, Sonia! The Skyscraper Technique rolls content, SEO, and outreach tactics together into an unbeatable tactic to date. Building lots of content using this technique should help you drive lots of traffic and increase your search rankings. Triberr has been around for a long time but it is only now that I’m realizing its potential for relationship building.

      Reply
  2. Rob Lons says

    8/5/2015 at 11:40 am

    Hi Chris,

    Great points and some very good information. I have to second Sonia’s comment on the Skyscraper technique. I think it is particularly useful for expert roundups. Perhaps one of the best examples I have seen of this is on clambr.com by Richard Marriot.

    Thanks for the mention!

    Reply
    • Christopher Jan Benitez says

      8/5/2015 at 9:56 pm

      I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the Skyscraper Technique is awesome! Also, glad you liked us mentioning you in one of our posts. It’s a great quote!

      Reply
  3. Sunday says

    8/5/2015 at 3:21 pm

    Skyscraper and relationship building tactics? Well, these are well explained in this post. I just can’t wait to put them into practice.

    They require in-depth analysis and opens up avenue for the provision of values to the visitors.

    Hooking up with influencers has always been a good strategy for online success.

    Thanks to Brian Dean and his Backlinko tips one can use the website as a guide for a successful optimization in the post-SEO era!

    I left the above comment in kingged.com where this post was found.

    Reply
    • Christopher Jan Benitez says

      8/5/2015 at 10:02 pm

      Building relationships with well-known people within your industry is one of the best and easiest ways to drive more traffic to your blog. Combining this with publishing great content using the Skyscraper Technique and you can compel your visitors to link back to your resource page. Thanks for commenting, Sunday!

      Reply
  4. Apptron Mobile says

    8/6/2015 at 6:40 am

    Hi
    Awesome points and some very good information.I saw buzzsumo site .They provide details regarding our site

    Reply
  5. Suraj Kumar Singh says

    8/6/2015 at 11:41 am

    if you love to do works on google blogger then you need just internal website setting you can easily rank your post via search preference setting. this setting will make your Google Seo awesome.

    Reply
  6. Suraj Kumar Singh says

    8/6/2015 at 11:43 am

    i also give you detail information about the SEO setting in detail if you have any interest in SEO the contact via email address [email protected]

    Reply
  7. Anil Saraiwal says

    8/6/2015 at 11:44 am

    this is really interested about SEO.

    Reply
  8. Theodore Nwangene says

    8/9/2015 at 8:16 am

    Hello Christopher,
    This is my first visit to your site and i must confess that you’re really doing a good job here.

    The skyscraper technique has proven to work for so many people and its no longer a new thing. If you understand it and apply it very well, it can you lots of traffic, exposure and links.

    Also, carrying out blogger outreach is a no brainier and i will highly recommend it to any serious marketer.

    Thanks for sharing Chris.

    Reply
    • Christopher Jan Benitez says

      8/9/2015 at 10:23 am

      You’re welcome! What separates bloggers from writers is their ability to build relationships and connections with their readers even after the post has been published. The Skyscraper Technique will help you pave the way for more interaction with your audience. It also paves the way to your blogger outreach strategy – you can use your Skyscraper content as a starting point of discussion with other bloggers. There are so many things you can do here to help you gain a backlink in an organic way.

      Reply
  9. Hudson Gartrell says

    8/20/2015 at 11:43 pm

    hi, you doing good job. Its a very nice article about site optimization. thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  10. Charles Been says

    8/21/2015 at 6:14 am

    Updating in Google Algorithm creates difficulties for SEO Strategy. Because may be it is possible the strategy that works in previous algorithm might not work in update version. huh

    Reply
  11. Dewald Swart says

    8/21/2015 at 10:39 am

    Google have now updated their Google My Business results as well. Just thought you should know. Google is placing allot of value these days on sites collaborating with each other.

    Reply
  12. marinawhite says

    8/25/2015 at 2:12 am

    Wow! Awesome Post abot seo. It’s very interesting post. Thank you so much for sharing this information.

    Reply
  13. hazel says

    10/21/2015 at 4:14 am

    Hey skyscraper is really a great technique. It I use it to reach out to authority blogs.

    Reply
  14. webpage says

    10/31/2015 at 12:35 am

    Se nada for feito para tratar esta condição, cabelo tende a desaparecer completamente.

    Reply
  15. Iola says

    10/31/2015 at 11:56 am

    Hurrah! In the end I got a web site from where I be capable of in fact get
    helpful facts concerning my study and knowledge.

    Reply

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