Within 18 days of Google indexing this one new high Page Authority | Domain Authority link, my client’s one-year-old website had rankings significantly increase across all of his SEOd pages and for multiple keywords on each page. For that reason, I describe this link as “the best link your clients may be missing”.
If you stick with me for the next few minutes, I believe you’ll grab some good take-aways and some actionable steps for your own client link building.
Now, let me take you back to the beginning…
This client is a local real estate agent with a new website. Darrell Self and his team work with home buyers and home leasers relocating to Dallas Texas, in addition to helping home sellers (and local home buyers and leasers).
His site is competing not only with long-established local real estate offices (with deeper pockets for SEO), but also with the BIG, national real estate websites. In a typical local real estate search, of the first page results in Google, often five or six sites will be these national sites and only four or five will be the local sites.
We’re not competing for the usual 10 spots on page one in Google; we’re really competing for four or five positions (sometimes fewer). Uh-oh! And these national real estate websites have Domain Authority numbers ranging from 71 to 93. Ugh!
So, any advantage one would guess I’d have on this project being local, not national or worldwide (with more limited competition — from keyword search phrases using geographic limiting terms, in theory limiting the SEO competition) — that possible advantage is gone. Out the door. Goodbye! We’re competing with the BIG, national real estate websites.
You see that my team and I had our work cut out for us! This wasn’t going to be easy.
Disclosure — Yes, my client has given me permission to use his experience in this Youmoz post. And No, I haven’t been compensated in any way for mentioning him in this post.
How I Began My Research
Fortunately, I had my SEOmoz Pro Membership resources to begin analyzing what options existed to significantly increase my client’s Page Authority and Domain Authority. I knew increasing Authority was going to be KEY to this project having a successful result.
The Authority work required was far beyond that needed for most of my small business owner and solo professional clients. And beyond what’s been required with the link building work I’ve performed for other SEOs.
I began by using some of my SEOmoz Pro Membership questions. Dr. Pete and Rand each answered questions and their answers were VERY helpful, so thanks again, guys! (Truly not trying to sound like a SEOmoz Pro advertisement here, just letting non-Pro members know with specific examples of how the Pro membership has really helped me.)
One of the places I began was on the SEOmoz Directory List.
For logged in SEOmoz Pro members, you’ll be able to view the directory page and refresh your memory, if you’ve seen the page before. For non-Pro members, let me summarize the key points that relate to this post, so you won’t miss out.
Of 188 directories listed on the page, only 10 are rated as Exceptional by SEOmoz, so only about 5% of the list.
In my opinion after reviewing all 10 Exceptional directory listings, I believe only two are really likely to: (1) apply to most of our clients and (2) actually accept the sites applying and supply a link.
The link I chose and am writing about in this post?
Drum roll, please…
The Better Business Bureau (BBB). (The other link I referred to is from the Yahoo! directory, more about that later, in the bullet section, below.)
See the actual, complete page: BBB Profile Page for DMD RealtyDFW.com.
The major take-away from this post won’t just be the details I’ll supply about getting a link from the BBB. No doubt, that will be helpful to many mozzers. The REAL take-away will be brainstorming other similar sites where you can get links that will accomplish a similar Authority increasing effect. In other words, learn the principle or the underlying technique, versus the specifics of just this one link.
And this more general take-away will become even more important for mozzers who are in areas of the world where a BBB-type service doesn’t exist. (The main BBB page suggests that membership is limited to companies operating in the United States and Canada.) And it will also be critical for our clients who are unwilling to join their local BBB and pay the yearly membership cost and the one-time application fee. More about costs, later.
What Makes the BBB Member Profile Link So Great?
Think two words — Trust and Authority.
When we’re thinking about the PERFECT link, what do we want?
- High Domain Authority (the BBB is DA 91)
- High Page Authority (well, depending on techniques within your own control and mentioned below, PA in the mid 50s or higher is possible)
- A page that actually gets indexed in Google (just a small detail … please forgive my sarcasm)
- VERY limited links off the page (think a Yahoo! directory link or dmoz link on steroids, juice-wise!)
- A link located towards the top of the page
- A followed link
- No redirect being used, just a straight link
- Oh, and it’s a .org link, for those who find that important
OK, your client isn’t going to receive anchor text, but there are plenty of places to go and get anchor text.
Understanding how important quality is to Google these days (at least, that’s what I hear), a link from the BBB just makes sense that it would enhance SEO significantly. Businesses have to pass a minimum standard to even join. They can’t have unresolved complaints against them and they have to be in business for one year.
They have to invest funds to join. After they become members, they have to maintain customer satisfaction.
As an example, back in the mid 1990s in the Dallas | Fort Worth Texas area when I was a BBB member in another business, a large car dealership selling many makes, got kicked out of the BBB of Metropolitan Dallas.
When I bought a new car about four years ago, I deliberately did NOT go to that dealership! Instead, I chose a same-make competitor dealership without BBB complaints (and that happened to be members of the BBB).
(NOTE: You can check BBB complaint records for non-BBB businesses — as well as member-companies — by inputting the company’s name or local phone number into the form on your local BBB website.)
See, now this is about more than just a link. It’s about your client’s brand and their reputation. Even more value.
And BTW, that large car dealership in my area that was kicked out of the BBB? They still have a wretched reputation (sigh).
How Do My Clients Apply for BBB Membership and What Does it Cost?
This is where this post should be especially helpful to you. I’m basing this information on what I know from the BBB of Metropolitan Dallas.
The procedure here locally is to send out a sales rep. They don’t discuss cost over the phone. Your client meets with someone in person. But I’ll tell you what I know. 🙂
The one-time application fee in our area is $120.00. The annual fee is based on the number of employees. For a solo professional or very small business, the annual cost is $670.00. This includes the upgrade for the BBB Online Business Program.
KEY POINT — This upgrade also gives your client a clickable link for their website, rather than just a citation. And it can get your client a BBB ratings increase, since the business background has just been verified.
And it includes a clickable image link (placed on the client’s website) that verifies the business is a member in good standing with their local BBB.
Ways to use this image? Think conversion optimization. Use it at points in the contact | buying process where anxiety can occur and prevent the prospective buyer | client from completing your client’s desired action, like filling out a contact form or making a purchase.
Don’t tell site visitors that your client is honest and reputable. They won’t believe you, anyway! S-h-o-w them. The BBB image demonstrates your client’s honestly.
Just like I described the BBB link, above: Even more value.
With the excellent results in Google rankings we’ve experienced, my client Darrell says: “The BBB is the cheapest, expensive link you can get.” Cheap? No. VERY effective and well worth the cost? Yes.
Learn more about BBB Accreditation.
Find your local BBB.
Building Links to Your Client’s BBB Member Profile Page (and some more best practice tips)
1. A great video from Cyrus and Aaron. At 5:16 into the Whiteboard Friday video, Cyrus talks about building links to BBB Member Profile Pages from high DA sites, to get the page indexed. (Also, from my experience, to raise the PA. This is a strategy I have used with great success to build juice to certain backlinks, even before I watched the video.)
And yes, I have found unindexed BBB Member Profile Pages, during reverse engineering work. What a waste!
It is logical and natural to build links to a BBB Member Profile Page. You want potential customers researching your client’s company to find their BBB Member Profile Page, preferably on page one in Google. Think branding.
This work can easily be performed during the course of normal link building, using content.
2. Get your client’s business listed under multiple categories (more links to their site — more juice — and more PA AND more links to their Member Profile Page, much more likely to index their profile page in Google).
My client’s Google Webmaster Tools page shows over 80 BBB links pointed to his site. Every little bit helps.
3. Make sure you get your client’s website listed in their preferred manner, with the www or without the www.
Bonus — If you want to learn more basics about link building, read a great post promoted to the main blog from fellow Pro member Dan Deceuster. If you missed this post the first time, you really have to read it. Simply brilliant.
Wrapping it Up
Begin brainstorming for other links sources that could work for your clients like the BBB. This is also a possible subject of another Youmoz post I could write, depending on the reaction to this post and possible interest you express in future posts.
If you would like to see other link building posts from me, I have some other ideas that haven’t been covered at SEOmoz before. Suggest topics that interest you in the comments.
And I have some questions that YOU may be able to answer for me:
1. Do you think Google could add juice to a BBB link, over what Linkscape shows us for Domain and Page Authority numbers? Google does know that anyone joining the BBB has to pass a “background check”. The experience my client had with Google suggests ranking improvements that don’t show up in DA | PA numbers in the SEOmoz Toolbar.
2. What reasons can you think of for our clients NOT to join the BBB?
Possibly cost?
For solo professional clients who answer their own phone calls, any publication of one’s phone number on the Internet (and particularly when not within an image), can bring about live and automated telemarketing sales phone calls they don’t have time for. But there are often ways to deal with that very legitimate concern.
Of course, for businesses with established marketing channels, an established reputation for quality and not seeking additional sales, they may not be interested. (But then they aren’t coming to us to increase their traffic, leads and sales.)
Can you think of other reasons?
3. For mozzers outside the United States and Canada, do you have a service similar to the BBB? Have you ever used it, either for your clients’ branding, for Authority links or for your own research before buying a product or service?
4. For American and Canadian mozzers, do you have an experience you can share with BBB Member Profile Pages and Google rankings? Have you used your local BBB for your own research before buying a product or service?
Now it’s your turn. I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments.
If you have questions about this post, I’ll respond to as many questions in the comments, as possible.
Thanks for your time reading. I hope this post has helped you.
About the Author —
Paul Marshall is an Internet Marketing Consultant. And for other SEOs considering outsourcing work, he provides services for their clients, including Link Building using Content, Techniques to Increase Page and Domain Authority, and other Internet Marketing and SEO services. You can learn more about Paul on his SEOmoz Profile Page. Contact Paul through his website contact form at Strategic Web Marketing.net or private message him through SEOmoz.
