Sphinn - Linkbuilding Using Fiction

51
Sphinn It!

Linkbuilding Using Fiction

Went Hot: May 26, 2008 - 11:41 am
Posted By: martinbowling 138 days ago
Topic Type: News Story (Jump to http://www.cornwallseo.com)
Category: Link Building

lyndoman writes "As long as Google uses links to a website to help it rank its search results, people will develop content to attract links. We know that when trying to rank for a competitive keyword things can get a little dirty in the SERPS. People who don’t play by the rules, but yet they still rank."

18 Comments

Who Desphunn This (0)

Comments

from onreact 138 days ago #

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For some people it works very well: http://sphinn.com/story/48239

from Kimota 138 days ago #

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This post is merely an attempt to have the last laugh and annoy those criticising him by rubbing our noses in it.

I for one am refusing to bite.

from nsmseo 138 days ago #

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err, I think you just have Kimota ;-)

from Lyndon 138 days ago #

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@nsmseo, thanks for my Monday morning laugh.

The post does what it says on the tin, read into it what you will.

from Kimota 138 days ago #

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touche nsmseo - ;-) I was resisting saying a hellluva lot more which is what I meant but yup - hoist by my own petard there.

And Lyndon, yes, you're right. And I did. ;-)

Oh look - will someone just kick me off the keyboard!

from JulieJoyce 137 days ago #

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In the spirit of all of the completely stupid and mindless comments that have been written about all of this, I'd like to add my own and say that whoo hoo, I am sphinnster number 22!!

from Lyndon 137 days ago #

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Go Julie!

from JulieJoyce 137 days ago #

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Thank you sir. I am making a very, very self-congratulatory face, and eating dark chocolate.

from RedEvo 137 days ago #

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The amusing aspect of all this is the web is full of stuff people make up. Look at some of the 'How to' lists for example.

d

from incrediblehelp 137 days ago #

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OK so now we get to blame Google and how they rank website for doing something that is basically wrong. We do we need this link building at all cost type psychology? Writing a piece of fiction to get links is OK, but clearly this story was created to bait people into thinking it was real. Totally different story all together.

I was going to desphinn this but the character count check is messed up and it wont let me.

from nsmseo 137 days ago #

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@Kimota -- LOL, hoisted by your own petard - better see a doctor about that mate, sounds dodgy. :)

I'm looking forward to your next post on this subject and I hope you have chosen wisely in your overall snapshot of contributers to your forthcoming piece.

I'm hoping a balance has been struck to show the very many voices that this debate has covered and your not just treading your journalistic talents down the anti-linkbait boardwalk - that my friend would be a tragedy not only to your talents as a modernday online JM Barrie but to some who have read your pieces of debate with great anticipation - although I may disagree with points you try to argue I am always prepared to give a voice of reason - like yourself - a chance to get your point across.

from semanjoe 137 days ago #

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Ok lessons have been learned from this, although I can't help but chuckle at the last couple of paragraphs and that folks thought it was real. It's not as if it ended on a serious note:

Ralph's ambition is to one day become a politician.

from mwiegand77 137 days ago #

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Problem is, unless it's really great fiction, link building this way is still a tactic that pushes more useless content on the web. Linkbait at its best is still something that's useful to the person reading it, not just funny, keyword-rich spam.

from yojpotter2 137 days ago #

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I agree with onreact..for some it might have worked but I guess it's better not to mislead your readers by creating fictional stories.

from Lyndon 137 days ago #

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@incrediblehelp, no, the story was not created to bait people into thinking is was real. In was to get a link. The fact that people thought it real or fake was inconsequential, as it happens some did, some didn't.

My job is not to fool, my job is to get links. A lot of the vitriol generated at me seems to be about a percieved intention that I wanted to fool. It's clearly not the case as I do not get paid to fool, I get paid to get links.

I'm not some atavistic scribe trolling the web looking for weak minds to prey on. I simply wrote what I thought was a funny story which would get a few hundred links. As it happens I got 14,000. Which now gives me a new target to beat ;)

from Kimota 137 days ago #

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I hope my vitriol was targeted at the technique and not at you ass I have absolutely nothing against you personally at all.

But - and I know I should be dragged away from the keyboard for typing this - it was you that submitted the piece under 'news' at Digg and not under 'comedy' or 'offbeat'. The digg comments illustrate that the vast majority took it as news based on this decision and the site on which it was located. If your intention wasn't to fool - and I'll accept that for now as a means of moving this debate forward rather than rehashing gthe old arguments- then the choice of Digg submission is the mistake from which this whole thing sprang.

from Kimota 137 days ago #

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oh and nsmseo, I am determined not to even start the piece until I have an equally weighted number of contributions. So far I've received a couple, one on the fence and one on the 'for' side. So I'll extend the invitation to you as well for 'nay'. There are more contributions coming but I do need more voices on the negative.

As you point out, there is no worth to the piece if it can be criticised for bias or lack of balance and I would like it to be an accurate snapshot of the debate as it stands today.

Expect an email. ;-)

from Hobo 137 days ago #

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What a pullava - this is one of the biggest non-issues I have seen for a long time:)

Lyndon was in to build natural links - job done - er rather expertly
The website publisher / owner shoud deal with the ethics as I am sure Lyndon would have exmplained to them
Lyndon shares with us the what why where to build his brand and get people talkin and learn from his success and mistakes - job done er rather expertly again

This is the finance industry we're talkin about too lol

I'll never type "best loan for me" into Google again with any confidence lol :) -

I'd wager nearly every result in that vertical in Google is a link-based-lie. I work in it.

It's really good Lyndon's took this option to continue the discussion by way of an explanation / tutorial for those of us who're interested in generating citeable content on sites.

Great stuff!