I probably don’t know any more about branding than the next dude. However, through some haphazard observations I’ve noticed that it’s usually a brand name that dominates a website’s link profile. Now, I know there are those of you out there that are like, “FYD.” However, I’d argue that most of you aren’t familiar with the term “link profile” or the concept. Therefore, let me explain. A link profile is all the links on the Internet that are connected with your site. If one site links to you, add it to your profile. If you link to a site, add it. Pretty simple.
The neat part about branding is that when people link to things in an organic way; i.e., naturally just slap an <a href> on a word, they are apt to do it on the brand name. For example, I like Jif peanut butter. The word I naturally selected to “reference” Jif’s site was its brand name. Pretty simple. However, sometimes people are clever, don’t want to drop a brand name, or are stylistically opposed to the way a brand’s name looks and therefore will use a different word or phrase for the link’s anchor text. For example, I like peanut butter. In this instance, I’ve opted to skip referencing Jif in name but want to make sure people know they can check out the peanut butter I like.
Now, you may be ask, “hey, The Nagwitch, who in their right mind would ever do option two?” And I would reply, “FYD.” That’s why links attached to brand names dominate most link profiles.
So, what am I proposing? Well, since the brands I’m working with aren’t well known…yet…I still have a chance to shape their link profiles. How will I do this? I’m not entirely sure. One thought I had was to make sure all link references to them that I create are equally proportioned between their brand and what they do. For example, Lorenguard is a power metal band that I want people to know about because they play power metal. Therefore, I’m always going to drop their name for sure. However, I may use “power metal” as the linking anchor text instead of their brand/band name.
I’m not sure a diverse link profile is the way to go. However, in an effort to be robust in my meager efforts, I’m moving ahead with this plan and will report the results. My hope is that organic linking to the Lorenguard brand will eventually outpace my efforts and that this phenomenon will occur because of the brand being discovered through “blurry searches.”
Managing Your Brand’s Link Profile
I probably don’t know any more about branding than the next dude. However, through some haphazard observations I’ve noticed that it’s usually a brand name that dominates a website’s link profile. Now, I know there are those of you out there that are like, “FYD.” However, I’d argue that most of you aren’t familiar with the term “link profile” or the concept. Therefore, let me explain. A link profile is all the links on the Internet that are connected with your site. If one site links to you, add it to your profile. If you link to a site, add it. Pretty simple.
The neat part about branding is that when people link to things in an organic way; i.e., naturally just slap an <a href> on a word, they are apt to do it on the brand name. For example, I like Jif peanut butter. The word I naturally selected to “reference” Jif’s site was its brand name. Pretty simple. However, sometimes people are clever, don’t want to drop a brand name, or are stylistically opposed to the way a brand’s name looks and therefore will use a different word or phrase for the link’s anchor text. For example, I like peanut butter. In this instance, I’ve opted to skip referencing Jif in name but want to make sure people know they can check out the peanut butter I like.
Now, you may be ask, “hey, The Nagwitch, who in their right mind would ever do option two?” And I would reply, “FYD.” That’s why links attached to brand names dominate most link profiles.
So, what am I proposing? Well, since the brands I’m working with aren’t well known…yet…I still have a chance to shape their link profiles. How will I do this? I’m not entirely sure. One thought I had was to make sure all link references to them that I create are equally proportioned between their brand and what they do. For example, Lorenguard is a power metal band that I want people to know about because they play power metal. Therefore, I’m always going to drop their name for sure. However, I may use “power metal” as the linking anchor text instead of their brand/band name.
I’m not sure a diverse link profile is the way to go. However, in an effort to be robust in my meager efforts, I’m moving ahead with this plan and will report the results. My hope is that organic linking to the Lorenguard brand will eventually outpace my efforts and that this phenomenon will occur because of the brand being discovered through “blurry searches.”