Experts Blog

Top 5 Link Blogs Every Link Builder Should be Reading in 2012

By Casey Markee on Apr 17, 2012 - 08:12 PM

I'm a link builder by trade. Sure, I do on-page optimization, social media promotion, reputation management, local search marketing, and cover nearly every SEO-topic under the sun, but my passion is link building. Links are still the MAIN currency of the Internet. When you absolutely, positively must move a site competitively in Google, links are what get it done.

As a link builder I'm always on the look-out for the latest and greatest in link building strategies, tips, and link opportunities that I can use to best leverage my sites and the sites of my clients. With link building, there is a huge quantity vs quality disconnect that results in a lot of "noise" being generated that can make finding the truly best, most actionable information very difficult.

Fortunately, thanks to my own trial-and-error dealings, I've done the hard work for you and can give you one thing I didn't have starting out: the best and ONLY link building blogs you need to be reading in 2012.

  • 1. Stuntdubl Blog (Todd Malicoat): I met Todd for the first time back in February at the Pubcon Paradise conference in Hawaii. If you do anything with link building you've probably heard his name. Todd's a well-known link building personality who's been quoted everywhere from Inc to the NY Post. Todd's blog covers a ton of the hottest link building and general SEO issues that affect traffic acquisition in general, and is a must-visit resource for the everyday link builder.
  • 2. Internet Marketing Ninjas Blog (Jim Boykin & Ann Smarty): Jim Boykin has been a well-known expert in the SEO field since 1999. Through his company Internet Marketing Ninjas (formally We Build Pages), Jim and his 100+ staff of link "ninjas" boast some of the top brands in the world as clients. Recently, he added well-known blogger Ann Smarty as a guest contributor to his blog which continues to provide some of the industry's BEST link building and general SEO-related content available anywhere.
  • 3. Graywolf Blog (Michael Gray): Michael was another link builder I had the pleasure of meeting at the Pubcon Paradise conference this past February after reading his blog content for years. Michael's been involved in website development and marketing since 1998 and is a moderator at Webmaster World and Sphinn. Michael's posts cover the hottest topics in SEO and link building and provide real-world actionable advice link builders can use to separate the truth from the bulls**t.
  • 4. Ross Hudgens Blog: Ross is a well-known Seattle-based link builder that writes regularly for both Search Engine Land and Search Engine Journal. Ross' blog is a great resource to not only follow the latest in link building strategies and case studies, but also to read recent interviews with noted search personalities. If you aren't familiar with Ross' work check out this great post on How to Link Build with Google Alerts that I still have bookmarked from when I first read it in 2010.
  • 5. LinkMoses Private (Eric Ward): Eric Ward is THE definitive authority on link building and has been lauded as such by everyone from Matt Cutts with Google to Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Land. Eric founded the Internet's FIRST online promotion service, URLwire back in 1994 and was the first to announce Amazon.com to the masses in 1995. Since then Eric has consulted with everyone from Warner Brothers, to PBS to the NY Times on link building. He publishes a subscription-only LinkMoses private link building newsletter that is a MUST-READ to anyone serious about finding the best links for their clients.

If your schedule is anything like mine, your time is very limited. By subscribing to the RSS feeds of the blogs and private subscription networks above, I've been able to gain some incredible link building insights, tips and strategies that take me minutes a day to process and review. This is who I read regularly and who I confidently recommend you start following as well. You won't be disappointed.Planet Ocean article end