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vangogh
08-18-2009, 01:37 PM
I found two posts this morning with ideas for link building. The first is a case study where the site in question is in an industry filled with quality content. After determining that adding more quality content was just going to be more of the same, a contest was created.

You can read about the results here:

A Case Study: Using Contests To Build Links (http://searchengineland.com/a-case-study-using-contests-to-build-links-23776)

The second post focuses specifically on small ecommerce sites, that are often hard to build links into. This post offers 3 tips

1. Reviews
2. Non Commercial Content
3. Business / Industry Friends

You can read about the details here:

Link Building for Small eCommerce Sites (http://www.seomoz.org/blog/link-building-for-small-ecommerce-sites)

Has anyone here tried running a contest or attempted any of the 3 tips above? What results did you seen?

I've never run a contest myself, but I do create a lot of non-commercial content, which does bring a lot of links. I also work to build relationships with real people in and out of my industry. Those people tend to link back to my site (and I link to theirs) without either of us asking. We are also usually there when the other does ask. And beyond links those relationships do lead to word of mouth recommendations.

nealrm
08-18-2009, 02:23 PM
Using a contest to get link is an interesting approach. One I have not tried.

As for the 3 ecommerce suggestions - we had some luck with the third option. Basicly, if the agents want a working link in their contact information they need to have a link on thier site pointing back to us. The reciptable links don't have much value, but I don't lose anything either.

vangogh
08-18-2009, 08:27 PM
I haven't run a contest myself, but I've seen plenty of other sites do so successfully. Often you don't even have to give away all that much. Lately some of the methods for entry include retweeting the post mentioning the contest on Twitter.

Much of the time entry will require linking back to a specific post or page and perhaps leaving a comment or tweet.

You can also ask others to contribute to the prizes. It's usually good branding and PR for them. Lots of companies that sell products, especially digital ones, will offer a few free programs or licenses to the contest holder. It gets people talking about them and also puts their product in the hands of more people who might then spread the word.

Bill Slawski
08-25-2009, 01:33 PM
Contests aren't a bad idea. They're at the top of the list on a page from the Small Business Administration that has some other good ideas for marketing small businesses:

15 Foolproof Ideas for Promoting Your Company (http://www.sba.gov/smallbusinessplanner/manage/marketandprice/SERV_15IDEAS.html)

I haven't used a contest either, but I have used a few of the other ideas. Many of them can work as well online as offline.

vangogh
08-25-2009, 06:19 PM
I've seen quite a few successful contests. They can work very well. I'm currently running a small one on my site now to help a fellow member here. I learned right away how much preparation really should go into a contest. We did this one kind of last minute, but I can see how much better we could have done things had we taken a few weeks to plan things out more.

From the timing to making sure you're ready to handle the extra traffic, there really is a lot to consider.

One other thing I've seen is how you don't really need a ton of prizes. An investment of a couple hundred dollars can be enough if you choose the prize well to match your audience.

b2bmarketing
09-08-2009, 05:48 AM
I am new to this forum. I have just read your post. Links provided in your post are really helpful for me. Thanks for sharing such valuable info.

yummytork
09-08-2009, 10:08 PM
When running a contest, it's got to be a pretty sweet prize to get people to enter it by giving you a link. I've seen some pretty dumb contests wanting to get links from people to enter, and some of the contests got zero entries. So make sure you've got something good to give away. I always like travel vouchers as a prize, they have a high perceived value, at a pretty low price.

vangogh
09-09-2009, 01:41 AM
I actually don't think it needs to be the greatest prize. I've seen some very successful contests with small prizes. Maybe your last statement is more accurate. The prize has to have a high perceived value or maybe just a perceived value greater than what's required to enter. I've seen successful contests run for the price of an iPod or $100 gift certificate. Would you be willing to add a link to a post or add a tweet about a contest for $100? Many people would.

jimcro55
05-07-2010, 10:12 AM
This is all really great information. I am just having a difficult time applying it to my business. We are a wire mesh / wire cloth manufacturer here in the United States. I don't really see what kind of "contests" we can have? Also, what kind of seminars or speeches can a person make about wire mesh? If anyone has any original and creative ideas, let me know!


JC

<please set up a signature>

DOT
06-21-2010, 05:39 PM
Are there any legal concerns with running a contest? I always see all that small print at the bottom of my McDonalds Monopoly game piece.

Business Attorney
06-21-2010, 06:26 PM
There are LOTS of legal concerns with running a contest. In the U.S. contests are regulated by the states. You need to comply with all of those laws if you sponsor a contest.

While the laws are fairly similar in most states, there are differences that need to be taken into consideration. That is why you will see notations in the rules like:


This contest is open only to legal residents of the United States over the age of 18 who are not residents of the states of North Dakota, Vermont, Connecticut, or Maryland.

Laws in other countries also bar or regulate contests (Quebec, for example). Also, U.S. federal law bars dealings with certain countries. Contests that are open to non-U.S. residents may say something like:


The contest is not open to residents of Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Syria, North Korea, Myanmar (formerly Burma), Sudan, Puerto Rico or the province of Quebec.

vangogh
06-21-2010, 07:25 PM
David I take it the "not needing to purchase to enter" language is also a legal thing.

Business Attorney
06-21-2010, 07:49 PM
Yes. Otherwise, if any kind of financial commitment is required to enter the contest, it becomes a game of chance (i.e., gambling) in most states and is illegal.

vangogh
06-21-2010, 08:06 PM
That's what I thought. Or maybe not exactly that thought, but something similar. I was pretty sure the no purchase thing was due to the law, otherwise I would expect purchase would be mandatory.