Assignment 1, Bootcamp #5 - Backlinks Basics

[iCraft Admin]

Hi Kat,

When we talk about link building, we usually refer to backlinks - links on other sites pointing to yours. I don't recommend reciprocal links when you both agree to link to each other.
And no, that site where you buy jewelry supplies is not too small. It's related to your business and not a spammy site, so it would be a good site to get at list one link from.

[SilverDawnJewelry]

Hello Okay, so 64 pages later, and talking with Nyai (my husband), and our 16 year old...we now have a Twitter started, and our daughter led us also to Tumblr.com.
http://silverdawnjewelry.tumblr.com/

I like Tumblr so far, as a blog space where you can network and others can follow the links to your Twitter, FB, Pin, etc...really almost any link is available, so it seems to be a good HUB for links...I will see if I can link it to the blog here as well. (once I get the blog started)
The Tumbler page will also give a live feed of your Twitter if you choose the correct layout...We found the "Fluid Neue" theme is set up for Twitter, and to add about 24 links, with an easy access button right on the page. You will see the three on ours, but not only are the other 21 link spaces available, as well as pre-set (just add link and save, and magic link button appears)...but above that, we can learn what the other 21 are at some point.

I am assuming that these would primarily be called social links...but, It is a start at least...so now we need to figure out Using these platforms correctly...then work on the actual linkbacks..
Going back to re-read some. That is an awesome write-up you linked to, aise (thank you)

I guess one question would be, 'how would you approach a site to ask them to add your link?' Who would you speak with?

Or, getting places like RioGrande to re-pin items, or re-post tweets...that would bring many site views most likely, yes?
 

[iCraft Admin]

Hi SilverDawnJewelry,

Twitter & Tumbler - wow, you've been busy! Nice to see that your whole family is so supportive. 

Yes, links from Twitter & Tumbler would be considered social links, but they are still good. We covered some of those in the previous Bootcamp # 4. You can still browse those assignments on our Sellers' Bootcamp page.

We'll cover how to approach site owners and what links to ask for in the upcoming assignments.
Actually, Kat already touched on this topic in her last post. 

[iCraft Admin]

SilverDawnJewelry,

Also wanted to mention, since you have Twitter account now, another thing you can do with Twitter, Tumblr and other social media sites is to setup auto feed of your products to those sites. Basically, any time you post new items to your iCraft store or update your products, you could feed those updates to all or some of your sites.

You can also control  frequency of updates and add filters to your posts. Autofeeds are not ideal, but at least timely updates to all your social media sites. Saves you time and still creates good referral traffic.

Try twitterfeed.com  where you can manage your updates on multiple sites. To use that service you will need to copy your store RSS Feed which is located beside "Contact Seller" link in the left side of your store page.

[SilverDawnJewelry]

Yes, we are busy...actually, we are all over this, and cannot tell you how much we appreciate the effort everyone has put into it!
I am very fortunate to have my family working with me...they like me to be home, so they have jumped right in over the years, and help me with just about everything. In a sense we are a family business, because they are learning the metalwork, beadwork, leatherwork, and help with all the other aspects as well We have alot of fun this way...

We have started reading back too, beginning at the first bootcamp thread...and now also have an application in with CraftJuice, and a Stumble account.
I am using keywords and categories in the different sites, to broaden the views as well. The best example is my hair pins. While the description and the linkback to Icraft is the same, and I always focus on Dance as the overall theme for keywords, in some places I may list them under Tribal Fusion as the category, and in others Yoga, or Ballet...I have found that it reaches the individual target audiences, within the main target audience...bringing in a wider range of viewers, and more sales in the end. I am not sure how, or if, this works for others, but I have found it works well for my items.

So, we are working through bootcamp #1...but I Will catch up, I will...
Thank you very much for the link to the twitterfeed. That sounds like a good project for tonight. I had noticed that, but had no clue how to go about it. 

I know some, or many, of my photos will need to be redone to fit the Icraft format well...some are a bit cropped, and it looks a little hodge-podge. So I will take a few days just for photos as soon as the world here turns greener.

[SilverDawnJewelry]

Hi,
The twitter account we started is linked to our leather shop, however we also linked the twitter feed from the iCraft SilverDawn shop to it... So the question we have is will this work when we open the leather shop on iCraft to link a second RSS feed to the same twitter account or should we open a second twitter account?

[iCraft Admin]

You are very lucky to have family like yours, SilverDawnJewelry!

Can you please tell us how you use CraftJuice.com? I am not familiar with that site.

To answer your Twitter question. If you have 2 identical stores on different marketplaces, you probably shouldn't feed the same updates from 2 sites at the same time.

As for the second Twitter account, I'd separate Jewelry updates from your Leather shop updates, but I wouldn't create 2 Twitter account for the same  Leather shop updates, but from 2 different sites.

One solution could be to make different product updates at different times on 2 sites, but still feed updates from both places to the same Twitter account.

As a side note, two identical sites can create duplicate content issue for your pages. I suggest you do some reading on this topic. We actually mark products that could be considered duplicates on our site, but we can't compare them to other sites.

[iCraft Admin]

This is one of our articles "Explaining Backlinks". I'd suggest you check it out as well.

[iCraft Admin]

Here is a good video from Google's Matt Cutts "What are some effective techniques for building links?"

Please share good articles and resources that you found during this week's rereplacement on the Link Building topic.

There should be more questions too, if you are doing your homework. Bring them on! We need to keep this conversation going, if you guys want to learn something new.

Next week we'll have more practical assignments, so use this week to learn as much as you can!

[Jewelry by Kat]

This article is easy reading, divided into sections so you can take your time          

 http://nickstraffictricks.com/5637_how-to-build-backlinks/

[iCraft Admin]

That's a great article Kat! Just read it. I think it will help others to get many questions answered. It also has a lot of good references for future reading. Bookmarking this site!

[JaJeJems]

Planning to read the article that Kat suggested this afternoon - sounds perfect for me!  Anyway, I have been wondering all week what exactly these links look like?  Is it like an ad on someone elses page or a reference to you that someone has made in their page or blog which they have linked back to you.  I hope that doesn't sound too silly!  I know that the process involves approaching others and requesting a link.  I belong to a jewellery group in Linkedin where most people share their websites so for me I think that is a place tomstart.  Maybe I should read the article first, though!  Still doing my rereplacement.  I have signed up for twitter feed, got my Indiepublic account updated and started a blog so I haven't been idle all week!  Getting inspiration from everyone elses hard work.

[SilverDawnJewelry]

Thank you
It would be two shops on Icraft, each with an individual RSS feed (we plan on opening a second shop here for our leatherwork, beadwork and related)...And the other places, like stumble, and craftjuice, only show listings From the Icraft shops...but I understand, and am absorbing your answer.
Icraft will be the only venue where I am linking the RSS feed through twitter.

I am being careful not to make duplicate listings, altering the titles and descriptions...and as we move along, I will be removing the listings we currently have on Etsy. I am in the process of emailing all of our customers, so we do not loose them in the shuffle...They are beginning to follow us here, which is great! I know at least one of our customers has already purchased from another shop here as well, and many are thanking me for sharing Icraft, because as customers, they too are tired of having to weed through the re-sellers on Etsy. It is not a fast process, but it is happening.

I am not completely sure yet, for CraftJuice, I am waiting to hear back from them. As it seems so far, they are an independent site, where you can submit listings from your shop, and they will display and promote them (as a listing from your shop, not as a separate new listing, they do not sell there). It is lobbied, so you have to apply, but they seem to have a large following. I will let you know more, as soon as I find out

Thank you both for the linkback write-ups too...tonights project

[JaJeJems]

Thanks Kat for the great link!  has already answered some of my questions and I actually understood most of what I read.  Bonus!

[iCraft Admin]

SilverDawnJewelry,

You sound like a knowledgeable seller already. Duplicate content, rss feeds and backlinks are not the easiest things to grasp. Good for you!  Let us know if you have any specific questions about using iCraft system etc.