Linkfromdomain – A Linkbuilding Tip For Use at Bing.com
Posted by willcritchlow
Bing recently came out of beta in the UK and we are seeing the beginnings of the advertising campaign to promote it.
For SEOs, however, there is a more immediate opportunity with Bing than hoping it gathers some market share from Google(*). Linkfromdomain is a search operator that is unique to Bing. It returns the pages that are linked-to from a domain. There are obviously other ways of getting this information in raw form (maybe including Linkscape one day, but certainly including Xenu for mid-sized sites), but for large sites especially, it can be really hard to gather it in any kind of usable form.
The usage of linkfromdomain is to search on Bing for something like:
- linkfromdomain:ox.ac.uk (returns pages linked from the Oxford University site – more on this below)
- linkfromdomain:ox.ac.uk intitle:broadband (filters to broadband in the title)
- linkfromdomain:ox.ac.uk wimax (searches for wimax anywhere on the linked-to page)
The set of results is generally returned in a similar ordering to a regular search query – with a combination of highly relevant and more powerful results first. Unfortunately linkfromdomain does not support searches for sub-domains (even www.) you have do search for linkfromdomain:exampledomain.com.
How do you use this for SEO?
This is a linkbuilding tip post – the idea being two-fold:
- suppose you have a powerful target website (such as an educational institution) and you are seeking ways of getting links from them, this gives you tools for finding techniques, content types and targets for those links (more on this below but it’s very effective for building highly trusted links)
- sometimes the “one-step-removed” linkbuilding model can work superbly well for identifying linkbuilding targets. If I were running a cooking blog (wait, I do – it took superhuman effort not to drop a shameless link there), it might be a good idea to look at something like this as a superb linkbuilding target list
The information contained in the second approach is typically findable through other means (or the targets are likely to appear on your radar in other ways) and there is a lot of searching through chaff to find wheat. I wanted to run through a worked example today to show you how powerful method #1 can be:
Worked example
I had to pick a niche and a target for my worked example. I decided to imagine I was linkbuilding for a technical but not-specifically-web-related company. I’m trying to get links from trusted authoritative domains so I start with big educational institutions.
As some of you may know, I studied at the University of Cambridge (ending with a year at the Statslab). I don’t want them getting link requests from all you lot, so I picked Oxford (**).
I’m pretending my imaginary client works in some area of telecoms and has resources and technical papers on subjects like wimax and spectrum usage.
First up, wimax:
- Start with the linkfromdomain search: http://www.bing.com/search?q=linkfromdomain%3Aox.ac.uk+wimax&go=&form=QBRE&filt=all&qs=n
- Pick out an interesting-looking resource: http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470510285.html
- Dive over to the labs tools to find ox.ac.uk links to this page: http://www.seomoz.org/labs/backlinks?uri=http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470510285.html&linktype=page
- This highlights this kind of page: http://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/courses/details.php?id=O08C835H6J
It turns out that conted.ox.ac.uk is a goldmine for linkbuilders. It’s the Continuing Education section of the Oxford University site and seems to be very generous with linking out. I might suggest that my client gives a talk or writes a resource for a CPD course. At the very least, it might be worth creating some content to target this kind of page.
Tip: I find it best to look for links to pages that aren’t homepages because it’s typically easier to find where the link originates from. Bing doesn’t have an effective link: operator meaning that we have to use Yahoo, Linkscape or similar. Because we are then not using the same index, it can be tricky to track down the link found by linkfromdomain.
Another example starting with spectrum auctions – sometimes it’s funny where this kind of research can take you:
- A different linkfromdomain search: http://www.bing.com/search?q=linkfromdomain%3Aox.ac.uk+spectrum+auctions&filt=all&first=11&FORM=PORE
- A different kind of interesting-looking (and, as it happens, off-topic) resource: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/dead-aid-by-dambisa-moyo-1519875.html
- A demonstration of using Yahoo! instead of labs tools to find the source of the link: http://uk.search.yahoo.com/search?p=link%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.independent.co.uk%2Farts-entertainment%2Fbooks%2Freviews%2Fdead-aid-by-dambisa-moyo-1519875.html+site%3Aox.ac.uk&ei=UTF-8&fr=moz35
- Leads to a new strategy – find a way to write about this college and drop them a line: http://www.sant.ox.ac.uk/news/media.html
(Incidentally, I found a very similar opportunity on the Cambridge site, but no, I’m not going to tell you about it.)
In an unexpected turn of events, I also found some pretty active blogs writing about my target subject matter on ox.ac.uk URLs. Even I’m not mean enough to fill up those guys’ inboxes with outreach from you lot just because they picked the wrong university.
(*) I don’t know about anyone else, but I am rooting for a more balanced search market (particularly in the UK, where Google has a ~90% market share). I think competition is good for consumers and for businesses.
(**) seriously, we don’t get on (US folks, think of the relationship between Duke and UNC) but I’m not encouraging anyone to spam Oxford University. Really. I’m not. Even though the varsity match is this week.
There are some other great resources on linkfromdomain – I really liked PPC blog’s tip about expired and for sale domains.
Rand has also written about the uses of linkfromdomain for finding spam you are linking to as well as teasing you with the fact that he “gave up” a similar tip to my worked example above at SMX Advanced.
Technorati Tags
linkbuilding, bing, linkfromdomain
Facebook Publishes 2009’s Top Status Trends
Facebook users are a pretty important group of people; after all, in recent months, it’s been established that there are more of them than there are individuals in the United States. So to wrap up 2009, Facebook’s provided a list that helps spell out what its users have been thinking about all year.
You can view the list of top status trends below. It was made possible thanks to something termed “Facebook Memology,” and as you can see, has been a bit simplified (condensing Farmville, Farm Town, and Social Living into “Facebook Applications,” for example).
We’ll respect your intelligence by just hitting some of the items that might not be completely obvious. Here’s a quick one: at number two, “FML” stands for “f*ck my life.” Which makes sense given the economy’s nosedive.
Then, at number eleven, “years” is nothing more than a reference to dates like 2008, 2009, and 2010. Apparently a lot of folks thought about life on something other than a day-to-day basis.
Finally, “yard” is simply a reference to the green things that surround houses. To explain this word’s presence, data scientist Lars Backstrom theorized on the Facebook Blog, “[H]ipsters’ moms and dads are also on Facebook, and these folks have yards that require some tending.” Or it might have something to do with the housing stimulus and a fair number of young people getting yards for the first time.
Related Articles:
> Facebook Releases User Diversity Data
> Facebook Directs Companies, Celebs To Preferred Developers
> Facebook Gives Translators Awards For Their Services
Google Earmarks $20M For Charities As Holiday Gift To Everyone
Some time ago, Google established a tradition of sending top AdSense and AdWords users holiday gifts. This year, it’s departing from that routine. But people are going to have a hard time complaining about the decision, because instead, Google’s committed $20 million to a group of charities.
AdSense and AdWords partners received messages today that announced the move by saying, “We hope you’ll find it fits the spirit of the holiday season.” A special “Happy Holidays from Google” site was set up to relay a more detailed explanation, too.
All in all, it looks like 25 entities will benefit from Google’s choice (and $20 million split 25 ways works out to $800,000 each if an even division takes place, by the way).
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Reporters Without Borders, and the World Wildlife Fund are perhaps some of the most recognizable charities, along with Feeding America, the Mango Tree, and Save the Children.
And of course, Google’s still fond of its ordinary users, too. The original message to AdSense and AdWords partners stated, “As we near the end of the year, we wanted to take a moment to thank you for the time, energy, commitment, and trust you’ve shared with us in 2009. . . . We’re looking forward to working with you to build lasting success in 2010.”
Related Articles:
> Google Launches New Transliteration Tool
> New Google Phone Has Tech Community Licking Chops
> Google Most Popular Site Among Seniors
Ford Turning Cars Into Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspots
Next year, Ford will be introducing it’s new version of SYNC, a technology it partnered with Microsoft on. This technology will allow you to have constant Wi-Fi in your car.
All an owner of a SYNC-ready car would have to do is plug in a compatible USB mobile broadband modem (or air card), and they will create a secure wireless connection that will be broadcast throughout the vehicle.
“While you’re driving to grandma’s house, your spouse can be finishing the holiday shopping and the kids can be chatting with friends and updating their Facebook profiles,” said Mark Fields, Ford president of The Americas. “And you’re not paying for yet another mobile subscription or piece of hardware because Ford will let you use technology you already have.”
“The speeds with which technology is evolving, particularly on the wireless front, makes obsolescence a real problem,” said Doug VanDagens, director of Ford’s Connected Services Solutions Organization. “We’ve solved that problem by making SYNC work with just about any technology you plug into it. By leveraging a user’s existing hardware, which can be upgraded independent of SYNC, we’ve helped ensure ‘forward compatibility’ with whatever connectivity technology comes next.”
“Using SYNC with existing mobile devices helps Ford provide the most value, the most flexibility and the most convenience for owners,” said Fields. “Constant connectivity is becoming a routine part of our customers’ lives, and we’re making existing technology more accessible without adding costs: That’s the kind of value Ford drivers have learned to expect.”
Ford has proven in the past to be a particularly Internet-savvy company. This was evident from an interview WebProNews did with Scott Monty, who runs the company’s social media efforts:
Ford says studies by the Consumer Electronics Association show that as many as 77 million adults make up the so-called technology enthusiast drivers population, more than half of whom express the desire for a connected communications and information system in their vehicles. They say over a third of Americans would be interested in the ability to check email and access Web sites in their vehicles.
Related Articles:
> Google Earth Makes Leap To Automobiles
> Google Develops Fleet Of Fuel-Efficient Cars
Google Arranges To Expand In Pittsburgh
Over the years, more than a few people have compared the Googleplex to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. Now, fact and fantasy will come even closer to merging in Pittsburgh, as Google’s decided to lease 40,000 square feet at the former site of a Nabisco plant.
For better or for worse, this development doesn’t signal Google’s entry into the candy/baked goods market. The site will play home to all sorts of retail and office space when a renovation is completed, and Google will set up its two floors (the top two in the building) as a fairly standard workplace.
Still, just about any expansion on Google’s part is worth noting, and given the economy’s recent contraction, this one stands out even more than usual. Plus, a change of physical surroundings isn’t the only thing set to take place, since reports indicate that additional engineers will be hired. (An exact or even rough number remains unknown.)
Then here’s one more important note: although Google’s move will take it away from its current Pittsburgh base at Carnegie Mellon’s Collaborative Innovation Center, the search giant and the school have effectively promised to stay friends.
Anyway, according to Erich Schwartzel, Google should settle into its new office sometime during the summer of 2010.
Related Articles:
> New Googleplex Established In Brussels
> Google Ranked World’s Most Attractive Employer
> Google Language, Land Expansions Take Place