I’ve been slowly pushing our new 2.0 Press Release service known as PR Buzzer and it has been building up nicely although slowly. Our press release service is aiming to combine the usual PR services and include it with a wide variety of other news services in the social webosphere. We’re proving a free release to businesses around the world with only one catch, that you are an actual business. A lot of the free press release services are cluttered with a lot of spam and our goal is to keep it out.

With the free press release on PR Buzzer you get your news distributed through our current network of partners which includes broadcasting on our Twitter account. With your press release you also get included into our business directory which keeps track of all your releases. We’re currently programming in a custom RSS feed for each company profile so you’ll be able to pull your company news in where ever you like. Over time your business profile will rank nicely and provide you with an extra link from a trusted news source.

To get your free press release just fill out the order form for the free one, but if you need a press release written we’re only charge $50 USD with the free promotion instead of $100. We can have your release and company directory listing sorted within 2-3 business days. Once you have an account you will be able to forever send in a free release over our network even when this promo runs out.

I just saw this mini conference being held by SEM Portland on the 9th of February….so only a few days folks. I’ll hopefully catch anyone in the area who hasn’t heard of these folks just in case they want to catch what looks like an amazing panel of speakers. I’m almost on the verge of catching a flight since it’s only a 60 minute one from Vancouver here, but work is keeping my bogged down as usual.

What made me want to write about this event was the link building topics being discussed. Instead of the usual boring basics it looks like they’re going to be getting into it deep. As you can see from the list of guest speakers below there is no shortage of talent.

On February 9th, a panel of link building experts, will take us through:

• Getting between the cushions: Finding links where they’ve always been. – Ian Lurie – Portent Interactive
• Writing & Promoting Link Bait – Scott Fish – EngineWorks
• Utilizing your existing network for links – Blu Drobushevich – Amplify Interactive
• Automating Link Building (tools, widgets, etc.) – John McPhee – Anvil Media
• Building Links to Your Links – Scott Hendison – Search Commander, Inc.

Check out the rest for details, hotel information and the really affordable costs – http://www.sempdx.org/blog/events/february-event-link-building-six-pack/

It has been a very long while since I’ve posted in this category so it’s about due time. There has been a steady stream of really high quality link building posts out recently so I’ll try and link the cream of the crop. Wiep does this consistently so for a much better set of weekly link building recaps be sure to check him out. I have a couple really good posts coming out so this is just filler for now.

1) How to Drive More Links Via Public Relations via Buzzstream

2) Linkfromdomain – A Linkbuilding Tip For Use at Bing.com via Will Critchlow

3) An Experiment in Paid Link Building Tools via Melanie Nathan

4) Linkable Asset Inventory: A Starting Point For New Link Building Campaigns via Garrett French

5) Hotel Link Building Resources via Linkbuildr

6) Pulling A Kesey (Or Link Tripping Filters) via Linkspiel

7) Link Building Gems from User Behavior Patterns via Jennifer Van Iderstyne

8) Things to consider when adding Linkbaiting to your Online Marketing strategy via Fresh Egg

9) The Most Effective Approach to Contacting Link Partners for Authoritative Links via The Gman

10) Sticky-Wiki Dos and Don’ts: How to Improve your Chances of Maintaining an Incoming Link on Wikipedia via Ann Smarty

I thought I’d start having more fun and post some stuff from our office from time to time. Most of you only hear me ranting on the blog but everyone else here keeps pretty busy and behind the scenes. We’re working on a few podcast episodes at the moment which will introduce everyone else. There are only four of us here and our office looks pretty bare for how long we’ve been here. I couldn’t get the work done without everyone here so enjoy some of the pictures even though they’re pretty boring.

Kevin is on the left and he’s our programmer who just happens to be good at accounting a well…We all suspect he’ll eventually commit suicide from all the math, statistics and frustration. If you’d like to have a widget coded up and make Kevin’s life even more busy then get in touch. The other Ryan on the right is manager of the linkbait and social media marketing end of things and he’s the guy getting your content viral on all the social news sites.

I think the magical number of whiteboards is 3 and we enjoy staring at them despite how much more efficient my iPhone and netbook are. You’d normally see Geoff  in this picture if he didn’t decide to sleep in and work from home today…I figure I can tease him about it a little even though he’s got more work done than I today.

This is my desk at the moment which looks kind of bare on one end and messy as hell on the other. All I really need is my netbook and Starbucks so I keep a pretty clean desk. My home office looks a lot more professional, and by professional I mean dual LCD screens and really big speakers.

A little off topic but I’m pulling a late night finishing a proposal and some client work so I had to get some handy tools…aka chocolate. Lindt has a wide range of odd chocolates that indulge my sweet tooth from time to time and tonight it’s Sea Salt and Blueberry. We don’t get a lot of crazy chocolate here in Canada except for the these that are at some major grocery stores. If you find yourself working late and need something to keep ya going check out the Sea Salt flavor before anything else.

I’ve been wanting to do more work in the hotel marketing arena so I thought I’d stir up some link building ideas you can use that I’ve found useful in the past. If you’d like to explore these ideas further then consider working with us to expand your hotel’s business both locally and beyond. There are a lot of ways you can build links in this industry and I wanted to show you a few that you may have overlooked.

Marketing a hotel can be a daunting task because no matter where you are, you have active competition that’s always trying to out do you. If you’re a hotel in a small area ranking well can be absolutely crucial to your survival in a local area. I’ve worked with a few hotels before and the one thing I have come to realize is that you need a good mix of link building and social media marketing.

There are a lot of things you can use I’ve already blogged about, or other link building posts that can apply to your hotel’s marketing strategy. While you can use a press release service to get some news out just like everyone else, you can also make use of hotel industry specific news sources. These are links privy to the hotel industry so you know you’re getting targeted links from great news sources.

Hotel PR Services:

These hotel specific PR services are a great way to reach the who’s who in your industry while picking up some links along the way. I’d try and put away the budget to do a press release every time your hotel hosts an event or conference. While some of these wire services may not snag you a link in the release, you may get a link from a site reporting on it. You never know until you try!

http://www.hotelresource.com/Info-net_add_content.html

http://www.hotelnewsresource.com

http://www.hsyndicate.org/news.html

http://www.hotelsmag.com

http://www.hotelmarketing.com/index.php/content/submit-news

Backlink Analysis:

Mulling over backlink data is only fun for those who enjoy perving on websites link portfolios…I still recommend thoroughly going over everyone in the top 20 for your target keywords. Then once you’ve gone over and obtained any goodies from that, do the same for another 20 hotels in another city/country/place. This may yield you some link opportunities that you can use for yourself. If it brings you nothing then blame it all on me and curse the day you ran across this post.

Get Links From Partners:

Almost every business is able to leverage some links from partners it may not even realize it has. Hotels are able to do a lot of things to build links steadily over time. Sometimes these opportunities come along for a certain event so try and keep your mind on the target. You really want to be on the lookout for these link opportunities because these are quality links your competitors most likely cannot copy. Some ways to explore partners for links are;

- get links from conferences or conventions you`re hosting which can lead to bloggers linking to you in most cases

- use weddings as an opportunity to get links from wedding sites, tweets and other social media means

- somehow try and get a celebrity endorsement

- invite local bloggers to come stay and write about their experience at your hotel

- make videos and get links from social video sites

- offer discounts to students and try and get .edu links

- partner with local restaurants for promotions and for links

- partner with real estate agents in your area. They sometimes have out of town clients coming in to see property and they could be recommending your hotel with a link from their site.

- do you outsource your cleaning services and does that company have a website

Hotel Business Directories:

There are a bounty of hotel directories out there with most being not the highest quality, there still is a decent amount of links to be had. So not only are there hotel specific directories, you can cross over and get listed in some of the most authoritative travel directories.

http://www.hotelresource.com/

http://ehotelier.com/directory/addlink.php

http://www.websitesofhotels.com

http://www.hotelandtraveldirectory.com

What type of hotel/motel/B&B/boutique are you? Take that into consideration as well because there are a few great luxury hotel sites out there you can get into.

http://www.directoryofhotels.com

http://www.mrandmrssmith.com

http://www.drakeandcavendish.com/suggest-hotel.php

If you’re a Bed & Breakfast then you also have an angle to work here with tons of niche specific directories such as;

http://www.bedandbreakfastdirectory.org

http://www.globalbedandbreakfastlinks.com

You’ll be able to sniff directories like these for cabin rentals, vacation homes, resorts and the list goes on. Keep in mind a lot of directories you’ll come across will cost some money or require a link back, so don’t expect a whole lot of magic to happen.

Hotel Social Media:

I could write so much on this topic so I’ll try and keep it short, simple and to the point. There are now hundreds of social media/network sites for travel so you are going to be busy for the next year straight. Some of these sites will allow links so keep your eyes peeled. Mainly you’ll want to be active on these sites to reap the rewards of becoming a trusted voice in the online travel community.

Most of these sites are review sites that are backed by your affiliates so you’re mostly only going to be able to interact with customers. If you’re skeptical about devoting someone to social media for your hotel give it a try for 2-3 months and see what kind of results come out of it. It takes a little while to get the ball rolling but once it does you can start to streamline certain aspects of it.

http://www.igougo.com

http://www.likeme.net

http://www.geckogo.com

http://www.oyster.com

Hotel Coupons:

If you have an online booking engine of sorts or feel like running a coupon the good ole fashioned way then you have plenty of link building options. Coupons can be a big hit if you’re on some of the bigger sites, so getting a link is just a bonus really. There are dozens of coupon sites and forums and you can find lists already made by other people through Google Blog Search. Be sure to get on these though;

http://www.retailmenot.com

http://www.savings.com

http://www.couponchief.com

http://www.couponshare.com

Widgets & Apps:

If you have a programming budget that’s big enough to tackle an iPhone/Blackberry/Android/Wordpress/Facebook app then I say go for it. If you can get something cool and unique done you’ll be able to grab links from all sorts of places. App review sites are a good place to start and you could also drum up some business via the mobile web.

I’ve seen a few hotel booking widgets that would just list the lowest price or best deal with no ties to an affiliate program. The boutique hotel wasn’t big enough to have its own affiliate program so they were just straight up marketing with a widget on local blogs. The links they gained from it did all the good little things they’re supposed to, rank you higher.

Hotel Link Building Resources:

- Link Building Case Study for Luxury Hotels

- 5 Link Building Strategies For Hoteliers

- Link Marketing For Travel & Tourism Businesses

- Travel SEO Internet Marketing Guide

- Hotelcast 2.0 Show For Hoteliers

The fine folks over at SEOmoz have just released access to a new and sexy (I know I have a problem) backlink analysis and reporting tool powered by Linkscape. If you don’t already know about the SEOmoz Pro Tools then let me give you a piece of information that should make your mouth water. Linkscape now contains over 700 billion links from nearly 65 billion pages on the web, so that’s a no brainer for any link builder.

Open Site Explorer is a clean and easy to use interface much like Link Diagnosis except it has so much data I nearly had to change my underpants. For the next 33 hours it is fully open to the public for usage so I suggest you get on it and start playing with it. The best part I think is so far from what I’ve seen are the filtering options which is going to make my life a whole lot easier.

Rand just finished up a meaty post on Open Site Explorer which sums up pretty much everything I’d comment on, so go read his post on it. This is definitely going to be worth the purchase if you’re serious about your link profile, and of course that of your competitor’s!

Hey folks! This is just a quick update to let you know they’re running another coupon for 20% off over at Best Of The Web Directory. If you’re still wanting to get in on BOTW then now is the time to get the deals while they’re hot. I got a lot of on the fence people with last month’s coupon, so here’s even more 5% more off the list prices.

BOTW still is one of the most important links you can have in your profile because of the age and the quality they keep up there. If you have a quality site I wouldn’t worry about not getting accepted for the most part from what I’ve personally seen on my end from clients and my own sites. All you need to do to get the discount is use coupon code NEWYR when you’re checking out any of their marketing products.