In my previous article “How we struck Google gold through SEO,” I discussed how I exploded my organic Google ranking from a zero to a hero in a matter of months.
Today, I’m going into the weeds to share with you one of the most valuable tactics I employed to quickly elevate my organization’s organic Google rankings.
My approach is completely on the up and up. It’s not grey hat, black hat or any shade thereof. It’s pure white hat, very inexpensive and easy to implement. From Google’s perspective, you’re basically acquiring a company. Simple as that.
Here’s my 5-second disclaimer, before you read on. I work for very large, conservative B2B companies with very low tolerances for risk. I have not and would not put my organizations’ websites in danger just to bump them a few positions on Google. All of my methods are legitimate, useful to humans and Google has not had any issues with this strategy.
OK, so let’s acquire a company!
Start by answering a simple question. What do you sell? Industrial air filters? Hydrometers? Floor flanges? Whatever unsexy products they might be, we’re going to find a similar, existing company that was already doing well in organic Google and we’re going to buy it.
Head over to a website that aggregates expired or deleted domain names (e.g., expireddomains.net). These are domains that people have abandoned and this is where the mining for gold begins. Search for domains that are similar to the products that you sell.
We’re looking for domains that meet three very important criteria:
- They have History
- They have Google PageRank
- They have recently been abandoned
History
You’re looking for a domain that has been around for a while—the older, the better. Make sure the domain you choose is at least two years old.
Google PageRank
Check the Google PageRank of the site—the higher, the better. (Google uses the term “PageRank” when ranking an entire website, and “Page Rank,” with a space, when ranking individual pages on the same site.) A PageRank of at least two will be beneficial. You can use numerous tools to check PageRank (e.g., prchecker.info).
Once you’ve found a “company to acquire,” the domain aggregator will most likely indicate where the domain is being sold and will often indicate the price. Keep your costs under control for your first pass. No need to spend thousands of dollars for this acquisition. You can easily find domains that are sub-$20.
Here’s a great example. Let’s assume I sell air filters. I was able to find the domain TheWorldsBestAirFilters.com. It has a PageRank of two and has been around for four years.
It’s also on sale for $12.99:
Once you’ve secured your domain, start a blog (e.g., wordpress.com) and point your new domain to your blog.
At this point, you’ll want to generate content, steady content and make sure it’s relevant to your product type. If you don’t have the resources internally to fuel this blog, find a moonlighter to help you. I’ve used upwork.com repeatedly and have been able to find overseas help that speak better English than I do. You’ll definitely want to focus your search on moonlighters with subject matter expertise, unless you plan on providing all of the source content.
In your blog articles, find opportunities to link back to your main site. Anchor relevant keywords in your articles back to the pages that you’re trying to push higher in Google. Make sure these same keywords appear on the linked page.
That’s it. Easy peasy. Give it a few months, monitor your main site’s PageRank and number of listings on Google and you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Mike Mayer is director of e-business strategy and commerce at distributor Crescent Electric Supply Co., a family-owned distributor founded in 1919. At Crescent, Mayer launched cesco.com, a related mobile site and apps, and the company’s first e-catalog for 250,000 products. He has also held various e-commerce and technology-related positions at companies including Thermo Fisher Scientific and Capgemini Ernst & Young. Follow him at LinkedIn.com/in/ecommerceexec and twitter.com/chicagomayer.
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