I learned about Open Site Explorer from a free webinar by Liz Lockard. Open Site Explorer is a great resource for analyzing your competition to help increase the rating and relevancy of your website.
What is Open Site Explorer? They are the search engine for links. Learn which websites are linking to you and your competition. Links to your website are important tools for building your SEO.
With Open Site Explorer you get 3 free searches a day. So get started now analyzing the links to your site and the links to your competition.
On Open Site Explorer, type in the website of a competitor. Once the report generates, click the tab Inbound Links, and filter by External Links to the Root Domain. A list of websites that have a link to your competitor will appear.
These links represent the following:
-Places your competitor is commenting
-Where your competitor is a regular contributor
-A website where your competitor did a guest post
-A resource page they are listed on
-Niche forums in which they participate
These are all websites for you to explore that probably fit your target audience, and are opportunities for you to comment, contribute, or guest post.
When you comment, do so thoughtfully, and always sign your name with your website (ex. Sarah @ Brilliant Business Moms). When you find websites where your competitor has an article, be sure to comment there.
Work on building links to your website by actively guest posting. Prioritize where you should guest post through Open Site Explorer. Compare five sites, and begin guest posting at the site with the highest page domain.
Don't forget to discover which websites have a link to you. You may or may not know about these sites, but do all you can to encourage that relationship.
Here is a brief video tutorial on Open Site Explorer:
I left you with a call to action in the podcast. Did you follow through? What were your results? Leave me a comment. Thanks!
-Sarah
