I would like to summarize a noteworthy article by Tom Schmitz that addresses two factors that affect link-building strategies: celebrity and authority. Celebrity is fame, or infamy. In either case, intrinsic interest in a person or enterprise leads to high traffic at fan websites and forums. Authority is quite different – it is acknowledgement on the part of search engines of competence in a particular discipline. Metrics such as Google’s Page Rank gauge authority, and good search engine results go hand-in-hand with high PR.

Schmitz creates four categories, each one demanding a different link strategy:

1)    High Authority, Low Celebrity — A website with a good link profile but without general recognition by the public. Other websites quote you and leave backlinks. You are advised to publish content that will gain attention, and to perform guest blogging on other high authority sites. Promote yourself through social media and banner advertising.

2)    High Authority, High Celebrity – You are at the top of the heap, and the challenge is to stay there. Continue publishing strong content targeted to specific keywords. Draw fans through social media sites.

3)    Low Authority, Low Celebrity – You are in good company, most websites fall into this category. Do a lot of blogging, and take positions in forums and communities. Create and grow a “clan” – a few bloggers who promote each other through content and social media.

4)    Low Authority, High Celebrity – You may be notorious, but do not have an online presence. Put effort into your website, adding interesting content. Create fan pages in social media, and communicate with fans there. Give away something people want, such as a music video or sales promotion.

Press releases are appropriate for high-celebrity sites; Low-authority sites need to build their link profiles, with link-baiting and directory submission tactics.

I would add that low-authority sites definitely benefit from a well-conceived paid-link strategy. The right kind of paid links from high-authority sites will boost your site’s search engine results. Companies like Domain-Pop.Com offer links from pages of related content and high Page Rank. Consider adding a paid-link campaign to your website marketing strategy, and let it reinforce your content and social media efforts to raise your authority level.