How not to be a douche when creating inbound links - Unknown Secrets of SEO E-Webstyle Number 60

Chris Burris and Paul Hanson say the SEO industry standard for keyword density is one to three percent. For a hundred-word page that means one to three uses of a given keyword. Going beyond that risks looking like stuffing to both search engine robots and real visitors.

The hosts disagree with the article's advice on this point. They argue that using a descriptive business name as your comment identity is not douchey because it provides relevant anchor text linking back to your site, and branding a business name can have legitimate value.

The hosts say you should personalize each email, explain why the link relationship makes sense for both parties, and show that you spent real time on the recipient's site. A phone call may even be worth it given how valuable links are. Mass carbon-copy emails are what make you look like a douche.

Link baiting means creating content so useful or entertaining that other sites naturally want to link to it. The hosts cite their own discussion of Chris Spooner's article as an example, since they plan to link back to it, showing that quality content can earn links without any outreach at all.