BuzzStream: Link Building at its Best

Update: This invite to the BuzzStream private beta is now closed. If you would like to find out how to receive an invitation to the BuzzStream beta CRM for link building management, please visit BuzzStream.com/link-building.

In case you were wondering, there are some definite perks to being a blogger. This week I was invited on a personal tour of a link building management tool in private beta. BuzzStream offers Internet marketers a way to keep track of link building efforts in a single place with little data entry and lots of saved time.

It turns out there are some perks to reading blogs, too. Thanks to the generosity of BuzzStream co-founder Jeremy Bencken, 45 of you lucky readers will get access to the private beta suite of link building management tools. (Jeremy gave us 50 access codes but we’re hoarding five for ourselves! What? We like toys, too!)

Use the BuzzMarklet to bookmark link prospects while you’re browsing.

You may have already heard about how BuzzStream works, in which case you’ve just been waiting to get your hands on it. But if you haven’t heard of BuzzStream, let me tell you about the new tool hitting the scene. It’s set to make life a little simpler — one link prospect at a time.

BuzzStream is a customer relationship management system (CRM) for link building. From your browser, a simple click of a button on your toolbar will call the BuzzMarklet popup (seen to the right). BuzzStream automatically pulls a number of data points from the page you are viewing in your browser, including the domain’s PageRank and age, the IP address and the number of inbound links. In the contact info area, any emails, phone numbers and addresses found on the site are automatically filled in. You can even do a Whois lookup if you’re not satisfied with the info sniffed out on the site. Now, all you’ve got left to do is:

• Rate the site — from very low to very high
• Choose the relationship stage — not started, attempting to reach, under review, link agreement, rejected or inactive
• Indicate the acquisition method — organic, exchange, self submit or purchase
• Specify your ideal anchor text

Then hit save. So. Very. Easy.

Once you’ve done all the digging you can keep track of your links from the link management dashboard. Each time you load the dashboard, BuzzStream automatically checks to see if the link is still there and alerts you if it’s gone or altered. You can filter your link prospects by PageRank or by the team member links have been assigned to as well as a number of other advanced filters. By clicking on a specific link partner you can find out all the history that has gone on with that link, like how many times the site has been contacted. Coming soon is a backlink checker that will allow you to find all backlinks to your site from your link partner sites.

BuzzStream application link management dashboard

I talked to Kate Morris, director of client strategies at New Edge Media, who has been using BuzzStream for about a month now for a client’s link building campaign. For her, the beauty of BuzzStream is that “it’s integrated with a search marketer’s every day tasks.”

“It lets you keep track of all of the links that you would like to build and all of the links that you have built so that you’re not duplicating effort,” Kate said. “And you don’t have to keep some huge spreadsheet and go back and forth between Excel and your browser.”

For those looking to get the biggest bang from BuzzStream, take a lesson from Kate. She uses BuzzStream in tandem with a backlink tool. As she goes through the competitive reports, she “buzzmarks” all the pages she likes with the BuzzMarklet. I asked what suggestion she’d give to people just starting to use BuzzStream and the tip is as simple as the tool: Install the buzzmarker button into your browser toolbar and then start with one project. She said that once you start using BuzzStream it’s intuitive from there. After playing around with the tools for a couple days now, I’ll second that opinion.

If you’re attending PubCon South this week, attend the BuzzStream Party on Wednesday night. All attendees will receive an invite to the private beta. Talk about party favors!

If like me you won’t be attending the show, there’s still a chance to catch the BuzzStream action. Just let me know in the comments if you want in on the buzz and be sure to leave an email address for me to contact you. Once BuzzStream drops its training wheels, the tools will be on a subscription-based model. But in the meantime, the first 45 commenters will get a head start with free access to the private beta.

Related posts:

1. Link Building Fundamentals
2. How to achieve link building bliss
3. Real-World, Low-Risk, High-Reward Link Building Strategies
4. Blow Your Mind: Link Building Techniques
5. Link Development Tips and Tricks – SEM Synergy Extras

About the Author

Virginia Nussey - Media Writer - Virginia likes to take day trips, play Rock Band and dote on her tortoise, Hiccups. You can follow her on Twitter!