I will be the first to say that most SEO software is garbage. A complete waste of money. Most of what you want for SEO software is 100% free. This amazing find is no different.

Link Tree is a free web based link analysis software program which compares the links to other websites to your own. This is not a boring overly dressed up link tool (like what Marketleap offers), this tool is super duper cool. What does Link Tree Do?

Link tree looks for topical hubs which are not yet linking to your site.

How does Link Tree Work?

Enter the URLs of up to seven of your competitors and then your own URL at the bottom. Any page that links to at least two of your competitors which does not link to your site will display on the results.

What does that do for my site?

It shows you where some potential easy link opportunities are. If you have done a good job concentrating on creating quality content, then getting the links should be a snap.

Give Link Tree a try!

Creative ways to use Link Tree

• If one of your competitors moves websites you can tell the people who were linking to them that the site is no longer there. You can also state that you have a wonderful resource they may want to link to. People are more likely to help you after you have helped them.

• Find where link popularity is comming from if you have a couple competitors who are building bogus link popularity in kahoots. Perhaps you can also rent some quality inbound links to level the playing field.
• Find quality resources you did not know about by viewing the pages that link to many resources in your field.
• You can also set one of the test URLs to an extremely popular topical website, which will aid you in viewing the hub links which go into any one competitor at a time.
• You can set one of the URLs to a really popular site. It will act as an overly generic catch all to make it easier to find hidden smaller hubs in your field. After you have completed your task you can then switch to another generic link to find more micro hubs.

I originally found Link Tree from Larry Chase.

I also use OptiLink, but if you can not afford the $224 fee then Link Tree is probably the best link software on the web.

OFF TOPIC General Internet Marketing

I got some sort of cold and I keep sneezing.

In case you do not know who Seth Godin is, he is an internet marketer and book author with a cult following. Godin's books are best known for emulating the very concepts they cover.

• Unleashing the Ideavirus is the most downloaded ebook ever.

• Purple Cow had a remarkable distribution chanel by coming in purple milk cartons.
• It is no surprise then that his most upcomming book, titled Free Prize Inside is to include special packaging (most likely with a free prize inside).

Free Prize Inside is set to ship in 10 weeks and I have already ordered mine.

I have seen Seth when he came to Rhode Island and have also went to his office to hang out for the day. If you look closely in the picture in this branding article, those are my hands holing the Yorkie bar while I am standing next to Seth.

Seth is one of the best speakers and marketing thinkers I have met. Here is Seth's post about Free Prize Inside.

Finally "FindWhat said shareholders of privately-held Espotting would get 7 million shares of FindWhat stock and about $20 million in cash. FindWhat said the total deal values Espotting at about $170 million based on last Friday's closing stock prices"
(from Rueters) Back in June FindWhat & Espotting crafted a deal of similar value. The problem with the old deal is that some of Espotting's books looked weak and FindWhat has seen its stock rise considerably. The original deal was 8.1 million shares of FindWhat and $27 million in cash.

On a side note, it looks as if someone will be buying $200 in beer at the next Pub Conference.

"FindWhat also reported fourth-quarter net income of $3.5 million, or 15 cents per share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $2.7 million, or 14 cents per share.

For 2004, the company offered guidance for revenue of $95 million, with net income of 60 cents per share. Analysts surveyed by Reuters Research, a unit of Reuters Group, had expected revenue of $96.6 million and earnings per share of 63 cents."
(source News.com)

List of major world wide pay per click search engines. Pay Per Click

I recommend starting out using the pay per click search engines with the greatest distribution first as they have faster feedback loops, higher traffic quality, and greater distribution.

Google AdWords (1) - powers Google, Ask Jeeves, AOL, IWON, Earthlink and many other sites

Overture (2) appears on Yahoo, MSN InfoSpace, AltaVista, AllTheWeb, and many other sites. Owned by Yahoo.

---------

Pay per click search engines usually drive most of their traffic based on their partner network. Pay per click ads are mixed in with meta search engines and usually exist at the top of search results on major search engines. (personal rankings)
Enhance Interactive (6)
Espotting (European) powers many European portals which are not powered by Overture or AdWords
Findology - smaller PPC which allows you to select which partners your ads will appear on and lets you target your ads geographically. Primarily focused on lead generation, retail, and adult traffic markets. (8)
FindWhat (3)
Google AdWords (1) - powers Google, Ask Jeeves, AOL, IWON, Earthlink and many other sites
Kanoodle (5) - Kanoodle has some really cool features and a good contextual advertising program (especially for financial type websites).
LookSmart - while actually being a directory, LookSmart has a decent sized distribution network. I have been told many complaints about their poor customer service though and when I tried their engine their traffic quality was crap. Recommend avoiding (4)
Overture (2) appears on Yahoo, MSN InfoSpace, AltaVista, AllTheWeb, and many other sites. Owned by Yahoo.
Search123 (7)

When people talk about hubs and authorities, these are some of the most authoritative sites in the SEO industry. Search Engine Watch - considered the bible of search engine information. Danny Sullivan keeps up with all angles of search. He provides an excellent free newsletter (SearchDay) and also hosts Search Engine Strategies.

Search Engine Guide - probably considered the #2 site in search, Robert Cloude collects articles from various authors which provide an in depth review of what is going on in the search world.

Pandia - a bit more of an old school website, Pandia still provides many quality articles about SEO and the search engine industry.

Search Marketing Info - this is my article and general information website. While not as powerful as the above sites yet, I look to keep improving throughout the next couple years to increase the usability and quality of my content to where the site is equal parts beef and cake.

Black Hat SEO - nobody has made a worst practice SEO guide until I created this evil being. It will probably never garner amazing support, but the site is fun and I have been told it has helped many webmasters.