HOW YOUR LINKS ARE LIKE THE MARX BROTHERS

If you have Turner Classic Movies on your cable package, you have probably seen at least one Marx Brothers movie in your life. I hope it’s more. But in their heyday, the Marxes -- Groucho, Chico, Harpo and Zeppo – were extremely popular vaudeville stars who made their way into movies – some great, some average and a stinker or two.

The other day, I was watching Duck Soup – one of their best –and it suddenly hit me how easily you can compare the Marx Brothers’ on-camera personalities to your link building strategy . Check it out:

Groucho links: If you know any Marx Brother at all, it’s Groucho – the wisecracking, loud, “look at me” type that everybody can’t get enough of. Groucho can be funny at your expense, and you’ll come back for more, because you can’t wait to see what he’s going to say next, and you can’t wait to tell everybody else about it. Clearly, Groucho is link bait. A little stunning, very off-the-wall, of-the-moment and not afraid to tick a few people off. And you’ll send the link to everybody you know, if they don’t link to it first.

Chico links: By default, Chico had the second largest amount of lines in the movies (because Harpo didn’t talk), and was frequently seen as a smooth talker – usually trying to get into somebody’s good graces by charming the heck out of them, or just budging in until he got what he wanted. Chico is the perfect example of how most people attract one-way links to their site – explain why you’re so special and keep at it until they bite .


Harpo links: Harpo, as I mentioned, never said anything on camera. (He could talk in real life.) His effectiveness relied upon physical comedy. As a result, his silence was an asset. His jokes and actions were perfect filler that linked dialogue and even scenes together. Since he didn’t speak, Harpo could pop up at any second as needed support. Which is exactly what links from directories and press releases provide for your link building strategy -- quiet, dependable link support to your site.

Zeppo links: The fourth Marx Brother, Zeppo, left the group after the first five films because, while he was apparently very funny in person, his older brothers were Groucho, Chico and Harpo.
However, as many a film critic has said, Zeppo in his plainness added a certain something to the party that was missing after he left. He was pure bottom support, which usually meant appearing as a lowly assistant to big brother Groucho. He wrote messages for him. He explained Groucho to others. He told everyone whatever he could about Groucho – here he comes, there he goes, etc. In link building terminologies, Zeppo was a silo. Silo Marx, spreading the word as widely and unassumingly as possible.

So which Marx Brothers dominate your link building strategy? Are you the link bait-spewing Groucho, the patient yet persistent Chico, the quiet yet dependable Harpo or the supportive, don’t-mind-me, just-doin’-my-job Zeppo? Hopefully you have a bit of all of them. (And if you can come up with an analogy for Gummo Marx, the brother who never made a movie, I’m all ears.)
And now, hello, I must be going.