Since we have been talking a lot about obtaining quality in-pointing links lately, it seems prudent to mention Ryan Deiss’ Authority Codes report. It’s a freebie – a tantalizing tidbit Ryan gives away in exchange for an e-mail address so he can promote his various products to you.
In this case, however, it’s actually a pretty decent trade off.
The Authority Codes is a visually appealing, super-slick, 21-page PDF document that shows you how to use the SEO Quake FireFox plugin along with 12 customized search queries (these are the “authority codes” Ryan is talking about) that will help you find credible blogs where you can post a comment and obtain an in-pointing link.
What’s so “authoritative” about these potential links?
Well, in addition to searching opportunities within your typical “.com” extension, you’ll also be looking for “.gov”, “.edu”, and “.org” opportunities as well. The thinking goes like this…
A link from a “.gov”, “.edu”, and “.org” extension carries more weight from Google, as it is more likely to be credible. Ryan goes a little over the top (in my opinion anyway) on the whole “value” thing. He puts it this way…
“In fact, most experts agree that Google multiplies their value by as much as 5X over a regular page with the same PR.”
Unfortunately, this statement is completely unsupported or substantiated by anything remotely resembling evidence. I know of no expert who claims this – since Google and Google only knows the value of any in-pointing link, it would be foolish to do so – as there is simply no way to conclusively prove this assertion.
Not to diminish the value of any decent in-pointing link, but I recently argued that it makes absolutely ZERO sense for Google to arbitrarily assign a ton of value to a link just because it happens to sit on a certain extension (in the aforementioned article I provide an example of a post full of link spam residing on a .edu domain. Google has no doubt programmed its spider to search for spam flags, which I highly doubt are deactivated on these respected extensions).
I also take issue with Ryan’s Multiplier Chart, which is used to demonstrate the “fact” that a single link from a PR 5 web page is “worth” 555 links from PR 1 pages. Again I have to ask; where is this data coming from? Because once again, unless it comes from Google’s Webmaster Guidelines pages (and I assure you it does not), it’s mere speculation.
There is nothing present in this document to substantiate any of the more “enthusiastic” assertions.
For the most part though, it’s a pretty solid document; common sense strategies on making value-added posts in addition to using the codes to unearth decent (and genuine) link-building opportunities.
Bottom line – download and use the Authority Codes.
It’s worthwhile.
One caveat…
Ryan is what I would call an “aggressive marketer.” Now, I realize he has GIVEN me something valuable with the Authority Codes and in return, I am willing to check out his marketing messages.
Occasionally.
Not every freakin’ day.
I unsubscribed from his list within a week. The good news is that he completely honors unsubscribe requests and I have never received another e-mail from him. My recommendation therefore is this – check out the Authority Codes and see what else Ryan has to offer. If you get tired of being marketed to, unsubscribe.
After all, that’s what I did. 
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