I've been noticing that Star Wars is one topic that does not get enough coverage on SEOmoz. So my first YOUmoz post explores the Star Wars Galactic Empire aboard CONSTELLATIONS, an experimental visual search engine currently in public beta demo at Exalead that shows strong potential for strategic link building.

One issue I have with most link building tools is that you usually get a big long list of sites, sometimes with fluffy metrics to make you feel good (and let you show off to your Imperial Commander).  You’ve probably seen something similar to this before:  

The data is good; but it doesn’t do a very good job of showing relationships. I am a visual person and prefer seeing the connections between sites. As Yoda would say,

“you must unlearn what you have learned.”

So, instead of getting all wrapped up in the awesomeness of metrics that can lead to analysis paralysis, let’s launch CONSTELLATIONS into the “Star Wars” universe:

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What I love about CONSTELLATIONS, even in its current embryonic form:  

• Mind map visual of websites
• Circle color appears to indicate topical relationship
• Circle size appears to indicate popularity
• Extremely interactive (zoom, pan, hover)
• List format of sites is available, too (okay I’ve been trained to look at lists)
• Visual of site before I visit
• Cool Refine options

Here is a shot of those cool features or you can explore:

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Given that CONSTELLATIONS is a beta product with a public demo it understandably has hitches, one of which I found to be particularly counter-productive. Clicking on See pages that link to this site and See pages that link to this page do not work:  

“What a piece of junk!”  

If I manually edit the query, though, it appears to work for links to the site:   

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“The Force is strong with this one.”

With the way I use CONSTELLATIONS currently (looking for site relationships); this is a minor issue that is solved with a bookmarklet. Nevertheless, CONSTELLATIONS helps me get outside the box of my own thinking when building SEO campaigns.  

Creativity is the key to success with this tool. Here are some unconventional ways in which I've found great sites to target in my marketing efforts:  

• Search by city name -- the city (or space system) you are in, visiting, or see in your analytics data
• Search your hobby -- whatever interests or likely interests of at least one other person in your field/niche. How many SEO’s like random Star Wars references inserted into user generated content? 
• Search for an everyday object you use at work -- keyboard, mouse, white board, telephone. All would fit for me because I use them daily.  
• Search your company name -- I know this seems logical, but I am surprised by how few people remember to do this.  
• Search for something old -- Grab a fond memory from childhood and search for something you once loved (maybe you miss your GI Joe General Vehicle).  

So there you have it! Our maiden voyage aboard CONSTELLATIONS is complete, as is my first YOUmoz post. Please share constructive criticism, praise and where you plan on navigating CONSTELLATIONS via the comments.  

“May the Force be with you.”