Link Building Techniques

Your content is fully optimized. What Next?

Search engines judge a webpage largely based on who links to it. The Internet is like one big election, the more people that link (vote) to your webpage, the more a search engine will trust this particular page's content.

At the same time it's not just about the number of links. it's all about quality. It is much better to have a handful of links from reputable, established websites than 10,000 links from a bunch of junk-pile web directories.

It is also important that the anchor text pointing back at your webpage contains your main keyword phrase. Make sure you use anchor text variations when establishing links. If a search engine see's 500 links all with the same anchor text, these links may be discounted.

Sadly, building links can be a tiresome and never ending task. However, if you have created a great website/product, you will always have a slow trickle of new websites linking to yours. Until that momentum builds, here are a bunch of techniques used to build links:

  1. Contact Friends, Colleagues, Past Employers etc.

    One of the easiest ways to start building links is to talk to people you already know. Scratch their back with a reciprocal link, dinner or you can even guilt trip them about that time you babysat their dog when they were on vacation. You'll be surprised how many links you can get this way.

  2. Analyze Your Current Backlinks

    Look at who is already linking to you. Contact them and suggest they link to new, related sections of your website.

  3. Analyze Your Competitor's Backlinks

    Look at who is linking to your competition. Try to establish links in the same way your competitor has already succeeded.

  4. Submit to General Directories

    • Yahoo Directory - Yahoo charges $299 per year to be in their directory. Add your site if this fits into your budget.
    • Dmoz Directory - This is an open content directory where each site submission is manually reviewed before be accepted. This means that it could take months or years for your site to be included and often your site may never make it in. Still worth it to try though!
    • Best of the Web - Once again, this is a directory that charges for a submission. They charge $149.99/year.
    • Business.com - Here is yet another pay to be included directory. They charge $299 for a listing.

  5. Submit to Industry Related Directories

    Submit your pages to directories directly related to your industry. Searching Google for something like "real estate directory" will bring up a big list of directories related to that industry. Almost every industry has a variety of related directories.

  6. Submit to Local Directories

    Do you service a local market? Submitting your website to local business directories or local business organizations like your chamber of commerce are a great way to get more exposure and build backlinks.

  7. Create New, High Quality Website Content

    The best but slowest form of link building is to build unique, compelling content. If people like what you offer they will naturally link to your webpages. Starting a blog is the easiest way to get this ball rolling.

  8. Write / Syndicate Articles

    Write articles and syndicate them using a service like content crooner.

  9. Give Something Away

    People love free stuff. You could give away a free PDF guide, a set of free tools etc., as long as this doesn't undermine your core business model. People link to websites that give things away for free.

  10. Buy Links

    We do not recommend buying links but let's face it, many websites purchase or rent links. As long as the link looks natural and doesn't have any link farm or spam indicators, search engines will have a tough time determining you have purchased the link in question.

  11. Swap Links

    Swapping links with another website is the oldest form of link building. A form that has been abused to the point that most website owners will not even respond to your request these days. Nonetheless it is still worth a try.

  12. Give Testimonials

    Find related products/services and give testimonials. A lot of the time these websites will link to your website alongside your quote.

  13. Post to Forums

    Forums are a great way to interact with your peers. Linking to your website within posts and your signature is a quick way to get a handful of quick links. It is important not to spam a forum. The negative press will far outweigh any kind of linking benefit.

  14. Comment on Blogs

    Commenting on Blogs will not directly affect your rankings. However, the people reading your comments will. If you take the time to write insightful comments, other readers may visit and link to your website.

  15. Install a Share Widget

    Integrating a share widget with your website allows your visitors to easily recommend your pages to friends and associates. Using a service like Share This enables sharing with all the major social networks/bookmarking sites.

  16. Participate in Social Networks