Link building, although one of the most difficult aspects to SEO, is one of the most vital pieces to success. Link building consists of getting other sites to place your link on their website in exchange for you placing their link on yours. What makes link building difficult is finding quality websites to exchange links with you, because poor websites have no benefits to trading links with. Here are some methods you can use to help build links.
• Submitting to Free Directories
There are hundreds of free directories. Submitting your site to them will help you marginally in improving your rankings because they are usually too general, although they will help get your site indexed. When submitting to free directories, try to include keyphrases in the title of your link, and vary the description text in different submissions. To find free directories, search for “list of free directories” in Google.
• Submitting to Pay Directories
Major pay directories such as Yahoo! and Business.com, are sometimes worth submitting to just for the traffic they bring directly, regardless of the improvement they may bring to your rankings. There is evidence that search engines give reputable directories special consideration (Google’s patent sometimes mentions Yahoo’s directory).
Try to choose industry-related sites when paying for a link. Look at the specific page your site would be listed on, and see if it has a high Page Rank.
• Search for Related Sites
There are a few methods to search for related sites. Make general queries in a search engine to bring up directories or resources that are generally related to your site’s topic, and contact the webmaster to request a link. Write a letter about what you like about their site, why you want to be listed, why they should list you, and how they might link to you. Search for terms related to your site’s industry in conjunction with terms like “add site,” “submit resource,” “add link,” etc. This will bring up sites that have link pages.
• Exchanging Links
When exchanging links, be careful who you link to; stay away from link farms and bad neighborhoods. Unfocused free-for-all sites are not good places to link to. Generally, it is not a good idea to link to sites that require a reciprocal link. Try to find sites that provide useful information. Make sure the site is relevant, and make sure your link won’t be buried. As a show of good faith always add a link to your site first, then write a request for a reciprocal link.
• Submit your site name directly to the major search engines
Once you’ve determined that your site isn't listed on a search engine, you’ll want to submit it top that engine directly .. The good news is that this part is easy; all you have to do is go to their submission pages and follow the instructions.
Here are the direct links:
MSN Search
Yahoo! Search (log in is required, but it's free)
Google Search
• Posting in Forums
Some forums will allow a “signature” to be listed in each one of your posts. A signature is a link to your site. Some forums require a certain number of posts before a signature will be listed. Some forums will allow a signature, but it is made invisible to search engines. Find related forums, create a user in forums that appear to allow signatures, and make posts.
• The Best Way
If your site truly has unique content or is considered authoritative, other sites will often link to it naturally. This is the best way to get links.
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