Link Building

Links can come in many forms from different sources so finding links is relatively easy if you know where to look. Most webmasters don’t understand that in order to obtain useful links it’s important to keep the websites linking to you within a relevant industry. If you are currently in the Hospitality industry it would seem strange to Search Engines that you are obtaining links from say, a Taxidermist?
Free SEO Training has put together a list of commonly found links below and the best way to obtain them;

Friends, Suppliers and colleagues

This is an ideal opportunity to obtain links and a great place to start. If you have existing relationships with webmasters of relevant websites try and arrange an agreement to get a link, make sure their website is ethical. When obtaining links from the above always make sure they are portraying your company/website in the best light for instance, if your friend has a website about growing marijuana it would be worthwhile to loose the link opportunity as quality outweighs quantity in the eyes of the Search Engines!

Directory Submissions

Directory links are a great way to obtain links, directories such as Dmoz offer great link juice however the acceptance time of such a website may take up to 12 months, if not longer. One of the main draw backs to directory submissions is they are not that valuable in most cases and your details are likely to be sold to a third party so you may get excessive phone calls from services you did not initially sign up for. I would like to say this is rare but unfortunately most of the directories small and large make revenue this way.

Local Listings

Local Directories can offer some link juice and referral traffic, local listings including websites like Qype offer a valuable place to have your business reviewed, placed in front of thousands and suitable links. Google places is another segment of local listings to sign up for as this may make you stronger within the SERPS (Search Engine Result Pages) when targeting a local audience. When you sign up to directories such as these always make sure to make your address as broad as possible as if you live in a remote village the chances of someone searching in that area is very slim, try to reduce you address down to a county as it will have more appeal and exposure.

Blog Commenting

Blog commenting is generally the most common methods of backlinking using Black Hat SEO The automated software can easily bypass the capture codes embedded on the forum comment section. If you follow a blog the likelihood is of a Search Engine awarding link juice for such a comment is slim however if you can comment in such a way were you have taken the time to read the post there is a good chance that link will provide referral traffic. Always try and avoid spamming links as this may be tempting however you will regret it.

Forum Posting

If you are an active user within an online forum or used to be why not rejoin? most forums allow what called a “Forum Signature” this allows users to see any comment you may want to paste on all your forum posts. Most forum webmasters allow the capabilities of adding links to your forum signature. Forum signature links do carry some link juice if on an ethical forum however if your post is suitable, relevant and well researched there is a very strong chance the readers of your reply will want to understand more about you by clicking on your links. Referral traffic from forums can be far greater than the quality of the links so take some time to reply accordingly.

Guest Blogging

Guest Blogging is really straightforward, it’s the process of a content writer creating content for someone’s blog in return for a link back to their website, The owner of the blog will have unique, fresh and relevant content whilst the content writer will be accredited for his work and a link to his website. If you have the chance of creating content in the form of guest blogging, it may be worth reading our guide on generating content.

Social Networking

Social Networking can boost your traffic massively in such a short period of time whilst providing very small amounts of link juice. Around 80% of the general public trust peer recommendations so if you can start a trend within social media that ripple will soon turn into a tidal wave, the average user on Facebook has over 100 friends (If you have less, don’t worry, I will be your friend) So as soon as someone hits the like, share or repost button you are appealing to all of their friends. It is only now larger brands are starting to see the big picture with social media and market power it has if harnessed correctly.

Social Bookmarking

Social Bookmarking was initially designed to help users access their favorite websites from anywhere remotely and has now grown into one of the largest marketing outlets on the internet. Website such as Digg can provide webmasters with streams of consistent traffic targeted at their market, Social bookmarking websites also give users the ability to share what websites they have found useful which is great if that includes your website. Unfortunately Social bookmarking is currently being used for spam mainly however if used correctly and you are proactive about marketing your website, social bookmarking can work for your business/website.

Link Bait

Link Bait is offering a service, product or function to another webmaster in return for a link to their website a good example of this is directories as some of them require a link to their website in order to proceed with your submission. Link bait is not Black Hat SEO although Search Engines do prefer you to offer webmasters a useful service instead of blackmailing them. You will also find some web developers may offer webmasters code or segments of a function which has a backlink encrypted into the code.