5 SEO Link Building Tips

[derekjay]

The single most important element of search engine optimization (SEO) is building the number of high quality, relevant links pointing back to your website (these are affectionately referred to as “backlinks”). But, as I’m sure you already know, link building is no easy task. Here are five easy link building tips which I hope will help you along.

Link Building Tip #1 – Get Active in Your Community

I’m not talking about joining the local country club here (although that would be fun...), but rather about joining forums that are relevant to your niche. You want to find a forum (or forums) that is active and well ranked, and place your link in your “signature” section. This way, whenever you contribute to the forum (i.e. say something), you’ll be building backlinks. It’s important that you contribute to these forums with your knowledge and not just abuse them for links. You’ll get banned quicker than you can say “backlink” if you do this. “Contribute” is the keyword here.

Link Building Tip #2 – Suss Out Your Competition

Write down the website addresses of the top five results for your desired keyword. Then, using Google, type in “link:website” (replace website with the actual website address). This will show you where each site is getting their links from (well, most of them in any case) and hopefully spark some ideas for your site.

Link Building Tip #3 – Get Writing...

Article syndication is one of the most popular methods used to build links. You simply write a short article (400 – 600 words) and publish it on as many article directories as possible. Each directory will allow you to place your link in the “resource box”, thus growing your number of backlinks. You might be wondering “But what do I write about?”. The answer is simple – write about your area of expertise. So if you’re a handyman, write about some basic DIY tasks that people can carry out. Write how-to’s, 101’s and the like – Just give it some thought, it’s well worth it...

Link Building Tip #4 – Submit To Directories

Wherever there is an industry, you’ll find directories, especially on the internet. Do a search for your keyword and the word “directory”. Register on as many of them as possible – it’s a free link every time, and you might even find organic traffic (people) finding you on these directories (that’s what they’re there for, after all).

Link Building Tip #5 – Get Blogging

My final tip is to get blogging, or at least commenting on other people’s blogs. Look for blogs that are relevant to your keywords or topic and post constructive comments on them. Each comment will earn you a free link, plus potential direct traffic if the blog is popular and well followed. A word of warning though – make sure that the blogs don’t use “nofollow” tags, as this will render your link null and void in the eyes of the search engines.

And there you have it! Five easy link building tips that you can apply today. Best off all – they’re all absolutely free... Remember, link building is an ongoing exercise, and the more you make it a habit, the easier it will become. The only cost is your time and effort.