Establishing Back links
If you have been focusing on the aims of SEO 101 then you will find that people will already be linking to you because your content is so good. However, sometimes to get back links you need back links. To get started it is often helpful to have a game plan in mind.
Before you go out seeking links make sure that your site structure is well established and that it is likely to change very little. A change of link structure will cause established back links to become dead links. Dead links inside your site are lost opportunities. So make sure your structure is happy.
Additionally make sure that the URL format is chosen and then stick with it. Ideally you want to choose easy URLs for users and search engines to read. Some people go so far as to write entire scripts just dedicated to generating content on URLs written entirely for the engines while others know that there is a fine line between making your site easy to index and spamming the search engines with dirty tricks.
So now you are sure you are ready to seek links back to your site - it is time to get those links. There are some places you should consider and some that you should not. This table breaks down the options for you.
| Free
Directories SEE ALSO: Globally Local's Directory Review | YES | Directories are a good place to get listed. Some have live human visitors while others exist only for the engines. However, they are good places to get our link. Some directories ask you to provide a link back - on the whole I sip over these and move on as there are just so many directories out there. |
| Paid Directories | NO | Generally you will find that there are better places to spend your money than for getting a few more links. |
| Paid Links | NO | Paid links are not a good way to start. They are a powerful, if risky, tool best left to advanced users. The penalty of getting called out on paid links by Google can be more expensive than all the links you paid for. |
| Commenting | YES | By joining in the conversation you draw attention to yourself. Look for "dofollow" bloggers that cover your subject or niche and try to make useful contributions in the comments section. That way real people will follow the link you leave (in the designated field) and so will search engines. |
| Article Marketing | 50/50 | Writing 500 to 800 word articles in which your links are embedded can be a good way to get new back links although the primary source of these links will be the article site itself. The downside is that you get a degree of duplicated content issue and this can result in a decrease in the value of your links. |
| Begging For or Asking For or Requesting Links | NO | Once you are well established you will find that the requests start coming your way and in all shapes and sizes often automated (how impersonal) and you will then understand that you make no friends this way. |
| Link Exchanges | Carefully | Some people will put your link on a "links page" and others will use javascript to show the link. Both of these are utterly worthless aside from the one or two hits you might get to start with. Be sure to be clear that the links must be HTML (for you both) and in a page normally associated with links (like the side bar). Point your link at the most top level page that has a link to you in it. Additionally be sure to only swap links with sites that are within your topic range. Your new readers will want to know what you are playing at if you send them from a site about banannas to a page on computer building. Finally - check that the site has not been "gray bared" by Google (delisted). You want to avoid sites that are considered "bad nighbourhood" at all costs. Never link to them. |
| Review Exchanges | Carefully | These can be even better than link swaps when done right. The basic idea is simple both sites write and publish a review of the other. Be sure to agree how many links minimum are required and if an even tone or a free hand are desired. Negotiate a little but bloggers will quickly give up if you fuss for too long. Once more be sure to keep this within your topic area or niche. The readers of your site all about fruit cake will not understand why you want to review the free shipping of laptops offer by unknown retailer number nine. Not only do off topic entries dilute your keyword focus but readers are quickly put off too. Unless your site is a review site then reviews should take up no more than 20% of the regular fresh content. That amounts to four other good quality items before another review comes around. |
| Free For All Links | NO | These will hurt you badly. They are a waste of time as most search engines consider them spam. |
| Social Media | YES * | Submit only your best and highest quality items to sites like stumbleupon, digg, reddit, delicous and so forth. |