SEO link building tips and techniques
From this point on, backlinks are the most important factor when it comes to search engines deciding where to rank your website. In the future that may change, but there is no doubt that backlinks will continue to be an important factor in the ranking process. Due to this fact, it is important that you constantly build links that lead to your website. In this post, I’ll talk about some effective ways to accomplish this, including Link Bait creation, blogging, press releases, and article marketing, just to name a few. But, I will not only tell you to use these techniques, I will also tell you how to use them correctly and effectively.
Before we begin, we want to make it clear that I am not concerned about whether a link has been tagged as “nofollow” or not. Research by some independent SEO firms has confirmed that while PageRank is not transferred through “nofollow” links, overall rankings are positively affected by “nofollow” links. I will broach this topic and discuss the studies in depth in a future blog, but in the meantime I want to make it clear that some of the link building tips I will discuss include building links from sites that “don’t follow” their outbound links and that I I think this is not a problem. I believe this because Google built its entire algorithm on the fact that backlinks were the most important ranking factor. I don’t think Google intended the “nofollow” tag to be used as widely as it is today and they would never allow millions of webmasters to screw up all the work they put into their algorithm by tagging every outbound link on their site as “unfollow.” Google. You may say that “nofollow” links have no impact on rankings, but I just don’t believe them based on studies I’ve seen and simple common sense. In our opinion, Google keeps saying that “nofollow” links have no effect on rankings to keep the intended goals of the “nofollow” tag, spammers, in check, but they actually allow “nofollow” links to take over. minus some positive effect on rankings.
Link building tip 1: blogging
Blogging is the easiest and most effective way to retrieve links. Blogs can not only lead to backlinks, but they are also a way to constantly add content to your website, and we all know that Google loves sites that consistently add quality content.
The key to retrieving links through blogging is to make sure you are writing on topics that are directly related to your business or field of expertise or that provide useful information for your readers. Once you’ve found your blogging niche, the next thing to do is create an RSS feed and submit both your blog URL and RSS feed to as many blog directories as you can find. I have clients who get hundreds of backlinks every month just by constantly blogging. I recommend that you blog at least once a month, but once a week is even better.
Link Building Tip 2: Press Releases
Press releases are a great way for companies to retrieve links to their sites. There are many free press release distribution sites to submit your releases to, but using a paid service like PRWeb can generate hundreds of backlinks from major news organizations with just one press release. Making press releases a regular part of your link building strategy can result in thousands of quality backlinks throughout the year.
Your press releases can be on any topic you want related to your business. Whether it’s an expansion, buying expensive new equipment, a fundraiser, or sponsoring a local event, a press release is a great way to spread the word about your business, as well as a way to Get valuable backlinks that will help your search engine rankings.
Link Building Tip 3: Article Marketing
Article marketing has been declared dead as a link building and SEO technique many times and is still alive and well. Rumors of his disappearance are once again floating around in cyberspace due to Google’s new algorithm update that was released on April 25. For my part, I won’t believe article marketing is dead until I see it with my own eyes. It is true that many article sites, such as Ezine Articles, suffered in rankings when Google’s Panda launched, but the effects were not fatal and Ezine has since taken steps to ensure that the articles published on its site are the best. quality. going forward.
I ran my own SEO test over the past two months and found that article marketing is still alive and well. I took a new site and wrote article after article and published them on Ezine, Articlebase, Articlecity and others. Articles were the only source of backlinks that I actively examined. The results have been amazing so far. Five of the six keyword phrases that I am currently optimizing are now on the first page of Google, Bing, and Yahoo! I can’t definitively prove that the only reason for these rankings is the articles and the links they contain, but the anecdotal evidence is pretty strong and most importantly, my site has not been penalized or dropped in rankings in the last two. months. Things could change and I will keep an eye on it and let you all know if they do, but as of now, article marketing is alive and well and is a great way to acquire links back to your website.
The key to good article marketing is creating informative, original and unique articles. Don’t just write an article and post it on 10 different article sites. Instead, write 10 different articles and post them on 10 different sites. Make sure to mix up the anchor text of your links as well.
If done correctly, article marketing can result in a ton of quality backlinks and higher rankings.
Link building tip 4: review directories and sites
Using business directories and review sites is not the most innovative link building strategy, but it is a proven way to get links back to your site. These backlinks aren’t the most valuable, but believe it or not, some of these directories actually get a decent amount of traffic and showing up on them can drive traffic to your site. Google takes into account the number of people who visit your site when deciding where to locate it. Google calculates that if many people visit your site and spend time on it, then your site must have valuable or interesting information and they will rank your site accordingly.
When listing your site in business directories, start with industry-specific directories, if they exist for your industry. A few years ago, you might have suggested that you submit your site with DMOZ, but now you wouldn’t even waste your time. DMOZ does not have the juice it used to have and there are rumors of corruption and “pay per list” schemes within the organization. I have submitted numerous sites over the years and only a few have been accepted even though I followed their guidelines exactly. After submitting your site to industry specific listings, submit your site to each and every local business directory in your area. After that, choose a few business directories a week and submit them to your site. As time goes by, you will find that you have gotten a lot of backlinks. Again, these are not the best type of backlinks, but they are not useless either and can drive traffic to your site.
There are a few review sites that I recommend creating a list for. Manta, Yelp and Angie’s List are where I always include my sites and those of my clients. Don’t be afraid of negative reviews. If you receive a negative review, the best thing to do is find out if it is legitimate. If it’s legitimate, then your best course of action would be to respond to the comment on the review site and try to minimize the damage. If it’s not legitimate, you can contact the site administrator and ask them to remove it. You will have to prove that it is an illegitimate complaint or it will not be removed from your site. Links from these sites can also generate traffic to your website.
Another benefit of listing your website on sites like Manta, Yelp, and Angie’s List is improving your Google Places listing. Google Places are ranked using a different algorithm than the one used to rank organic listings. According to independent research, the consensus is that the most influential determining factor of whether or not your local listing will appear in the results is mentions or reviews of your business on the web.
Link Building Tip 5: Create a “Link Bait”
“Link Bait” is the content on your website that makes people want to link to it on their own. There are many forms of link bait that you can choose to incorporate into your site. Below are some examples.
1. Well written, humorous and / or informative content.
This is a no-brainer. If you have well-written, informative, compelling, or funny content on your site, people will link to it.
2. Widgets / Tools
Creating fun and interactive tools and widgets is a great way to get people to link to your site. I helped a client of ours develop a BMI and calorie counter widget. That widget has generated a lot of inbound links since its inception.
3. Video
Many people and companies have a YouTube channel. YouTube is great, but why should you push people to your YouTube channel when you can have them watch your videos right on your site? By embedding your videos directly on your website, you will encourage people to link to them and thus get the links back.
conclusion
These are just five examples of link building techniques. There are others, but these five are the most effective. In the future I will write about other effective but less used link building techniques.
Keep in mind that link building can be a long and time consuming process. Patience is the key when it comes to link building. Don’t take the easy way out and get involved in some link building scheme or pay for links. These techniques will only harm your site in the long run.