Your All-In-One Guide to Linking Building Strategies, Tips and Secrets!
- SEO |
Hi Warriors - Hope you like it 
It's your first website and you have no plans to settle for anything less than success. So how do you make that happen? How do I attract visitors and get to the front page of Google?
How does an hour a day sound?
Let's get you started, because it starts here - and as I said, you've got an hour a day so I don't want to take it all up.
Link building is one of the most effective strategies to expand your visitor base, boost Google rankings, and position your website in all corners of net.
The goal of a link building campaign is to acquire links from other websites that are linking to yours, known as outbound links.
1. Build a Blog - Building a blog and posting articles is a great way to build traffic. Through article submission, which I'll talk about a bit later, your blog can attract a lot of new visitors that might become regulars.
2. Blog Commenting - You don't need a blog for this technique - one that top link building specialists commonly swear by. Find a blog that interests you, and post genuine comments on the authors content. The majority of blogs have a text box that allows you to put in your website address - that will become a link attached to your comment. So make your comments interesting and you'll suddenly have a network of blogs with links to your website.
3. Forum Posting - Forums are excellent at defining niches, providing target customers and they allow you to build an "expert status" if you take the time to answer questions carefully. Put a link to your website in your forum signature, and with every new post you present an oppourtunity to boost your link campaign. While this is generally temporary, because forum posts expire, the goal is to attract qualified traffic that will "want" to link back. People link to useful information - so achieve that expert status and get link building with your niche.
4. Asking For Linkbacks - It's as simple as asking sometimes. Find sites you like and ask for a link back to your site, possibly in exchange for a link on your website to theirs. Ask 100 sites, if even 5 of them link back to you then it was a successful campaign.
5. Social Networking - Facebook, Digg, Twitter, they are all social networks that can provide you with linkbacks and visitors. Get familiar with these services and how they can be used for you - and don't forget to post links to your website in all of your profiles. This isn't a brand new technique, and a lot of the giant networks have used a "no follow" tag so that your linkbacks aren't effective. However, they should all be used because you can draw a lot of visitors back, and many of them will provide you will effective links - or "do follow" links. Here is a list of 27 Do-Follow Social Bookmarking Sites.
6. Press Releases - Press releases are an excellent way to gain exposure, and to get links to your website. Publish press releases regularly about you company or any interesting news you think you can draw readers with. Create links to your website within the press release, and before you know it Google will index the press release, and you have qualified linkbacks to your website.
7. Direct Submission - Submit your url in friendly directories. There are many services and sites built around link submissions or url submissions - and they would love you to join. Many of these websites won't require you to sign up, and they are just a search in Google away.
8. Guest Submissions - If you have a specialization or expertise then there is likely a blog to match. Make some connections and look into writing guest articles and submit them to your blog authors. A good article will not only give you that expert status but gives you the ability to direct traffic to your site, and the author might be more than willing to post a permanent link to your website.
You can spend countless hours on the steps above but I've got a couple secrets to make it more efficient - to pack that punch and make people WANT to link to you. It's viral, it's about creating something that spreads and will continue to spread.
What the heck are you talking about? I've tried before and I don't really know what I could do to make it spread like wildfire!
Ask yourself one question, did you offer something that your traffic would need more than once? That's the key. If not, here are three ways to make your website one that people WANT to link to their websites:
First, Offer Quality Content
It's a matter of quantity versus quality - and quality is king. Take time when writing and designing your website so that it looks resourceful, so that it's easy to navigate, and fill it with refined content that you didn't just throw together. Put some thought into your work and your readers will too.
Second, Offer Tools and Resources
Take a look at your bookmarked websites right now - how many of them are tools, or references, or guides, or specific resources? Build a tool section, a resource base or something that people will regularly use. Everyone loves a good resource, provide something that's comprehensive for people to remember it, bookmark it, and most importantly share it.
Finally, Make Dates with Your Traffic
You don't need to actually ask them out on a date, but you should set some dates. Give a reason, a time and a place (your website) for your visitors to be there. This could be as simple as the revealing of a "big secret" or as exciting as a giveaway or contest. Make it enticing and people will link to your website just for the event.
Now you know how to build links, how to get traffic and how to get your site closer to that top position on the first page of Google. The hardest part for me, is limiting myself to only an hour a day - because it's fun. That's right fun; and it's a bit like a game where there is even a way to keep score.
You can put all this time in and assume you're getting great link backs - but before your notebook becomes slurred with tally marks, let me introduce you to a couple easy ways to check your backlinks.
You can always check in Google, by searching the phrase "link:YourDomainHere.com", but this only gives you a snapshot and there are more complete resources. My recent favourite is an all-in-one checker here at urlmetrix - check url popularity. I love it because you get more than backlinks, you find out Google PageRank, and everything from twitter tweets to technorati reactions.
Now go and spend the rest of your hour link building, and come back tomorrow to remind yourself of the easy way to link build.
Good luck Warriors.
Some Related Articles from My Blog:
Only Fools Don't Use Google Tools - Exploring the Best of the Google Tools
Your Guide to Google AdWords Keyword Tool - Defining Your Market Online
Niche Marketing: And Why You Need To Know How To Use It To Your Benefit
The Blog Bloodlines Pt.1 - The Top 5 Articles on Blog Marketing
It's your first website and you have no plans to settle for anything less than success. So how do you make that happen? How do I attract visitors and get to the front page of Google?
How does an hour a day sound?
Let's get you started, because it starts here - and as I said, you've got an hour a day so I don't want to take it all up.
Link building is one of the most effective strategies to expand your visitor base, boost Google rankings, and position your website in all corners of net.
The goal of a link building campaign is to acquire links from other websites that are linking to yours, known as outbound links.
The Top 8 Strategies for Effective Link Building
1. Build a Blog - Building a blog and posting articles is a great way to build traffic. Through article submission, which I'll talk about a bit later, your blog can attract a lot of new visitors that might become regulars.
2. Blog Commenting - You don't need a blog for this technique - one that top link building specialists commonly swear by. Find a blog that interests you, and post genuine comments on the authors content. The majority of blogs have a text box that allows you to put in your website address - that will become a link attached to your comment. So make your comments interesting and you'll suddenly have a network of blogs with links to your website.
3. Forum Posting - Forums are excellent at defining niches, providing target customers and they allow you to build an "expert status" if you take the time to answer questions carefully. Put a link to your website in your forum signature, and with every new post you present an oppourtunity to boost your link campaign. While this is generally temporary, because forum posts expire, the goal is to attract qualified traffic that will "want" to link back. People link to useful information - so achieve that expert status and get link building with your niche.
4. Asking For Linkbacks - It's as simple as asking sometimes. Find sites you like and ask for a link back to your site, possibly in exchange for a link on your website to theirs. Ask 100 sites, if even 5 of them link back to you then it was a successful campaign.
5. Social Networking - Facebook, Digg, Twitter, they are all social networks that can provide you with linkbacks and visitors. Get familiar with these services and how they can be used for you - and don't forget to post links to your website in all of your profiles. This isn't a brand new technique, and a lot of the giant networks have used a "no follow" tag so that your linkbacks aren't effective. However, they should all be used because you can draw a lot of visitors back, and many of them will provide you will effective links - or "do follow" links. Here is a list of 27 Do-Follow Social Bookmarking Sites.
6. Press Releases - Press releases are an excellent way to gain exposure, and to get links to your website. Publish press releases regularly about you company or any interesting news you think you can draw readers with. Create links to your website within the press release, and before you know it Google will index the press release, and you have qualified linkbacks to your website.
7. Direct Submission - Submit your url in friendly directories. There are many services and sites built around link submissions or url submissions - and they would love you to join. Many of these websites won't require you to sign up, and they are just a search in Google away.
8. Guest Submissions - If you have a specialization or expertise then there is likely a blog to match. Make some connections and look into writing guest articles and submit them to your blog authors. A good article will not only give you that expert status but gives you the ability to direct traffic to your site, and the author might be more than willing to post a permanent link to your website.
Follow those 7 steps, and spend an hour or two a day on improving your links. The difference is incredible and regularly spending just an hour or two will help you increase traffic, boost rankings, increase sales, or whatever your goal might be.
The Secrets to Link Building Success
You can spend countless hours on the steps above but I've got a couple secrets to make it more efficient - to pack that punch and make people WANT to link to you. It's viral, it's about creating something that spreads and will continue to spread.
What the heck are you talking about? I've tried before and I don't really know what I could do to make it spread like wildfire!
Ask yourself one question, did you offer something that your traffic would need more than once? That's the key. If not, here are three ways to make your website one that people WANT to link to their websites:
First, Offer Quality Content
It's a matter of quantity versus quality - and quality is king. Take time when writing and designing your website so that it looks resourceful, so that it's easy to navigate, and fill it with refined content that you didn't just throw together. Put some thought into your work and your readers will too.
Second, Offer Tools and Resources
Take a look at your bookmarked websites right now - how many of them are tools, or references, or guides, or specific resources? Build a tool section, a resource base or something that people will regularly use. Everyone loves a good resource, provide something that's comprehensive for people to remember it, bookmark it, and most importantly share it.
Finally, Make Dates with Your Traffic
You don't need to actually ask them out on a date, but you should set some dates. Give a reason, a time and a place (your website) for your visitors to be there. This could be as simple as the revealing of a "big secret" or as exciting as a giveaway or contest. Make it enticing and people will link to your website just for the event.
Now you know how to build links, how to get traffic and how to get your site closer to that top position on the first page of Google. The hardest part for me, is limiting myself to only an hour a day - because it's fun. That's right fun; and it's a bit like a game where there is even a way to keep score.
You can put all this time in and assume you're getting great link backs - but before your notebook becomes slurred with tally marks, let me introduce you to a couple easy ways to check your backlinks.
You can always check in Google, by searching the phrase "link:YourDomainHere.com", but this only gives you a snapshot and there are more complete resources. My recent favourite is an all-in-one checker here at urlmetrix - check url popularity. I love it because you get more than backlinks, you find out Google PageRank, and everything from twitter tweets to technorati reactions.
Now go and spend the rest of your hour link building, and come back tomorrow to remind yourself of the easy way to link build.
Good luck Warriors.
Some Related Articles from My Blog:
Only Fools Don't Use Google Tools - Exploring the Best of the Google Tools
Your Guide to Google AdWords Keyword Tool - Defining Your Market Online
Niche Marketing: And Why You Need To Know How To Use It To Your Benefit
The Blog Bloodlines Pt.1 - The Top 5 Articles on Blog Marketing
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