Linking Strategies, Ideas for Linking

Linking

As almost every SEO is aware, linking is one of the most effective ways in which to gain positions in the search engine results pages. This is unlikely to change although the value of link types will change as each new link niche becomes exploited and devalued. The most powerful links are those which are on-topic and point directly to a page on your site and these are type of links that you should be aiming to build-up. Reciprocal links, internal links and outbound links should also be used where appropriate.

If you are just starting your web site then it is difficult to get the first few links. Links should be sought slowly and steadily, otherwise penalty filters will be activated. Try and get links from high-PR websites first as these will age more rapidily and may prevent the effects of the sandbox.

Natural Links

The best and most reliable way to gain natural links is simply to write good content. In the long-term this will automatically create links. But most people don’t want that. They want to be top, NOW.

Link-Bait

This is similar to writing good content because people will want to link to it because it is good. Link-bait is highly-effective but highly-illusive. Its impact comes from its originality and creativity. It may just fall flat on its face especially if you are the second person to do it.

Create a Useful Resource

Help visitors to find the answer to find the answer to their particular problem. This will create a traffic source and people will link to it. Research existing website in your field out there and make your page better than the existing information by making it clearer or more simple to use.

Directories

Directories used to provide a good source of links. There are many free directories out there, however many of these links are devalued purely because the different categories have so many web sites in them and the explosion in paid directories. DIrectory of directories sites exist which can give information about different directories whether they are free, what PR the home page has. When linking to directories consider the other sites that are listed in the directory and whether you would like your website associated with the other sites in the category. Be careful with directory submission as there are many poor directories.

Some of the more useful directories are DMOZ which is a human edited directory. It is worthwhile submiting your site to this directory, however, it can take a long time for it to be considered and unless your site has a lot of high-quality content is likely to be rejected.

The Yahoo directory is a paid directory which costs $299 per year. This is still well respected. A number of  high-quality directories can be found. When using directories you should vary the anchor text in your title and description to make the entries look more natural. Local directories are also a source of relevant links if you provide a service or product.

Blog Comments

URLs left in blog comments used to be followed but now the default installation of the most common blog software, WordPress have their comments nofollowed by default. However, blog posts can still provide some traffic. Where you actually have something worthwhile to say, you should leave blog comments and as an aside, you can add your URL.

Article Marketing

Article Marketing- using articles, syndicated to other content websites with links back to your site.

Social Media

Social Media – this encompasses so called Web 2.0 websites where it is the users that generate the content. We are talking about Facebook, blogs to some extent; if you have a fairly extended readership, Twitter, etc, social bookmarking. Personally, I find these are of limited use but may be useful to launch websites, publicise competitions for websites and so on. Any comments on how Web 2.0 sites should be used would be much appreciated.

Find Links to your Competitors

You can use sites like Yahoo site explorer to get a list of websites that link to your competitors website. It may be possible for you to get a link from the linking website by emailing the owner.

Summary

In summary, any linking that will stand the test of time, should try and be as natural as possible. As well as gaining links, I think that it is also good to link out to sites that are relevant to your readers. This may not generate traffic but can help establish trust between the site and visitors.