Link Building Techniques

Listed below are several methods to use to generate inbound links. Many of these techniques are for finding highly related websites for website/blogger outreach.

I’d like to emphasize to be very careful regarding link structure, so it:
Adds value to the web, looks natural, and looks “social” to a search engine. For example, using social bookmarking to point to an article, that references a blog, that ultimately points to the Target URL. This type of natural/social link structure has become even more important since the Google Panda Algorithm update.

There are many factors to analyze when building links. Some important ones to consider are the inbound link profile of the website you contact, and their social activity metrics.

Below are link building methods that include: paid subscriptions, free tools, and just some SEO experience.

Targeted searching:
Solo Seo.
SEOmoz Link Finder.
Advanced search queries in Google: allintitle:”relevant keyword” resources site:.org

Link Aquisition tools:
SEOmoz Link Finder. (same as above).
Link Research Tools. (Paid subscription).
Ontolo.

Competitor Backlink Trolling:
Open Site Explorer. (Paid subscription).
Advanced search queries on Google/Yahoo: link:relatedsite.com -site:relatedsite.com “sponsors“
Raven Backlink Explorer. (Paid subscription).
Competitive Link Finder. (Paid subscription).

Viral Concept creation:

• Contests.
• Badges.
• Awards.
• Videos w/HTML wrapper.
• Article writing.

Visualizing the connectivity between websites:
TouchGraph shows the connectivity between websites in a visual fashion.

Their service pulls in data from Google’s database of related sites, delivering an interactive visual map of interconnected websites or search terms.

Managing the Link building process.
As you approach target sites to request links, here’s a list of the most basic data you’ll need to manage (Raven is great for this).
1) The name of the target site.
2) The site’s URL, as well as the specific URL of the page on their site where you are hoping to get a link.
3) The contact method (email, online form, phone).
4) Name and email address of decision maker for the target site (hint: usually NOT the webmaster).
5) The date you contact that person.
6) The date he or she responds.
7 ) A copy of the sent link request.
8 ) The response. Some will say yes, some will say no, others will not reply at all, others will want a link back from you, some may want money for links, some will be out of town and take weeks to reply.).
9) The status of the process.
10) Verifying that the link is in place.
11) Checking the site periodically for the link. They can vanish, usually by accident.

Link Request Letter:
Make it short and sweet. Be upfront and completely transparent. Identify the page on their site, where you would like a link. Explain why you think it makes sense…for them.

Traditional link building methods:

• Website Outreach.
• Press release optimization.
• Web directories submissions (Use quality directories like www.botw.org , dir.yahoo, dmoz, etc).
• Article submission sites.(Write an article with links in the article and/or in the resource section to your site. )
• Social bookmarking sites.
• Widget optimization.
• Email marketing.
• Discussion forum links.
• Cached comment links from high PageRank dofollow blogs.

Link building is relationship building. It takes a lot of time, diligence, and SEO smarts. You want to get the biggest bang for your bucks (and time). So, before going hog wild building links, I’d recommend doing an seo audit and taking a hard look at your website to make sure it’s optimized.

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