In today’s online and connected world, linking between sites on the net is fundamental (in fact, it’s what makes the world wide web a, well, web!).
This relationship is so crucial that it determines which sites we think are important and which are not. It’s kind of like how we choose who we interact and network with – simply being out there is not enough. For example, if you were looking to hire someone for your business, you wouldn’t just go out and choose random people on the street; you would ask for recommendations from people you knew first. Or if you do find a good candidate, you’d check up on references.
When we choose to link to a particular site or a site chooses to link to us, it creates a sort of credibility. This is why one of the reasons search engines (particularly Google) use quality links to determine ranking, i.e., who gets to be on top of the results page of any given search.
So one of the keys to getting good results on search engines (so that your customers can find you) is to get good links back to your site. However, if your site is relatively new, you may think this is a daunting task. After all, who would link to a relatively unknown site? Well, time is definitely important, but so is effort when it comes to link building. Spending just a few minutes each day building up your network can be beneficial in the long run. So get started today with these tips:
Submit your site to web directories and search engines
It may take a few days for Google’s bots to crawl your site, so be proactive and submit your URL to popular (and even the smaller) search engines. There are also web directories, similar to the Yellow Pages, where you can post your site under different categories.
Promote your site to contacts and networks (without spamming!)
Let people on your Facebook page, Twitter account, etc., know about your new site. Social networking has its advantages when promoting your site, and part of it is the “personal” touch it adds. Don’t forget to post your URL (as a link) on your social networking profiles as well.
Get social! (bookmarking, that is)
If you have interesting or important information, post your site on places like Digg or Propeller. Bookmarking on web pages such as Delicious and Furl is also a good strategy to build up your links when you’re starting to promote your site.
Get social! (part II)
Get out there (online) and interact with people on message boards and blogs. Joining related message boards and offering your expertise is a good way to promote yourself and your site (while creating links to your site!) whether you’re directing someone for information or something as simple as placing a link on your forum signature.
Visit and read bloggers in your industry and comment on their posts – many ask you to leave a URL or you may be able to link back directly on the comment form. Remember, the important part of this tip is that you give quality information – do not just place links for the sake of linking as this is considered spamming.
Send out a press release
A press release is no longer something that only big corporations or Hollywood actors send out to the media. With sites like PR Leap and PRWeb, you can easily submit a press release (with links) and have the information viewed by many people. The sites may also distribute it to other online news outlets who may be interested in what your site has to say.
Most importantly, build a good site!
This is probably the most important “tip” of all. Your site should be informative, dynamic and should have fresh content for people to link to. Have quality information for people to read and optimize your site so it’s easier for people to find. Don’t discount good grammar – misspellings and bad language can turn off people.
Of course, many experts out there offer other link building schemes and methods, and many of them are effective for some sites, while others are not. However, watch out for those who offer “black hat” methods, which are basically questionable or unethical ways to create links. These may provide favorable rankings in the short-term, but could give cause for your site to be banned from search engines in the longer term. Remember to use only legitimate means – these may take a while and you will need to put in a lot of effort, but the rewards you reap will be significant.
Have any questions about these, other linking tips or perhaps have a comment? We’d love to hear from you, so send us a message!
Tags: Blogging, Boost Online Traffic, Facebook, Google Analytics, Online Marketing Strategy, Online PR Management, Press Release, Self Promotion, SEO, Social Bookmarking, Twitter
