If you want to earn trust with the almighty Google and increase your search engine presence, you simply must start building high quality back links to your website. A quality inbound link is like an endorsement from another website. It shows that your site offers something of value to users.
Of course, link building isn’t a walk in the park. In fact, it can often be a pain in the you-know-what. That’s why I’ve come up with a list of 10 easy ways you can jumpstart your link building campaign.
1. Guest post on other blogs—No matter what industry you’re in, there’s bound to be at least a few solid guest blogging opportunities out there for you. Find blogs in your niche, and simply ask the author if they’d be interested in allowing you to submit a guest post. Ideally, you should have an idea already in mind for your guest post so you can pitch it to the author. If the author accepts your request, you’ll get a link back to your blog once you submit your guest post. Take advantage of this opportunity by using keyword-rich anchor text on the back link.
2. Submit to blog carnivals—A blog carnival is basically an online magazine that gathers the best blog posts in a particular niche and publishes them. Submit your content to a blog carnival in your niche, and if it’s picked up, you’ll get a link back to your blog.
3. Offer testimonials for products you love—Many companies include testimonials on the sidebar of their website or in a specific “Testimonials” section. If there is a product or service you truly believe in, submit a testimonial to the company. Include your name and a link back to your website.
4. Get listed in niche directories—Virtually every industry imaginable has online directories that connect consumers to the businesses they’re looking for. For example, if you’re a web designer, the internet is full of web designer directories that allow you to list your info and a link back to your website.
5. Don’t ignore article marketing—Sure, it’s one of the oldest internet marketing tricks in the book, but article marketing is still highly effective for building links and increasing your online presence. Check out Jennifer’s recent post on advanced article marketing strategies.
6. Run a contest—Hosting a contest with a prize people care about (this is the important part) is an easy way to get a flurry of inbound links. Make sure to promote your contest on your blog, Twitter/other social networking profiles, your email list, press release websites, and anywhere else you can think of. If all goes well, other bloggers and publications will link to your contest site.
7. Link out to others—It might seem counterintuitive at first, but let me explain. Every time you link out to content on another blog, the blogger is alerted of the incoming link. As a result, this makes them aware of your blog. More times than not, they’ll come check out your post to see what you’re saying about them. This establishes a relationship with the blogger and increases the chances of them linking back to you in the future.
8. Create a useful tool—Useful tools and widgets are great tools for building links and going viral. As a copywriter, one of my favorite tools is the We-We Calculator. It allows you to check your copy to determine if it’s customer focused or self-centered. Creating a similarly useful tool for your niche will boost your back links in a hurry.
9. Comment on other blogs—While not the most effective method of link building, blog commenting is still a useful practice. Aside from the back links (assuming the blog offers do-follow), commenting on blogs helps you network with other bloggers and their readers. Just make sure your comments actually contribute to the conversation.
10. Find mentions of your name without links—Search Google for mentions of your company’s name or your website. You might find that someone has referenced you without including a link to your website. If this is the case, shoot them an email asking to include a back link.
Which link building tips would you add to this list?