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 131 (Legitimate) Link Building Strategies - Part 2
Become a Content Provider:
The bottom line is the easiest most obvious answer. It's also the toughest to do. Give people a reason to link to you. Think about it. Sites get linked to for a reason: usually if they provide the most information or the best resources on a particular topic. Is there any reason WHY people should link to your site? How is your content? Even if you are not a writer, ask the writers if you can use their stuff. The answer is usually yes. The writer gets a link from you. And you get great content. Now people will start linking to you. (Michael Campbell with Internet Marketing Secrets)
We all want to get on the top ranking sites listed in Google with few, if any outbound links. But what if they don't have a links program in place? Here's one way to get yourself linked from these choice sites. The top sites in a keyword category often don't have a links program, but they do have an e-zine or content library on their site. So... Write a 300-500 word article on a topic of real interest to their target market and submit it to the Webmaster, as well as to other e-zines reaching the same target audience. Include in your article sig file (or credit box) your site link and an enticing description. In other words, give the site owner something they can use that delivers real value to their constituents. By providing them with an asset, you're reaching them in a new way that goes beyond a simple link request. A couple of notes:
- Don't market in your article. Deliver real value instead.
- Before writing anything, subscribe to their e-zine first or go through their site content. Fill any gap you see - create something new that they don't already have on file
- Market in your sig file only – and be sure to include your full site URL! (Scott Smith with LinkagExpress)
Become an "expert" in your particular field and write related articles. Market those articles to online content providers. Be sure to include your byline at the end of your article, including your name, company name, and URL's, and make sure to use appropriate keyword-containing link text. Visit this URL for a list of places that accept articles:
http://www.coachmaria.com/articles/articlebanks.html (Robin Nobles of the Academy of Web Specialists and Search Engine Workshops)
I am hopeful that http://www.marketing-strategy.info/ is a good idea for link building – giving up "brand" in favor of white labeling. How does white labeling work? If you have a good product or content but a weak brand, then why not give up the brand altogether and concentrate on your content? Focus on why a human would follow the link that the other site has made for you – a compelling reason. That will usually come down to superior content. MarketLeap.com allows you to "brand" their stuff with your logo, but it involves a link to do it. (Dixon Jones with Receptional)
Write a testimonial for a product or service that you particularly like in your topic area. Many companies will put testimonials throughout their site, with links back to the company providing the testimonial. (Robin Nobles of the Academy of Web Specialists and Search Engine Workshops)
A very effective strategy to gain quality links as well as traffic is to license content from your site for free in exchange for a link back to you. For example, we encourage anyone to post individual articles or the entire MarketPosition newsletter on their own Web sites so long as they properly credit us for the material and link back to http://www.webposition.com/ or http://www.marketposition.com/. (Brent Winters of First Place Software)
If you're asking someone for a testimonial, tell the Webmaster to whom you're writing that you're willing to put a link to their site under their testimonial if they're willing to reciprocate. That way, everyone wins. Actually you win twice! First, because you have a good testimonial for your product/service and second, you've increased your link popularity -- all with one link! Make sure that the link under the testimonial opens in a new browser window so that you don't lose that visitor to the linked site. (Gil Sery with Search Engine Optimization Pros)
Create teaser articles. See if you can get the first third of the article listed on their site with a keyword rich text link leading back to your site where they can find the rest of the article. Be sure you get the bio with an additional link to your homepage as well. (Debra Paynter with Promotion Strategies)
Offer something for free (such as a downloadable report), and then ask for a link back to your site if the person finds value in the free item. This works because you're giving away something of value, and when people find it valuable, they're likely to reciprocate. (Mike Adams, the Email Doctor)
Spend time building valuable content on your site through different keyword windows. As you do, more and more people will begin linking to your site, as they're linking to your valuable content. (Robin Nobles of the Academy of Web Specialists and Search Engine Workshops)
Offer yourself as an expert. Contact editors and writers and let them know you are available to be used as a source in exchange for a link and always push for the bio. (Debra Paynter with Promotion Strategies)
Have an easy way for people to link back to an article or content if they like it. Example: an icon that generates the HTML code they can copy and insert into their own HTML pages. (Mike Adams, the Email Doctor)
A sure fire way to increase link popularity is to have a high quality newsletter or article section on your site. If you have good content on your site, people will want to link to you to provide their visitors useful information. You can take this approach a step further by offering your article or newsletter to other sites with the condition that they link back to your site. This is especially good when you can get a high quality site to use your linked story on their site. (Chris Churchill with NetMechanic)
Use emotional content to give people a reason to link to you. A site built on a single theme may often benefit from using content which employs:
- unique theme-related information which appeals to the emotions
- original and appropriate humor
- content of extremely useful nature (references materials)
- original cartoon work
- animation that appeals to the senses or tells a short story
- something with an uncommon emotional element
Web sites that employ emotional elements often find that other sites with a similar theme will automatically link up to them just because of that emotional appeal. (John Alexander with Beyond-SEO and Search Engine Workshops)
Leave your Links Everywhere!
Host your own affiliate program on your own server. Sure it takes more work: you have to set it up, administer it and pay out the affiliate checks. However, if you use an affiliate service, such as Commission Junction, the links point to the affiliate service and get redirected to your site. If you host your own affiliate program, all those affiliate links point directly to you. You can find affiliate programs, some of which may be free at The CGI Resource Index (http://cgi.resourceindex.com/Programs_and_Scripts/Perl/
Website_Promotion/Affiliate_Programs/). (Bill Gentry with Look Sharp Designs)
Look for linking opportunities within discussion lists related to your site's topic, but do so carefully. Try YahooGroups, which has thousands of topical discussion groups on almost any topic. I often send short posts to appropriate lists with links for my clients' sites, and if you do so properly, it is very effective. (Eric Ward, President, NetPOST and URLwire)
Anywhere you can leave your link, do it: in chat rooms, guest books, etc. You would be surprised at where your link turns up on search engines when you start doing this. And if the SE has found it, then it adds to your link popularity. (Don Hammond at DonOmite.com)
Now that Google indexes the content of newsgroups, if you post to related newsgroups, be sure to use a signature line with your link and appropriate link text. (Robin Nobles of the Academy of Web Specialists and Search Engine Workshops)
Ask a question (FAQ) and include a link. Post questions on forums that allow links. Post into the newsgroups. Include an e-mail tail tag. Put it on your T-shirt. Include it as a sticker with each shipped order. Tattoo it on your forehead. Tell your mom. Get a vanity license plate...etc etc etc :-) (Michael Campbell with Internet Marketing Secrets)
The number one way I've built link popularity is by offering a good information product or service, establishing a good conversion on the site, and then getting super affiliates. I've found that getting super affiliates multiplies the number of regular affiliates I'm able to get. All of this leads to hundreds of inbound links. It takes a very disciplined approach, but one I've found very effective. (Jon Keel with Improved Results)
The last remaining major free directory is The Netscape Open Directory. What most folks don't realize is that you can have multiple links to your site's content as long as that content is a match for the category you are submitting to. (Eric Ward, President, NetPOST and URLwire)
I'm surprised at how many people don't have their link in their signature line of their e-mail. (Don Hammond at DonOmite.com)
Be Creative and Visible!
One of our most successful methods for increasing link popularity is to offer "awards" (a gif that links back to our site). We create a strong incentive for the awardee to place the award on their site because the awardee perceives a benefit – he gets to tell the world that another site recognized his site as a quality site. One way we do this at NetMechanic is to offer "Star Performer" awards to Web sites that get 4 or more stars on their site when they run our validator tool over their site. This tells people visiting the awardee's site, that the award-winning site is a professional site run by individuals interested in quality assurance and providing a good visitor experience. Remember to make it easy for awardees to place the award gif on their site. Have the snippet of code available so all they have to do is cut and paste it into their Web page. Even if your site doesn't support an award, offer visitors a gif to put on their site. You'd be surprised how many people are willing to do something like this for a site they like. (Chris Churchill with NetMechanic)
Build a stand alone search engine or directory. Add your own sites, your clients' sites, your affiliate sites, your own sites that are affiliates for others, etc. It's a great way to legitimately build link popularity for all your sites, even if they are unrelated. Some programs will even allow you to supplement your results with ODP. You can find search engine and directory programs at The CGI Resource Index (http://cgi.resourceindex.com/Programs_and_Scripts/Perl/Link_
Indexing_Scripts/) and The PHP Resource Index (http://php.resourceindex.com/Complete_Scripts/Link_Management
/Directories and_Portals/). You can also build a stand-alone themed search engine or directory, with a link to your own site. (Bill Gentry with Look Sharp Designs)
If someone wants to interview you for an article in your related field, say YES immediately! That person will list your qualifications with a link back to your site as part of your introduction. Plus, you'll get added visibility and credibility for your Web site and online business. (Robin Nobles of the Academy of Web Specialists and Search Engine Workshops)
Although joining a banner exchange program would probably not improve your link popularity, you can improve your link popularity by starting your own banner exchange service. The concept of these services is that people sign up and agree to add special links to your Web site. Your server will then display banner ads on their pages. In exchange, you agree to automatically display a certain number of their banners on your own site and other Web sites within your banner exchange network. (Brent Winters of First Place Software)
Submit your site to the many awards sites on the Web. If you win, you get to place that award on the site and the award site usually links to your site from theirs as a bonus. (Judith Silver with Coollawyer.com)
Go to sites that offer "free" Web space and create a small (3 to 5 page) site on the same subject as your own site. Link it back to your site. Submit the new site to the SE's for indexing. It isn't an obvious self promotion and it should get you some credit for link relevance. Just make sure that the "free" site is one that the SE's will index. (Ron Gotcher with GotcherLaw.com) (Author's Note: And, make sure that the content on the new, free site is valuable and useful to both the engines and the search engine public.)
If you have your own server, or if you can work out a deal with your ISP for extra IP addresses, register URLs and point them to the extra IP addresses and do the same thing described above. URL registration has gotten so inexpensive these days that cost should not even be a consideration.(Ron Gotcher with GotcherLaw.com)
If you offer a contest or sweepstakes on your site, you can get free links to it from the many contest and sweepstakes directories on the Web. (Eric Ward, President, NetPOST and URLwire)
Offer a small discount to anyone who agrees to post a graphic pointing to your site on theirs. Anyone who goes through that link will get a discount off your goods or services, and you'll get added link popularity. (Robin Nobles of the Academy of Web Specialists and Search Engine Workshops)
I have found that it is hard to handle the "mechanics" of building link popularity pages. It is very time consuming to add the links to a client's site and follow up by sending an e-mail to the site that you would like a link back from. So I have developed a dynamic database link system whereby the client can add the link, logo, and description on their own without having to know any code. We also created for them the template e-mail that they can send to the other site's Webmaster. This saves the client money and enables them to take over this function instead of me having to handle this task. (Steve Wilson with Worldsites.network) (Author's Note: Make sure that the template e-mail is personalized for each recipient in some way.)
Host a Top Site. Top Sites can work for almost any topic. A Top Site is run by a cgi program. There are several ways to configure the program, but most rank by the amount of incoming traffic a site sends. Here's how it works. A site signs up for a Top Site. They add your link or button with their top site id in the link on their site. The link points to your Top Site via the cgi program. The referring site gets credit for the visitor. The more visitors that site sends, the better it ranks. An added benefit is that all the outgoing links from your Top Site go through your cgi-bin and are redirected to the site. So if you are worried about sharing too much PageRank (which I wouldn't worry about myself), you won't be sharing it by using a Top Site. You can find Top Site programs, some of which may be free at The PHP Resource Index (http://php.resourceindex.com/Complete_Scripts/Website_
Promotion/Top_Sites/) and The CGI Resource Index (http://cgi.resourceindex.com/Programs_and_Scripts/Perl/
Website_Promotion/Top_Sites/). You can also use the Top Site to generate some advertising revenue. Peruse other categories at the above sites to find advertising programs. (Bill Gentry with Look Sharp Designs)
Do you have a members-only Web site? Offer site owners free membership if they link to you. (Scott Smith with LinkagExpress)
Host your own Web Ring. All the links on every Web ring banner point to your site and redirect to member sites, your site if you host it. You can find Web Ring programs at The PHP Resource Index (http://php.resourceindex.com/Complete_Scripts/Website
_Promotion/Web_Rings/) and The CGI Resource Index (http://cgi.resourceindex.com/Programs_and_Scripts/Perl/
Website_Promotion/Web_Rings/). However, don't join a Web ring for link popularity purposes as all the links point to the ring server and redirect to member sites. However, they can be useful for building traffic. (Bill Gentry with Look Sharp Designs)
Do you have a discussion board? Invite other related sites to link to it. (Scott Smith with LinkagExpress)
If you give away something on your site, don't forget to try and get a listing from the sites that list sites that give stuff away, such as The Free Site (http://www.thefreesite.com/). (Bill Gentry with Look Sharp Designs)
Write a review of a Web site, then tell the site owner it's theirs to post in exchange for a link. (Scott Smith with LinkagExpress)
If an established and respected writer, like Robin Nobles, asks you for a contribution for an article he or she is writing, always say yes (if you have the knowledge)! Established writers get published in a lot of places that you can't. The writers will always give you credit and may give you a link in the article as well. (Bill Gentry with Look Sharp Designs)
A few suggestions to increase external link popularity to B2B sites - incorporate the requirement to link to your site in all contracts with: resellers, partners, subcontractors, vendors
Remember to ask them to put the link on a page that is accessible to search engine robots (not behind password control). It should appear on a page already showing up in results. (Barbara Coll with WebMama.com)
Submit technical papers to Web sites that are either interested in the subject or offer technical papers for a fee (like bitpipe.com). (Barbara Coll with WebMama.com)
Increase the amount of case study, technical studies (i.e. non-product or sell oriented) material on your Web site and point industry editors to it as fodder for their articles. (Barbara Coll with WebMama.com)
Apply to awards programs. For example: -> Windows & .NET Magazines Reader's Choice Awards. Any company who sells technology products is eligible to nominate their product(s) using the form at the link below. Top 100 Winners published in September, but deadline for nominations is April 5th. Entry is free. http://www.winnetmag.com/mediakit/editorial/Readers-Choice
-Form.doc (Barbara Coll with WebMama.com)
Make sure that all employee speaking engagements at tradeshows, etc. are listed in the online brochure for the show and ask for a live link back to your site. (Barbara Coll with WebMama.com)
Submit your site to all online industry and general business directories you can find. Consider paying for a few. For example, www.business.com, www.allbusiness.com, www.yellowpages.com, www.dmoz.org. (Barbara Coll with WebMama.com)
Implement small money (or large if you have it) buys on Pay-per-click engines like Overture.com and FindWhat.com. (Barbara Coll with WebMama.com)
Pay to have your home page spidered by search engine robots for search databases like Inktomi (through www.positiontech.com) and Lycos. Make sure that page is well optimized before you start. (Barbara Coll with WebMama.com)
Why not hire a summer student to go looking for places to submit your site and to clean up (verify accuracy) of current links. To find all sites currently pointing to your site, go to Google and enter link:www.domainname.com. Keep in mind that 'link farms,' a whole page of only links, do nothing to increase your link popularity. (Barbara Coll with WebMama.com)
Off the Net Ideas:
Make News! Draft a brief press release about something newsworthy at your company. It can be the announcement of a new location, landing a big new contract, speaking at a prestigious conference, or even just announcing a new hire. Then fax or e-mail your press release to all relevant newspapers, to the attention of the Business Editor. You can do a free search at http://www.gebbieinc.com/ for the contact information of the newspapers in your region and/or industry. Most newspapers today have a companion Web site and your article will often end up online, adding another new link to your site each time a press release is published. (Susan J. O'Neil with @Web Site Publicity, Inc.)
Write letters to the editor of your local newspaper(s). Just make sure you aren't saying nasty controversial things! Many newspapers are mirrored online nowadays. (Don Hammond at DonOmite.com)
If you belong to professional organizations, your local Chamber of Commerce, etc., see if they will give you a link. (Bill Gentry with Look Sharp Designs)
Contact your local radio and television stations and offer your expert knowledge as a source. This may get you a link on their site. If you get the gig -- get the link. (Debra Paynter with Promotion Strategies)
Set aside a certain amount of money to use to join associations within your industry. Make sure they have a good site with great PR and that they list links to their members sites. See if they accept articles, teaser articles, or are interested in using you as a source in exchange for additional links. (Debra Paynter with Promotion Strategies)
Put your URL on your stationary, business cards, off-the-Web advertising, invoices, statements, print publications, T-shirts, promotional items, anywhere you can think of. The more times that people see your URL or business name, the better chance you'll have at their remembering and recognizing your site and eventually visiting. (Robin Nobles of the Academy of Web Specialists and Search Engine Workshops)
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This article was written and compiled by Robin Nobles, Eric Ward, and John Alexander. Their bios are found at the end of the article. They own the copyright of the article itself, but the individual contributors retain the copyright of their own individual tips.
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