Techniques for Building Backlinks

Along with keyword optimization, link building is a very important part of making your website optimized for search engines. You can’t neglect link building and expect your search engine rankings to go up. The more links back to your site from other sites, the better your site will rank. Here are some ways to make your site extra link-worthy.

Ask to exchange links. You would be surprised how many people don’t think to do this. Find other sites that have some relation to your site’s content and that have good content themselves. Then ask if they’d like to give you a link in exchange for you giving them a link. Most are happy to do so because turning down back links is like asking to have a lower search engine ranking.
Use website directories to your advantage. There are free directories and paid ones, but both types can be very SEO friendly. Submitting your website to directories is like listing them in the yellow pages for the 21st century.

Article marketing is another great way to get back links. Write (or have someone write) articles for sites like ezinearticles.com, work.com, and goarticles.com. Make sure that each article has links to your website. Once your articles are accepted and published, voila! Back links!

Write stuff that people want to read. There is no way around it: great content is essential to having a successful website. If people think you have good content, even if they’re not the least bit interested in whatever product you’re selling they’ll link to it. Good content is the way to get real, organic back links that you didn’t have to go out and ask for. But you should do your part, too by using social bookmarking sites to get the word out that you have good content.

Forum participation is good, but you have to be careful. If a discussion group or forum only thinks you’re there to flog your site, you won’t be very welcome. Some sites allow you to put a link to your site in your “signature” and some don’t. Check the FAQs, and if you don’t find the answer, ask someone on the forum. That’s the polite thing to do even if they’re very open to people linking to their site.

There are many other things you can do to build links. Comment on blogs, use social bookmarking sites, write articles, and keep on doing it. Link building isn’t the sort of thing that you do once and forget about. It has to be an ongoing process, just like maintaining and updating your site. If you’re always adding fresh back links, your site will enjoy better search engine ranking.