When it comes to SEO links are the Holy Grail, it’s the one thing we’re all after and we can’t get enough of them. For anyone new to SEO link building can seem incredibly daunting and even old hats are always going to be on the look out for some new links so where do you start?

Articles

Since the latest round up Google updates (Panda/Farmer etc) article sites and article spinning in general has taken a serious knock in terms of credibility in Google’s eyes. One of the main focuses of Google is to return useful and genuinely relevant content and let’s be honest, us SEO’s do sometimes have a slight tendency to produce content just for the sake of it. In my personal opinion articles that are well spun and well written in the first place still have a bit of value. They’re not ideal for basing the whole link building campaign on but they can be a good way to start pointing a few quick links at your site.

Guest blogs

Blogging is becoming more and more popular and they are a great way to get some high quality on topic links pointing back to your site. With networks out there like My Blog Guest you can find a network of blog owners looking for content for their blogs in return for a link. You can also use Google operators to search for blogs in your industry that accept guest posts by using terms like ‘guest blogs’ or ‘write for us’ in your search. It’s also worth contacting blogs that don’t necessarily advertise the fact they’ll accept guest posts but if you give them the offer they might still be happy to take your content.

Directories

There are millions of directories out there and about ten million services that offer to submit your site to them for a nominal fee. A lot of directories have lost power in recent algorithm updates so the best way to use these is to do some research first. Find the directories that still have power; it’s not just the home page that needs to have power, check the category or sub category pages your link is going to appear on. If you’ve got the budget its worth spending the extra cash to get featured listings so your link is one of the first ones crawled.

Competitions & Special Offers

If you can offer something for free running a competition can also be a great way to get some links back to your site. Not only do competitions act as natural link bait and have the potential to send a lot of traffic through to your site but you can also submit them to specific competition sites and deal sites. You could also try offering a special discount just for higher education alumni members which often have a .edu site which can offer a lot of power. This method will involve picking up the phone and making it very clear you’re not selling anything, just offering a special discount exclusive for their members. Just a handful of .edu links can give any SEO link building campaign a tremendous boost.

Clients & suppliers

One area that often gets overlooked by SEO’s is asking for the obvious links. If your business has any customers or suppliers why not ask them for a link? You could offer to provide them with a review of their products for their website in return for a link or if you offer a good service you might have customers who are happy to link back to your from their site because they’re proud to be associated with you. As we’re getting more and more tech savvy you’re more likely to be able to speak to someone who understands the value of a link, even if they ask for a link in return, a reciprocal link in this instant is better than no link at all.

Link bait

This is the one that Google likes to advocate, build it and they will come. If you produce good quality content then it will gather natural links. Of course this ‘sit back and hope for the best’ attitude isn’t the most proactive of link building techniques and you might not have anything very interesting you can say about your products or services but if you’ve got a blog this can be a great chance to get some link worthy content out there.

There you have six ways you can get out there are start getting some links pointing back to your site, some will be more effective than others but this is certainly a good place to start.

Jessica is an SEO for Schofields who sell house insurance in Spain