SEO Link Building Techniques : Part I

This concludes week seven.  My internship is more than half over, and there is still so much to learn.  With one more month left, there are parts of working at the office that I already miss.  The cafeteria, for one, is pretty incredible.  Home made meat, chicken and fish with all kinds of yummy, organic vegetable dishes (sometimes they use vegetables from their organic garden out back).  Also made-to-order sandwiches, burgers, salad bar, and the menu changes daily.

During the time surrounding lunch, the three elements that have been drilled into me since I started learning SEO have been:

1. Keywords
2. Copy
3. Links

Link building can be exhausting.  Many SEOs might choose to outsource their link building, and others might choose to get an intern to do it for them. *ahem*  Link building can be time consuming, but it is a necessary evil for good, lasting SEO.  I have found countless linking opportunities through some of the tasks I have completed so far, but I was at somewhat of a loss as to what to do with the lists.

This week Everett gave me a rather long list of SEO link building techniques.  It’s a great resource for people who are beginning to learn SEO, and who are interested in building their own links.  In an attempt to sort out and better understand this SEO secret, I decided to share this information with you.

For the sake of organization, I have broken the list into three parts.  I’ve named these parts:

• Content
• Mechanic
• Social

There are too many to cover in just one post, so this part will cover how to build links with content and mechanically.  If you don’t quite know what I mean by mechanical links, please read on.  It should begin to make sense.  Please take a look at this list, and feel free to make additions or corrections in the comments.

Interlink Your Own Content

This is the easiest way to build links, because you have complete control over what you are linking to.  Google does mention that it frowns on this…somewhat.

…some webmasters engage in link exchange schemes and build partner pages exclusively for the sake of cross-linking, disregarding the quality of the links, the sources, and the long-term impact it will have on their sites.

This shouldn’t be a problem if you are linking to content that is relevant or somehow meaningful to your users.

Create good content

You could write a billion posts about what defines good content, and how to write it.  If you’ve never heard the term “content is king” before, then you are even more green then I am.  For as sick of hearing that clichéd meme, its message can’t be argued.  I have heard SEO get a lot of bad press from Designers and Devs who complain about a bunch of useless crap cluttering up their SERPs.  I can’t blame them either.  If everyone involved in internet publishing accepted a high content standard, the Web would truly be a better place.  In relation to SEO itself; good content will attract links.  Also, good on-page optimization can help to catch long-tail search ranking.  It also helps to employ other link building tactics to get your page out of the gate.

Buy Links

As this may not be the preferred method of link building, it is normal, and it can work.  It’s best to stay away from networks such as TextLinkAds, or anyone who outsources their link building overseas.  Finding your own linking opportunities is best, since you know your industry and audience best.

Look for industry blogs written by hobbyist bloggers who have posts that are topical or relevant to yours. Tell the author that you have content that would be helpful to their readers, and that you are happy to pay them for adding it to their site.

You may also choose to sponsor an organization, conference, charity event etc.  and get a link from the organizer or event’s web site that way.

Submit to Directories

There are countless directories that you can submit your site to. Most of these web directories are totally worthless. Directories that are human edited like Best of the Web or DMOZ, and also directories who have strict guidelines for submission are a good bet. Smaller directories and even some second or third tier directories can work as well. Be on the lookout for directories that focus on certain topics.

Distribute Press Releases

If you have something worth writing a press release for, and you have the budget for it, optimized press releases are great. Companies like PRWeb can be a great resource for this.

That’s it for installment one of ways to build links.  If there is anything else that I missed, please let me know. The next part will cover more social link building strategies. These are my favorite because I am all over social media and networking like flies in garbage.

Finally, I have added a couple of affiliates to the ads section at the top of the sidebar.  Currently SEO Book isn’t accepting any new members, so that link is pretty worthless, and I am waiting on approval from SEOMoz.  I would like some suggestions for good, trustworthy affiliate programs for SEO professionals.  I am grateful for your suggestions.

Please feel free to leave me your thoughts, and suggestions.  I’ve removed the nofollow tag from the comment author’s Web site link to hopefully encourage commenting.  All comments are strictly moderated.

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