Improving page ranking with link building is not difficult...it just requires a little effort and creativity.

The beauty of link building is that it is a heavily weighted factor in improving search engine page ranking, and it really doesn’t require as much skill or planning as with SEO content writing. All there is to do is to get somebody to put your link on their page!

Of course, that is easier said than done. And like most techniques to increase your page ranking, it requires some creativity and ambition. However, here are five of the easier ways to get sites to add your link and get you noticed!

Link Building Tip #1: Ask!

That’s right, just ask somebody to post your link—and offer to reciprocate. This give-and-take approach is perhaps the easiest way to build links.
Whom to ask? Start with your clients. You likely know other businesses and Website owners. Educate them on the benefits of link building and see how likely they will be to cooperate!

• Warning: Be sure that you don’t link to a link farm, which is a page that’s sole purpose is to be real estate for all kinds of links. Not only might this hurt your credibility, but this can actually decrease your page ranking.

Link Building Tip #2: Spread the News!

A well-written news article or press release that contains your link can get picked up by any number of sites, including, of course, local newspapers, related trade publications, etc.

Along with publishing news on your Website, building a database of media contacts to send your news is another step in using this technique to build links.

• Warning: Beware of free or low-cost services that offer to distribute your news. There’s a reason why the more expensive newswires and PR agencies cost more!

Link Building #3: Social Networking!

Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are among dozens of social networking utilities and websites than can be part of your link building strategy.

In case it’s not yet obvious, any place or way that encourages or invites others to share something you wrote (and contains your URL) is a valuable way to build links. Social networking is no exception.

If you aren’t a regular user of Twitter or Facebook or the dozens of other popular social networking sites and utilities, perhaps it’s time to create some accounts. Along with being a great way to network, it’s also quite fun!

• Warning: Social networking is precisely that: social! For example, don’t exclusively send tweets (instant messages on Twitter) that only contain links to your site, blogs and other pages. Become an active and interesting member of the community and watch your popularity soar!

Link Building Tip #4: Blog!

Write a successful blog that contains your link, and it’s likely that the link will end up on another page that republished your blog.

Naturally, the trick (for lack of a better word) is to write a blog that people will not only visit, but read and share. Unfortunately, there are no easy tricks to getting solid, consistent traffic. Just write honest, relevant and keyword-rich copy, much like you would for regular SEO Website content.

• Warning: When done properly, a blog combines the best benefits of SEO and social networking. But when done incorrectly (e.g., overloaded keyword density, irrelevant content, obviously writing for link building and page ranking purposes), don’t expect much. Like with most things, you’ll get what you put into it.

Link Building Tip #5: Be Creative!

Most likely, you are an online content writer or Website designer, which means that you are also probably very creative. Use that creativity to develop your own link building techniques!

• Warning: Don’t let your creativity get the best of you. As illustrated in the previous examples, what might seem like a creative solution (e.g., link farms) could turn out to be anything but a solution. Be creative, but be smart.

Derek Rudnak | Communications Specialist | AVID Design

Tweet This Post

This entry was posted on Monday, February 2nd, 2009 at 8:21 am and is filed under Best Practices, Link Building Strategies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.