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How to Fire up
Your Link Building Mojo
By Jeremy Morgan
You know you need inbound links to your site to succeed in SEO. What
you may not know is, you don't need to spend a dime to get them. In fact,
I would advise you not to purchase links.
The recent Google shakeup is all about paid links. Stop paying for links
now! Google is now "punishing" websites for having paid links,
because they feel it's cheating the algorithm. You might be upset by this,
but they are doing it to improve the quality of their results. Here is
how you can take advantage of it.
Google is moving towards algorithms that favor sites that are "naturally"
linked to. What is "natural" linking? These are links that a
webmaster puts up because he or she wanted to, not because they were paid
to. They saw something they liked, and put a link to it. This means all
those shady SEOs who were buying links up by the hundreds can't cheat
good sites out of the rankings anymore. So how you do get natural links?
Focus on Your Subject
There is a saying in marketing, if you market to everyone, you are marketing
to no one. Maintain your focus, and keep your content within your niche.
Don't try to spread yourself too thin.
I personally have been guilty of this sin in the past. At one time JeremyMorgan.com
had SEO articles, PHP scripts, Ford Mustang News and photoshop tutorials,
and pictures of my family and locations back home. Needless to say I didn't
really dominate any of those niches. Focus your efforts, and try to stay
on topic.
Give Them Something to Link to
Once you find your focus, provide content that others in your niche want
to link to. It's really that simple. Think to yourself, "are people
going to want to link to this?". As much as I think my speculations
and opinions on industry trends are great, the reality is most people
link to articles I write that actually tell you how to do something. If
you really want to build links, give them something helpful or really
interesting to link to.
Even pages that you cannot easily monetize. The more links you get, the
better.
Join the Community
In 2008, they have a community for almost anything. Get involved in those
communities, sign up for forums and comment on posts. Become an authority.
Just by being helpful to others and bringing information to a community,
people will link to your site out of respect, knowing that their audience
will appreciate the link. Be honest, helpful, and maintain your integrity
on the boards. Instead of making fun of that newbie, help them out.
Look for Places with High Quality Links
Don't be afraid to ask to exchange links with others who might benefit
from your service. Links from sites like your local library or community-centric
pages go a long ways. Even your employer may put up a link (be careful
not to mess that one up!).
Get Deep Links
Deep links are very important. Try to get links pointing towards inner
pages of your site rather than the front page. With enough of these types
of links, you can dominate some of the serps related to that topic, as
well as build your overall quality.
Write Articles
Chances are, you're reading this article on somewhere other than JeremyMorgan.com
or Webfoot Central. That's because I submit articles all over the internet.
Not only do you help build backlinks, but you contribute to your community,
and make a name for yourself. Don't write spammy articles, or try to advertise
too hard. Make something useful that others will want as content on their
own site.
Issue Press Releases
I can't really comment on this one too much, because I've never done
it, but for some sites it's a very useful tool for getting inbound links,
and good publicity. Make sure you have something going on that's worth
talking about!
Blog, Blog, Blog
Every site needs a blog. Even if your site is primarily about selling
widgets, have a widget news related blog. Individual articles will get
people linking to them, and will keep your site fresh and add content,
which google and other search engines love.
If You Must, Sponsor Some Links.
There are a few sponsored links worth getting. Yahoo Search Inclusion
is one example. If you are in a highly competitive industry, such as adult,
SEO, mortgage, finance, or gambling you will need to purchase links to
get an edge. There are a lot of people competing for your terms.
Conclusion
Use common sense. The best way to get ahead is by being honest, and providing
a decent service. Stop trying gimmicks or tricks to cheat your way into
good rankings. The best long term SEO plan involves taking the high road
and doing things honestly. Check out the SEO book to see what I learned
about ethical SEO. Now I don't have any problems getting people to my
website. You can too, all it takes is a little effort!
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