DLC&A Internet Marketing Blog

When it comes to link building campaigns, the answer is now, almost always…yes.  There was a time when it didn’t matter what kind of links you had as long as you had more than your competitors.  Those days are long gone. 

Today, you need both quantity and quality.  Yes, the number of links counts and if you can present an overwhelming number of links, that will get you a big score with the search engines.  And we have several tactics that could be uses to generate up to a thousand links a month.  But search engines also want to see some links from authority sites and high page rank sites.  In other words, they want to see diversity.

There are actually several different types of links that can have a positive effect on your rankings in the search engines.  Here are some of the best: 

• Internal links should be your first focus – These are the links within your website.  Every page of your website should have links within it to other pages of your website.  Google considers these “interlinking” links very important.  And I’m not talking about the links at the top of the page or in the sidebar.  I’m referring to links within your page copy that link to other information within your website.  These can also be Blog posts or articles on your site with links to other blog posts or pages on your website.
• Directories are a great source for links – There are at least 6 paid directories that should be considered and they range in cost from $26 for a lifetime listing to $299 a year.  There are also hundreds of free directories that may be of benefit.  Some of these may not have the “punch” of the paid directories but they can be great, free links.
• Online Press Releases get lots of attention – If you go with a good distribution service…. Services can range from $49 for a low cost distribution service to over $250 for one of the more full featured ones.  Some consider press releases the “new SEO.”  You can have links within the press release and if you have a good story, it can get you on all kinds of powerful news service websites.
• Article Directories can get you lots of links – If you write a good article that others find valuable, they will post your article on their website with the link back to your website intact.  Also, the link from the article directory itself (where you originally posted your article) is quite valuable because most of the better ones have at least a Google Page Rank of 6 or better.
• Blog Comments & Guest Blog Posts– Commenting on blogs in your industry is a great way to get backlinks.  However, you need to know how to write effective blog comments to get quality links and prevent blog owners from deleting your posts.  Guest blog posts can be a great way to spread the word about your business.  Most bloggers are always looking for guest bloggers.  If there’s a blog you particularly like that you’ve been regularly commenting on, contact the blogger and ask if they’d like a guest post.  Most likely, if you’ve been leaving good comments, they’ll love to have you write a guest blog.  At the end, simply put a one paragraph blurb about your business with a link.
• Social bookmarking – This is often overlooked by many business owners and even marketing people who simply don’t think of bookmarking as a valuable source of links.  Essentially, you get people to bookmark your articles and blog posts to sites like DIGG and Delicious. These are bookmarking sites.  People will list the link to your blog post or article, a short description, related tags for searches and a title.  If others like the bookmark, they may spread the word or give it a thumbs up vote.  This is one of the ways your content can go viral.
• Videos – Right now, videos are the hottest form of link on the Internet. Videos weren’t as important before Bing.  Google paid them lip service but really didn’t feature them in their results.  Then Bing came along and prominently featured videos.  Now Google is playing catch up and it’s a war to get the most videos in the search engine results.
• Social Media Sites – We continue to hear that Social Media or as some call it, Web 2.0, is the hot ticket these days.  Social Media can be very effective, when done correctly.  If you’re going to indulge in Social Media on a meaningful level, make sure you have a plan on how you’re going to use it and how you’re going to integrate it into your current marketing.  Otherwise, you’re just wasting time and money.

Very few websites today are going to rank well without some kind of link building program.  It’s just a question of learning to do it yourself or hiring a professional to do it for you.

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