Hello again lolly lovers!
Today, I want to address a matter dear to the heart of all online moolah-makers, namely, how does one best allot time to building links?
Arguably, gaining inbound links is still the principal factor in search engine ranking, at least with Google. As long as your site does not contravene the Gospel according to Google, and you have some original content on your site then building links alone will have a resounding impact on your SERPs.
So, how do you go about best building inbound links, assuming you will be doing this on your Todd?
Directory submissions have been systematically devalued over recent years as a source of good inbound linkage. That is not to say that directory submissions no longer work. They do! However, long gone are the days when you could submit willy-nilly to a few hundred directories with a particular keyphrase as link anchor and within a week or two go shooting up the SERPs for that keyphrase. Instead, there are a few more subtle methods required when using directories for building inbound linkage. First, be aware of the sort of neighborhood you are submitting to. Wherever possible you want your links in context and appearing on pages of similar sites. Paying to get into well-maintained “good neighborhood” directories is beneficial if you have loose cash floating around. Second, vary your link anchor, but more importantly vary your site description often. Third, if you are keen to make free directory submissions a part of your link development plan then be prepared to make directory submissions ongoing and on a weekly, even daily, basis. Many free directories go under, many are not regularly maintained, many are not worth being listed in. Despite all this, some do offer good inbound linkage, and although they may be free today, the owners may well flip the switch at a later date.
Verdict on directory submissions as a link building method: 5/10, a little bit of a lottery these days and one that requires significant ongoing effort. Good if you can afford to outsource it.
Social bookmarking sites offer another opportunity to build quick, cheap links. Again, these have been devalued in recent times due to the ease with which they are manipulated. I have never been one to use social bookmarking effectively. It has always seemed like far too much effort for very little reward. I did briefly rejoice in some impressive traffic figures from StumbleUpon (reaching 3000 uniques an hour at one point) but even at such high levels the traffic just did not convert. StumbleUpon is dead, I say! (If ever it lived) Many of the other social bookmarking sites have gone nofollow and really only live off their advertised potential for traffic, delivering little or no traffic to the vast majority of sites listed.
Verdict on social bookmarking submissions as a link building method: 4/10. Far too effort intensive for little gain. Another minor weapon on the link builder’s toolbelt and best if you can outsource it.
Forum signatures are a little bit more like it. Forums are bread and butter for many link builders. There are high profile forums offering ‘dofollow’ signature links in all niches, and although it does take a little bit of effort in ongoing participation, these links do not seem to have been devalued to the extent of social bookmarking or directory submission links. If you have the money, then signatures are often or sale on some forums and can get you good linkage fairly quickly. Be sure to gain links in multiple forums and utilize the “Recent blog” option if it exists to get your blog feed in on your posts too.
Verdict on forum signatures as a link building method: 7/10. Being a little generous here, should have been 6.5/10 but that looks untidy. Great on good authority nofollow forums.
Blog commenting. Ok, now we are cooking. If you are a blogger and regular blog reader then commenting is merely a natural extension to your regular activities, so the additional effort is minimal. There are many blogs offering dofollow links, many offer “top commentator” type links on the front page and others use plugins to help you get your feed in on the act too. It seems as though bloggers are dying to give away links. Also, many blogs are high-traffic, authority sites. Reading and reacting to something on a blog is as easy as pie, and for your reward you get a juicy link back to your site.
Verdict on blog commenting as a link building method: 8/10. Not always for the blog shy, but if you are an avid blogger then this is a great way to establish a solid base of links and increase traffic. Look for nofollow blogs.
Article marketing. If you are an above average pen-man then article marketing can offer a great way to distribute links embedded in your articles. Although the apparent effort seems to outweigh the benefits, this is currently one of the best methods for building inbound links. Once the initial effort has been made, natural distribution of your material (such as the pulling in to autoblogs via feeds) takes care of your link propagation.
Verdict on article marketing as a link building method: 8/10. A lot of effort writing many 500 words articles, but great return. Also, some users of your material may not honor the links you place in you articles (they might remove or replace them.)
Sadly for most, the temptation for building links fast, the desire to see tangible short-term results quickly, is too great and they shy away from the methods that may take a little more time and effort but ultimately bring greater rewards.
Whichever method you choose then may you be good at it and stick with it!
If you have suggestions for other link building methods then please feel free to comment below.
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