Link Building Strategies - Part 2

Link building is such an important part of off-page search engine optimization, and yet so many web masters seem to ignore its importance.

PART II – Requesting Links

Simply Ask
Search for a keyword related to your website and study the first few pages of results. Click around to discover if each website has a link exchange opportunity. If not, email the webmaster requesting a link exchange. But beware; you can easily become blacklisted if you send this request too many times. On your website, create a page alerting other webmasters of your own opportunity. Remember to include contact details.

Natural Linkbacks
There are three main benefits of targeting natural linkbacks:
• Natural linkbacks are not forced.
• Natural linkbacks are higher in quality compared to link exchanges.
• Natural linkbacks are more valuable to search engines compared to link exchanges.

You can obtain natural links by providing unique content for your visitor and by making the overall visit a pleasant experience.

The Don’ts

• Don’t spam webmasters with link exchange requests.
• Don’t clutter your pages with too many links.
• Don’t try to fool search engines.

The Dos

• Do decide which placement method will best benefit your website.
• Do screen websites before sending out your request.
• Do make sure the site you want to exchange with is worth your time and effort.

Remember to aim for natural linkbacks as opposed to link exchanges. Also, avoid link farms and spamming. Finally, realize that even though link building is a time consuming process, it is worth the time and effort.