I’ve read numerous articles online when it comes to link building, and I’m surprised with how much outdated  information is still out there on this subject.

The following methods do not work very well anymore:

  • Reciprocal links (You link to me and in return, I will link to you.)
  • Free for all links (This could actually get you banned in the search engines.)
  • Blog links (Most are now no-follow.)
  • Myspace links

In order to have a successful link building campaign, you need to build up quality one way links, or if you do reciprocate linking, be sure to make sure the site you are reciprocating links with is related to your own site.

Also, do not ignore building links to other pages on your site other than your homepage. Sure, your homepage should be given a lot of weight in your link building campaign, but never underestimate the power of having links to your other pages. This could help you rank well for terms you never even thought of. Besides, to the search engines, having links to other pages looks less spammy (or so that is my theory).

Directories are nice for one way links, but directories don’t really give you much link juice anymore unless they come from the big boys (dmoz.org, yahoo.com, etc.). Directory links won’t hurt, but be sure to only list your site on the directories not requiring a link back to them.

The single, best way to get a link campaign going is to create true, quality content. Content that people will want to link to you for. Build a blog, create a readership, and build a relationship with your readers. If you can build a relationship with your visitors, you have a much better chance of them linking to you without you asking them to.

Remember, your visitors are people and not search engines. Keep them hungry and fed with quality content and the links will come your way.