As we explained in the last Link building blog post, in the eyes of a search engine like Google, Yahoo and Bing, a link to your web page is seen as a vote of confidence in your website and this is why a link building strategy is important. Now we’re going to dig into further detail and expand on the ten practical ways to increase your linkability.

Write great content

Writing great content that related websites can link to from their pages is a great way to increase your link profile. In the biz, we call this link baiting. Topics that you can write about include interviews with experts or prominent people in your industry, giving unique tips and hints about your expert subject matter, a survey or study including interesting statistics about your industry or provide resources that be linked by other websites. If you consistently write great, unique content for your website that is constantly being refreshed and updated, you will soon have a loyal following of related blogs or websites linking back to you. Like all good writers, write about you know and what your expertise is, your business!

List your website in blog directories

List your website in credible directories like Dmoz.org, blog directories or portals that list similar websites to yours. There is no value in submitting your website to a directory which is link farm and will accept any submission. A credible directory or blog reviews submissions and evaluates them on certain criteria pertaining to their website. There may be a nominal fee that you may have to pay to be accepted by popular directories such as BOTW.org and Business.com.

Blogging on related websites

Identify key websites or blogs that have a similar subject or target market to your business and write blog comments that position you as an expert in your business. When you leave a comment mention your website URL where possible but try and make the mention as natural and seamless as possible. Writing guest blogs on a website related to your industry can also generate links back to your website, increase your company’s profile in the industry and give you an opportunity to promote your website.

Participating in forums

Participating in forums that are relevant to your company or industry is a good way to build links to your website. You can build links from these sites by commenting and leaving a link to relevant content on your site. Create a profile with a link to your website and if the forum allows it, add your website URL to your signature. Make sure you read the forum’s terms and conditions as they may see the inclusion of the link as spamming and ban you. The golden rule is to be seen as part of the community and your agenda is to be giving advice rather than blatantly promoting your business. Using forums in this way builds a good reputation for you and your brand, earning traffic as well as link building.

Create a profile with your local community

Build a partnership with suppliers, local community members who have websites such as your local Chamber of Commerce, any industry associations or organisations you may belong to that are relevant to your industry. Ask them whether they would be happy to provide a link on their pages and promote your business. A good way to increase links is to offer to put a reciprocal link on your website but only selectively link to websites that are credible and related to your industry.

Media releases

Promote your business by submitting any media releases you have written to Media Release tools, with a link back to your page. These include PR Lead ; 24-7pressrelease ; IdeaMarketers. A media release has to be newsworthy and should contain embedded links back to your website. Examples of newsworthy media releases include any awards that your company has won, a study that you may have conducted, an exciting new product that you have released or a new service you’re offering.

Social networking websites

Social networking websites like Twitter are a good touch point for clients, suppliers and customers and to keep them abreast of your activities. It’s a terrific resource to find other similar or related websites that you can partner with or find blogs on a related subject matter that you can contribute to. Remember tweets are only 140 characters long so if you want to include links to your blog articles, use a link convertor like TinyURL to shorten your links.

Videos

Post videos on Youtube and other video hosting websites with a summary of your business and website URL. You can also post comments on videos with subjects related to your business mentioning your website address.

Local business

List your business on websites such as:
Google (free): With this service you customise how your business looks on Google and Google maps. You can include things such as menus, photos of your products, hours of opening or anything that helps you stand out from other similar businesses. A reporting dashboard helps you monitor your customers, customise your Google listing and target your customers more effectively.
Yahoo Local (free and fee options): The standard free listing lets you include basic contact information as well as your business category, accepted methods of payment and store hours. There is also a premium version available.

Post job opportunities online

Some industry websites have sections where you can post online jobs. This gives people a breakdown of your company and an opportunity to link back to your website for more information.

Set aside a dedicated half an hour in your day to write blog comments, participate in forums and increase links back to your website. As you start to do this, you will be able to analyse your web statistics to see what blogs, websites or methods work best to increase links or traffic back to your website. You can then focus your efforts on those techniques to make your time more link efficient.

Remember the more reputable websites you have linking back to your website, the more credible your website will be in the eyes of search engines, traffic will significantly increase and your business profile will be boosted… so why not start your link building campaign today!