Basic Link Building for SEO: Successful Strategies

Want your site to rise in the search rankings? Try these link-building tips.

For search engines that crawl the Web, links are the streets between pages. Using sophisticated link analysis, the engines can discover how pages are related to each other and in what ways.

Links aren't everything in search-engine optimization (SEO), but search professionals attribute a large portion of the engines' algorithms to link-based factors. Through links, engines can not only analyze the popularity of a Web site and page based on the number and popularity of pages linking to it, but can also measure the page’s level of trustworthiness, spamminess, and authority. Trustworthy sites tend to link to other trusted sites, while spammy sites typically beget spammy links.

Authority models, such as the Hilltop Algorithm, suggest that links are a very good way of identifying expert documents on a given subject.

How can you build links in the right way for search engines? As of the moment—SEO changes by the day, it seems—these ten basic link-building strategies are useful to link value and a site's link profile:

1. Create a Blog

Creating content on a consistent basis builds links internally (by linking from your posts to other posts on your site) and gives you the ability to naturally attract outside links.

2. Create an RSS Feed

If you created your Web site on any of the popular content management systems—WordPress, SquareSpace, Blogger—you'll already have an RSS feed. If you don't, create one for improved site SEO.

3. InterLink

You have pages and posts on your Web site, so make the most of them! Internal links are huge for link building because you can control everything about them—from the location on the page to the anchor text. Make sure to steer your content in the direction of other posts or pages so you can link to them.

4. Link Out

Link to content on other Web sites. Linking out shows that you’re an open participant to the Web’s natural linking environment and not a closed-off community or purely self-referential.

5. Profile Links

If you sign up to become a member for a site, the site will often allow you to designate a URL for your profile. This counts as an outside link in many cases—a good thing for SEO. Others don’t “count” as outside links and some are in the middle, like Twitter, which gives no-follow links (that means links that don’t pass the links on). Otherwise, you'll typically get a link in your profile.

6. Make It Easy to Link to You

Make it easy for people to link to your site. Create HTML-ready snippets that people can plug right into their content. Create a "Link to Us" page. Use javascript to generate the HTML at the end of each article or post. If you want people to link to you, make it easy for them.

7. Research Competitor Links

Piggy-back off competitors’ success. What links do your competitors use? Use a search engine like opensiteexplorer.org to see what they link to—and what links to them. Sort the list by link metrics to find the best opportunities.

8. Get People to See Your Content

People won't link to your content unless they see it. This is where social media, content marketing, and brand awareness comes into the link-building realm. Share your content everywhere you can.

9. Ask People You Know for a Link

Whether it's your friends, relatives, employees, colleagues, business partners, clients, or anyone else, ask them for a link. Someone you know has a Web site or blog—take advantage.

10. Build Relationships

The #1 link-building strategy? Getting to know people. Build relationships with others—it comes back in link form every time.

Note: To see more articles from a series on marketing strategies, click here. And if you're looking to develop a marketing strategy for your company, call FrogDog--we're happy to help!