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I just found one of the great pages for info on building links and the importance of link poularity for a web site. The page is on SEO inside out. Here is the important ways that they state that you should build links:
Website directories
One of the oldest methods to increase your link popularity is with website directories. Among the most popular directories would be DMOZ and Yahoo Directory. It is extremely tough to get your website listed into DMOZ, and Yahoo Directory is a paid inclusion directory. Aside from the most popular directories such as these, many webmasters submit their websites to hundreds of other website directories. The two main benefits from these directories are: a) An external incoming link to give you some PageRank and b) Traffic from the directories. In my experience, neither benefit is extremely significant when coming from an article directory. However, a significant effect can be seen if you submit to, literally, hundreds of directories.
When you are looking for website directories to submit to, you need to be certain of a few things. For example, be sure that you will receive a link to your website without the directory using scripted redirects or the nofollow tag. If you are not sure about this, then I wouldn’t spend the time to submit to that directory. There are a handful of search engine friendly directories you can submit to. If you want a nice long list of these, visit vile silencer.
Another important factor in these directories is whether you need to pay for inclusion. In my opinion, paid inclusion directories are simply a waste of time. The benefit of any directory is extremely limited, so I wouldn’t bother paying for inclusion. You could easily spend the money more wisely on something such as contextual advertising.
Article directories
There are many directories where you can submit an article you have written, which is then free to be republished by anyone who happens to come across it. So, what is the benefit in terms of link popularity when submitting to these directories? Most article directory sites allow you to insert live links into the article body. If not, you are usually allowed a live link in the “About the Author” section. The benefit here is you can choose your anchor text, and you can link to any page you want. Other websites related to your topic can now feature your article on their site, and you will get a free backlink from them.
Aside from the benefit of having a link included with your article, you gain credibility. When others read your content, they will see your name, and hopefully see your website. This will make you appear more like an authority on your topic, to both users and search engines.
Reciprocal linking
As was talked about earlier in this article, reciprocal linking is also a method for gaining backlinks. Again, the value of these types of link is now becoming questionable, but if it helps your users, then you should include the link. If you are interested in trading links with another webmaster, usually all that is needed is an e-mail. Explain that you are interested in linking to their website, and request a link back. Also be sure to include if your link will be a regular link, scripted, using the nofollow tag, or anything else that gives trouble to search engine spiders.
Link bait
The term “link bait” is used to describe a method for gaining natural one-way links. This is usually a difficult task in any industry, but there are methods for creating content which people like to link to. So how does link bait work? Basically, you create content that is funny, controversial, informative, or creative – and it will increase the chances that somebody might link to you. This is a rather simple concept, and most webmasters have likely created link bait without even knowing it.
Much more can be written on link bait than I will cover in this article, so I will give a quick listing of possible ideas for creating link bait: provide rss feeds, create free tools, publish content in a listed format, use industry-related humor, interview well known industry experts, use visuals such as charts and graphs, create contests, etc. You can use your own imagination here. As you see, link bait is a concept that has been around since the first website, but has not been officially recognized.
Participate in communities
Another way to increase awareness about your website, as well as your link popularity, is to be active in communities related to your topic. Find websites such as blogs and forums focused on your website topic, and post comments, threads, and replies. If you are able to post helpful information, you will be viewed as a knowledgeable person in your field. Most forums allow you to keep a signature with live links, which will appear at the end of each of your posts. This is a great way to spread the word about your website, and create links to your site without posting spammy topics such as “Hey come look at my site!” Additionally, many blogs allow you to leave comments where link tags are left unaltered. This is another way you can create backlinks to your site, and also be viewed as an expert in your field. If you contribute helpful information to your community, people will naturally visit your site, and possibly link to it.
Blogging for link popularity
Blogs are a great way to increase your link popularity. Perhaps the one thing users and search engines have in common, is a taste for fresh and unique content. Blogs are great vehicles for posting link bait, which was talked about earlier in the article. If you blog regularly, such as every day, or once every other day, you will only increase your chances of being linked to. If you do publish a blog, be sure to ping blog services such as technorati, blo.gs, and weblogs. They will take note of your update, and display it on their site. This is simply another way for users to find and link to your content.
RSS feeds
Blogging leads us to the last method of increasing link popularity covered in this article, which is providing an RSS feed. You can create feeds for any section of your site which is updated regularly. This is a great way to generate one way links, because webmasters are always looking for ways to display automatically updated, recent, and relevant content which related to their website. When they display the RSS feed on their site, a link is included to the source of the article/blog/news feed, which will be a one-way link to you. Again, this will not only give you backlinks, but possibly provide traffic, and creditability - showing that you are an authority on your topic.
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