Link building or “Off Page SEO” is more important than on page SEO. Google puts a lot of ranking weight on incoming links to your website. Links to your site can also send natural and targeted traffic for you. You will focus on link building after you fix your on page SEO. Don’t leave anything out with your on page. That is your strategic advantage over your competition. Google considers inbound links as a vote for a website. Makes links a key signal for authority and relevance. Google search was built on this premise of links. Bing, Yahoo, and other searches tend to follow Google. Despite changes links are the key ranking element of search engines.

Goal of link building is simply to build as many votes or backlinks from relevant and quality sites to help increase your ranking in Google search. Only a few quality links can have a big impact on rankings. Link building at it’s core is convincing another website that it is beneficial for them or their visitors to link to your site. Link building today is about quality, relevance, and looking natural. Always build content and your site around adding value to the Internet. Can’t be stressed enough! This includes using videos and posting them on YouTube. Also embed the videos to your website. Search engines are indexing videos more frequently.

Link building is no longer about getting as many links as possible. Quality is way more important than quantity of backlinks. Google’s Penguin update is focused on baclinks. Build links that only make sense for your website. Avoid thinking about keeping Google happy. If a link won’t send targeted and value visitors to your site it is not a good link. Gain links from trusted websites. Websites with age. Big government websites. Look at the PageRank of potential sites you are getting links from. Websites with big brand recognition in your niche. Popular social media sites where applicable. If it makes sense for your business get that link. A link from GolfDiget.com is better than golf-training-aids-site.com Local government websites.

Focus on acquiring and getting a diverse amount of links. If majority of your links are only from a few sites it won’t help you. Another factor is if they only link to your home page. You want links to your internal pages as well. Try to get links from a variety of sites to your internal pages. Have quality content that is worth linking to. Link Diversity Variety of sites. Variety of anchor text. Domain.com, Business Name, Assortment of Keywords Variety of types of websites. News sites, review sites, directories, blog posts, social media, articles, videos, etc.) Trust is established when you have a diverse amount of links.

Content Links Create relevant and valuable content to offer to sites in your niche. More of a barter strategy where you give quality, unique content in exchange for a link to you. They host the content on their site. Infographics Interview Video Updated News Guest blog post or article for their site. You want to look for authority sites in your space that could use your content. Use Google to find these link opportunities. Do simple searches for your keywords. Use Google Blog Search to identify blogs in your niche that you can create content for. Find places that your market or client’s market hangs out. Slower method of link building, but effective.

Longer time commitment recquired for this type of link building. Involves you literally creating buzz around involvement in your community. Running free classes to people in your local community. Speaking at local events or school functions. Hosting a giveaway/contest locally. Starting a scholarship offer. Develop a partnership with a local business. Participate in a local charity event. Build value in your community then get links to your site. Leverage the PR for your involvement with press releases. Obtain links from the local group you were involved with. Example: Chamber of Commerce, school blog, charitable organization website.

Create a resource that will be popular and interesting for your niche market. Host this content on your website and “prospect” for sites that will link to it. Look for sites with a similar resource list and ask to be included. Don’t just look for any site to get a link from. Make sure you are getting links from trustworthy sites. Remember a few quality inbound links go a long way. Research the content before creating it. Find potential websites that you can get a link from. Look for information that is out there which you can improve on. Be very focused on the user value.

Ideas for an effective resource include: List article. Top 15 Ways To Improve Your Golf Game Top 25 Golf Articles of All Time Top 10 Free Golf Apps Get ideas from BuzzFeed.com for resource ideas. High Quality Video Controversial Stance or Opinion Case Study “Secret” Tip or Resource Infographic Viral Share Worthy Content Create content that is engaging. Generate traffic to this content with paid social media traffic on Twitter, Facebook, Outbrain, or Taboola

Getting exposure for your content on sites that allow submissions can be great for your brand. Web 2.0 sites that allow you to create quality user, generated content can provide some inbound links and exposure. Not as effective as they used to be, but a valid way to get traffic. Consider how much free traffic these sites can get for you. Traffic is all about exposure. Important that you always create unique content.

Sites you can submit content to (Subject To Change): Squidoo.com Create a page loaded with content related to your niche. HubPages.com EzineArticles.com

Search for relevant sites that allow content submissions See example below where “fitness” is the keyword. (Guest Blogging)

Submit a press release about your website or business. Google Search: “submit press release free” Consider paid press release submission like PRWeb.com PRUnderground.com Press release should cover: Who press release is about. What is the purpose of the press release. When is the event or did the event take place. Why is this important. How can people find your site or get involved. Don’t forget the link in your press release. Works great for gaining exposure for local exposure. Great method to generate additional mentions and exposure.

Find link building opportunities from your competition. Look for your main keywords and make a list of your top competitors for your chosen keywords on the first two pages of the search engines. Put the URLs into a tool to analyze inbound links. Open Site Explorer Majestic Site Explorer You can also use this tool to find out trust rank for sites you link to or want to get a link from.

Providing useful content and adding value on industry forums, message boards, and in blog comments. Get recognized as an authority on these sites. Will potentially create linking opportunities with website and with those on these sites. Establishes you as the authority. Research where your industry is hanging out.

Your business or you may be mentioned on websites already. Conduct a search for sites which mention your website, brand, or your personal name. Contact these website owners to see if they would be willing to include a link to your site. You could even offer them a favorite resource from your site that they could also include for their audience. Simple method to pick up backlinks.

It is still a viable way to get links from authoritative sites related to your niche. Build relationships just like the helping strategy mentioned earlier. Post quality and helpful advice to those commenting. Build a relationship and rapport with the blog owner. They may contact you later for more help. Builds you up as an authority. Find blogs in your niche by doing searches. Your Niche and Blog Example: golf blog or golf blogs

Contact local websites about getting listed in their resource sections. city name + "recommended resources" city name + "suggested resources" city name + "useful resources" city name + "recommended sites" city name + "suggested sites" Create content for local websites. List of local WiFi Spots List of local golf courses List of local restaurants Calendar of sports events. Must do activities in your area. Local government sites, schools, libraries, and colleges are great resources. Local Sponsorship Links Look for sponsorship opportunities locally that could lead to backlinks. city name + “thank you to our sponsors“