Last week I talked about my favorite link gathering tips which is mostly about making sure your site is ready to accept new links and why people want to link to you. Now I want to talk about my all-time favorite methods of building links. The advantage here is that I’ve actually done these things so you know they work and I hate to pay for links so the only cost to use these tips is your time - not your cash.
1. Ask
Did you ever experience the situation where you had a crush on someone and thought there’s no way they’d go out with you only to later find out they liked you too? The same thing happens with link-building. A lot more people are willing to link to your content if you just ask. You will occasionally get rejected and should never make anyone feel uncomfortable or obligated but if you can get past your fear of rejection there are literally hundreds of people ready to help you out.
2. Link out generously
This is a “put up or shut up” situation. If people see that you link out they are more inclined to link to you as well. If you are stingy with your links, people will be stingy linking to you.
3. Make friends online
Friends are naturally interested in what you are doing and will naturally link to things they think are interesting.
4. Create a resource or authority document
This can be a tutorial, special report, insider’s guide or whatever fits what you do best. I’ve had the most luck building links with “authority articles” that are published shortly before an industry trend hits. If you are first on the scene you will be rewarded. Added bonus is these are links viewers actually click through to see the “source” document so you can get direct traffic as well as an SE boost.
5. Interview People
People like to see their names in print. If you interview the right people they will promote the interview by linking to it. And if the interview is especially noteworthy other people will link to it too.
6. Flatter Someone
Like the interview, if you appeal to someone’s vanity they will want to share how great they are with everyone they know!
7. Write a testimonial
I recently sent my web host a “thank you” note for withstanding the Digg-pounding one of my sites got. They liked it so much they asked if they could add it to their testimonials page along with a link!
8. Review websites, products and businesses
Make sure the review is honest and informative and you will often pick up links from the site you review and anyone interested in the thing you reviewed. Online reviews are so powerful you can even get paid to do them now!
9. Write Press Releases
This is especially potent in tight-nit industries where you can get your story picked up by industry newsletters or periodicals. If you are lucky, your story could hit the mainstream media giving you even more exposure.
10. Guest Write
Write a guest post on a blog or contribute an article to a website. You should be able to link within the article and get a byline with a link to your site.
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