Link Building 101

Welcome class. You’ve enrolled in Link Building 101, a discussion on how to create external links that lead to your Web site. Okay, this isn’t class. This is more like the cliff notes version of a link building class, which I think we’ll all agree is much more efficient use of time anyway, but not anywhere near as comprehensive as it could be — and link building strategies can be quite comprehensive.

To put it simply, there are two segments of a link building campaign to focus on. The first is about links  you can create on your own and the second is about links you need others to create. But before we get into those two different groups of link building, it’s important to know why link building is important. For search engine optimization, that’s why.

The more quality links you have leading to your Web site the more credibility a search engine will give your site.  By the way, spam Web sites and Web sites with little traffic won’t do you much good. Another benefit to quality links is that people will visit your site through these links too. The more visitors you have to your Web site the better your search engine ranking will be. But now back to those two sets of link building.

Here’s how to build links on your own:

• Distribute online press releases
• Write guest blog posts
• Submit your sites to high-quality directories
• Ask your friends to link to your site
• Add sites you like to your blogroll or links page and ask those same sites to do the same for you

How to build links from others
This one is simple — post quality Web site content consistently. The more compelling your Web site content the higher the likelihood that bloggers and Web site owners will want to link to you. This takes time so be sure to consistently update content and provide readers with new information and resources. You also have to get your name out there by joining social networks, by leaving comments on blogs and by participating in contests or other online activities.

Now that you’ve got a few ideas on how to link build, it’s time to put these tactics into action with some quality website content writing.

The No. 2 Pen is a full-service writing and communications company. Contact us to discuss your writing projects and editing needs.