The fastest way to gain authority in search engine results is to have a powerful off-site SEO strategy. So what’s the most powerful approach if you’re looking to get traffic from organic search results? Link building.
How plain does that sound? “Link building”… It’s common sense, sure, but there are certain approaches that definitely work better (and faster) than others. That’s what we’re going to go over – 5 fast and easy link building tactics to start getting your website ranked in search results.
Tactic #1: Social Bookmarking
Social bookmarking your website or blog sounds fun, right? Even if it doesn’t appeal to you all that much, the fact remains that it’s one of the fastest ways to get your website indexed while bringing you some legitimate online visitors.
The “social” part of social bookmarking is what makes it so effective. You can get plenty of backlinks to your website by a variety of means, but with social bookmarking, you can really pull in websites and visitors.
The links that point back to your website from social bookmarking websites might not be the strongest on the web, but the important thing is that they CAN bring in visitors. For any Internet marketer, more visitors are better, because it usually translates into more money.
Are you ready to get started laying down some social bookmarks of your own? (sure you are!)
Here’s a list of 10 of the best social bookmarking websites:
1. Twitter.com
2. Pinterest.com
3. Reddit.com
4. StumbleUpon.com
5. Delicious.com
6. Digg.com
7. FARK.com
8. Slashdot.com
9. Folkd.com
10. Friendfeed.com
There, you have a foundation, now it’s your job as an Internet marketer to make the most of it. Sign up for all 10, save your passwords in a private Word or Excel file, and start being social.
Don’t just spam links; be reputable. Show sincerity, trust, and build authority in your online niche. Throw some links in that lead back to your website and you’ll start growing your online presence in more than one way.
Tactic #2: Blog Commenting
Blog commenting is an overlooked link building gold mine.
Too many online marketers don’t take their Internet business seriously enough to really want to work at it, but if you’re sincere about becoming successful online, then this is one of the best free methods to use.
First:
Get familiar with Google Alerts. Set it up so that you get feeds from any websites that mention anything related to what you’re looking for.
Second:
Go to the blogs and websites that you find new posts on from your Google Alerts feed and see if there’s a comment section you can post on. If so, comment, and leave a backlink to your website in your comment if the post is relevant. If not, then comment anyway, but leave a backlink in your name – the comment portion should offer you a place to insert your website URL.
Some rules to comment by…
Don’t just copy/paste comments. That’s cheap, cheesy, and you’ll get blacklisted fast. Add good comments that the webmaster will want to approve. Comment on as many blogs as you can, because even if you get very little link juice from your comments, there are niche websites that thrive purely from blog comment traffic.
On “dofollow” and “nofollow”…
Dofollow links are links that actually give your website some “link juice”, in other words, they help your ranking. Nofollow links help your rankings very little, if at all. So ideally, you’ll want to post on blogs and websites that offer dofollow links in return. Note that these blogs are simply not that common, but they are out there, and there’s a tool that you can use to find out if the blog you’re commenting on is dofollow or nofollow.
Look up the Firefox add-on: DoNoFollow
It will explain everything you need to know on how to use it. It’s easy, so don’t sweat it.
Note:
You don’t want to only have dofollow links pointing back to your websites. Google will see it as “artificial link building” and they could knock you down in search results. So do this – comment on blogs and websites that are relevant. Don’t pay too much attention to whether links are dofollow or nofollow, just contribute, leave great comments, and the rest will take care of itself.
Tactic #3: Guest Blogging
Want to build instant authority? Write up an excellent blog post for a popular website that’s related to your niche, and leave a description of who you are and a backlink to your website at the end of the post.
It sounds simple because it is, but here’s the catch – you have to contact the blog owner.
For some reason, people are afraid to interact with one another. They’re afraid to say, “Hey look, I’m an expert in this field, and I’d love to write a guest post for your blog. You get some awesome content for your blog, and I put myself out on the web and get some visitors and authority. We both win. Would that be something you’re interested in doing together?”
Wow, was that so hard? Short, concise, to the point… yet Internet marketers don’t do it nearly as often as they should, if at all. This is likely the most direct and powerful link building tactic to pull in lots of trust and link juice, all while attracting targeted visitors.
Try it out.
Tactic #4: Link Bait
This is about creating content that’s so compelling that other people want to share it with their friends. How do you do this? First, write a compelling post on your blog, or upload an intriguing video to YouTube, and watch people share it!
There’s little that can be said on how to write awesome content or create an excellent video, except that it MUST BE DIFFERENT.
So much of the content all over the web is bland, boring, and like listening to a college professor drone on in a series of facts and studies. It’s yawn-inducing, so you need to create content that isn’t. This doesn’t mean you should be vulgar or profane, but it does mean that you need to compel your readers to keep reading, and your viewers to keep watching.
Be an authority in your niche, and create content that connects on an emotional level. Don’t give your visitors common sense information they already know; give them professional advice in a friendly manner. Do this and your content will go viral, effectively creating “link bait”.
Tactic #5: Outsourcing Link Building
This is a gamble, because if you want to buy cheap, then that’s what you’re going to get. However, you can find quality outsource work with professional link building experts who are deeply passionate about what they do. Will it cost more? Almost certainly, but if you try and cut corners by outsourcing for dirt-cheap pay then your online business WILL suffer.
Here are two of the most reputable freelance outsourcing websites:
- Odesk.com
- Elance.com
You can start at either of these places. Getting set up as a client is easy.
- Sign up
- Check out how other clients are posting similar jobs to yours
- Post a job and a budget for the job
- Contractors will bid and post applications
- Choose which one to hire – the rest should be self-explanatory
It’s easy, and you can specify whichever link building tasks you want your contractor to do for you in the job post. Remember though, quality is king, so only take this route if you’re going to really invest in your online business.
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License: Royalty Free or iStock
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I’m Valentine Powell. My team and I specialize in writing high quality blog articles on topics related to the internet, SEO, online marketing and social media. Find out more at GoodSEOCopy.com