Build Backlinks the Smart Way

Getting Backlinks Naturally
Many backlinks are achieved the natural way. When your website provides users with useful content, webmasters and website owners will often link to these useful web pages (on your site) for their website visitors to use. Most often then not, these sites that link to yours naturally are relevant to your sites content. Also known as "targeted backlinks", these types of backlinks are the most beneficial when generating quality traffic from them. Getting natural backlinks, however, is a slow process. These are built mostly on trust and gaining trust takes time.

Building Backlinks
One of the acceptable ways of building quality backlinks is listing your site in directories, posting in forums, and submitting to article directories. What you want to avoid is link farms, spam sites or sites that host illegal content, purchasing links in bulk, etc. An easy way to find sites that except these "one-way" link submissions is by using a backlinks finder.

Getting Listed in Directories
Getting listed in directories like DMOZ and Yahoo is a must because this is a way to get some quality backlinks for free and your site is easily noticed by search engines and potential visitors. Generally inclusion in these directories is free but the drawback is that sometimes you have to wait months before you get listed...or not listed at all. Top directories like DMOZ and Yahoo have strict guidlines when submitting, so follow the rules carefully. Yahoo also has a "pay for review" option that is costly and does not mean you will get listed. I would suggest submitting the free listing first, then wait a few months to see if your site is listed before considering the paid option.

Article Directories and Forums
Generally search engines index forums so posting in forums is way great way to get quality backlinks. Join forums with subject matter relevant to your site, add your URL (link) with anchor text of your choice to your forum signature, then contribute to the discussions. Be sure that you abide by the forum rules before you post anything...and do not post just for the backlinks. Forum administrators are not stupid. If your are truly contributing, your posts will not get deleted and you won't get banned. Also, sometimes administrators do not allow links in posts, unless they are relevant ones, so it is best to leave your link in your signature.

Submitting articles to directories can be more time-consuming then posting in forums. If you can write good articles on subjects related to your site, it's well worth the backlinks.

Feed them with RSS
Offer free content through RSS feeds to interested sites. When the other site publishes your RSS feeds, you will not only get backlinks to your site, but potentially a lot of visitors. Publishers of the feeds in return get to add relevant content to their site. It's a "win-win situation".

Press Releases
Submitting press releases to news sites is another great way to buil backlinks and generate traffic. Write professional press releases about "what's new" on your site. The dificult part is that you cannot release press releases if there is nothing "newsworthy".

What to Avoid
Avoid link exchange programs, which offer to "swap" links with unsuspecting website owners. First off, these programs spider email addresses and "spam" website owners with requests. the more you get involved, the more outbound links you have to place on your site that link to pages that link to yours. Search engines frown on this. They are much "smarter" today then they ever were in the past...especially Google. This practice can also get your site banned. It is not natural linking, and search engines know it.