Five Easy Backlinking Strategies

If you would like to learn more, please visit my SEO Tips blog.

The game has changed. Now search engines use what we call backlinks (or links to your site) in order to categorize and rank the millions of websites out there. If you want to reach the top, then you're going to have to get your hands dirty.

While most people may be confused on how to obtain backlinks - don't be. You've got me, and I'm going to take things nice and easy with you.

The two most important things to keep in mind when collecting backlinks are:

1. Make sure they have the appropriate anchor texts. This means, if you are trying to rank for the keyword "mouse trap", then make sure your anchor texts are "mouse trap". But be careful though, make sure you vary it up every once in awhile so that search engines won't catch on.

2. Make sure they are "juicy links". Basically, I define juicy links as backlinks with:

a. Low OBL (out-bound links)

b. High PR (PageRank)

c. DoFollow (links are not NoFollow)

d. Highly relevant (related to your site)

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then relax. Sometimes it's best to build poor backlinks as well, because that's exactly what Google and other search engines expect. You should always vary things up so that the search engines won't get suspicious, you know?

Now for the hard part...

Getting the backlinks is definitely the hardest part. But in general, there are five simple strategies that I implement on all of my sites. In general, these strategies work quite well, and I am easily able to dominate the search engines.

But as for how well it will work for you...

That's for you to decide!

Let's begin, shall we?

1. Blog Commenting - This one is quite popular these days really. Now when I say blog commenting, I don't mean you should spam every blog you see with a bunch of low-quality comments. In general, you are going to find a lot of Wordpress blogs, so you should familiarize yourself with them. Yes, there are Blog Engines and Movable Types, but those pale in comparison to Wordpress. So what you do with the Wordpress blogs you encounter is simply comment in them. Make sure you leave your website in the website box. If you'd like, you can put your anchor text as your name, but a lot of bloggers don't really appreciate that. In order to find some Wordpress blogs, I suggest you use Google. By searching the proper "footprint", you can find thousands of Wordpress blogs ready for your comments. But it's not that easy. The best way to start out is to simply search for some blog lists on Google. From there, you can move on.
2. Social Bookmarking - A simple bookmark can make a world of difference. At least, that's what I think. By submitting your site to certain social bookmarking sites like Digg, Reddit, Mixx, etc. you can drastically increase the visibility of your website. If you have a simple business or one page site, the work is quite easy for you. Find every social bookmarking site out there, and submit your sites! However, for bloggers, it's a bit more difficult. Since you constantly update your site with fresh content, these social bookmarking sites might not always see what you have to offer. That's why I recommend Onlywire. It's a simple bar that you place on your site. Once you do, Onlywire will automatically submit your post (everytime you make a new one, that is) to dozens of social bookmarking sites (with your accounts). It takes time, but is well worth it.
3. Using Web 2.0 - I'm sure you've heard the likes of Youtube, Twitter, Hubpages (what?!), etc. Everyone has. And that's what makes these backlinks great. They are widely available and quite popular. It's simple really. You create and share your content through web 2.0 sites like Hubpages, and then you drop a link to your site somewhere in it. The same goes for Youtube. Create a video of your awesome site, and then drop a link in the description box. Not only will you receive powerful backlinks, but you are sure to receive some traffic as well. The hard part is coming up with the content, but once you do, the rest is history. And if you want more backlink juice from these sites, you can also link to your web 2.0 backlinks so they become even more powerful!
4. Code Something - This is obviously one for the programmers and designers (of which I am not, sadly). I'm sure you've seen hundreds of widgets or Wordpress themes that link back to the coder's main website. And if you haven't, open your eyes! There are so many ways of coding something: widgets, templates, themes, plugins, whole sites...you could amass thousands of backlinks if your products become popular enough. Just something to think on.
5. Profiles - Finally, we arrive at the elusive profiles. Everywhere on the Internet, there are profiles. And in many of these profiles, there is a box where you can fill in your website. Your mission is simple. You must find every viewable (as in the search engines can see them) profile, whether it be from a forum, social network, blog, or even a school community board. By doing this, and placing your anchored link in a nice area, you will surely see a difference in you website rankings. Some people argue against profile backlinks; they say that they're useless because they have no PR or value. But from what I have found, profile links are pure gold, and you should start mining right away.