2011 Link Building Tips

Link building is a crucial part of creating traffic for websites, new and old. It not only generates hits when people click on the links, but improves search result positioning as well. Here are some tips on link building for new websites:

I.) A common mistake is to start trying to acquire links on just any website. Link building is much more effective when linking occurs between two websites about the same (or similar) topics. For example: one of the greatest ways to increase Page Rank is by getting one-way links as opposed to reciprocal links. One of the best places to get these is through directories, but it is best to find relevant directories.

II.) Consider distributing a press release on the new site, especially if there is something newsworthy about it. Include a link at the end of the release and post it on press release distribution websites.

III.) Don't submit new websites to directories until they are fully functional and ready to use. For interactive sites like forums or classifieds, wait until there is some user activity before doing this.

IV.) If you have the money, consider paying for inclusion in major directories like Yahoo! Directory. Gaining quality links of this type is especially valuable in boosting search engine rankings.

V.) Don't make new links with spaced characters (like "N e w s") or letters made up of characters ("//"); search engines won't interpret these words properly and the benefit to rankings will not be as great.

VI.) the most valuable links are on pages with a high Google Page Rank (PR) or a lot of traffic. Use CheckPR.org to determine a site's PR, and Quantcast.com for an approximate indication of its popularity.

VII.) While your site is new, concentrate on building links to the home page. Link the home page to other important pages and they will indirectly receive some of the benefits (search rankings, direct traffic).

VIII.) Finally, such websites can also accomplish link building by looking for relevant sites that have lists of related links. If the site's webmaster offers an e-mail address to send link suggestions to, give it a try.