The Insider’s Guide to Link Building

This is a guest contributor entry. The author’s views and opinions are his/her own, not that of CyberNaira.

Links.

Where would the web be without them?

Business minded people use them to guide people to products/services.

Charities use them to communicate their message to the masses.

And, unscrupulous Online Marketer’s use them to manipulate search engine results.  Or at least they used to.

Search engines today have become much more sophisticated so the days of link farming, blasting and the rest are gone.

Goodbye links.

Hold on a moment. Just because bad link building is no longer in the game that doesn’t mean that link building is out altogether.  In this guide, we will crack the code on secrets Google likes, loves and rewards.

But first, a word from our sponsors.

The traditional way of looking at a backlink is that it leads people from site A to site B.  While this certainly is correct, there is much more to it as it will be found out within the following content.  Enjoy.

What Link Type Rocks?

In link building, there are a variety of methods available.  Some of the more common ones include:

1. Reciprocal Links: Site A links to Site B and Site B links back to Site A.
2. One Way Links: Site A links to Site B but Site B does not link back to Site A (at least not using the same page)
3. Link Triangulation: Site A links to Site B, Site B links to Site C, and Site C links back to Site A.

My own preference is one-way links because Google values them over the others when it comes to all things algorithmic.  I do use a method of option #3 internally and that will be discussed in detail shortly.

Starting Externally.

As mentioned previously, this is typically what people think of when it comes to building links.

You can create these types of links yourself by posting content with links to your social networking (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn) and bookmarking (i.e. Digg, Stumble Upon, Technorati) sites.

You can also build external backlinks by:

1. Participating in forums
2. Commenting on blogs
3. Placing free classified ads

And the list goes on.

HOT TIP:  Google “ways to build external backlinks” and decide what works for you.

That said, you may be wondering if there is a way to get others to freely give you one-way links like they were candy being given to a baby.  If so, this is your lucky day.  There is, and it is my own personal most favorite way of building links.

Tapping into Guest Blogging Power.

With Guest Blogging, you write an article for someone else’s site and they post it for you with at least 1 link back to your property.

It works.

I’ve taken my own site from nonexistent to 1,560,280 globally and 346,589 US in less than 90 days perusing high-quality guest blogs plus other linking building initiatives that I will be discussing shortly.

Not a writer?

Consider using a resource like IWriter.  I recommend securing someone that has achieved at least a professional rank on their platform. Be sure to read everything they write before releasing pay. It’s your image on the line here, don’t blow it.

HOT TIP:  If you would like to find websites that allow guest blogging for free please note that this Website resides on one of them and you can check out the details here.  For even more places to guest blog without cost Google: [your niche] + guest blog.

When considering which places would be best to get external one-way backlinks from please use this free domain authority checker before proceeding with your outreach.  I typically target sites that have at least a DA of 30.  More is better.

Time to Turn Internal.

So far, we have been focused on the most understood type of backlink.  However, did you know that when you link from one page to another within your site that too is considered a backlink for the page which is being linked to?

Even if the answer to that question is yes, there will be easy to implement strategies talked about in this section which none of your competitors, including you are likely to be using.

Internal Link Types

Before we get into methodologies an understanding of types of links is important.  There are three main types.

1. Naked URL: This hyperlinks the URL only without using text.
2. Untargeted: If your page is not about the keyword “click here”, linking those words would be considered untargeted.
3. Targeted: You create a page dedicated to talking about a “yellow submarine” and linking those exact words would be considered targeted.

Which method do I recommend?

None.

Instead, use a long tail with exact match internal approach.  No one does this, well almost no one.

Example: Link:  We all live in a yellow submarine

• Untargeted: We all live in a
• Targeted: yellow submarine

What is the chance that you will ever have another link exactly like this one?

If your tracking right the answer should be next to nil and Google loves diversity.  You get the exact power while giving Google exactly what it wants and your viewer knows exactly what that link will be about before they click.

Everyone wins.

Link Wheels

Here’s the reciprocal link equivalent I said would be coming.  I typically build this in sets of 5.

But doesn’t Google hate these?

Yes.

Externally.  That’s why people abandoned them in droves.

Internally is a totally different matter though they really haven’t ever caught on.

Here’s how they work.

1. Page 1 links to Page 2
2. Page 2 links to Page 3
3. Page 3 links to Page 4
4. Page 4 links to Page 5
5. Page 5 links to Page 1

Please, not what happened with page 5.  It completed the loop.

Tiered Towers

Another link building strategy is defining your primary page and then linking everything to it.

I typically do this with WordPress by creating my primary pages as a page and everything else as a post.

I would recommend having only 2 or 3 pages like this while the rest being posts.

But What If…

Did we combine the two concepts together as one?

You would have what I term as internal tiered link wheels.  This is an extremely powerful strategy that Google absolutely loves.

Are your competitors doing this?

Not likely.

After all, are you?

HOT TIP:  To keep track of everything I create a private post on WordPress where I have all posts links in sets of 5 and the page links set separately.

I will include sections within this page called working, ready & finished.  When a new set of 5 is ready for processing, I take them through the process while clearly documenting the details.  In this way, I’m assured that all links receive them the same treatment.

Internal External What’s Left?

At this point, most people would consider this topic more than thoroughly covered.

I don’t.

There is yet another type of link that we need to talk about which is:

Internal Outgoing One Way Links.

Going back to our submarine example, no matter what the exact match keyword phrase might be, do you think there are others targeting that term for their own purposes?

Probably.

Why not link to them?

Wait, aren’t they the competitor?

Doesn’t that build their link value and credibility?

Yes, but remember, they haven’t done the half of what you have done.

Who cares, you say?

You care, and here is why.

Google looks for authority sites on the Web. Authority sites are not afraid of others in the niche, they are the authority.

One way to become an authority is by linking out to other niche targeted sites. I recommend 2 links per 1000 words of content on a post or page.

DO NOT: Link core critical pages out to others or use your targeted anchor text for this process.

DO: Implement the blank page feature so that when your visitor goes to check out the other site your site remains to wait for their return in the background.

HOT TIP: HTML target code looks like this: Target=”blank”

What do you think will happen when you send someone to a high impact page and when it closes you are right back in front of their eyeballs?  This is called association.  You suddenly will take on all the authority of that other page.

Talk about mega power, this is it.

Concluding Thoughts About Backlinks

Well, there you have it.

Linking building strategies that work.

• External
• Internal
• Outgoing

What did you like about all the above?

What didn’t make sense?

Which technique do you think you will attempt to implement first?

Please share your questions and ideas in the comments below.  I am listening.

About the Author.

Guy Siverson – Author, Blogger, and Online Marketer. He has been a celebrated Online SEO Strategist since the early ’90s. Guy’s greatest joys are his family, friends and helping educate, inspire and motivate others by writing, coaching & speaking engagements targeting success in entrepreneurial careers of others. — Contact 702-439-4766