Backlinks. It is the keyword king of SEO. In fact, it is the buzzword of the Internet. It sometimes even seems people would kill for a good link back to their site. However, how do we even define a “good” backlink? Most people would say Page Rank, page age and related content are the factors that make some links better than other. However, most SEO experts will tell you a lot of things go into the mix and the ones mentioned earlier are just a few that matter. Ok, but let’s say we have been able to establish what quality backlinks are and now we want to get some of them to improve our website’s rankings. How the crap do you get this done?
SEO specialists will tell you do not cheat, do not take shortcuts and play nicely to get your backlinks. They will tell you to create unique and interesting content so that people want to copy it. You will also be told to initiate contacts with people and companies, which operate related websites and ask them to link to you, but do so respectfully and be patient…ALL THIS IS CRAP!
You can disagree, but if you have been around for a while you can feel SEO has been getting more and more crowded and people who use the web have been getting smarter. Whereas several years ago Internet marketing was just a small portion of what was going on online, today almost everybody is aware of what search engine marketing and optimization are. So when you ask somebody to link to you they know damn well what you want (their link juice!). Hence, growth of the Internet does not mean you have more options to get backlinks from (well it does, but only in theory). What is really happening is that your competition is getting bigger and smarter.
What do you do then? First, prepare mentally to spend some money. SEO services (only those with positive reviews) are one of your options because they know where to find good links – something that will take you a while to figure out. You obviously need to take advantage of the „easy” backlinks: from social networks, from your friends’ websites, from site valuation portals and etc. However, your main strategy should be to focus on social bookmarks, directory listings, profile creations, press release services, forum posts and local business listings. What about guest blog posting? If you want to waste time – be my quest! 80-90% of blog services have set up “no follow” attribute for comments from visitors. I would also discourage paying for links just because they have high Page Rank. This is because rank can change very quickly and very dramatically. One of my friend’s paid $2000 for a PR8 link only to find in several weeks this backlink became PR5. He did not get his money back. I probably sound like a skeptic – actually I am not. I still believe successful optimization is within reach of an average Joe. If you have a good product and play the cards well you can even compete and win with the big boys who own the natural meaning, one word .com domains. Good luck!
Jason Murk