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Link building is a very simple process if you plan it out correctly. If you are unorganized and link building randomly, it could become a huge mess. Before you start a link building campaign, do a little bit of research and find out your keywords, competitors, and current link partners. These three things can make or break your link building campaign. Once you have these, get organized. I usually start by using a spreadsheet (Excel) to organize the data I gathered. Now, you are ready to start link building…

1. Directories (Note: submission fee involved)
This should be the first place you start to look for links. Directories are trusted by the search engines, some more than others, but overall are very good links to have. Submitting to a ton of directories (submission ranges from 10 dollars to 300 dollars) could get a little pricey, so it might be wise to choose just a handful of directories that are the best for your niche. Here’s how:

Start by Looking at a list of directories (organized by page strength) Now find the section where your site would best fit under, remember only choose directories you are willing to pay for (could get pricey, so set a budget from the beginning). Now run the page strength tool for each section of the directory your site would actually go under (use spreadsheet to keep track). Do this for all the directories and you’ll have a list of the best directories for your niche. Pick and choose which ones you want. Save the list so you can go back later and add your site to other directories when your budget permits.

2. Competitor’s Links
Finding sites that link to your competitor is one of the best ways to get links. This sounds easy enough, but it can get awfully time consuming. Before you start, find out who your competitors are and remember to use a spreadsheet to track who you have contacted and when you contacted them. Download the spreadsheet. Now you’re ready to start.

Go to Yahoo and use the following:
Link:www.your_competitors_website.com
All the results you see are sites that link to your competitors, go to each site and find their contact info. You should contact each one individually and ask for a link (one way or reciprocal). You can contact the site through email or by phone (calling tends to work better, but is more time consuming). Remember to be polite and professional when contacting the sites owners or webmasters. Use the spreadsheet above to keep track of all your information. This is not going to be a one day thing. It is going to take time, so organization is the key.

3. Link Building Software
Link building software is the automated way to find contact information for sites that link to your competitors and sites that rank for keywords in your niche. The software usually ranges from 50-300 dollars. I have used many different types of software. I do not recommend using software to link build. More than half the time it pulls the wrong contact info (email address). If you must use software, SEO Elite and Arelis (IBP) are the best ones.

4. Natural Links
This is quite possibly the hardest method to link build. A natural link is when someone links to your site because you offered them something useful, such as excellent content, great resources, a tool of some sort, fantastic services or the lowest prices. Only the best sites in the niche get natural links. Let’s face it, not everyone can be the best and not everyone can get tons of natural links. If your site is around long enough, it will eventually get a few natural links.

5. Purchasing Links
There’s nothing wrong with paying for links. Buying links could give you more time and be more cost effective than looking for links. There are a few things you should you should keep in mind when purchasing links:

• Be sure the link you purchase comes from a site that is closely related to your niche.

• It is best if the link is placed within content and, if possible, place keywords around the link.

• Use keywords in anchor text for your link. Each link should have slightly different anchor text.

• Make sure that the link’s webpage is indexed by the search engines and note how often it is looked at.

• Check for page rank (dont be fooled by high page rank), but be sure the link is on a good page (use page strength tool and check the keyword density).

• Do not buy sitewide links. These are links that will be placed in the footer or other known advertising positions.

• Watch for scam, there are quite a few of scammers out there so just be aware. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Keeping all these things in mind and doing some research will ensure that you get the most bang for your buck. Text Link Ads and Text Link Brokers are good places to start buying links. Remember: don’t go out and buy a hundred links in one day…spread it out over a period of time.

6. Press Release
Press Releases will not only get you links, but traffic as well. Hire a professional to write the press release and be sure that it has a good title (add keywords if possible), a few keywords within the content and a link back to your site. Now that you have a well written press release, you are ready to distribute it. The more you pay, the better it gets distributed and prices range from 20 to 300 dollars. Pr Leap and PR Web are some good places to distribute your press releases. The benefits of a press release are enormous, if done correctly, so make sure to be thorough. Remember: a press release represents your company’s image, so make sure it represents you in a good way.

7. Forums And Blogs
Participating in forums and blogs (in your community) can drive some traffic to your site and get you well known, it can also get you links. Add a link to your site on your signature, or if you post comments on your favorite blogs, why not fill in your URL when it ask you for it (this is not available on all blogs). DO NOT SPAM the forums and blogs. The purpose of you being on the forums and blogs is so that you learn and participate with them. So please do not go out and add a link to every forum and blog, that will just get you banned.

There is no easy way to link build. The bottom line is that the more time and effort you spend, the better return you will get. This article is just to ensure that you spend your time and money the right way.