Backlinks are one of if not the most important things when trying to build links on search engines that lead back to your website. Back links or in the literal sense links back to your website are links that you can create through a variety of avenues to lead people back to your website. Backlinks, as one would assume, can be built all sorts of ways. From something simple like adding a profile on a directory like Yelp to something that takes more time to index like with article marketing. All in all though, the amount of quality and diverse backlinks you have, does matter. Quality = not spamming. Diverse = on various websites with different page ranks and authority types. It used to be that you could just place backlinks everywhere and anywhere and it didn’t matter where or how you got them. But, over the past few years, Google and other engines are cracking down on how you create these links and where they are coming from, because of this, listed below are various sites or rather “ways” to get backlinks.
– Directories: Places like Yelp and Yellow Pages allow you to create a business profile – usually one that includes a URL to your website or blog. This can be a great way to not only create a backlink, but create another layer of web presence to your business. Besides Yellow Pages and Yelp, some sites you could think about are: Google+ (rank 9/10), Yahoo Business (7/10), Merchant Circle (8/10), LinkedIn (9/10), Brown Book (2/10) and Info USA (2/10). If you need help with figuring out different / the best directories to post your business on, consider hiring a SEO firm SEO Firm in NJ .
– Article Marketing: This has been and always will be a popular way of creating backlinks. However, it used to be that you could and wanted to add your article to 1000+ sites. These days, you want to be more diverse and only pick a few sites to post your article on – both high rank as well as low rank, and incorporate other ways of getting backlinks. Article marketing allows you to create an article with a title, body, keywords, category and a short html coded “about the author” snippet in the article that can include a link back to your website. Try sites like EzineArticles, GoArticles, FreeWebsiteDirectory, HubPages, Squidoo and Artipot. If you do not know how to write or what keywords to choose for your articles or your marketing campaigns in general, considering hiring a writer for your content and a SEO specialist for all of your SEO efforts.
– Press Releases: Again, these press releases should not go to 50000000 sites. Just pick your top 10 that you really like and are free or paid and get your press release put on these sites. Most of these sites will have criteria or guidelines you will have to follow, but most of them will also allow you to place 1-5 links back to your website on the press release that is hyperlinked.
– Other: Miscellaneous sites such as Facebook and Twitter as well as some Forums and some journals like Live Journal allow you to create a profile and include your links back to your website or blog on them. These sites DO matter and while they may not make as much of an impact as something like a press release, they will make a small impact!
– YouTube and Video Sites: Video sites like YouTube allow you to not only create a profile to include your links on, but you can also create videos and include your link back to your website in the summary/description section of the video.
Hopefully this small, but ample list will help you get on your way to getting backlinks. Just remember – quality and diverse is what matters the most. Stay away from link exchanges or link swaps, as well as link bait. These are frowned upon when it comes to engines like Google and could get you in trouble, rather than benefit you. If creating backlinks seems like a little too much work for you, you can also find people that offer services to help you out, or hire a Top SEO firm to help you out with creating SEO friendly and Google safe backlinks to your website.
