Why do you build links? Is it for PageRank, or because you realize that one way link building is the ticket to rank with the search engines.

I hear it now...they are one in the same. Wrong. It is easy to build PageRank simply using your domain name. While this can be good to build a brand, it isn't the most effective one way link building method to jump start competitive keyword ranking.

PageRank in and of itself does not equal top SERP's.

PageRank is one factor utilized in ranking an overall page but specific topical anchor text on inbound links are the ticket to rank for targeted keywords and phrases. The most effective way to build one way links is to identify and seek links with anchor text on relevant pages in trusted domains and good neighborhoods.

Obsessing about the PageRank of the page you plan to acquire a link from is not a good idea. Many pages show PageRank but do not pass link juice. A PageRank 0 page can pass link juice and, if relevant, can be a good place to drop your link. It is also much easier to place links in domains on the right pages if PageRank isn't your top concern.

One way link building must be done in a natural way. Search engines don't like unnatural methods of building links. Natural means that each page will have links with many, and varied anchor text. It is natural to obtain links using your domain name, names of products you sell, as well as with the competitive keywords that you seek to rank for.

Since links in to your website are considered to be positive votes related to page content obtaining those one way links from related sites on related pages is more important than simply finding pages with high PageRank.

Who ranks for the keyword
Find the pages that rank for the keyword you are after. Then, find out how many links they have, the anchor text they use, and who they link to. Our link analysis software makes this easy. This helps to establish the neighborhood to seek out the most important links you can get to match, and exceed the high ranking sites you are up against. Get links from these sites, and similar sites to be included in the relevant neighborhood.

Develop a comprehensive Linking Campaign
• Make sure the pages you want links on are a good fit for your site.
• The pages are indexed and have a recent cache date.
• Content links are ideal but even footers help some.
• Identify the sites your visitors regularly use. Get links there.
• Minimize reciprocal linking and only with topically relevant sites.
• Get deep links too, not just homepage links.
• Get links from many different domains, not 1000 links from one forum.

Create your own Pages
A great way to get deeplinks and the anchor text you want on a topically related page is to build the page yourself. HubPages, Squidoo, and Ebay Blogs are three examples of places where you can build a page to create backlinks. Make the page interesting, and link to other sites that contain good information about your subject. Your goal is to have a page title, heading, body content, and links that are topically relevant to the anchor text pointing to your domain page.

Offer value to your link targets
Offer something to the webmaster you want a link from. Whether this is an article, tool, free anything, or simply a viral idea, make your offer to your key link target compelling. Successful websites attract lots of link requests. An automated link letter will be considered spam by most.

Directories
If you have a budget, the Yahoo Directory, Starting Point, Business.com and others that require a fee to review your site are great one way links for domain building. Unless your main keyword is your domain name then you will not be getting any great anchor text, but the one way link is from a trusted domain, many times contains relevant page titles and headings, and the links will be topically relevant. This is everything you want in a link, except it isn't free and the anchor text of the link is generally your domain name.

Free directories are not a waste of time but caution is needed. Many free directories do not pass link juice at all and so a one way link from these places is useless. Free directories must have :
♦ Relevant page titles and preferably headings
♦ Outbound links with totally different anchor text (How important is a page that has 100 links using "mortgage loans" as anchor text to 50 different domains) The search engines are smarter than that!
♦ Outbound links are to quality sites. Don't place links where each link on the page is to a spam site.
♦ The page is indexed and has a recent cache date.

Articles
Writing articles and submitting them to directories can provide many one way links, including deep links, to pages on your site. One issue to consider here though is that the links will be on pages that are considered duplicate content by the SE's.

Articles should be teaser pages that spark interest so that a click through to your site provides a more detailed, completely different write up on the same subject that fully answers the readers questions about the topic. This prevents the page on your site from being duplicate content since it is a totally different, more comprehensive version of the distributed article.

Blog Comments
Blog comments about related topical matters provides a little help in your one way link building campaign. The links are not particularly valuable generally due to the wide spread use of nofollow and generally blog pages contain to many outbound links to do much good anyway.

Forum Posts
Forum posts are pretty much a waste of time unless your niche and keyword competition is particularly weak. Forum posts can be a good source of non-SE traffic if you can provide good information about topics discussed. Forums are a good place to network and get ideas, some horrible, some not so bad.

Social Media
Social media can be a fantastic way to generate one way links as well. This takes a lot of time, requires some training to do it right, and is subject to rapid changes due to the nature of social media but tons of one way links can be generated.

Press Releases
Using Press Releases to announce a new site, products, services, or tools is useful if done properly and judiciously. A well written press release is not that easy to do but like anything else, finding good ones from other domains to learn from is a good way to start.

E-book's and White Papers
Creating a white paper or valuable E-book is a great way to get natural one way links to your home page or better yet deep links. The key here is not to duplicate what is already out there and provide interesting, informative information to create a buzz.

Newsletters and RSS
Newsletters and RSS readers are vitally important to building a brand. Your newsletter can ultimately include ads and offers to an interested audience. Getting deep links with RSS is a good technique often overlooked.

One way link building should be planned to be an effective, targeted method to achieve ranking, not simply be a numbers game. I totally agree with Jim Boykin and seek quality links rather than quantity.

One way link building can be grueling. Value quality over quantity. Seeking quality links for your website is an ongoing, continual process. If your content is good natural linking (the kind requiring no work) will snowball and continue to grow as your site matures.

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