Linking Strategies (Part 2)

Today I want to discuss several methods for finding web sites that want to link to you.  These methods are straightforward and should be part of every linking strategy campaign.

Contact your industry associations and other business affiliations.  If you are a member of an industry association, chances are that they will have a directory of members.  If they allow links to member's websites, then by all means ask that they link to your site.  Other places to look would be Chambers of Commerce and your local town's web site.

Request links from related businesses.  This should be a natural extension of your regular business networking.  If you are a wood floor refinisher, then requesting links from interior decorators, real estate agents, and building contractors would be ideal candidates.

Submit your website to top Internet directories.  There are literally thousands of web directories out there.  Some are free, some will require a link back to their website, and some will not generate any traffic but will give you a link that will boost your site's rankings.

Here is a great web directory reference site Best-Web-Directories.com to start your search.  In addition to listing the top directories, they also list which ones are free and also give a short review. 

Legally spy on your competition.  Go to any of the major Search Engines (SE) and type in the keyword phrases that you would like to rank highly for.  Then for each of the top 10 or 20 sites, type into the SE search box the search operator link: immediately followed by the competitors web address.  For example, link:http://theblvdgroup.com.  The result will be a listing of web sites that link to the specified web address.  You can use this information to see what other sites or directories you can request links from. 

Search for specialized or niche sites and directories.  Go to any SE and type in your desired keyword phrase followed by "add url" (the quotes are required).  This will give you a listing of web sites and directories that allow you to submit your website.  You can expand on this concept by changing the search qualifier to "add site" or "add a site" or "submit your site" or ... you get the idea.

As you can see, requesting links to your site can take on a life of its own.  It's best to tackle this process a little at a time.  I recommend that you spend 1-2 hours per week requesting links.  Then in a few months you should have begun to dramatically increase your incoming links and your SE rankings.

In my next post on linking strategies, I'll point you to one of the best linking strategy web sites where you can download their free report.