How do you build SEO back links?

Backlinks are crucial in SEO ranking, however not everyone has a clear idea on how they work. There are those dos and don’ts of back linking that you should know by heart before venturing into this field. Here are some great tips that will start you off in the right direction:

The Do’s

Here is a general rule of SEO back links: always aim for honest and genuine links.

1) Post to Guest Sites

Post articles to guest blogs or websites with valid back links on the articles. Of course you cannot just jump to any site you see first, so there is a useful tool known as the Backlink Builder, offered free of charge online. All you need to do is type in the targeted keywords and the software generates a list of potential websites you can post articles to.

2) Go for Directory Listings

There are plenty of valid online Directories for listings like Yahoo or DMOZ. The perk of doing this is that you not only get noticed by web visitors, but search engines can rank you faster as well. It’s also free of charge, so you have nothing to lose. Examples of article directories are Ezine, Squidoo and Reddit.

3) Aim for Blogs and Forums

Not only are you building credible backlinks, but also creating a good rapport with fellow bloggers and web users. Engaging in forums is a fast way to get users to like your content and even follow the links you provide. The same can be said for posting on guest sites, you only need to agree with the administrator on the content and that you will be using backlinks to your site.

4) Use Social Media

Social media is a free platform with lots of users, meaning you have great chances to have your backlinks clicked on. Set up a company profile for LinkedIn, You Tube, Google Plus, Facebook or Instagram. Interact with people on a daily basis and throw in your backlinks regularly. You can even pay a third party to manage your social media platform—all these efforts will definitely pay at the end.

The Don’ts

Now that you know what to do, here are some practices to avoid when trying to create backlinks:

1) Link Trading

Otherwise known as Backlink Barter, this is where a website offers to post your backlinks while you also post their links to your site. Basically a ‘Scratch my back I scratch yours’ approach. The problem is at some point outbound links may exceed inbound links, which is bad for business.

2) Avoid Posting Links to Spam Sites

How do you personally treat spam sites? You block them completely, so the same will happen to the spam sites you throw backlinks into. As online users shut these sites out of their browsing activity, so your backlinks go down the drain.

3) Purchasing Bulk Links

This is outward cheating and not only will you be spamming online users, search engines won’t be happy with you either. Black Hat seo practices often lead to censorship or poor ranking.

Bottom Line

Creating credible backlinks is all about knowing how to work smart and to avoid those practices that get websites blacklisted by search engines.