Similar to our previous topic which deals about onsite links (outbound and internal link structure), inbound links, or those referral links, will also generate higher ranking in search engines.
SEO experts mostly agree that links pointing to your site are the most powerful and important way of climbing search engine results pages (SERPs). Think of it as a vote of confidence and trust the online community vests on you. The more sites link to you, the more popular and credible you become in the eyes of search engines.
But before anything else, not every link pointing at you will work best for you. As Darren of Problogger puts it:
The best inbound links have three main qualities to them:Links coming from higher ranked sites are always best for you because it always translate to more unique hits referred by those sites. Also, albeit a theory circulating around several SEO enthusiasts, like a domino effect, once you’re linked by these sites, there will be more sites linking to you because of the authority these sites can produce.
- They are from higher ranked sites than your own
- They are relevant to the topic you are writing about
- They link to you using relevant keywords to your page
Relevant sites or blogs are also a plus since both of you share the same topic or niche; hence their patrons or readers can also become your readers if they find your site useful and informative.
The relevant keywords they put into your links is also a form of label by which the traffic they refer to you recognizes you. If he used the word “make money online” as the anchor text of his link towards you, the visitors he will direct to your blog will be disappointed if you’re in a different theme, such as gadgets. Conversely, gadget fans who might be interested to what you can offer will never head to your blog simply because they recognize you as make money online blog.
How to Generate Inbound Links?
With all that said, how do you generate quality inbound links? Basically, who will link to us and how they would link to us is pretty much beyond our control. But it’s not all that out of hand. There are also some things which we can do to get other sites to notice us and, hopefully, link to us.
- Create better content
Most bloggers will always say the best and the cheapest way to generate traffic and get noticed in the blogosphere is to generate quality content that people will want to read. This is also the first SEO tip I wrote in this series. People are always a sucker on things that would stimulate their thoughts and imagination. Practice writing better everyday and what better way to do that than blogging. Eventually, you’ll get there. It might not be true that you’re able to hook people with all your articles but hooking them in from time to time will basically do the same effect. It’s like a “Machiavelli effect”. A little every time will get you a long way. - Inform related bloggers about your content
It’s a follow up to the above tip. Tell your fellow bloggers who share the same niche about your great content. There are many ways to do this. You can e-mail them about your new content (of course, the whole polite introductory and ass-kissing part is all up to you). You can also comment in a relevant post, add to the conversation, and set up a link back to your post url. If the blogger is a close friend or acquaintance, why not IM him or her. - Submit your articles
You can also consider writing for others as an option. Submit articles to e-zine publishers, of course don’t forget to attach your site url. They will most often provide a link back to you in your member profile area but it’s better to provide that url where people will see it immediately which is within the article. Submit your blog post to blog carnivals you’re definitely going to get at least an inbound link from here, and of course traffic from people who are curious about your post. Also, how about guest blogging. Here you’re free to link back to your blog or post from the article you’ve submitted. By doing these things regularly you’re not only generating inbound links and traffic, but building your profile as a blogger as well. - Exchange links
This is the most common technique most bloggers utilize to get links from other people, asking for reciprocal links. Usually, they hop from one blog to another to entertain the resident blogger with a simple “hi” at first and then requesting for a “reciprocal link” on the next. Usually, these efforts are gratified immediately and the swapping of links is made instantly. If you are to resort to this, I would advise that you should only swap links with relevant blogs if you’re after getting that high page rank in search engines. - Interlink your blogs
Do you have many blogs like I do; or at least, plans to have? Why not try interlinking your blogs like a network. This act in itself is considered generating inbound links to your blogs. - Generate inbound links manually
Great, if you’re feeling like a spammer why not generate your very own inbound links, just kidding. Yes, you have to generate inbound links manually in an attempt to get your content noticed by others and not to spam. Try submitting your blog url to blog directories. People are using them these days to look for blogs related to theirs to do a bunch of things. And one of them is, perhaps, asking for a reciprocal link from someone related. Tag your blog with all the social bookmarking and social network sites you can lay your hands on. This is one way to get noticed to be linked at or better, be voted to greatness!!! Just don’t overdo it and get branded as spammer, okay? Lastly, you can join forums. Choose a topic or thread where you can share your thoughts and get your posts or blog url posted to provide additional resource. If you’re after using this technique to just spam your way to greatness, I’ll tell you you’ll eventually taste the bitter fruit of your own medicine, a short lived success since Google and the rest of the search engines and internet community will discover eventually and shun the likes of you.
Generating inbound links is not easy. Like the other SEO tips, it takes time to make people link to you. But once you’re finally there, it’s definitely a rewarding experience monetarily and as a blogger. Also, it can be a worthwhile and fun experience; because along the way, you’ll be learning a lot of things from interacting with your fellow bloggers and readers, and you’ll be gaining more friends in the process. (Of course, there will be occasional enemies, but that’s what life is all about right?)
technorati tags: SEO tips, blogging tips, inbound links
What do you think?