Before we get onto link building, a couple of tips for you:

1. Patience is a virtue! It can sometimes take a little bit of time before the major search engines cozy up to your blog. Don’t be offended or too frustrated. Continue working on your blog and following other traffic generation methods. The nice thing about the content tactics covered here are that they are all mutually reinforcing. If a long period passes, go back and check your work. But don’t get frustrated too early.

2. Don’t become too Google obsessed! Google is the biggest search engine player, but the other two can drive a lot of traffic to your blog. There are entire communities dedicating to dissecting Google and its algorithms. Google often befuddles even the most veteran search engine optimization experts. If you want to crack the top 10 in Google, it might require a great deal of work–probably a disproportionate effort for most hobbyist bloggers. You want Google traffic, but it is usually not worth developing an obsession to obtain it.

TRADITIONAL LINK-BUILDING OVERVIEW

There are a variety of specific tactics one can use to create links to their blogs. Many of those strategies are outlined in this ebook. However, despite the power of articles, sigging and other strategies, one must still consider some of the traditional means by which they can acquire links.

Links are half of the traffic battle. By taking advantage of some tried and true link building strategies, you can really help your cause.

LINK TRADES

This is one of the original free link-building techniques. You find a site that compliments your own in terms of content and you then send the webmaster or blogger an email inquiring about trading links.

The upside is that it is completely free and can create an opportunity for cooperative and interesting interaction with someone who shares your interest.

The downside is that the success rate is pretty low. Some people will even recommend avoiding this tactic altogether, because you are likely to be ignored more often than a trade occurs.

Trades can be tough because no one likes the idea of linking to a potential competition. Additionally, if you are operating a fledgling blog, you probably have far less to offer your trading partner than they have to offer you. There are also legitimate concerns about honesty in link trading. Many people have been known to agree to link trades only to never put up the reciprocal link or to keep it there only until you have verified its presence.

In some circumstances, however, a link trade can be a good decision. If you find a site that seems like a natural companion to your blog, it is worth floating an offer.

FREE LINKS

There are many sites that will accept and list links without any obligation or only with the requirement of a link back to them. These sites can be a great way to building your backlink totals. Note that this strategy is not particularly different than the link exchanges noted above. However, these processes tend to be automated and are generally more reliable. Nonetheless, one must be aware of the possibility of getting a raw deal.

Screen these options carefully, however. There is little value in a link from a disjointed “free for all” site. Additionally, your blog could be penalized if you reciprocate with a link to a bad neighborhood. Instead, stick to sites that are related to your own and that are of a high enough quality that you won’t feel guilty sending your blog’s visitors there.

You can find sites that offer this opportunity by doing a Google search involving your keyword(s) and phrases such as “add a link,” “add your link,” or “add URL.”

Clearly, you want to amass as many links as possible. However, you don’t want to put yourself in a position where you are compelled to offer thousands of backlinks from your blog. First, the design of most blogs is ill-suited for this.

Second, there are concerns about the number of outbound links on your site and how a search engine might perceive them. Finally, there are those will argue that if you have too many outbound leaks, your site could become too “leaky,” leading to visitors wandering from your blog to someone else‘s site.

BONUS TIPS

1. Track your trades! Make sure the other side is holding up their end of the bargain. Check your backlinks occasionally and make sure those who are supposed to be offering links to your site are doing so.

2. Ask for anchor text! A link to http://www.widgetz.com is fine, but it is not quite as good (in the eyes of the search engines) as a text string stating All of the Best Widgets that serves as a hyperlink to your site. This is called anchor text and it can produce better results than a traditional URL link.

DIRECTORIES – OVERVIEW

Links are a key to traffic, and one great source of free links is directory submission. You have undoubtedly seen these sites online. They are organized compendiums of websites on a variety of subjects. They feature a brief description of a site and then a link to the site. You can get traffic a few different ways from a directory. There will be those who surf there and click on your link.

You can also get that highly desirable search engine bump from adding to your blog’s backlink collection. To make things even more enticing, some of the directories actually have their information “scraped” by a variety of other sites, multiplying the potential value of a link. There are paid directories. They charge a fee (sometimes nominal, sometimes costly) in exchange for listing your site. For our purposes here, we will focus on free directories.

TYPES OF FREE DIRECTORIES

Free directories are those that will list your blog without charging you for the privilege. Their acceptance criteria may vary, and there is no guarantee that a directory will list your site. In most cases, however, inclusion is a very strong likelihood.

Some directories are wide-ranging and contain an immense variety of categories. Others are specific to a certain geographical area or topic niche. Be sure to submit your blog to only those directories that would be interested in your content.

Free directory listings can be completely free without obligation of any sort. Other sites, however, will require a link to the directory placed on your blog. Is the value of the link from the directory worth the hassle of the link from your blog? It depends on the directory. If you are dealing with a directory that is frequently visited and highly regarded by the search engines, it may be worth a link. If it is related to your specific niche and may be of value to your readership, it may also be a good decision. However, there are enough directories that do not require backlinks to justify avoiding many directories requiring reciprocal links.

DMOZ: THE OPEN DIRECTORY PROJECT

The “mother of all directories” is DMOZ. This is a human-edited compendium of web resources with an expansive array of categories and sub-categories. DMOZ ostensibly filters out “junk sites” and lists only those pieces of the internet that contain content that meets the varying standards of editors.

DMOZ listings are coveted by many webmasters because Google apparently relies on the listings as one component of its valuation process for sites. A DMOZ listing can also generate some traffic in and of itself.

Getting into DMOZ appears to be deceptively simple. You browse through the categories until you find the one that best matches your blog. You then click on the link for adding a new URL. A few simple questions are asked in a form, which you then submit.

Although the “application procedure” is simple, getting listed is not a piece of cake. The amount of time a category editor will take before getting to your site and looking at it can vary considerably. Some have said that it took several years before DMOZ took a gander at their site.

Even then, inclusion is not guaranteed. The requirements and expectations of editors vary and many seemingly adequate sites have been rejected by DMOZ.

It is worth trying to get into to DMOZ. The possible upside is sufficient to warrant a quick application. However, the best advice to bloggers is to submit your blog and then forget it about it. If you get in, that’s great. If not, you are not alone.

FINDING FREE DIRECTORIES

There are literally of thousands of free directories available. Most of them will probably have a category that is related to your blog. There are places online that maintain a list of directories. One example can be found at http://www.seocompany.ca/directory/free-web-directories.html, which provides several hundred directories.

New directories are being launched every day. Submitting to a new directory may not produce results on par with using an established directory, but inclusion can be a great deal faster. Additionally, new directories are often excited about adding new listings and are more likely to make free listings available without the requirement for a reciprocal link.

You can find many new directories that are looking for sites by perusing forums populated by people in the online business. The Digital Point Forums, for example, contain an entire forum area dedicated to new directory announcements.

SUBMITTING TO DIRECTORIES

Most directories make submission intuitive. Generally, you browse the categories until you find the area that is best-suited for your blog. You then click on a visible link to add a new listing. This generally brings you to a form you must complete.

There are certain bits of information you will want to have handy when submitting to directories. You will need to know your site’s URL, its title, your email address, and you should have a brief description of your blog (as well as some of its keywords) available. Filling out forms like these can be redundant. As a result, special form submitting software (some of which is freeware) has been created to make the process easier. Those who use Firefox as a browser can also make use of a handy extension that makes completing forms of this sort much faster.

BLOG DIRECTORIES

The directory tips we just covered will work for any site. One of the great advantages to using a blog is that you can make use of these traditional tactics easily and effectively while also benefiting from strategies unique to blogs. An example of this is the blog directory.

Blog directories live up to their name. They are organized directories consisting completely of blogs. They will list your blog under the appropriate categories with a description and other relevant information.

The submission process is similar to that required of other directories. You may be asked to provide the URL for your RSS feed (if available), as well. Often, blog directories request either a link back to the directory or the inclusion of a graphical button on your blog as a precondition for inclusion.

As blogging grows in popularity, these blog directories are becoming important locations for many searchers. Some people rely on these to find timely and interesting information instead of traditional search engines. You cannot afford to overlook listing your site on some of the more popular blog directories.

You can find lists of blog directories in many places, or you can simply search for blog directories using your favorite search engine. One good list of directories can be found at http://www.toprankresults.com/blog-submit-list.htm.

Some of the blog directories also attempt to double as active blogger communities. Thus, in some cases it may be necessary to create a membership to the site first. This is generally a quick and easy process.

PINGING BLOG DIRECTORIES

The ping is another unique tool for blogs that enables you to notify blog directories that your site has been updated. A ping is nothing more than a quick transmission to the blog directory, notifying them that there is new content.

These pings can send you to the top of the “updated blogs” lists, improve your visibility and increase traffic. It has also been shown that pinging can alert spiders from search engines to check out your site for updates and indexing.

Pinging should be done every time new content is added to your blog. However, if you are adding several posts in rapid succession, you may want to either ping only once or spread out your posts over a longer period of time. Many directories and blog services do not look at over-pinging favorably.

The easiest way to ping directories is through the use of an automated tool. There are two popular pinging devices you can access that will notify a host of services every time you have made an update. The more venerable of the two is Ping-o-Matic which can be found at http://www.pingomatic.com. A newer entry into the free ping tool category is Pingoat. Pingoat operates a bit more quickly and seems to service more directories. It can be found at http://www.pingoat.com.

MORE TIPS…

1. Break it into Pieces! There are so many directories that you might want to make directory submission an ongoing process. You can add your blog to a few directories each day in your spare time. The cumulative effect will be significant!

2. Write a good description! When describing your blog, make it an attractive and interesting possibility for a reader. You also want to make sure your description contains keywords related to your site. Most directories want legitimate, accurate descriptions. Avoid superlatives and “advertising” rhetoric when writing your description.