Link building for search engine optimization

Link building is one of the pillars of successful SEO (search engine optimization). Without links your website will not be discovered by search engines and people.

If you want to see your site at the top of Google's search engine listings, you're going to need inbound links from high quality, relevant sites. Google states unequivocally that "the quantity, quality and relevance of links count towards your ranking." Google Webmaster Central

Link building can be a daunting task, so we've outlined '62 steps to the definitive link building campaign'. Start by researching your target keywords.

Wordtracker's Link Builder tool

The Link Builder tool from Wordtracker helps search marketers and website owners find quality link prospects, organize them into campaigns and keep track of people they contact.

Sign up today for a free 7-day Link Builder trial and you'll get a free 50-page e-book, Link Building Basics.

You can check out what the new tool does by reading 'A quick guide to Link Builder'.

Live link building webinars

Wordtracker's own link building expert Ken McGaffin presents weekly live webinars - in these he'll show you his tried and tested methods in how to turn your site into a link magnet.

You can see when the next webinars are being held and request an invitation to attend at "How to Build Links To Your Website"

You'll get more insight into planning a link campaign from our most popular articles (see below).

1. 

   How to set up a simple link building strategy Posted by Ken McGaffin on 07 February 2012

   Ken McGaffin, in an extract from his forthcoming (and free) Link Building Made Simple e-book, explains how to form a simple strategy that will get your link building campaigns off to a great start.

2. Link building introduction [VIDEOS] Posted by Ken McGaffin on 25 January 2012

   In four short and clear videos, Ken McGaffin introduces link building for SEOs and all online marketers explaining why links are important, what a quality link is, what sites need links and what kind of sites you should try and get them from.

3. 

   Keyword Basics Part 8: Building keyword rich inbound links Posted by Ken McGaffin on 01 January 2012

   Most of the links that come to your website will point to your home page and normally use your domain name as the ‘anchor text’ (also called ‘linking text’). Ken McGaffin in this eighth article in the Keyword Basics series advises how to turn that into keyword rich link text in order to attract more search engine traffic.

4. 

   Link building and the craft of persuasion Posted by Ken McGaffin on 25 November 2011

   How do you persuade busy bloggers to link to you? By using the craft of persuasion, explains Ken McGaffin.

5. 

   10 reasons why your link requests are failing Posted by Ken McGaffin on 27 October 2011

   One of the most common difficulties in link building is getting a response from link requests. Ken McGaffin gives 10 reasons why you might not be getting answers and how to fix each problem.

6. Link building hero: how Nick Russill gets links for snow-forecast.com without asking Posted by Ken McGaffin on 12 October 2011

   Snow-forecast.com has achieved every link builder’s dream of getting powerful quality inbound links without asking.

7. Does your link building use the secret of the 'magic middle'? [Video] Posted by Ken McGaffin on 29 September 2011

   When you're link building, you want to find high quality link prospects.
   Yet, you also want to find prospects where there's a good chance of actually getting a link.
   Ken McGaffin shows how such prospects can be found in the 'magic middle' ...

8. 

   62 steps to the definitive link building campaign Posted by Mark Nunney on 21 September 2011

   Successful search engine optimization (SEO) requires inbound links from quality relevant websites. Using extracts from their book, Wordtracker Masterclass: Link Building - How to build links to your website for SEO, traffic and response, Ken McGaffin and Mark Nunney here outline the definitive steps in a successful, long term link building campaign.

9. Getting started with Link Builder: Video 6 Posted by Ken McGaffin on 21 September 2011

10. Getting started with Link Builder: Video 4 Posted by Ken McGaffin on 21 September 2011

11. 

    Effortless link building (Part 2) Posted by Ken McGaffin on 15 September 2011

    In Effortless link building (part one), Ken McGaffin showed how finding a single quality news source allows us to quickly and effortlessly build a link building campaign of many thousands of link prospects. In this follow up article, he’ll take that one step further and show how both newbies and more experienced link builders can systematically turn these link prospects into valuable inbound links.

12. Getting Started with Link Builder: Video 2 Posted by Ken McGaffin on 11 September 2011

    Entering up to 10 URLS into the Link Builder tool can deliver thousands of link prospects to help you with your link building campaigns. Ken McGaffin shows how this works in the second in his Getting Started with Link Builder videos.

13. 

    Effortless link building (Part 1) Posted by Ken McGaffin on 01 September 2011

    Always be on the look out for new link building opportunities. And some of the best can emerge from your day-to-day business activities. Chatting to a restaurant owner about a bad review on TripAdvisor.com led Ken McGaffin to an interesting site on travel technology. The site was a good prospect in itself but from that single prospect, he quickly built a campaign of many thousands of link prospects.

14. 

    Have you found your must-have easy-to-get links? Posted by Ken McGaffin on 28 July 2011

    Sites that link to more than one of your competitors are must-have links that should be easy to get. Ken McGaffin shows you to find them.

15. 

    Is this the best link building tool ever? Posted by Ken McGaffin on 21 July 2011

    A good link building campaign needs to be planned, managed, monitored and reported on. It will use a wide range of strategies with many link prospects for each.

    This is a lot of work and Wordtracker's Link Builder tool has been rebuilt to do all these jobs for you. Can all this really be in one tool? Ken McGaffin says it can and here he shows you how.

16. 

    Link building for editors, journalists and writers Posted by Mark Nunney on 21 July 2011

    In part one of SEO for editorial teams, journalists and writers, we looked at how quality editorial is at the heart of building the links SEO requires. In part two, Mark Nunney looks at how they can help promote their quality content to make sure it gets the precious links it deserves and needs for search engines success.

17. 

    How to be a successful guest blogger Posted by Ann Smarty on 28 June 2011

    Guest blogging is receiving a lot of internet marketing buzz at the moment. Pro bloggers are regularly publishing new articles giving guest blogging advice. However this doesn't necessarily make the newbie's job easier as the information is scattered around the web. Worse, at least 80% of posts you read just share how great it is and why you need to try as well.

18. 13 ways to assess a link prospect Posted by Ken McGaffin on 16 June 2011

    Assessing the quality of link prospects and sorting them using tools like Link Builder is crucial at every stage of a link building campaign. Get it right and you’ll be way ahead of your competitors: spending time on link prospects will bring you the best business and SEO benefits. But how do you assess the quality of a link prospect? No more mystery in that - Ken McGaffin gives you 13 ways to assess a link prospect.

19. 25 reasons why another site will link to yours Posted by Ken McGaffin on 11 June 2011

    Why would anyone link to your site? Here are 25 reasons why another site will link to yours. With real world examples from Ken McGaffin.

20. 

    The 11 easiest links you'll ever get Posted by Ken McGaffin on 29 May 2011

    Online directories offer a source of easy links and remain a good first step for many link building campaigns. Yet, many links from directories offer little value. Ken McGaffin outlines his approach to link building with directories.

21. 

    Six things you have got to know before you build links Posted by Gareth Davies on 17 May 2011

    Since 1998 links have been the foundation of Google’s ranking algorithm. But too many people still don't realize that 90% of what they need to do is to get other sites to link to them. Gareth Davies summarizes Patrick Altoft’s recent SES presentation on some basics of link building, including brand v keyword-rich links, competitor analysis, content syndication and replicating competitors’ links.

22. 

    Getting to know your online community Posted by Ken McGaffin on 05 May 2011

    Ken McGaffin in this extract from Wordtracker Masterclass: Link Building explains how online communities work and how to find and contact link building prospects within that community to help you build a profitable, traffic-attracting website:

23. 

    Why you need different link building strategies for different types of sites Posted by Ken McGaffin on 25 April 2011

    Finding quality link prospects is easy. Making an approach and winning that link is not. And if you’ve got thousands of link prospects you’ll not have much success if you make the same blanket approach to each one.

24. 

    The importance of preparation for link building Posted by Ken McGaffin on 14 April 2011

    Quality link building needs great ideas for content that others will want to link to. But ‘build it and they will come’ is not enough. You need to first find the sites you want to link to you and build relationships with them. Ken McGaffin shows us how to prepare for link building.

25. 

    60 takeaways from Think Visibility Leeds Posted by Gareth Davies on 08 March 2011

    The latest Think Visibility conference organized by Dom Hodgson, was held this month at Alea Casino in Leeds. Around 150 practitioners of SEO, social media and affiliate marketing met for a one day powerhouse of a conference. With some big name speakers lined up as well as some big name attendees in the audience, Wordtracker sent Gareth Davies along to gather some of the top takeaways from the event.

26. 

    SES London 2011: 301 takeaways and top tips Posted by Mark Nunney on 22 February 2011

    SES Conference & Expo covers basic, advanced and cutting edge SEO, PPC and online marketing. Mark Nunney, Thomas Baugh, Justin Deaville and Max Holloway have collected the best 301 (so far) top tips, takeaways and memorable quotes from SES London 2011.

27. 

    Original ideas for building content for links Posted by Ken McGaffin on 04 February 2011

    Link building is a creative process. At least the type of link building that can generate hundreds of editorial links is. Where does the inspiration for such powerful ideas come from? A breakdown on the London Underground gave Ken McGaffin the inspiration for this article – and an opportunity to summarize some of his thoughts on creativity.

28. 

    Discover your competitors' link building secrets (Link building course part 3) Posted by Ken McGaffin on 05 November 2010

    Competitor link analysis is much more than finding out who’s linking to your competitors and getting them to link to you. There is a huge amount of useful information you can grab if you just take the time to research carefully.

    In this article, the third in the series, Ken McGaffin shows you how to get the most from competitive link analysis and introduces two new features to the Link Builder tool – linking text analysis and linking domain categorization.

29. 

    How a Link Building Hero uses a blog to build links, make a living and take lots of holidays Posted by Ken McGaffin on 03 September 2010

    Andreas Kambanis of the London Cyclist blog didn’t start as a blogging or a cycling expert. But hard and smart work have turned his cycling blog into his main source of income. Andreas is the first subject of a new series of Link Building Heroes and Ken McGaffin, co-author of Wordtracker Masterclass: Link Building - How to build links to your website for SEO, traffic and response discovers how Andreas uses quality blog content to build links for SEO and an email list for marketing.

30. 

    How to make a link request Posted by Ken McGaffin on 27 August 2010

    So you’ve found some great link prospects. And you’ve created some great reasons why someone should link to you. Now you want to make an approach and craft a great link request. But are your link requests missing the most vital ingredient? Ken McGaffin asks the question and gives the answers.

31. 

    Finding link building prospects by analyzing links to ‘personality websites’ (Link building course part 2) Posted by Ken McGaffin on 27 August 2010

    Some companies and websites can’t keep out of the news. Open up a newspaper, browse a news website, sit down in front of the television and you see the same companies featured time and again. How do they do that? Ken McGaffin explains and shows how to get link prospects from them.

32. 

    How to find great link prospects (Link building course part 1) Posted by Ken McGaffin on 19 August 2010

    We struggle to find link prospects for our websites. And that means we struggle to get the links we need to move us up the search engine rankings and bring more visitors to our sites.

33. 

    8 questions to ask of sites that already link to you Posted by Ken McGaffin on 19 August 2010

    Link building is one of the most difficult parts of search engine optimization and naturally we’re all delighted when we ‘crack it’ and get new links pointing to our site.

    Job done. Good links. Let’s move on to the next job.

    I don’t think so.

34. 

    A quick guide to Link Builder Posted by Ken McGaffin on 02 June 2010

    Link building is not only good for search engine rankings, it’s essential. But not all links are equal - some links are excellent, and many others next to useless. It’s quality, not quantity of inbound links that make winners stand out. That’s why link building is the biggest challenge SEOs and website owners face.

35. 

    10 ways to get keywords in your inbound linking text Posted by Rachelle Money on 01 June 2010

    Creating keyword rich content goes well beyond writing a few articles for your site. Search engine optimization is a discipline which can be used in every corner of your website, including inbound and outbound links. In this article we show you just how easy it is to boost your search engine rankings simply by building keyword rich links.

36. 

    The link building mindset Posted by Ken McGaffin on 31 May 2010

    We all know that one-way links from authority websites are essential if your link building efforts are to be successful. But what does it take to get those authority sites to link to you? Well, you’ll probably guess that it is not easy - quality links don’t materialize from feeble or automated requests. To get those ever so valuable links you’ve got to adopt the right mindset - the principles that show link targets you mean business and that you’re worth linking to.

    Here’s my baker’s dozen ...

37. 

    Link building made easy Posted by Michael Fleischner on 28 May 2010

    If you’ve been finding out about how to improve your website ranking, then you'll have heard about the power of link building. Search engines like Google rely on inbound links to inform their algorithm of site popularity, authority, and interest. As a result, focusing on link building strategies that can position your site correctly are ideal for generating top rankings. SEO expert Michael Fleischner introduces the link building techniques that work for him.

38. 

    111 takeaways and top tips from SMX Advanced London 2010 Posted by Mal Darwen on 20 May 2010

    SMX London 2010 was SMX Advanced so we thought we'd push ourselves too and offer you 111 takeaways and top tips from the conference. Wordtracker's top tweeter, Mal Darwen attended and was supported by Mark Nunney reporting the coverage.

39. 

    Link Builder tool definitions Posted by Ken McGaffin on 09 May 2010

    The Link Builder tool is designed to help you instantly identify your best link prospects - and build a linking campaign that exponentially grows your online presence. And here we explain the different parts of the Link Builder interface.

40. 99 takeaways and top tips from SES London 2010 Posted by Mark Nunney on 20 April 2010

    The Search Engine Strategies (SES) conference in London was once again a great success and I've collected no less than 99 tips, ideas, statistics and memorable quotes from various speakers, panelists and a man in the bar.

41. 

    Are your Superman Pages trapped in a basement full of kryptonite? Posted by Mark Nunney on 30 October 2009

    Your Superman Pages are your most important for search engine optimization (SEO) - the ones you want to perform best on search engines. Get your site's navigation wrong and your Superman Pages will be trapped in a basement full of kryptonite. Here I show how to optimize your website's navigation for search engines and set Superman free.

42. 

    Is online PR the ultimate link building technique? Posted by Ken McGaffin on 29 September 2009

    Getting coverage for your business in mainstream media can be hugely beneficial in bringing a swathe of new visitors to your site, and building inbound links from the media and from all the other people who comment on it. In this article, I want to give you guidelines on how you can use publicity in your own business.

43. 

    10 reasons why journalists will write about your website Posted by Ken McGaffin on 29 September 2009

    “Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.” Jonathan Swift

    Opportunities for great free publicity and inbound links are all around us. They arise every day from a host of newspapers, magazines, blogs and online news sites… but we just don’t see them.

44. 

    Who cares about press embargoes in the age of Twitter? Posted by Rachelle Money on 15 September 2009

    The internet is changing the rules of public relations (PR). Now that anyone can break a story through Twitter or Facebook, how should the PR industry adapt? Has the old-fashioned press release become obsolete? Is the press embargo dead?

45. 

    Father of link building, Eric Ward, reveals his link building secrets Posted by Rachelle Money on 05 November 2008

    You need to actively build links if you want to improve your traffic and get high search engine rankings. But how do you do it? Eric Ward is a master link builder who counts the likes of Amazon, the Discovery Channel and Warner Bros among his list of clients. As a healthy obsessive, there is nothing Ward doesn't know about link building, making him the foremost expert in his field. In our exclusive interview Ward imparts some of his best pearls of wisdom on everything you ever wanted to know about link building.

46. 

    How to use a tool to build links: Introducing the keyword questions tool Posted by Ken McGaffin on 05 November 2008

    Creating a useful free tool is a great way to build links. To illustrate the point, we’re releasing the free ‘Keyword Questions’ tool for the first time today. We’ll be starting with no links and we’ll update you on how our inbound links are doing. (If you like the tool please link to it).

    You’ll find it at Wordtracker Keyword Questions Tool.

47. 

    Case study: John Pye and Sons auctioneers and valuers Posted by Rachelle Money on 07 August 2008

    In our last newsletter we introduced you to In Good Company Workplaces in New York, a company who gained fantastic media attention by sheer perseverance and good fortune. This time, we want to show you how one company got great press attention after they spotted an opportunity to piggyback the hottest story of the year – the credit crunch.

48. 

    Case study: In good company Posted by Rachelle Money on 22 July 2008

    SEO is about the off page factors as well as the on page factors - small businesses usually neglect the former. Getting external sites to write about you, especially top news sites, can do wonders for your inbound links and as a result improve your search engine rankings. Here’s how one company got top rate media coverage.

49. 

    Link Builder webinars Posted by Ken McGaffin on 28 May 2008

    To help you get the most from Wordtracker's Link Builder tool, we run regular online seminars.

50. 

    Rand Fishkin interview: Social media marketing and viral marketing Posted by Rachelle Money on 20 May 2008

    Rand Fishkin is a popular speaker at search engine optimization conferences – not so much for his trademark yellow sneakers – but for his direct and uncompromising advocacy of social media marketing. His strategy is to focus on the ‘linkerati’, the new breed of bloggers whose approval is often the first stage in launching a successful campaign, and he insists the quickest way to kill a viral campaign is by giving it to your public relations department. Fishkin explains his approach and gives top tips on social media marketing.

51. How to count your site's inbound links Posted by Mark Nunney on 15 August 2007

    Inbound links are links from other sites to yours, and they are crucial in all but the least competitive of markets (and even in those you need some links). You therefore need to know how many inbound links your site has.

52. 

    Using top search keywords in online public relations Posted by Greg Jarboe on 04 April 2007

    SEO-PR has been offering optimized press release services since March 2003. But, the first time my online public relations firm recommends using top search keywords in headlines and at least the first 100 words of optimized press releases, I can't tell you how frequently new clients are surprised.

    Many people mistakenly believe that search engine optimization and online public relations firms can magically optimize a press release - without modifying any release content - by adding invisible meta keywords tags. So, they are shocked, shocked to find that their top search keywords actually need to appear high up in very visible locations.

53. 

    Keyword phrases in linking text Posted by Ken McGaffin on 27 October 2005

    Often simple things really matter. And the use of keywords in linking text is one of those simple things that turn out to be hugely important. Linking text, sometimes called anchor text, is the clickable text that takes people to another page or resource. You need to choose that text carefully.

54. 

    How to get links without asking Posted by Ken McGaffin on 07 June 2005

    Sending out link requests is a time-consuming business. So wouldn't it be wonderful if other sites linked to you without being asked?

    Sound impossible? Well, it can be done and here are ten strategies to prove it.

55. 6 powerful ways to find link building targets Posted by Ken McGaffin on 06 February 2005

    Finding quality sites to target is at the heart of any effective linking strategy. ‘Quality sites’ are not the ones that are easiest to get links from but those that will drive most relevant traffic to your site. In our last newsletter, we looked at how to maximize your link value to make your site more attractive to link targets. In this issue we’ll explore how to find quality link targets.

56. The perfect link building strategy Posted by Ken McGaffin on 07 August 2004

    If you’ve gone through all the hard work of a link building campaign, you expect to be rewarded with some impressive links. The reality is that many people are disappointed with the trickle of links and the trickle of traffic that their efforts produce.