The benefits of link building are known to one and all. It serves a number of purposes, from page branding to boosting search engine rankings. With more people searching online for brands and products, a higher page rank has become all the more important. The higher your page rank is, the more accessible it will be to online users.
However, achieving a high page rank is a task easier said than done. It requires proper page optimization and this is where link building comes in. By adding links to relevant pages you will not only bolster your page rank, but also build awareness of your brand (product). Everyone who visits those pages (where you have left a link) will come to know of your existence, thus resulting in increased awareness.
Many people tend to overemphasize link building and neglect other important SEO factors. This is absolutely wrong! Link building without a proper SEO strategy is downright ineffective. That is why, it’s important to prioritize not one, but all factors involved in the SEO process. Coming to link building, there are a variety of tactics you can employ depending on your goals. In general, the most common types of link building techniques are:
Reciprocal Links
In simple words, it’s the exchanging of links between two or three sites. For example, a site agrees to put the link of another site, only if the other one is willing to do the same. There’s much debate over the use of reciprocal links. Some strongly oppose it, when some use it with moderate success. That said, as long as you use it properly, it will prove to be effective.
Directory Links
Another effective tactic is submitting links to a directory. It’s basically a site that accepts links from a large number of websites and categorizes them accordingly. Its purpose is similar to yellow pages (just an analogy).
Blog Commenting
This is by far the most commonly used link building tactic. It involves leaving a comment or review under a relevant blog post, along with the link of your website. Upon receiving approval from the blog’s administrator, your comment and link will be visible to all who visit that post.
Press Release Links
You can also submit interesting news to any reputable press release site (some are free, while some require you to pay). Your link (of the press release you submitted) will then be pasted on a number of relevant sites.