Methods
Actively going out to acquire incoming links, also know as back-links by Google. Most of these are quick to do and are a one-time submission task. Some of these methods do involve paying a listing fee.
Top-Level Directory submission – The big three, Google, Bing, and Yahoo, can all be submitted for free. Others you will need to pay for.
Second-Level Directory submission – all the rest, Alta Vista, DMOZ, Ask Jeeves, and many more are considered generic or second tier directories. It is worth your time getting in as many of these as possible.
Niche Directory submission – perform a search on your favorite search engine for “your keywords + directory”. Try searching for a couple of different keywords or combinations to find different directories that cater to your company’s niche.
Resource sites – taking a similar approach to above, do a search for your top performing keywords and identify any industry resource sites.
Other Methods
Becoming an authoritative site in your area of expertise is the key to all successful websites. These types of links are built up over a long period of time, think of it like running a marathon, you have to keep running.
Content – build top-quality, unique content that provides value to people. They will then naturally provide links to your site.
Start a forum – though very time consuming and resource intensive, a forum where people can talk about ideas related to your area of expertise is an effective method of building content.
Blogs – similar concept to a forum but less resource-intensive. A great way for people to link to your site, and it provides a great customer retention tool.
Press releases – issue press releases. A great way to build up general awareness of your business, assuming you have something positive to crow about.
RSS Feeds – This is basically a press release function, but is expands the area to which you press release is read, by feeding the information to multiple news outlets through XML coding.
Testimonials – provide a testimonial to your suppliers regarding the great service they are providing your business.
Free Tools – provide some sort of free tool on your site. This is a very effective way for the resource sites that are out there to link to your site.
Newsletters – start a newsletter that you can email to your clients. Put up a newsletter archive on your site allowing anyone to view these.
RedFusion Media is a leading web content design and maintenance company in the Inland Empire, the 13th largest U.S. economic market. While we have clients from other states, our primary market is in the area of Southern California, known as the Inland Empire. We manage over 180 client websites and 3 regional directory sites. RedFusion Media understands the fundamentals of getting a website ranked. It starts with the design and navigation. But the specific way the text is written is also important. We work with our clients so they understand how create content that will increase Google Ranking.
