Link building ideas you’ve probably never thought of

Posted by Jeremy L. Knauff

We all know how important links are to produce organic search traffic. Unfortunately, the easiest way to acquire quality links, by purchasing them, has become too risky for many people because of Google’s stance on paid links. This doesn’t mean that you are stuck just waiting for someone to link to your content on their own. There are tons of ways to build links; a little creativity can go a long way. Here are a few ideas to get you going:

1. There are countless worthwhile charities and non-profit organizations out there, and many of them list and link to their donors on their website. This is a great way to build quality links while contributing to society.
2. Anytime someone receives a confirmation email from your company, such as after they make a purchase or when they sign up for your newsletter, ask them to review your products or services on their own website or blog.
3. Create original and useful tools or resources for your industry.
4. Develop your own themes for popular open source applications, such as WordPress, Joomla or ZenCart, and include your link in the footer.
5. Interview high-profile people in your industry. More often than not, they will link to the interview.
6. Find relevant websites that regularly interview people, and offer to be interviewed.
7. Guest post on popular, high-traffic websites that allow you to include your own links.
8. Launch an affiliate program.
9. Create relevant micro-sites filled with original, quality content, but moderation is critical.
10. Create accounts on social media websites. A side benefit here is that your profile pages can help you control the first page results for your company name.
11. Connect with media contacts before you need anything and when they need an expert in your industry, you’ll be the first one they call. This usually means a mention and a link from their website.
12. Create a “10 simple tips to [topic]” type of post. These are useful, create buzz and easily attract links.
13. Join organizations such as your local chamber of commerce, the Better Business Bureau, which list and link to their members.
14. Ask your vendors or suppliers to link to your website.
15. Make sure you have an RSS feed. Many of the sites that syndicate your content will also provide links back to your site.
16. Write a testimonial or review of products or services that you liked. Often, the post will receive links from the company being reviewed, as well as by others in that industry.
17. Submit your website to galleries that showcase a particular feature, such as quality design, CSS based design or valid HTML/CSS.
18. Hold a contest.
19. Develop an open source application or a plug in for an existing application.
20. Network with other bloggers.

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