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Inbound Linking Tips for the Professional SEO

Gaining exposure through the free listings on the major search engines is largely dependent on the links that point to your website. Years ago, building a large volume of incoming links, regardless of their origin, was a ticket to ranking well on Google and Yahoo! While the number of links pointing to your site still plays a major role, other factors are now considered important. A professional SEO needs to keep up to date on the latest algorithms while developing linking strategies that remain effective over the long run. In this article, I'll offer several tips for building inbound links that endure.

Building Your Linkage Profile

Unless your website has enjoyed major PR exposure, attracting a large number of links at once can actually do more harm than good. The reason is due to the search engines' constant vigilance against unethical linking tactics. If they notice a new site suddenly gaining thousands of incoming links, a red flag is raised. A professional SEO should build a healthy linkage profile that grows consistently with only minor variances in volume.

Creating Content That Attracts Attention

As an SEO expert, compelling content remains one of your most effective tools. It can help motivate other website owners to reference your site. If it contains helpful articles, useful tips, recipes, or any type of content that visitors find informative or entertaining, website owners and bloggers will reference that content. When they do, it's highly likely that they'll do so by linking to it. The more content you add that others enjoy, the more links you'll attract. As a result, your site will slowly rise in the search engines as it gains authority for your topical area.

Content Syndication

Not only can you place content on your website as a linking strategy, but you can also syndicate it to other online properties. There are thousands of websites that allow you submit content for publication. Many of them will point to your site, often with your preferred anchor text, as compensation. Over time, syndicating articles and other content boosts your linkage profile in the eyes of Google and Yahoo! A professional SEO should keep an updated list of the most authoritative syndication resources.

Directory Submissions

Submitting your website to directories continues to be a powerful method for building incoming links. But, not all directories are created equal. To leverage their authority, the professional SEO should focus primarily on those that provide strong topical relevance. For example, a site that offers industrial supplies for small companies should be submitted to a business directory. Similarly, a commercial mortgage broker's site should be submitted to directories targeted at commercial real estate.

What Is Link Bait?

The term refers to content that is published with the primary goal of attracting as many links as possible. The content can be in the form of words, pictures, videos, and tools (for example, a loan amortization calculator). There are several ways to approach it. Some prefer to publish controversial opinions while others scoop breaking news items. A professional SEO can take full advantage of this technique by crafting content that is both informative and long-lasting. That way, it attracts links perpetually.

The Goal of a Professional SEO

Search engine optimization is a convergence of many disciplines; executing effective linking strategies is merely one of them. The ultimate goal of a professional SEO is to improve the rankings of their clients' websites. Google, Yahoo!, and other major search engines are constantly adjusting their algorithms to move authoritative websites higher in their organic listings. To this day, they consider sites' linkage profile to be an integral part of their respective formulas. A savvy SEO expert will devote the time to learning how to develop linking strategies that last.

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