Link Building – The Process

An effectively linked website can do your online business a world of good, both in terms of revenues and traffic. Adopt the following approach to go about the process of link building for your optimisation campaign:

1. Run a search query for your most important keywords, and have a look at the top 20 sites that feature on SERPs. Most of these sites will be your competitors'. You can also pick and choose website submitted on online directories like DMOZ or Yahoo.
   
2. Scan the websites these top-ranked sites have linked to, and if you find them worthwhile, use them in your campaign as well. To do this, you can either use freely available web tools, or the backlink command provided for in directories.
3. Also check the sites that link to your competitors' sites. It'll be easy to get into link exchange with them, as you are part of the same industry as your rivals.
4. Have a look at every website that you have shortlisted. Identify the pros and cons of their web pages, and only then take the next step.
5. Send a link proposal through email, clearly stating the facts about your site and business. Write the email in an impelling manner so that the site's webmaster sees reason in linking to your site.
   

Once you have adhered to this step-by-step process, keep a track of which sites are actually replying back, and which of them are interested in getting into link exchange with you. Also monitor the incoming links of your site, so that you can do away with the ones that can be harmful for your site's prospects on search engines.