The Internet is changing rapidly. What seemed to work fine only a few months ago, can now have no effect at all. Thus the skills of an SEO expert cannot be limited to tactics which proved to work for years. Continuous learning and modifying your strategies is a key to a successful SEO campaign.
Low effective old-fashioned link building techniques (don’t try this at home 😉 ):
1. Make the list of websites linking to your most successful competitor and try to submit your link in each directory, forum, etc you managed to find.
Disadvantage: these tactics might be old and low effective.
2. Make the list of websites linking to your most successful competitor and email each: “I have visited your website and would like to buy a link/exchange links with you… bla bla bla.”
Disadvantage: with the huge amount of unsolicited emails of this kind webmasters receive daily, your email will most probably be deleted.
3. Find an influential blogger in your niche and send him an email: “Hi! I have visited your blog and would like to buy a sponsored review.. bla bla bla.”
Disadvantage: respectful and popular bloggers who care about their reputation are most likely to decline your offer. Besides, today even non-authoritative bloggers tend to outlink with high reluctance as by being suspected of selling links or blog posts they risk being punished by Google.
Now consider these new more effective ways to build back links to your website:
1. Find a comparatively new but already well-known website in your niche and try to research its link building strategy.
Advantages: * as this site is new and already popular, you will learn the techniques which work today (not a year ago); * a new site is most likely to have fewer links than an established one, so it’s link building scheme will be clear and this will save your time.
2. Make up the list of websites where you would like to get a link and try to find some alternative ways to contact them (find forums, social networks and blogs where they participate and try to reach them there).
Advantage: * people tend to trust their friends via social networking websites; so your message is likely to be attended with attention and consideration. (Further reading on this approach: “Creating and Managing Your Link Campaign” by Crash)
3. Define influential bloggers in your niche and ask for a guest post.
Advantages: * you will get noticed by the prominent blogger by contributing unique valuable content to his website; * plenty of daily readers of the authoritative blog where your guest post will be published will start visiting and trusting your website. Thus you will build faithful readership and reputation.