LinkBuilding Strategies For the Newbie

When I was first asked about the concept of Link Building, I was admittedly a bit confused. I actually thought the person was referring to HTML coding and building links within a web page. Little did I know the person was referring to the concept of generating one-way traffic from an originating web site back to their own web site. Interesting concept I thought. Let me do a little research of my own I said.

We see it everyday on every web page and site that we visit. Whether it be advertising links or links to blogs, wiki's, etc. Links are everywhere. One builds links to generate traffic to their particular web site to sell products, services, or in some instances for the purpose of - like this article - to answer questions about how to do something. As in any case, the content of the web site is crucial to the end user. They will ask themselves "Does this site have any relevant information that I can use?" If the answer is no, they will hit the back button or perform another search. If so, they will browse your web site and based on the content, use/buy/sell something. With Link Building, there has to be a value add for the end user.

In the background, the Search Engines that the users utilize gather pertinent information in the algorithms. This information is used to determine 2 main points of interest:
1. The popularity of your links. The more popular your site becomes, the more traffic you are generating. This traffic has the potential of generating increased revenue.
2. The analysis of your links. Search Engines determine the importance of your web site based on PageRanks. The higher your page rank, the more important and meaningful (or relevant) the Search Engines determine your site to be.

There are quite a few reasons why people tend to outsource Link Building. One of the most valuable reasons - and the most common - is that of TIME.
• Time - Time is needed to perform the necessary research the key players within this field. For example, it is much more valuable to you and your web site if the referring page in the likes of msnbc.com rather than a friend's home grown web site. You see the difference in this example right?
• Who - There are many sites that you can publish/promote your content through. Identifying and creating an account with each site can be overwhelming.
• Knowledge - Determining which categories to publish your content to takes a bit of research to be as effective as possible.
• Trust - It takes time to develop the trust between you and your intended audience. This does not happen overnight.
• Money - A budget is necessary to implement the best strategy for you and your business. Consider outsourcing these efforts. It will allow you to concentrate more on the business side of things if that is indeed your overall goal.

Link Building is an incredibly useful tool if used wisely. Hopefully I explained this importance through out this article. The more effective you become at creating relevant content and a Link Building strategy for you and your business, the larger the ROI will tend to become. These two concepts work hand-in-hand these days.