I use several link building tactics, but there’s one that I prefer over all the others. This is how it works:

I Make a List of Sites that Link to My Competitors

1. First of all, this is what I mean by competitors: the top 10 ranking sites on Google for the keywords I want to go after. I don’t care if they’re direct competitors or not. I’m talking about search engine rankings competition, not business competition.
2. I use Tattler, a tool that gives me a list of sites linking to my competitors. It pulls the data from Yahoo! Site Explorer, but because it gets backlinks for each page of a site, it gets a lot more than the Yahoo! tool, which has a 1,000-link limit.
3. There are a couple of paid tools that let you see what websites link to more than one competitor. This is great because when a website links to more than one competitor, they’re much more likely to link to you too. I use Competitive Link Research Tool and HubFinder.
4. I create a separate list with the top 50 ranking websites for each of the keywords I want to go after. I use Google search (customized to show 50 results per page) and SEOQuake for Firefox to export the results to a spreadsheet.
5. I’ll end up with two lists: one will be a list of sites that link to my competitors and the other one will be a list of sites that are at the top of Google for the keywords I want to go after.

I Start Getting Links the SMART Way
People are sick of those emails saying “I saw your website and I love it. I’d like to link to you if you want to link back to me.” One-way links are a lot more valuable.

This is how I do it:

1. I use a broken link detection tool to find broken links on people’s sites.
2. I contact webmasters to let them know about the broken links I found on their sites. Their contact information should be on their websites or you can use DomainTools.com to get it.
3. If I couldn’t find any broken links (this rarely happens) I spend some time on their websites and send them a few suggestions, which shows I really care.
4. Once the conversation is started, I don’t spoil it all by asking for a link. I spend some time on their sites and offer to write an article about something their readers might care. Do you see the difference? I’m OFFERING something, not ASKING for something. I make sure that the articles I write for them are great.
5. If I’m dealing with a major website, I won’t even ask for a link (although they usually ask me for a byline and link back to my blog). However, this is not the kind of link I want, because the anchor text will usually be my URL. After sending them a couple of articles I ask them to start using my keyword as the anchor text, so the link doesn’t say “http://www.TheOutsourcingCompany.com/blog”, but “Internet Marketing Blog”.
6. If I’m dealing with a small website that doesn’t have a lot of visitors, I usually ask for a link the first time. Because they can’t offer me a lot of exposure, they’re usually happy to give me a link instead.
7. A word of warning: you’ll be managing 100’s of relationships at once, so don’t rely on your memory. You won’t remember all the conversations you’re gonna have. Use a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool such as BuzzStream (my favorite) or HighRise.
8. Another tip: using the phone instead of email works a lot better. Think about it: if someone calls you to let you know a link on your site is broken, won’t you be surprised that someone actually took the time to do that? Phone is a lot more personal and a great way to differentiate yourself. I don’t call everybody; I only call when I see a great link opportunity (20% of the time) and I email everyone else.

One of the most important criteria for search engines to find your site is number of quality incoming links. We know that incoming links are essential to your SEO campaign, but often it is hard to know exactly which links to go after. If you’re just trying to build links in the dark, you’re going to waste an awful lot of time and energy for not a lot of return. That’s why we’re so excited about this new tool from SEOmoz.org

SEOmoz.org recently released a new tool built on their Linkscape research. It’s called Competitive Link Finder and it is part of their Pro series of tools that you can access for around $80/month.  The goal of this tool is to help you find all of the really great links that are driving traffic to your competition.

Here’s what the results look like:
Now I Have the Info, Now What?
With this competitive research in hand, you can really start to understand why a site outranks you. Remember, the formula for ranking higher than your competition is to beat them in:

1.    Indexed pages

2.    Incoming links

3.    Incoming links with the anchor text matching the keyword you want to rank for

4.    Site age

5.    Domain PageRank

6.    Page optimization

Now you can have an exact roadmap to which incoming links are necessary to rank higher.

Why is This Tool Better than Others?
Here are a couple really useful features of the tool:

1.    Ignore NoFollow Links: The tool ignores all of the nofollow links, so you only see which sites are linking directly to competitors.

2.    Ranked by Importance: SEOMoz constantly refines their metrics. The results are a really good estimate of the most important and valuable links.

3.    Comprehensive Data: Linkscape crawls the most important sites on the web, so you’ll have access to the most important information.

4.    Finds the Important Hubs: One important model of SEO traffic is finding the “Hubs” or important pointing sites that drive a huge amount of traffic. This tool is great at locating hubs.

5.    Keep Track of New Links and Competitors: View hundreds, and even thousands of link sources and new competitor sites as they move up the ranks.

6.    Compare Your Site to Any Similar Site: It’s important to find all potential competitors, not just direct competition. You’re limited only by your imagination.

Find Your Competitors Using Google
When faced with a new killer tool, often stare blankly at the input form and aren’t really sure what to do.

Here’s a good place to start when using the tool. Use Google to search for your most competitive key words. The top 10 sites in your industry are your most important competition. Sites like Wikipedia.org are not necessarily your competition.

Once you have a list of the highest competitors, find the ones that are just above you in the rankings.

This is a useful list because it will give you a good idea of what to do to rise up in the rankings.

If you spend a couple hours with this tool, it really will give you a good idea of how to raise your site rankings.

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Link building is an effective online marketing strategy and the key to your company’s success. If you strategically place your links, you’ll be surprised with the qualified traffic you get and how those links build and grow over time.  More links equals more sales and customers!

Keep the following “link building formula” in mind when building your campaign:
•    Links from related sites are worth more than unrelated sites – This is basic common sense. If you have an e-commerce site that sells running apparel, you don’t links from sites that sell cars.  Choose links related to running apparel/running-related products.

•    You want high authority websites linking back to you – A link from a reputable news source such as CNN is worth more than a link from your friend’s parenting blog. It’s also advised to check the authority of the URL linking to you (and the page where the link to your site is located). Sometimes if a site is new they don’t have a PageRank yet. You can easily tell the reason behind why or why not a site has a PR.

•    Quality and Quantity of Links – You need to be aware of the quality of your links, where they originate, the quantity (are you getting a lot of links?) and your anchor text. Are you getting links with keywords you want to rank for in your anchor texts?

Remember that NOT all link building strategies are appropriate for EVERY business/company. You need to figure out what works best for your industry/niche and create your campaign accordingly.

Add Value to Your Content
The KEY to effective link building is to always, always add VALUE to the content you create. If you create bad, irrelevant content, no one will link to your site and you will have stopped your campaign in its track.

You also have to look like an authority in your field. You want to show visitors that you KNOW more than your competitors.  Remember to always add value with your content – how will your content solve a problem or make a person’s life easier?

Links will come to you VERY easily if you stand out with your content and make a unique statement. Link building is contagious and if you become well-known as an industry expert, friends of friends will tell their colleagues and the links continue to BUILD!

Create Natural Looking Links
The worst thing you could do is to make your links LOOK unnatural. Make your links look natural – do NOT create links with the same anchor text because the search engines will throw up red flags. Mix up your anchor text with “click here” or “check it out.”

Common Link Building Tools
•    Web Directories – Add URLs to web directories such as DMOZ

•    Blog Directories – List in blog directories such as Blogarama

•    Article Directories – Add articles/content to free article distribution sites i.e. EzineArticles

•    Press Release Distribution Sites – Utilize free press release site such as PRWeb

•    Video Marketing – Post videos (include links) on YouTube

•    Social Media Sites – Don’t forget to post on all the social media sites such as Facebook, Digg, HugPages, etc.

•    Online communities/forums – Interact with online communities and forums – answer questions and participate (another way to be seen as an expert in your field)

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Have you ever noticed that when faced with competition that you usually perform better? Think about cyclist Lance Armstrong and his tough competition – do you think he doesn’t push himself to WIN when he’s cycling against other world-renowned cyclists in the Tour de France? Look at his huge successes over the years!

Competition makes us WANT to perform better and push ourselves to be winners. This same theory is applied to link building tactics.

Whether you like it or not, you have online competitors out there but don’t think about your competition in the negative sense. You can TAKE advantage of your competition. They have something YOU WANT –  LINKS!

It’s easy to find out what your competition is doing online – just follow these simple steps:

1.    Run a Google search and see what sites rank in the top 10 for the keywords you want to rank.  For example: the keyword phrase “California river rafting” brings up the top 10 “California river rafting” sites on Google. The #1 ranked site is http://www.arrafting.com

2.    Use Yahoo Site Explorer to find out who’s linking to these top 10 sites.

3.    Submit the site’s URL http://www.arrafting.com. Click on “Inlinks” (the second tab) to see a listing of linked sites – over 700 links are found. Site Explorer allows you to click on the “Explore” button for each URL and find MORE links/information. This is a great resource tool because you literally have hundreds of your competitors’ links at your fingertips!

How to Get the Same Links as Your Competition
Your ultimate GOAL is to get the SAME links as your competition. Easier said than done but armed with a link building strategy, it can be accomplished!

Don’t reinvent the wheel. There are MANY link building tricks you could use but the following tips will bring you high ROI (and SAVES TIME!)

•    With a little research, you can find your competition on discussion forums and directories. Submit your sites to the same directory listings and play an active role on discussion forums. For example, if you are a copywriter and you found your competition’s links on copywriting forums online, you need to be there as well. Make yourself known on these forums and remember to add your link in your signature.

•    Blogs are another great way to get the same links as your competition. For example, if you are a real estate broker specializing in short sales and found your competition’s link on a short sales blog, you need to be there too. Email the blogger and request that they write an article about you and include your link. Make sure these are active blogs (you want their subscribers to link to you!)

•    Free article distribution sites are another great way to build links. If your competition’s links shows up on article sites, you need to be there too! Submit great content and make sure to include links in your byline/bio.

•    If you found your competition on opinion/review sites, add your two cents worth on these sites and include your link. Make sure you don’t come across as “spammy” when you include your links – provide good information/feedback on these sites.

•    Your competition is bound to be on social networking groups/pages such as Facebook so you also need to make your presence known. Add your links to these  groups. Join appropriate groups/sites according to where your competition is hanging out! Add a REAL, interactive presence to these social networking groups – don’t just spam links!

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Link building is a common internet marketing tool – you get other websites to link back to your website. Not only does it increase quality traffic to your site, but it can also dramatically bump up your SEO rankings.

This “off page” technique has become more popular and very important in the SEO realm. Search engines won’t recognize fluffy, useless links and this outdated trick will get you quickly booted out of the search engines.

Before you tackle these awesome link building strategies, remember that visitors aren’t going to link back to your site if they don’t receive a benefit. What can you offer them? How can you get them to take action? If you keep those questions in mind, you’ll be a huge success with link building and drawing more traffic to your sites.

Directory listings – The best way to begin link building is to submit your websites and blogs to directory listings. Don’t just submit to any directory. Submit to niche-specific listings since this allows you to target your markets more accurately. Free listings: ODP and Search Engine Guide

Social Networking sites – Use catchy headlines and add keywords in your headlines and profiles when you post content. Check out the following social networking sites: Reddit, Delicious, Fark, and StumbleUpon

Discussion forums: Another great way to market your site or blog is to interact in online discussion forums. Post to forums that target your niche. Make sure to include your URL in your signature line.

Article Directories: If you’re an expert in your field, you need to submit content to article directories. When you share useful content with visitors, they will highly benefit from this FREE, helpful information. This will generate a stronger marketing branding and always include your URL in signatures and company bios.

Online Press Release Services: Another easy way to link to your site is through press releases. Include your URL throughout the press release and also in your company bio.

Blogs: Create your own blog and post helpful content. Link back to other blogs in your niche – you’d be surprised at the traffic you’ll generate. Submit to blog directories: Best of the Web Blog Directory

Multiple sites: If your company has multiple blogs or websites, make sure to link to the main site.

Guest Comments: Use your expertise to your advantage by posting guest comments to other blogs in your niche. Remember to include your URLs.

Quality Outgoing Links: Be known as a resource in your field and people will take notice of your outgoing links on your site (i.e. industry news, professional groups, etc) This helps generate high PR because you will draw quality traffic to your site.

Contests: Generate incentive by offering a links contest – whoever links back to your website or blog wins a prize.

Affiliate programs: Affiliate marketing programs can effectively promote your links.

Lists:  Look like an authority in your niche. Another trick is to create a resource list of experts and gurus in your industry. As a thank you, these experts will probably appreciate being named and will link back to your site.

Q&A Sites: Utilize Yahoo!Answers and other Q&A sites. These sites allow you to add URLs. Be an expert and answer questions in your field of expertise.

Local Resources: Tap into local resources. Submit your link to your local Chamber of Commerce, professional trade organizations, and the local library. Leverage links with clients and vendors (non-competitors in your niche).

The Internet has allowed us to achieve the unthinkable. Reach millions of viewers, increase sales by 200, nay 500%, and grow our business till it’s too big to fit in the garage, all for a minimum investment. We may not have the advertising might of giants like Nike, Honda, or Pepsi, but, thankfully, we don’t need it. With a budget of about 1,000 bucks (or even less!), we have the possibility to create a really great viral ad and implement a campaign that will bring us ROI beyond our wildest dreams. However, it’s not that simple. We still have to come up with this magnificent stroke of genius, the kind of ad or video that will have everyone talking, and spread faster that you can say, “Achoo!”.

If it is inspiration you seek, then take a look at these memorable viral campaigns. Hopefully, they´ll provide valuable lessons as to what kinds of things attract audiences, as well as insights into the kind of resources you can use to create a truly original viral ad.

1. The Million Dollar Homepage (www.milliondollarhomepage.com)
How many people smacked themselves on the head for not thinking of this? About a million? Alex Tew, its 21-year-old creator, made an initial investment of £50 on the domain name and a basic web-hosting package. Then, he proceeded to sell a pixel on his page for one dollar. The rest is history. He reached his goal of earning one million dollars and then some. Now, he’s selling 1000 limited edition poster prints (signed by Alex himself!) and offering an opportunity to “own a print of Internet history.”

2. Transport for London - Do The Test (www.dothetest.co.uk)
If you surprise the viewer, you will surely be successful in going viral, as shown by this brilliant ad developed by Transport for London. The campaign was created to increase safety for cyclists. It is tremendously effective in getting its point across. They have now launched a new awareness test on their website in a whodunit scenario.

3. Burger King - Subservient Chicken (www.subservientchicken.com)
A classic among viral campaign ads, this one allows you to “have it your way” with our feathered friend. It was created to promote Burger King’s Tender Crisp chicken sandwich, and the numbers prove it was highly successful in doing so. What makes it so deliciously viral is the interactivity; you send in a command in a message box and the chicken willingly obliges. There are more than 300 different commands that the chicken will act upon, thus entertaining the user for hours.

4. Blendtec - Will It Blend? (www.willitblend.com)
This is highly addictive stuff, folks! Watch Tom blend anything from iPods to a bag of marbles, and you’ll want more. Reportedly, Blendtec blenders sales increased by a whopping 800%. Sheer genius.

5. Smirnoff – Tea Partay (www.teapartay.com)
Watch these stereotypical preppy rich kids rap, and you’ll understand the ad’s viral power. By April 2007, it had more than 3 million hits on You Tube, and now has its own website.

6. Dove Evolution Video (www.campaignforrealbeauty.com)
One of the most talked about ads in recent years, it was an integral part of Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty. It has won awards, been discussed in mainstream TV programs, and the exposure generated by this spot has an estimated worth of 150 million dollars. It is inspiring in more ways than one.

7. Hotmail
No list of the most successful viral marketing campaigns would be complete without Hotmail’s emblematic campaign. All it took was a small ad attached to every outgoing email inviting the recipient to join, and in a very short time, Hotmail grew to mammoth proportions.

You’ve heard it before. Emulate; don’t imitate. Pray to the muses for inspiration and you just might make a cool million. Or at least get a million viewers.

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Mention the word “virus” on the Internet and you’ll most likely get people in a frenzy to update their antivirus software. But viral marketing is not dangerous to your computer or anyone else’s for that matter. Quite the contrary, it is the kind of frenzy you should seek to create: about your products or services. Viral marketing is a form of marketing where news about your products, services, or company are spread by word-of-mouth, very much like a virus. Believe me, this is one bug you’d like everyone to catch. As word of what you’re doing spreads like the flu, new customers naturally flock to your website to see what the hype is all about, thus boosting your chances of increasing profits.

Here are some great viral marketing strategies:

1) Offer Top Quality and Superior Customer Service
If viral marketing is about spreading the word, you have to give customers something to talk about, better yet, something to get excited about. Get satisfied customers to offer testimonials on your website to report on your fantastic product or top-notch customer service.

2) Write Insightful, Informative Articles
Write great articles about your niche market. Make them interesting and provide useful information. Don’t forget to use the right keywords. Finally post them on several article distribution sites. An interesting article will eventually end up all over the Web.

3) Allow People to Reprint Your Articles
Post your articles on your own website.  Include a resource box and the option to reprint at the bottom of each article. Encourage people to reprint your articles on their websites, in their e-zines, newsletters, magazines, or ebooks.

4) Offer Freebies
People are naturally drawn to free stuff. You can provide anything from a free consultation or trial to free screensavers, software, videos, or samples of your products.

5)  Allow Embedding
Allow users to easily embed your content on their own websites.

6) Allow Users to Recommend Your Site
Make it easy for visitors to bookmark and recommend your site by facilitating a link or “AddThis” button for social networking sites like Facebook, Digg, MySpace, Twitter, and YouTube.

7) Allow Downloading
Provide users with a simple way to download content from your website, in a usable format (PDF catalogs, videos, pictures, and whitepapers).

.8) Participate in Forums or Discussion Boards
You should especially use those which use signatures, thus allowing you to leave yours along with an interesting, informative post.

9) Encourage Comments
Provide your users with the chance to voice their opinion and share it with others. But don’t forget to comment back. It’s a great way to get a dialogue going and keep the fire burning.

10) Email Signature
Create an email signature as a mini-advertisement of your company. It shouldn’t be too long, just good enough to peak people’s interest and refer them back to your website. Make sure you contact others in your niche frequently by email and compliment them on their website or services, offer some advice or an opinion, or just ask a question.

11) Offer a Specialized Link Directory
Create a customized link directory of your link exchange partners; a fantastic way to direct targeted traffic to your website.

12) Get Incoming Links
Ask other sites in your niche market to link to yours. Contact site owners who provide services that compliment your own. The more popular a site is, the more traffic will be sent to your own site.

13) Use RSS Feeds
RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication”. RSS Feeds are used to automatically distribute articles or content to blogs, website owners, and ezine publishers.

14) Set Up an Affiliate Program
In affiliate programs, you pay affiliate websites a commission to send you traffic, in other words, these sites have a financial incentive to link to yours and everyone wins. These affiliate websites post links to your website and are usually paid for each sale or lead they bring you.

15) Never restrict access
I you want news about what you do to spread like a virus, access to it has to be free. Do not require people to register or become members to access information. This will only discourage them.

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