If you’ve already studied the basics of optimizing your website to be as search engine and user friendly as possible, the next step in your SEO campaign may be to begin link building. Unfortunately, there are a lot of rumors and myths about the best methods to link build that will not only get you penalized by Google, but have you spending a great deal of time and money on methods that are not effectively. The following tips will help you approach link building in the most ethical, efficient way possible.

Quality Over Quantity

A common misconception for people marketing their website is that having more links on other websites pointing to yours makes you more prominent. When approaching link building, you need to have the mindset that it is just like real life networking with other people. The efficacy of relevant, reputable sources noting that you too are a credible organization is extremely high both on the web and off. For example, if you own a restaurant and you have a few friends who say your food is great, that’s wonderful, but it isn’t as nearly as powerful as if you had Emeril Lagasse give you an raving review. Having a single high quality link to your site is much more valuable to both users and search engines than if you have several unestablished websites linking to you.

Avoid “Bad Neighborhoods”

While quality links from reputable sites are important, it is equally important to avoid having your links in “bad neighborhoods” or sites that contain spam on them. In another real world example, let’s assume that you see a group of people and it consists of a drug dealer, a bookie, a prostitute, a thug, and a chef. While the chef is innocent enough on his own, his association with the shady characters in the group destroys his credibility and gives him a negative connotation – this concept applies for links on the web as well! You want your inbound links to be around other credible, reputable links rather than be associated with spam by both users and search engines.

Start with Business Directories

Now that you understand some of the core fundamentals of link building, you can begin conscientiously placing you links out on the web. Listing your business in credible business directories is a wonderful foundation for inbound links to your website. However, understand that there are a lot of directories out there that require payment for a link and very few of them are actually worth the money you spend. Search engines such as Google actually look at several factors when determining the worth of a link from a business directory and this excellent video from Matt Cutts shows how Google evaluates business directories:

Examples of Credible Business Directories

Alexa | Best of the Web | Better Business Bureau | Business.com Directory | DMOZ Open Directory Project | Google Business Directory | Google Local Business Center | InCrawler | Yahoo! Directory | Yellowpages | Superpages.

Notice that the above directories are all highly notable, reputable directories that are deeply categorized so that your website can be associated with others similar to you and yield a great amount of relevant traffic.

Blogging and Customer Service

Keeping an up-to-date blog with information about your company, your service and your industry is an excellent way to display your authority and authenticity. As a startup company, you need to demonstrate that you are highly knowledgeable about your field and keep an open line of communication to demonstrate you are willing to provide excellent customer service. “Customer service on a blog, what?” Most people will tell you that the primary function of blogging for a company is to help drive traffic and to create resource material that people want to read about, which is true and we could talk ad nauseum about that like so many others have, but as a startup you need to focus on building your brand and proving that you are writing for and listening to your audience. Your focus should be on impressing the people that comment and ask questions by giving them well constructed responses and making them know that you care. People are loyal to the company that gives the best customer service, not the one with the flashiest or most expensive product. Continue a high standard of customer service by answering questions on other blogs in your industry and not only will people visit your site as a result, but you’re building quality inbound links at the same time!

Engage in Social Media

By properly utilizing Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Stumbleupon, Delicious, Technorati and any other widely used social media site, your brand and your links can be easily seen by hundreds if not thousands of people right from the start. As you grow your presence and become a well known figure in your community and industry, people will undoubtedly begin to retweet your posts, post about you on their blogs and support your company as a whole. Success in social media is defined by the amount of user engagement you have and this is invaluable when it comes to building inbound links.

The explosive growth of your content going viral or the steady growth of tens, hundreds and even thousands of people talking about you consistently is incredibly powerful. Focus on providing excellent customer service with great, authoritative content and you will be well on your way to a highly successful link building campaign.

Matt Mehlhope is an ethical SEO evangelist, lover of caffeine and owner of Forge Search Marketing. You can follow him on Twitter (@forge_seo) or connect with him on LinkedIn.

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