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Web 2.0 marketing blog
Thursday, August 31, 2006SEO is free | Top 25 backlink sources
Now that we've covered essential aspects of developing a web site or blog that will rank well in search engines, it's time to move on to some specific action items we can take to get us noticed. As a quick review, here's what we've covered in this previous string of posts:
- Focus on developing a site that offers consistent valuable content that is relevant for your target audience. >>See SEO is Free Part 1
- Make pages for users, not for search engines. >>See SEO is Free Part 2
- Learn from the Google Master. Google's Webmaster Help Center required reading:
You've got a quality site, now deal with Newton
After meeting the quality prerequisite, we need to ethically get the word out to the world that we've got a great site. While maintaining a quality site will be the ultimate reason for long term SEO success, we still have to get the whole thing kick started. As a former boss of mine used to say, "Having a great idea and not telling anyone has the same result as having no ideas at all."
So what we're dealing with now is Sir Isaac Newton's First Law of Motion, "An object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion." We've built the mass into our site to keep it going but the challenge for now is to take it from rest to motion. Our slingshot will be Google et. al. who, if we treat them right, can serve as our matchmaker to unite us with those people out there who need our solutions most.
Will work for backlinks
The good news is that Google and company claim to want the same thing...they want to serve up the most valuable sites to their users for any combination of keywords. The most important means by which Google and the other major search engines claim to decide which sites are truly the most valuable is by taking a vote from the Internet community. The votes they use are link backs from other sites.
So your mission is clear, submit your URL for consideration to as many other sites, indexes, and directories as possible. There are many options for where to submit, but some of the most important ones I've listed below. I recommend to our clients that they go through this list methodically to get the best exposure possible for nominal cost. Keep in mind the process and protocol for getting your URL listed at each one of these sources will vary...some are an automated submission and others will require you calling the organization to make a case for being listed, yet others may require you make a contribution of value to their community.
- All the major search engines of course, you might consider using a service like Traffic Blazer from RisinglineWeb.com
- dmoz.com (open directory project)
- Superpages.com
- Local business directories
- Technorati.com
- Public Library Sites (you'll need to make a convincing case as to why they should list your link)
- MyPages.com
- blogflux.com
- blogtopsites.com
- blogwise.com
- iblogbusiness.com
- Blogger.com (your profile)
- goarticles.com
- syndic8.com
- blogdigger.com
- weblogs.com
- Press Release Sites e.g. prweb.com
- Squidoo.com
- Craigslist.org
- Digg.com
- del.icio.us
- Furl
- Shadows.com
- MyWeb
- StumbleUpon
- blog-directory.org
The process of submitting to these potential partners can be time consuming. To keep from being overwhelmed, consider setting aside 15-30 minutes every week or two for backlink hunting. As always, I would be interested in your feedback or suggestions.
Labels: Search-Engine-Optimization
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