Link Building Strategies – The Complete List

Yes, the rumors are true. I’ve put together the most comprehensive list of link building strategies on the Web.

If there’s any post on my blog you should bookmark for future reference, this is the one.

Why I created it: The best link building strategies are never found in one place, and the best lists of strategies are completely outdated.

Basic

These are the most basic strategies in the book. Everyone can build links with these strategies, no matter what industry you’re in.

Create a blog

Time: 8-12 weeks

Dependencies: Content, design, development, legal

Link Value: High

Creating content on a consistent basis not only builds links internally (by linking out from your posts), but also gives you the ability to naturally attract links to your content.A blog is essential to many strategies I list below, such as linking out. You absolutely need a blog in today’s online environment to survive.

For more information, read these tips & tutorials.

Create an RSS feed

Time: 1-2 weeks

Dependencies: Design, development

Link Value: High

If your blog is run on any of the popular Content Management Systems, you’ll already have an RSS feed. If you don’t, create one. If you do, burn it at Feedburner.com so you can get statistics on your subscribers.

For link building, it’s simple. There are sites out there that will scrape your content (stealing it without permission). When they do, make sure you get a link back by 1) including links to other pages on your site in your posts and 2) installing the RSS footer plugin for WordPress (adds a link to your blog after every post).

Interlink

Time: 4-8 weeks

Dependencies: Development

Link Value: High

You have pages and posts on your website, so make the most of them. Internal links are HUGE for link building because you can control everything about them, from the location on the page to the anchor text.

This is something that most people overlook, and I advise you to please not! Make sure to steer your content in the direction of other posts or pages so you can link to them.

Also, if you have multiple sites, interlinking is a must (unless they’re completely irrelevant and unrelated).

Resources/Links pages

Time: 2-4 weeks

Dependencies: Marketing, design, development

Link Value: Moderate-High

Other webmasters have created links or resource pages, and these are legitimate opportunities to get links. If the links on that page are relevant, you’ve got a chance.

Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as just asking for a link. I’ll go into specific strategies below that help you get webmasters liking you before you ask, because doing that greatly increases your chances of getting a link.

Profile links

Time: 1-2 weeks

Dependencies: None

Link Value: Moderate

If you sign up to become a member for a site, you’ll get a link in your profile. Well, not every site. Some sites will allow quality links in your profile, while others won’t. Some are in the middle, such as Twitter, which gives nofollow links (links that don’t pass link juice).

Example: CrunchBase.

Ask people you know for a link

Time: 1-2 weeks, ongoing

Dependencies: None

Link Value: High

Whether it’s your friends, relatives, employees, colleagues, business partners, clients, or anyone else, ask them for a link. Someone you know has a website or blog, so take advantage.

Make it easy to link to you

Time: 12+ weeks, ongoing

Dependencies: None

Link Value: High

If you want people to link to you, make it easy for them.Create HTML ready snippets that people can plug right into their content to link to you, because some linkers in your community might not be too web savvy. I suggest either creating a “Link to Us” page or by using a little javascript to generate the HTML at the end of each article or post.

Note: this might not be the best option based on the community you’re located in. Are you in the cement niche? Then this is perfect. Are you talking about Internet related business? Then this might not be your best bet, because the majority of your audience probably already knows how to link.

Research competitors

Time: 3-4 weeks

Dependencies: None

Link Value: High

A large chunk of my time finding links is by looking through my competitor’s link profiles. Essentially, you’re piggy backing off of their success. While some links are unobtainable (i.e. a random mention in a news post), others can be diamonds in the rough (a high quality niche directory).

I suggest using SEOmoz’s Open Site Explorer for this. Plugin your competitors and export their backlinks to a CSV. Do this for all of your competitors so you can get all of their links in one place â€“ Excel. Then you can sort them by various link metrics to find the best opportunities.

Link out

Time: 4-8 weeks

Dependencies: None

Link Value: Moderate-High

Linking out is huge. Don’t be a link hoard; you’re going to create content, so use it to gain favor with other people.I’ll go more into depth below with specific strategies on linking out.

Get people to see your content

Time: 12+ weeks, ongoing

Dependencies: Social

Link Value: High

People won’t link to your content unless they see it. At the same time, you need the right people in front of your content â€“ not everyone is a potential linker.

This is where social media, content marketing, and brand awareness comes into the link building realm. Getting people to see and know your content & brand is a massively important strategy to build links. Below I’ll go into specific strategies to make this happen.

Build relationships

Time: 12+ weeks, ongoing

Dependencies: Social, customer service

Link Value: High

This is the #1 link building strategy in the world. Get to know people! Build relationships with them, because it’ll come back to you in the form of links (that is if they’re the RIGHT people).

I’ll go more into depth below on different ways to build relationships, but the best part about this is that it’s just like real life. Remember how people say, “it’s not about what you know, it’s about who you know”?

Submission-Based

There are many places across the web where you can build links through submissions, whether it’s submitting your site, a piece of content, or anything else.

Article directories

Time: 12+ weeks, ongoing

Dependencies: Content

Link Value: Low-Moderate

You can submit your articles & blog posts to article syndication sites. Although they don’t pass much value, they’re still worth submitting at least a couple articles to. In return, you’ll get a link or two in your author bio, depending on the site.

Example: Ezinearticles.com. Sign up here.

Web 2.0 submission

Time: 2-4 weeks

Dependencies: Content

Link Value: Moderate

Web 2.0 sites are similar to article directories, but instead, you can add images, video, and other interactive features to your content. These usually pass more value than article directories, but it depends on the authority of the site.

Press release submission

Time: 12+ weeks, ongoing

Dependencies: Content, PR

Link Value: Low-Moderate

By submitting a press release to distribution sites or specific syndication sites, you can build links if you add one or two into the body of the release. Some options are paid, while others are free.

Example: PRWeb.com. Sign up here.

Infographic submissions

Time: 12+ weeks, ongoing

Dependencies: Design

Link Value: Moderate

If you’ve created an infographic, you can easily submit them to infographic directories or blogs.

Top 10 Infographic Directories and Submission Sites:

1. Visual.ly

One of the largest image resource sites on the internet, Visual.ly allows users to create, submit and analyze infographics and images across the internet. To submit infographics, simply visit their site, create an account and submit your infographic.

2. Slideshare

Now owned by LinkedIn, Slideshare is the biggest resource online for powerpoint slides, presentations and also infographics. To submit an infographic to Slideshare, simply create an account and upload your infographic file. Depending on your current file type, you may need to convert your infographic into PDF or JPG form. Upload it. Fill in the required fields of information and post it. Don’t forget to share it as well!

3. Mashable Infographics

Mashable is one of the internet’s favorite resources for everything technology, entertainment and business around the world. All of which are relatable to infographics! While Mashable isn’t known for being a huge resource of infographics, they do feature them every once in a while. If you want to try and have your infographic featured on their site, head over to http://mashable.com/submit/ and fill out the form. Make sure your infographic is of the highest quality and related to other content found on the site.

4. Fast Company Infographic of the Day

Fast Company has always been a name synonymous with the growth of the internet. It’s also well known for its “Infographic of the Day” section, where new infographics are hand-picked and featured daily from their editorial team. To submit your infographic to Fast Company, send an email to media@fastcompany.com along with a short write-up on your infographic and where they can find it.

5. Reddit Infographics

Still one of the most active communities online, that isn’t claimed as a social network, Reddit is another great resource for infographic submissions. To submit infographics to Reddit, you can visit https://www.reddit.com/r/infographics and simply submit your infographic after logging into your account.

6. Marketing Infographics

With millions of infographics floating around the internet, it’s always nice when you can find directories that are focused on one specific niche audience. That’s exactly what you will find at MarketingInfographics.org, a site that features a handful of new infographics every week — all focused on marketing, social media, business, and entrepreneurship. Complete the form on their contact page to submit an original infographic to their site.

7. Infographics Showcase

Infographic resource sites like Infographics Showcase make it easy for others to find only the best infographics online. Submit your infographic to their collection by referring to their email, where you can provide their editor with all of your infographic details.

8. Daily Infographic

With only 365 days in a year, how could you ever get through enough infographics at just one per day? Daily Infographic can help you with this process, as they feature a new infographic on their site every day. To get your infographic featured as one of their daily highlights, click on the “Sponsorship communications” section of their site and complete for submission form with all of your infographic details.

9. Cool Infographics

With over 7,000 average visitors on a daily basis, not only does Cool Infographics have a great selection of visuals on their site… they also have the audience that brands using infographics are looking for! Take advantage of this excellent marketing opportunity by completing the contact form on their site and filling in your infographic details by logging in or signing up. However, Cool Infographics doesn’t take just any infographic… it has to provide value, look professional and also be “cool”.

10. I Love Charts

Not all infographics need to have a call to action or be marketing-focused. I Love Charts highlights some of the best infographics in the world today, which are specific to charts, graphs and everything in between. If you feel you have a chart based infographic and would like to add it to their site, complete all of the necessary info on their submission page.

Now that we’ve provided you with a list of the top infographic submission sites, now it’s time to pull all of your infographic data together so you can start getting listed without any problems. Reach out to each of the sites above, but also don’t forget to follow up submission tips below.

Infographic Submission Tips

Before running off to each of the infographic resource sites above and trying to get your content shared with the world, be sure to follow these helpful tips. It’s important to remember that many of these sites get thousands of submissions every month. To improve your chances of getting your infographic featured ensure all of your data is correct and laid out based on the needs of each individual directory. As an extra benefit, offer to promote the website after your infographic submission goes live. This is a win-win situation for both your brand and the site featuring your infographic.

Company directory submissions

Time: 1-2 weeks

Dependencies: Marketing

Link Value: Moderate-High

Just like general web directories, you can submit your site to general company directories. You really don’t even need an actual company; you only need a website.

Examples: HotFrog, Manta.

Video submissions

Time: 12+ weeks, ongoing

Dependencies: Marketing, video production

Link Value: Moderate

If you have video content, make sure you’re getting links from all that hard work. The best list is here. Just as a heads up, some sites only provide nofollow links, and they’re usually in the description.

Here are I give a list of 21 Video Submission site. Where you can upload your video.

1. http://www.youtube.com
2. http://www.vimeo.com
3. https://vine.co
4. http://www.facebook.com
5. http://www.photobucket.com
6. http://www.dailymotion.com
7. http://www.break.com
8. http://www.grindtv.com
9. http://www.metacafe.com
10. http://www.Myspace.com
11. http://www.liveleak.com
12. http://www.stupidvideos.com
14. http://www.clipmoon.com
15. http://www.yfrog.com
16. https://www.dropshots.com
17. http://www.ustream.tv
18. https://plus.google.com
19. http://www.youku.com
20. http://motionpictur.com
21. http://blip.tv

Niche specific directories

Time: 1-2 weeks

Dependencies: None

Link Value: High

As opposed to general web directories, niche specific directories only accept sites that meet a certain topic criteria. For example, one directory might only accept sites about arts & crafts. Some of these directories are free, while others are paid.Example: Business.com, a directory for business websites. Submit here. Cost is $299/year.

User rating reviews

Time: 1-2 weeks

Dependencies: None

Link Value: Low

Submit user ratings and build links at the same time. Once again, an awesome list of submission sites for this topic.

Web cam directories

Time: 1-2 weeks

Dependencies: None

Link Value: Low

If you set up a Webcam, you can get a few high quality links, such as the PR7 directory listed below.If you’re wondering where to set it up, don’t worry; it doesn’t have to be Times Square. I’ve seen a few of highway roads set up right outside of their offices (pretty lame, right?). You can do something similar. If you want, set it up some place awesome, because it could attract links on its own.

Example: Earthcam.com. Submit here.

Logo design directories

Time: 1-2 weeks

Dependencies: None

Link Value: Low

Most of you have logos for your website or company, so get a few links in return for them.

Example: TheLogoMix.com. Info to submit here.

Free web directories

Time: 1-2 weeks

Dependencies: None

Link Value: Low

There are hundreds of free web directories to submit your site to. The only qualification you need is to have an active website. Because these links are so easy to get, though, they don’t pass much value. Still, there are a few free general directory links that pass both link juice and trust.

Example: Website Launchpad. Submit here.

Non-English directories

Time: 1-2 weeks

Dependencies: None

Link Value: Low

If you’ve created multiple versions of your site in different languages, you can get links for it. Here’s a great list of German directories.

Example: Hello Dir (Italian). Choose category, then submit.

RSS directories

Time: 1-2 weeks

Dependencies: None

Link Value: Low-Moderate

If you have an RSS feed, you can submit it to RSS directories. There are hundreds. Here’s a fantastic list (scroll down) of RSS directories to start out.Although these links won’t be directly to your content, they’ll pass link juice to your RSS feed which links to any content you linked to in your posts.

Multi-Ping-Services
Feedshark
Pingomatic

Foreign RSS Feeds
Eintragen German only
Linkfeed Danish Only

1-800 Directories

Time: 1-2 weeks

Dependencies: None

Link Value: Low-Moderate

Have a toll free 1-800 number? Get a few links in return. If you don’t have one, you can get one for $10/month at Grasshopper.

Example: InternetTollFree.com. Info to submit here.

Blog directories

Time: 1-2 weeks

Dependencies: None

Link Value: Moderate

If you have a blog, you can submit it to various blog directories. Like all other directories, some pass value, while others are crap.

Example: AllTop.com. Find a relevant category, then sign up to submit.

Podcast directories

Time: 1-2 weeks

Dependencies: None

Link Value: Moderate

If you have a podcast, you can snag a few free, easy links by submitting to podcast directories.

Example: PodcastDirectory.com. Submit here.

Iphone app directories

Time: 1-2 weeks

Dependencies: None

Link Value: Moderate

If you have an Iphone app, you can get a few easy links. Or, if you want, you can create one to get these links. An easy one to create is an app that just acts as a mobile RSS reader (this app from the SPI blog is a great example of this).

Example: Appolicious. Sign up to submit here.

EBook directories

Time: 1-2 weeks

Dependencies: None

Link Value: Moderate

If you’ve already written a few eBooks, or if you plan to, there are a solid amount of eBook directories you can get links from.

Example: E-BooksDirectory.com. Submit here.

Web app directories

Time: 1-2 weeks

Dependencies: None

Link Value: Moderate

If you have an online tool or application, you can get links for it. If you’re thinking about creating one, know that it can also be used to attract links (link bait). We’ll go more into that below.

Time: 1-2 weeks

Dependencies: None

Link Value: Moderate

Although the majority of widget directories you come across don’t outright give you a link, you can still do some serious link building with them. If you make sure there’s a link somewhere in your widget, you can get it in front of large audiences with these directories, and in doing so, some will embed them (thus, you earn a few links).

Paid directories

Time: 1-2 weeks

Dependencies: None

Link Value: Moderate

Some directories cost money in order to be accepted into their listings. Once again, while some of these can pass legitimate value, others pass little and aren’t worth your time or money.

Which local search directories should you list your business in?

There are no hard and fast rules here, and some business types will lend themselves to specific local directories more than others. But there’s a core group of local search directories that customers will expect to find your business in, and if they don’t, it could affect your perceived credibility.

Google My Business
Bing Places for Business
Yahoo Business Listings
Yelp
Facebook
Yell.com
Whitepages
Touch Local

Multimedia/Document submissions

Time: 3-4 weeks

Dependencies: None

Link Value: Moderate

If you have any PDFs, PowerPoint Presentations, word documents, or any other documents, you can submit them to these sites and get a link in return. You have to put the links in your documents, such as in the first slide of a PowerPoint or in the text of a PDF.

Examples: SlideShare, Scribd, and Issuu.

Note: Although you can get a profile link from each, I’m still not 100% positive Google counts these links. I’m 99% sure Scribd’s links are, but I know these are nofollow. Also, Slideshare’s & Scribd’s profile links are nofollow.

CSS/HTML5 galleries

Time: 3-4 weeks

Dependencies: None

Link Value: Moderate

There are loads of CSS galleries you can submit to if you did a great job designing your website or blog. There are also a few HTML5 showcases that you can get links from too.

I suggest forking out to have your site submitted to 100 of them. Don’t worry; it’s quality manual submissions, not software.

Theme/Template directories

Time: 3-4 weeks

Dependencies: None

Link Value: Moderate

Designing WordPress themes or website templates can be a great way to net a few fantastic links from directories. Also, you can host the download page on your site, and if it’s decent, you’ll get a few links from design blogs.

If it’s a WordPress theme, you can submit to the WordPress.org theme directory, which will get you a couple of high quality nofollow links (not to mention a ton of free exposure).

Example: free-css.com (website templates).

Note: Remember to include credit links in the templates or themes, because sometimes that’s the only way you’ll get a link back (they’ll link to a demo page, not the creator’s site). Popular page locations of links include the footer & the sidebar.

Content-Based

You can use your content to get links. Most of these strategies don’t necessarily attract links (which we go into below), but they can if the content is good enough.

Guest posting

Time: 12+ weeks, ongoing

Dependencies: Content

Link Value: High

Bloggers, just like me, sometimes have trouble cranking out content on a regular basis. That’s where you can help. Pitch bloggers to ask if you could guest blog, because if they say yes, you can get a few links from the post, and if the blog is popular, you can drive traffic too.

Here’s a fantastic guide on the entire guest blogging process.

If you want, use sites like My Blog Guest to connect with bloggers who need content. It’s scalable, but the bloggers you get in touch with aren’t usually very authoritative (they’re mostly mid-level bloggers).

Trade articles

Time: 12+ weeks, ongoing

Dependencies: Content

Link Value: High

Just like guest posting, you can get links in return for your content, but why not just trade? You both get content on each other’s site, links, and visitors from an entirely different community.

If you or the other has a significantly more popular blog, see if the less significant one can do something extra in return. A good example is buying the other $10-15 worth of StumbleUpon paid traffic.

Educational content

Time: 12+ weeks, ongoing

Dependencies: Content

Link Value: High

If you’re trying to get links from colleges, create content targeted at them that you can use during outreach. Trust me, there’s usually something you know that you could write an entire tutorial on that would interest college webmasters.

Pro tip: Seek out pages on .edu websites that feature similar content, then do any of the strategies I list further down on this list that get you on the webmaster’s good side.

Green content

Time: 2-4 weeks

Dependencies: Content

Link Value: High

Just like educational content, create something that targets a specific community. In this case, environmentalists. They’ve got hoards of link juice just waiting to be tapped into.

Simply outreaching to green bloggers and letting them know about your content usually does the trick. If the content is good enough, and if it’s a complete conversation (i.e. a huge infographic on the environmental impact of drift nets), they’ll usually dedicate an entire post to it.

Pro tip: As stated above, an infographic or something similar would work great, because all they have to do is embed it. If there’s any community willing to embed an infographic that’s relevant & worth sharing, it’s the green community.

Images

Time: 12+ weeks, ongoing

Dependencies: Design

Link Value: Moderate

Something so frequently overlooked is the use of images for links. Bloggers just like me struggle to find relevant images to our content, so why not take advantage? When people use your images you’ll get an attribution link in return (that’s if they’re honest).A great idea is to always have a camera with you whenever you’re at an industry event. Imagine if you took 100 pictures at PubCon of all the different speakers and published them on a certain portion of your site.

Pro tip: hotlink your images. Make it easy for publishers to copy & paste HTML code right into their posts. This not only makes it easier to use your images, but it also makes it much more likely you’ll get a link from each.

Free charts/graphs

Time: 12+ weeks, ongoing

Dependencies: Design

Link Value: Moderate-High

If you’ve got a few tidbits of data lying around, make them into charts and graphs. SEOmoz did a fantastic job of this. Just like images, you’ll get attribution links.

Writing testimonials

Time: 3-4 weeks

Dependencies: Marketing, customer service

Link Value: Moderate-High

This one is HUGE. Right now, list any services or products you’ve bought recently. As long as it’s not a product or service from a massive company (i.e. Walmart), there’s a good chance you can get a link in exchange for a testimonial.

For example, this testimonial page has a Page Authority of 82. The best part, it only cost the customers a few sentences about that specific service.

Entering contests & giveaways

Time: 3-4 weeks

Dependencies: Marketing, legal, PR

Link Value: Low

I love online contests, and so should you. They’re not only your chance to win some cash or prizes, but they’re also a chance to net a few high quality links. The most popular contests & giveaways you’ll see are guest blogging contests.

For instance, I not only got a link from this post I entered, but I also won the $1000 grand prize. Not bad, eh?

I entered an infographic created by Kapil Kale, one of my friends, into a contest on StumbleUpon, and it got a link from their blog! Talk about high quality links!

Get interviewed

Time: 12+ weeks, ongoing

Dependencies: None

Link Value: Moderate-High

Just like you should interview others, seize opportunities to be interviewed, no matter how small the audience is. The 5-600 words that take you 15-20 minutes can turn into a few highly authoritative contextual links.

Contribute to crowdsourced posts

Time: 2-6 weeks

Dependencies: None

Link Value: Moderate

Just like with interviews, if someone reaches out to you to participate in a crowdsourced post, make sure you contribute. The questions usually don’t take more than 5-10 minutes of your time, and you’ll get a decent link or two from it.

Link Attraction

Outreach & submissions only go so far. Sometimes you have to let your content attract links naturally to get the results you want.

If you create content that naturally attracts links, it not only saves you time getting them manually, but it also increases engagement on your blog (if it’s worth linking to, it’s usually worth reading). This is where your content & link building strategies meet.

Egobait

Time: 1-2 weeks

Dependencies: Content

Link Value: High

It’s a fact of life: people like to look good. If you’re featured as one of the top bloggers in your niche, you’re probably going to spread the word.

By appealing to the egos of people, companies, and communities, they’ll help spread the word about your content. For example, this post I wrote appealed to some of the authorities in the SEO industry who all helped me spread the word.

Contrary hook

Time: 1-2 weeks

Dependencies: Content

Link Value: Moderate-High

If there’s controversy in your industry, or if someone has one particular view on a topic, don’t be afraid to write up a post on the opposing view. If you do it quick enough, and if the majority agree with you, you could attract links from your supporters like there’s no tomorrow.

A great example is what Rand Fishkin said in response to a post, which attracted over 800 links from 140+ root domains.

Live blogging

Time: 1-2 weeks, ongoing

Dependencies: Content

Link Value: High

If you’re at an industry event, blog about everything that’s taking place. If you’re the only one, you’ll get loads of links. If you’re not, you’ll still get A LOT of attention.

I know it’s Wired, so it’s a little unfair, but hopefully you can learn how it’s done from this example (451 links from 140 root domains in 3 months).

Also, check out this fantastic guide on live blogging.

How to’s and tutorials

Time: 2-4 weeks

Dependencies: Content

Link Value: High

Whether it’s a tool, DIY project, or anything else, showing people exactly how to do something is extremely helpful.

This RSS tutorial attracted 8,000+ links from over 600 root domains.

Glossary of terms

Time: 2-4 weeks

Dependencies: Content

Link Value: High

Newbies in your industry probably don’t know all the jargon you and other bloggers are using. Do them a favor and create a glossary of industry terms and acronyms.

Here’s a fantastic glossary of internet terms that landed 2,600+ links from over 1,200 root domains (imagine if you made an updated version!).

White papers

Time: 2-4 weeks

Dependencies: Content

Link Value: Moderate

You might be thinking research & white papers are the same, but they’re not. Someone writing a research paper doesn’t know what the outcome will be; someone writing a white paper has a clear understanding of the objectives and intended results from the beginning.

For example, you could outline an entire sector of an industry from top to bottom.

This one outlined the company and its services and got over 300 links from 100+ root domains. If a boring one like this could get links, imagine what you could do with more exciting content!

Quizzes/Tests

Time: 2-4 weeks

Dependencies: Content

Link Value: Moderate-High

Testing your reader’s knowledge and letting them share their results with their friends is always a great idea.

MotorBuzz does a fantastic job with this. Their facebook motoring quiz test attracted 1,600+ links from over 500 root domains.

Research papers

Time: 4-8 weeks

Dependencies: Content

Link Value: Moderate-High

Going all out and diving deep into a subject is a great way to establish yourself as an industry leader. It’s also a great way to attract a few links. If you make any major discoveries, you’ll get at least a few citations from scholarly and news websites.

This one, which attracted 7,600+ links from 1,500+ root domains, might look a little familiar.

Timely/Seasonal content

Time: 8-12 weeks

Dependencies: Content

Link Value: High

Creating the right content at the right time can get you a ton of attention. Creating an infographic on the statistics behind this year’s super bowl the day after the event is a perfect example.

The same goes for seasonal content. Whether it’s Valentine’s Day, Christmas, or Halloween, you can create holiday themed content that can get a ton of attention over a short period of time (and every year after).

Case studies

Time: 8-12 weeks

Dependencies: Content

Link Value: Moderate-High

Everyone loves a good case study. Real results with real numbers can instantly catch people’s attention. If you offer a product or service, this is a no-brainer. If you give out advice, find someone who’s used it successfully.

Although this particular case study didn’t attract more than 200 links, it’s still a great example of what one should look like.

Humor

Time: 1-2 weeks

Dependencies: Content, design, development

Link Value: Moderate

Creating a parody, spoof, or industry jokes list is a great way to loosen up your readers. People love sharing things they can laugh at.

The Onion, a fake news network, is built on humor. This story in particular attracted 4,400+ links from 1,200 root domains. No, you’re not a major site like The Onion, but making a similarly funny industry news story is something worth thinking about.

Printable resources

Time: 2-4 weeks

Dependencies: Content, design, development

Link Value: Moderate-High

People like hard copies of useful guides. By creating a printable resource with an awesome design, you can almost guarantee a few links will come your way.

Check out this case study (see what I did there?) about how Brian Flores created a printable HTML5 cheat sheet that got shared by the Google Developers G+ page.

Creating contests

Time: 2-4 weeks

Dependencies: Content, legal

Link Value: Moderate-High

Entering contests is great, but creating them is even better. By requiring your participants to write about & link to the contest from their blog, you’ll not only get links from them, but their posts will increase the exposure of your contest, thus growing your number of contestants at an exponential rate (and thus, the amount of links you get).

Gerald Weber on MySEOCommunity.com did a great job doing exactly this.

Complete guides/resources

Time: 8-12 weeks

Dependencies: Content, legal

Link Value: High

Creating evergreen resources that are complete guides on a subject are fantastic. This complete list of link building strategies is my attempt at one.

Why? Because when people need to explain an entire topic, they’d love it if they could refer to just one resource, and not a group of them. For example, Kristi Hines created one on the Google +1 button.

Pro tip: If it’s not timeless, curate it and keep it up to date. It might be an awesome resource, but it could become stale in a couple of years, such as a guide to Pinterest.

Stories

Time: 1-2 weeks

Dependencies: Content, marketing

Link Value: High

People love a good personal story. Whether it’s crazy, funny, or embarrassing, this is yet another way to strike at your reader’s emotion.

James Chartrand managed to attract over 1,000 links from nearly 300 root domains with this interesting one.

Covering News first

Time: 1-2 weeks

Dependencies: Content, marketing

Link Value: High

This one’s tough, but remember to always keep it in mind. If you see someone talking about a new developing story, and no one has covered it yet, start mashing on your keyboard at lightning speed.

A good way to do this is by making sure all of the news sources are in your RSS feed reader. For example, if I wanted to cover the latest development of search engines, the Google, Yahoo, and Bing blogs would all be in my reader.

Infographics

Time: 4-8 weeks, ongoing

Dependencies: Design

Link Value: High

People love data, but sometimes it’s hard to digest. Creating an infographic on it is a popular way to change that. Not only will it naturally attract links, but you’ll also get other bloggers embedding it, which means even more links! Not to mention you have control over the anchor text of the embed code.

Here’s a fantastic case study on an infographic that not only netted a ton of links, but also some serious traffic and social traction.

Web tools

Time: 8-12 weeks

Dependencies: Design, development

Link Value: High

Creating free online tools, like calculators, is a fantastic way to attract links. They don’t even have to be complex. If it could save me five minutes, then I’ll probably use & share it.

A fantastic example of a simple, yet effective free online tool is this one by Solo SEO. I can’t count how many times I’ve seen SEO bloggers such as myself link to it. It’s netted almost 500 links from almost 200 root domains.

Interactive

Time: 8-12 weeks

Dependencies: Development

Link Value: Moderate

The next big thing in linkbait is interactive content. The reason: because it’s flat out cool and few people are doing it.

Infoanimations

Time: 8-12 weeks

Dependencies: Development

Link Value: Moderate-High

Instead of creating an infographic, why not create a video that displays the same information? It’s a lot different than what most are doing, and trust me, that’s a good thing. The best part is that it works the same way as infographics; the video can be embedded and can act as a post by itself.

Here’s a great example, and here’s where I got the idea.

Review something new

Time: 1-2 weeks

Dependencies: Marketing

Link Value: Moderate-High

Just like with news, if you’re the first to review something, and if it’s awesome, your review will get tons of attention.

You can also use this to gain favor with the creators of the product or service you’re creating. For example, I reviewed Domain Hunter Plus, a new link checker, and not only did I get a few links to the review, but the creator of the tool worked out a deal with me by linking to the review & my home page from the tool’s home page, which is now a PageRank 5.

Utilize National Days & Events

Time: 1-2 weeks

Dependencies: Marketing, design, development

Link Value: High

Whether it’s a national day, week, month, or event, they can all be used to build links. You could create your own, or you could help promote an existing one. If this sounds like something you think you could do, check out this entire post on the subject. Props to Will O’Hara on taking this idea and really expanding on it.

Drawings

Time: 2-4 weeks

Dependencies: Marketing, design, development

Link Value: High

Using drawings to appeal to emotion can work great if it strikes the right tone with your audience.Here’s a good example that attracted 15,000+ links from over 350 root domains.

I have to give credit to Neil Patel for this strategy & the next one.

Webinars

Time: 3-4 weeks

Dependencies: Marketing, design, development

Link Value: High

Spending a couple hours every month by doing a webinar is a great idea for attracting links over the long term. Set up a page on your website solely dedicated to webinars, and as you create new ones, the links will roll in each time.

HubSpot has done a great job with this, having over 1000 links from 100 root domains to their Webinars page.

Games

Time: 3-4 weeks

Dependencies: Marketing, design, development

Link Value: Moderate-High

Creating exciting games to keep visitors content is not only a strategy to attract links to the game itself, but if you make it embeddable, other webmasters will put it on their site (if it’s good enough), which means even more links.

A great example of this is what Travelpod did with their Traveler IQ Challenge. Better yet, they made it embeddable!

Surveys

Time: 1-2 weeks

Dependencies: Marketing, design, development, customer service

Link Value: Moderate

There’s generally a two-step process to attracting links with surveys.

The first step is asking people to participate. If it’s on a particularly interesting topic, reaching out to bloggers, experts, and industry news sites to ask to spread the word both on their blog and on social media sites is a great way to attract your first wave of links.

The second step is releasing the results. Combine the release with some nice visualization and a bit of controversy, and you’ve got yourself a fantastic piece of linkbait.

Although it didn’t use the above formula, this survey has attracted 250+ links from 100 root domains in only 4 months

Microsites

Time: 8-12 weeks

Dependencies: Marketing, design, development, legal

Link Value: Moderate-High

Creating fun, quirky microsites is a great way to attract links. While some people might naturally link to your main site to give credit, they’ll most likely link to the microsite, which should have at least one link back to you on it.

Here are a few highly successful ones. If you’re thinking they might be too big of an investment, know that they don’t have to be fancy.

Google Maps mashup

Time: 1-2 weeks

Dependencies: None

Link Value: Moderate

Google Maps is a great tool, and you can use it to attract links if you get it in front of the right audience. A great idea would be to map out all the industry events taking place this year.

For example, Mashable linked out to 100 helpful mashups in this post.

Curated rankings/scores

Time: 12+ weeks, ongoing

Dependencies: None

Link Value: Moderate

If you create rankings or scores of people, companies, or anything else, and if it’s decent enough, then trust me, you’ll get a few links. The best part â€“ they don’t even have to be accurate (of course it would be great if it was).

A few good examples are this list of Top blogs on Startups. Again, both aren’t exactly accurate (Klout isn’t the best depiction of your influence on Twitter, and the #1 blog on that list is no longer active), but people care about numbers and rankings, especially the ones that make them look good.

Crowdsourcing

Time: 2-4 weeks

Dependencies: None

Link Value: High

Getting answers from a group of industry experts is another fantastic way to attract links. If the piece is good enough, and if you have the right influencers involved, the amount of links you’ll attract can grow exponentially.

For example, SEOmoz did a study on ranking factors, getting input from over 130 different experts. You can probably guess it was a huge success. It’s attracted 27,000+ links from 3,300+ root domains. Why? Because the experts did the promotion for them.

Petition

Time: 2-4 weeks

Dependencies: None

Link Value: Moderate

If you and your community are passionate about a certain issue, start a petition. If you can gain any traction from an industry news site, it could catch on like wildfire.

Note: Although not recommended, because it isn’t hosted on your site, one option is to use change.org to start your petition. It’s an easy set up, and because it’s hosted on their all ready popular site, you get all the added benefits of professionalism & exposure.

Lists

Time: 2-4 weeks

Dependencies: None

Link Value: Moderate-High

1.People.

2.Love.

3.Lists!

Why? Because the content is super easy to digest.

Don’t believe me? Check out this simple list of water conservation tips that received over 1,900 links from 400+ root domains.

Debunking myths

Time: 3-4 weeks

Dependencies: None

Link Value: Moderate-High

If there’s a common misconception in your industry, make sure you let everyone know. If it’s big enough, and if your statements are bold enough, you could get some serious attention.

This debunking of 9/11 myths, with 4,000+ links from over 200 root domains, is a perfect example of it working flawlessly.

Data/Research

Time: 4-8 weeks, ongoing

Dependencies: None

Link Value: High

By collecting data on just about anything, you can attract links. Why? Because, like lists, people absolutely love data. One reason is because they like to make conclusions from it that support their arguments.

Take it one step further. Release it as straight data, then release it again that makes it visually appealing with any of the strategies below.

Pro tip: If your data supports a side of an argument (i.e. nature vs. nurture debate), reach out to those that it would support. People love telling the world how right they are.

Trollbait (controversy)

Time: 1-2 weeks

Dependencies: PR

Link Value: Moderate

I love this term. I think Rand Fishkin or Kris Roadruck first said it. Basically, it’s a better way to say “create something controversial”.

Creating controversy can be a great way to attract links. Godaddy’s SOPA fiasco is a fantastic example. They originally supported it (which rose controversy), and then stated they would now oppose it (which rose even more controversy).

Interviews

Time: 2-4 weeks

Dependencies: PR

Link Value: Moderate-High

Interviewing industry experts will always be a fantastic way to attract links, but getting them to interview is only half the battle. The other half is asking great questions.

A good way to find out what questions you should ask is by holding a Q&A with your blog’s community, whether it’s on Google+, Twitter, or any other site. Ask what kinds of questions you want your readers to see.

Helping Webmasters

One of my personal favorite link building strategies is helping out, or adding value to, webmasters. By doing something for them, they’ll be much, much more likely to give you a link. Here are a few ways to help out webmasters.

Fixing grammar/spelling

Time: 2-4 weeks

Dependencies: Content

Link Value: Moderate-High

Ross Hudgens pointed this one out to me. It’s just as simple as it sounds; look for grammar & spelling mistakes, notify the webmaster, and ask for a link on a relevant page.

Filling gaps in content

Time: 2-4 weeks

Dependencies: Content

Link Value: Moderate-High

If a site is missing information on a certain topic, whether it’s an article entirely or a portion of one that should be better elaborated on, reach out to the webmaster and ask if you could fill that gap. Here’s a great post on this strategy.

Update old content

Time: 2-4 weeks

Dependencies: Content

Link Value: Moderate-High

If information is out date, do webmasters a favor and help update it for them. If you’re in a rapidly changing industry such as SEO, look for articles & posts written a few years back that still get traffic (i.e. rank high for a decent keyword). This is because if many people no longer see the content, the webmaster probably won’t care enough to have it updated.

Here’s a great example. Danny Sullivan even states in the article that he needs to update it! If I knew Danny better, I’d outreach to him with newly updated content, and ask if he could replace it (he’d probably be more than likely to). Unfortunately he’s not exactly easy to get in touch with, but in most cases for you, this shouldn’t be a problem.

Remember, when you do update the content, make sure you add a link to you in it. We are building links, aren’t we?

Dead content recreation

Time: 2-4 weeks

Dependencies: Content

Link Value: Moderate-High

Take broken links one step further by recreating the content found at those URLs, then outreaching to not only that specific linking site, but also other sites linking to that broken URL.

For this, use Archive.org to find what content used to be found at that URL.

Logo/Graphic/Web design

Time: 8-12 weeks

Dependencies: Design

Link Value: Moderate

A decent website usually has some sort of logo, graphic, and web design. If you have any experience with any of these, reach out to webmasters and ask if they’d like any of the above services free at no cost.

Sometimes it doesn’t have to be a major website makeover. Michael Kovis has helped me make a few CSS tweaks in the past, something that I’ve been very, very thankful of. Casey Kluver helped me with a bit of javascript that went into making this very post!

If you don’t know design, you can get someone on Fiverr to create a logo for 5 bucks. No, it’s not going to be amazing, but it’ll get the job done.

Give them hosting

Time: 1-2 weeks

Dependencies: Development

Link Value: Moderate

Every webmaster has to fork out a few bucks (or more) a month for hosting. Why not help them out by either providing hosting or paying for it? For those who have a server, this shouldn’t cost you a penny. A great thing to ask for would be a link in their blogroll.

Broken links

Time: 1-2 weeks

Dependencies: None

Link Value: High

Out of all the strategies listed, this is my favorite. The scalability of finding broken links is crazy awesome. In a nutshell, you’ll be finding pages that could potentially link to you, looking for broken links on the page, and if there are any, you’ll let the webmaster know and ask if the broken link could be replaced with a link to you.

You can get really creative with broken links. It’s by no means a narrow, straightforward strategy.

Here’s a great guide on the entire process.

Finding malware

Time: 1-2 weeks

Dependencies: None

Link Value: Moderate-High

Chris Dyson pointed this one out. Use ScrapeBox to find sites with malware, then reach out to webmasters, let them know, and ask for a link.

Remember: don’t go to their site! You might get a virus. Use a whois lookup to find contact info.

Fight Viagra Hackers

Time: 2-4 weeks

Dependencies: None

Link Value: Moderate-High

There’s a huge issue on the Internet that I didn’t realize could be used to build links until recently. Hackers (most notably trying to get links with anchors like “buy cheap viagra”) are infiltrating blogs, college sites, and regular html websites in order to get the links they want. A lot of times, the webmasters of these sites have no idea it’s happening. Here’s an awesome case study on using that to help you build links. And yes, creative would be an understatement.

By no means are social media and link building two disconnected parts of your web marketing strategy. Here are a couple of ways to build links using social media sites.

Twitter

Time: 1-2 weeks, ongoing

Dependencies: None

Link Value: High

If you’ve got a Twitter account, then you’ve got 5 easy links in the bag.

Outside of those, there are numerous ways to build links with Twitter. Instead of listing them all here, just watch this video.

Time: 1-2 weeks, ongoing

Dependencies: None

Link Value: Low-Moderate

Sites like Delicious, Digg, and Pinterest offer a bit of link equity through social bookmarks. Because they’re so easy to abuse, they don’t have much value, but if you’re looking to get the ball rolling in the beginning, think about bookmarking all of your posts and pages.

The only ones you should really be using are these 10, Pinterest, and niche specific ones (i.e. Inbound.org for inbound marketing).

Create Useful Things

If you build it, they will come. There are numerous things you can create that webmasters can embed on their site. In return, of course, you’ll get links.

Some of these things will also naturally attract links to the page you’re offering on them, so they work both ways.

Note: Web tools aren’t listed here because they aren’t something webmasters can physically put on their site.

Icon sets

Time: 2-4 weeks

Dependencies: Design

Link Value: Moderate-High

They’re easy to create, and if they catch on, you’ll get a ton of design blogs linking to you.

You don’t have to know design to create an icon set & get links to it. Hire someone (on oDesk for example) to create a set for your blog. Then give away the set for free in a new blog post for anyone who wants it, and of course, notify design blogs about your free giveaway (they love free giveaways!).

Badges

Time: 3-4 weeks

Dependencies: Design

Link Value: High

Creating badges, such as the ones for the TopRank BIG LIST, work great if you’re giving out awards.

On the other hand, you can create a badge for anyone, and not just an exclusive group.

Obviously, make sure you get a link from the badge. If they’re sitewide, then congratz!

WordPress themes

Time: 4-8 weeks

Dependencies: Design, development

Link Value: High

If you’re thinking about designing WordPress themes, know this: the links you get have little value, and that to gain any real value, the anchor text needs not to be spammy (i.e. exact match) and the theme needs to be used by sites with relevant content.

For example, if you’re a sports blog, create a sports theme.

If you’re OK with this, here’s the best guide on the Web for utilizing WordPress Themes for links.

Drupal Themes

Time: 4-8 weeks

Dependencies: Design, development

Link Value: High

Just like WordPress themes, Drupal themes can be developed to build links exponentially.

If you’ve ever looked into theme development, you know most people are focused on WordPress. Use this to your advantage. Develop a Drupal theme because you’ll have far less competition. The official Drupal theme directory includes only 955 themes as I’m writing this.

Widgets

Time: 4-8 weeks

Dependencies: Design, development

Link Value: High

By creating embeddable widgets, webmasters can place them on their site, and if you coded it correctly, you can easily get a link back.

Plugins & extensions

Time: 2-4 weeks

Dependencies: Development

Link Value: High

CMS plugins & extensions, like those for WordPress & Joomla, can get you a few links.

For example, in the Sharebar plugin, the default setting includes a link on the bottom of the floating bar. It can be disabled, but some people don’t bother, thus giving the developers a link.

Toolbars

Time: 2-4 weeks

Dependencies: Development

Link Value: High

Here’s a great example of a toolbar that Webmasters can place on their site (with a link in the toolbar, of course).

Alternatively, you could create a browser toolbar, such as the SEO toolbar from SEObook.

Paid Strategies

If you have a little room in your budget, then consider some of the below paid strategies. Google is against paid links, but there are some out there that are acceptable, such as the ones listed below.

Paid reviews

Time: 2-6 weeks

Dependencies: Customer service

Link Value: Low

If you’ve got a product or service you want reviewed on a blog, you can pay for one. By using sites like sponsoredreviews.com, ReviewMe.com, and PayperPost.com, you can pay for blogger reviews. Of course, they’ll link to you in the review.

Pay authorities to embed your badges

Time: 2-4 weeks

Dependencies: Financial

Link Value: Moderate

It’s a paid link that cannot be detected, it increases brand awareness & trust, and best of all, it can be used to get natural embeds.

For example, if I get one of the two bloggers in the industry to embed a badge of “Featured in Top 10 X Blogs in 2012”, and I outreach to a few mid level bloggers that I also included (exactly for this reason), they’d be more than happy to embed it, because if the big time blogger did, they’d be honored to.

Honestly, if you’re going to pay for a sitewide, this is the way to go. There are so many added bonuses.

Note: If you go for spammy anchor text, and not branded or partial, it could send spam signals, so don’t play around there.

Time: 2-4 weeks