Where Do I Get Backlinks?

Someone recently sent me an email asking me how I got so many Backlinks in such a short period of time (the domain name is only two and a half months old). I thought it was a great question, so I’ll elaborate in this article.

If you’re newer to Search Engine Optimization, I wrote my interpretation of the definition for Backlink in a previous article describing the differences between an OK Backlink and a Great Backlink. Let’s start off with some basics.

How Do I Check My Backlinks?

The resource I found easiest to use to check your Backlinks is Yahoo! Site Explorer. Once you type in your domain name into the search field, select Inlinks. To slightly filter your results, click the dropdown and select Except From This Domain. This should give you a pretty good idea what your backlinks are. Scroll through them, have a look at them, learn from them. This is a great resource and if PageRank is a major concern for you, even more so. And now for the million dollar question:

Where Did I Get My Backlinks?

I sat down and analyzed where my Backlinks were coming from:

• Forum Signatures - These aren’t the best in terms of quality, but boy do they inflate your number of Backlinks. This is my biggest source of low-value Backlinks. I was very active at some forums and when you have thousands of posts, each with a link to your website, they start to add up. Tips:
  • Dig up old forum accounts and change your signature
  • Participate in forums that deal with your website’s niche - Create a signature, and participate in the community. Remember: don’t spam, genuinely participate.
• Site-Wide Links From Friends - Better then links from Forum Signatures, links from Blogrolls or other side-wide links also inflate your Backlink number. They might not have the highest quality (as internal pages typically have lower Pagerank), they are still valuable none-the-less. Tips:
  • Build your network of friends - Even if it doesn’t net you Backlinks, you still end up with friends.
• Commenting On Other People’s Blogs - As more of an act of building a network then building Backlinks, I managed to get a lot of Backlinks from other people’s blogs through commenting. Often, when commenting, you’re asked for your name, website and email. You shouldn’t feel guilty promoting your site. Fill in the website field, often your link will be rel=”nofollow”, sometimes, it won’t. This can net you Backlinks from internal pages. Tips:
  • Genuinely participate in like-minded blogs - If you’re doing it for backlinks, bloggers will see transparency, and who knows what will happen after that.

So if you’re desperate for Backlinks, have a look at my sources and maybe that’ll give you some ideas. That’s all. Hope that helps.

Related Posts

• PageRank Update False Alarm
• Difference Between an OK Backlink and a Great Backlink
• What’s He Got That I Don’t?