What Do They Say About Link Building?

by Yan Susanto

The most often used phrase in the blogging community is “Content is King”. However, content alone is not king. Content has to be well-written, unique or controversial and well-received.

It’s better to write a one killer content than to pump up ten of sub-standard and poorly written articles. It does make sense, doesn’t it?

When you write one killer content coupled with good content promotion strategies, everyone will read it, talk about it and make a reference to you in one of their article. That’s the power of good content for link building.

A good friend of mine, Peter Lee from Work from Home Business wrote

Everyone says that Content Is King….but I say Content Is King only if it brings in loads of backlinks….

The theory is simple; the more quality contents you produce, the more backlinks you will get and ultimately it translates into a better search engine ranking.

To illustrate my point, I have 165 backlinks as compared to 5330 backlinks for ProBlogger in direct competition for the keyword ‘Blog for Beginners‘ and ‘Blogging Tips for Beginners‘. A simple math tells you that I need to accumulate another 5000+ backlinks if I were to wrest the #1 spot. The God must be crazy if I were to do it. The problem is I’m pretty contented to stay at #2.

What Did Peter Say About Link Building?

Though many articles have been written about link building, today I’m going to let Peter do the talking writing here by introducing his series of articles on link building. It basically sums up everything (well, almost) you need to know about link building. A well-researched and well-written 5-part series of articles in a simple and easily understood style of writing.

Here’s the snapshot of what you can expect from Peter’s Link Building Strategies.

Part 1 – Link Building Strategy – Deep Links

Here Peter explains the importance of good content and how it will help to bring a cluster of backlinks for better search engines ranking. He also touches on the power of internal linking or deep links that goes directly to your internal pages apart from your homepage. Speaking of which, you will find a couple of deep links on this article.

Part 2 – How Keywords Can Get You Top Search Engine Rankings

The second part deals with keywords optimization and how to choose the right keywords for top search engine ranking. Why in the beginning we need to focus on those keyword phrases with a low to medium search volume? Phrases with a high search volume take a much longer time to get top ranking because of higher competition.

Part 3 – 10 Backlink Building Techniques Bloggers Often Missed

Among others it covers the logic of blog commenting in dofollow (what is dofollow?) blogs, why you need to accumulate more backlinks from authority sites – those with higher PR and the essential of outbound links – why you shouldn’t ignore them.

Part 4 – DIY SEO Work Schedule

Since SEO is an ongoing process, it makes all sense to learn the basics of search engines optimization and not rely on SEO specialist. It shows you how an average blogger can DIY all the SEO work himself. All it takes is patience and diligent effort in your SEO work as the results doesn’t come overnight.

Part 5 – 7 In-Dept Link Building Tips

The last part of the link building startegy shows you on the proper use of anchor text, how to optimize your blog to encourage more comments from you readers and why some site rank higher than the others.

You can expect the breakdown of essential factors to rank higher, i.e 30% because of old backlinks, 15% because of regular updates, 5% because of keywords in content on page, etc.

What Did I Say About Link Building?

No one knows for sure how Google or other search engines calculate the ranking of each site in their index and what kind of algorithm they are using. Nonetheless, one thing is certain is that you can’t take away link building from your SEO equation. In fact, it’s the most important factor of search engine optimization, the other being the age of your site and the structure of your site design.

Let me just reiterate the point I made above that the more backlinks you have, the higher you will be on the search engine results for your chosen keyword. Just don’t aim to be #1, page one is easier in the beginning.

If there is one secret they don’t teach you about link building is to comment (read: add value to the conversation) your way into the Top Commentator spot in those sites with higher PR and gain a natural and legal backlink in return. In case you aren’t in the know, here’s the best places you get quality backlinks to jump start your link building exercise.

Final Say

It is my sincere hope that you will find the above articles useful and helpful in your quest for better search engine ranking. Just remember,

Getting a few of the right links, from the right places can be more valuable than getting 100 links from the wrong places.

Happy link building and see you at the top.

If you have any thoughts and opinions on link building, I love to hear what you have to say on the comment section below. Share your experience for benefit of others.

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{ 50 comments }

Ultimate Blogging Experiment August 4, 2008 at 6:29 am

Link building is so important.

Ultimate Blogging Experiment’s last blog post..15 Blogs All Bloggers Should Read

Work At Home Ideas August 4, 2008 at 8:06 am

Hi Yan,

Thanks for featuring all my 5-parts Link Building Strategy. I had thought that you would be choosing just one and what you thought as the best of the lot, but 5 was a pleasant surprise. The only possible reason I could think of is that you do walk the talk about finding and providing useful information to all your readers. I think your readers would appreciate this very much. But then again I guessed they already know this too since you recently wrote one great post about appreciating your readers.

Peter Lee
p.s. I shall return back the favor by soon featuring yours in my blog

Link Building Staff August 4, 2008 at 8:58 am

nice articles. i like to read it more but the summary says it all.
this would really help me and add more knowledge in my link building.

ChiQ Montes August 4, 2008 at 9:15 am

I simply agree. Great point!

Piss Biscuit August 4, 2008 at 9:54 am

Alright Yan… Another real winner by the “Yan Man”. I love how you take information from all over the place and create a compilation better than each article on its own. It’s so much more valuable to me as a read, than it is going to each blog individually. Bravitzimo!

Piss Biscuit’s last blog post..Building an Online Business PB Style

Lee Hall August 4, 2008 at 10:45 am

In response to your final comment about quality links, do that mean I shouldn’t post on this blog, since it’s not my core audience?!? (Just teasing… I would post anyway because I like this blog… but for should the same be true for other non-core blogs?)

Yan August 4, 2008 at 11:26 am

@Ultimate Blogging Experiment – You bet it is…

@Link Building Staff – I’m glad it does help. Happy link building…

@ChiQ Montes – Wow, what a pleasant surprise to see you here, ChiQ. I hope you will join us more often and share your personal experience and knowledge with the readers. Thanks for dropping in…

Yan August 4, 2008 at 11:30 am

@Peter – I couldn’t decide which is the best of the 5 so I included them all and blended into a post of its own…:-)

I hope you like what I’m doing here and I don’t rule out the possibility of me doing it again on your next article. SEO has been the subject of my interest, any article about it always catches my attention.

I’ll see you around, Peter. You have a good day…

Yan August 4, 2008 at 11:35 am

@Piss Biscuit – Hey, hey, hey, how have you been doing, my friend? I should say another great comment from PB as always. Thanks for coming in, bro. I do appreciate your participation on this blog.

Yan August 4, 2008 at 11:39 am

@Lee Hall – Well, Lee… the theory is such that you get relevant links from those of similar niche. You are absolutely right about it as we are of different niche altogether but I do appreciate you coming here once in a while and say “Hello”.

Sunil Pathak August 4, 2008 at 12:14 pm

Hi Yan
That was fab article mate i like the way you have nested all 5 post in one

and as Peter said your readers (count me too now on) will appreciate You providing useful information to them

Sunil Pathak’s last blog post..How Do You Handle Comments On Your Blog

Work At Home Ideas August 4, 2008 at 12:29 pm

Hey Yan,

Of course I liked it. It’s really such an ingenius way to create a post with information from other blogs and present it your way, and adding even more value to what you have already said. I think people who read your blog and your presentation style leave with a big high. Well done man and thanks again for doing this and look forward to working together with you soon.

Peter

Originally Posted By Yan@Peter – I couldn’t decide which is the best of the 5 so I included them all and blended into a post of its own…:-)

I hope you like what I’m doing here and I don’t rule out the possibility of me doing it again on your next article. SEO has been the subject of my interest, any article about it always catches my attention.

I’ll see you around, Peter. You have a good day…

Yan August 4, 2008 at 2:00 pm

@Peter – I think you deserve it, Peter. I like your writing style and your articles suits my readers in every possible sense.

I’m too looking forward to working with you again. Till then, you have a great day ahead.

Rhys August 4, 2008 at 8:53 pm

Hi Yan!

Great to read another class article from you.

I believe a really big factor with keyword linking is the internal site linking, like each contributing keyword(phrase) links back to the main keyword, and is linked to from the main page (part of the deep linking you mention here). I feel that getting this in place is as important as external linking in climbing up the SERPs.

I just jumped one of my sites from No 9 to No 6 with a long-tailed keyword post linked as I described above, so I’m happy that that it works for me. A couple more connected posts, and some aging should see this site hit No 1.

Jon from Blogging HQ August 4, 2008 at 9:30 pm

Thanks for the great article, and the great resources that will help with building back-links.

I think a combination of all those things (top commentator, articles, social bookmarking, etc.) mixed in with extreme persistence and patience, is a sure-fire way to get top rankings for the keyword you’ve set your mind on ranking well for.

It’s really not as hard as many might think though. I managed to accidentally, just by keeping up a website for months get into Page 6 results for a highly competitive search phrase. Page 6 in Google search results isn’t great, but since it was unintentional, imagine where I could be with some added effort… which I plan on doing soon.

Thanks again! Your blog is a great read.

Jon from Blogging HQ’s last blog post..Dumping the eBay Partner Network For Now

Yan August 5, 2008 at 12:58 am

@Rhys – Yeah, it took me a while to realize the power of internal linking but after seeing some of my internal pages I have linked on my other posts getting a PR2 , I’m convinced of the importance of it.

I think you are doing well with your long tail keyword and it’s true, aging is one of the critical factors to rank higher in search engine results.

Yan August 5, 2008 at 1:01 am

@Jon from Blogging HQ – Hey, Jon. Thanks for being here again and sharing your input.

I certainly agree that it takes more than patience and determination to reach high in SERP. I’m sure with little effort you’ll move from page 6 to page 1 in no time.

Center Parted August 5, 2008 at 2:23 pm

Hi Yan, was looking for some good (genuine) advice on building backlinks and am really glad to have read your compilation. Very helpful stuff here… many thanks!!

Center Parted’s last blog post..Renevation in progress…

AZ Blogging August 5, 2008 at 5:13 pm

Those areticles are the most helpful i have ever seen on this subject. How come I never saw them before? I totally agree with you, and most especially on this one “Getting a few of the right links, from the right places can be more valuable than getting 100 links from the wrong places.

Many people always think getting to the top involves nothing but black hat. Lies!

The search engines are no fools.

AZ Blogging’s last blog post..BLOGGING AGAINST TIME

SEO Services August 5, 2008 at 5:35 pm

I agree on this “Everyone says that Content Is King….but I say Content Is King only if it brings in loads of backlinks….”

Good content attract bloggers to link to it.

Yan August 5, 2008 at 11:04 pm

@Center Parted – Hey, CP. I’m glad you found those articles relevant and useful to you. Thanks for visiting my blog, may I just know how did you get to know this blog? Well, I usually do ask the same question to the first-time visitor here..

Justin Wright August 6, 2008 at 3:22 am

Wow, this was a lot of helpful content. I am currently working on building backlinks and am in need of information like this. Keep up the good posts.

Hugo Santos August 6, 2008 at 7:18 am

now this is what i call a great post. You managed to join several articles into 1. Nice job, and many bloggers should see this article not only because of its quality but also you keep the credits to the creators. Rare thing nowadays.

Hugo Santos’s last blog post..Creating a forum Part 2 – Forum installation and configuration

Brian August 6, 2008 at 11:28 am

One thing I see a lot of people doing is commenting on any blog they find that is do follow.. forgetting the fact links from relevant sites are very important. I would prefer 10 links from a relevant site compared to 100 from a mix of sites.

Great post.. thanks for sharing.

Yan August 6, 2008 at 1:08 pm

@Justin Wright – Thank you and I hope you will join us more often here.

Yan August 6, 2008 at 1:10 pm

@Hugo Santos – Hey, buddy. I wasn’t expecting such a great commentary from you. I really appreciate it. I was just sharing some articles that might be of interest and useful to my readers. Oh yes, I hope that everyone will do likewise.

Yan August 6, 2008 at 1:12 pm

@Brian – You have said it absolutely right I wouldn’t need to add anything further. Welcome to thoushallblog.com, Brian and hope you enjoy your stay here.

Sherry August 6, 2008 at 11:59 pm

how about those like link up technorati… does that count as link building?

Sherry’s last blog post..I found TrafficXplode 2.0

Yan August 7, 2008 at 1:20 am

@Sherry – I’m sorry I don’t really understand your question.

Paid Online Free Surveys August 7, 2008 at 3:06 am

Thanks for the summary of tips… I am a beginner and definitely found them useful.

zania August 7, 2008 at 8:41 am

Another excellent article Yan,
You are really pulling out all the stops here. Fantastic!

And I think it was a great idea to link to those articles and summarise, rather than just linking to them. It gives your assessment as well as providing valuable help for your readers in the articles. And that makes a welcome change.

One thing I will say in all this though (and sorry if it isn’t completely relevant to this article). One mistake many people make when building blogs to make money (and I know this isn’t necessarily what every beginner blogger wants to do) is concentrate so hard on technique without making sure they will be able to provide enough products or services for people to buy when they arrive on their site.

I made that mistake myself when I first came over to mainstream, which is why I am chucking this comment in here. Hope you don’t mind :)

and @Sherry, I didn’t quite understand the question either, but I would say if you are looking specifically for backlinks, check your stats for incoming links and see which places are actually linking to you, or just providing an outgoing link on their site for people to find you .

zania’s last blog post..Make Money On The Net. What the !! this really works!

john lowthian August 7, 2008 at 11:06 am

im a noob at all this. thank you for the info

Yan August 7, 2008 at 11:38 am

@zania – I appreciate your coming here and sharing your input and experience on making money. It’s so true that a great salesman without a product to sell is deemed worthless.

The truth is I pick up the technique of being different on my article above from you, Zania. You kind of inspire me to use a different approach away from the norm.

Looking at the kind of encouraging responses from the readers, I might be doing another one where I’ll pick the topic I’m familiar with from one of the blogs I visit regularly and make a summary of them. Who knows yours is in the pipeline?

Puneet August 7, 2008 at 3:09 pm

diff post links shared about on Link Building under one roof in ur single post … recommended ur post to others too ;) .. Thanx for sharing

Bibitcanus August 7, 2008 at 3:11 pm

Great Tips !! I was realy in need to have some for implementing my blog.

Thanks!

——————————————
BIBITCANUSQuadrinhos, humor e umas palavrinhas a mais
http://bibitcanus.blogspot.com

Ouch! Há uma Banda desenhada no meu Band-aid !

Bibitcanus’s last blog post..Ouch! Há uma Banda desenhada no meu Band-aid !

Nihar August 7, 2008 at 8:49 pm

Very good post. coming up with well written posts.

Gr8.. Keep continuing

moserw August 8, 2008 at 11:33 pm

Good post. Will need to check out Peter Lee’s blog and read up thoroughly, but thanks for sharing about it and letting us know. Much appreciated.

moserw’s last blog post..Tomato Bath Recipe!

Ganesh August 10, 2008 at 9:10 pm

Thanks for the tips. Using a dofollow search engine really simplifies the task of building links through comments. Or if you’re lazy, just outsource the work and dish out a couple of dollars. ;)

Ganesh’s last blog post..Blog Review – The University Kid

jeflin August 12, 2008 at 10:50 pm

Way to go, yan. Great article.

I think you will utilize your time more efficiently than to wrest the top spot from problogger on the two keywords.

jeflin’s last blog post..Overhead Supply Can Trap Your Money

Yan August 13, 2008 at 12:17 am

@jeflin – Thanks for the compliment. I’m not competing with Darren at all as it’s akin to suicide if I do that.

As a matter of fact, I’m working hard to move from page 2 to page 1 on the keyword “Blogging Tips” right now.

Shanker Bakshi August 13, 2008 at 12:48 pm

In india , we have this famous saying – Who appriciate the dancing of Peacock in the jingle. Writing your views and to make them popularise , spreading them in equally important. One may be a great contetnt writer but that dose not guarantee that he will become a famous name in blogsphere. Great Article indeed.

Shanker Bakshi’s last blog post..Meet The Shanker Bakshi Junior

Work At Home Ideas August 15, 2008 at 1:29 pm

Hi everyone,

If you’ve read some or all of my 5 posts on Link Building Strategy thank you for your support and kind words, with some posting comments in my blog too. I’m sure that when you now do blog commenting you include linking to your inside pages too and not always your homepage. If you wish to take it to another level do more link exchanges on you pages with other bloggers. Do contact me if you wish to do link exchange on your pages with me. I’ll be most happy to link with you on relevant pages.

Peter Lee
Work From Home Business Blog.

Sire September 7, 2008 at 8:19 am

I totaly agree

Matty Byloos January 30, 2009 at 2:13 am

Solid content here — you should be getting a lot of links to this page! And deservedly so! Thanks for the links out to the 5 articles as well. Going there to read them now.

Matty Byloos´s lastest post..Raveonettes at the Henry Fonda Theater

Portland Roofer January 30, 2009 at 2:16 am

For a business owner trying to learn the fundamentals, this is a great lesson. Content inspires links, and both are super important. Thank you for the lesson! I’ll be back for more reading for sure.

Portland Roofer´s lastest post..Understanding Rain Gutters in Portland, OR

kyrious February 7, 2009 at 9:05 pm

brother Yan again you never ceases to amaze me this is my strategy I learn from you to be a good commentator even before i launched my blog i practiced to be a good one ,your methods are all correct my blog is the testimony I’ve got a page rank in a short time

Yan February 7, 2009 at 10:52 pm

Congrats, dude. Good to know that the strategy works for you just like it did for me. Keep blogging and keep commenting.

Yan

joe comp February 28, 2009 at 1:27 pm

this a lesson of backlinks that i’ve got here and i must learn more to gain backlinks and visitor.thank you for this great lesson.

joe comp´s lastest post..Get On The Net

Monker March 6, 2009 at 1:08 am

Thanks for your article Yan,

I agree that content is king, but you need some kindling to get the linking fire going. Any mug can randomly link and link indiscriminately, content mean you really have to think about it.

Monker
Link Building Specialists

Monker March 6, 2009 at 1:12 am

Nice article Yan,

I agree that content is king, but you need some kindling to get the backlink flame burning too. Any mug can link indescriminately and link again, with articles you have to think which is much harder.

Monker
Link Building Specialists

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