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We’re receiving a lot of traffic for link building keywords lately. I am sure there are many reasons for why people are searching so keenly for good link building advice. Quite probably many people are over-emphasizing link building because they still read second-rate SEO blogs that tell you SEO is all about links. But I think there are some people out there who are wondering why their links don’t seem to be working.

Of course, before you get started on figuring out how to build good links for any site you should read through Why Link Building May Not Work, an article I wrote last year that addresses some of the problems Websites that depend on link building for SEO may encounter.

There is no perfect system for search optimization. Every site has its own special needs and a good SEO technician will balance well-managed link building with solid on-site content optimization, good site structure (internal navigation and cross-promotional linking), continual keyword research, and performance monitoring using analytics to evaluate search visibility and conversions.

Link building is an important part of the search optimization process but without good content to link to the links are rather pointless. Good content has to be interesting to someone, if not everyone (nothing is interesting to everyone). With that in mind, here is a quick rundown of what you should include (at a minimum) in your “SEO link building kit”.

1. A list of reasons for why the site should have inbound links
   This list has to make sense to a reasonable person who knows nothing about search engine optimization and doesn’t care about nonsense like PageRank, anchor text, backlink reports, and useless SEO fluffery.

   If you cannot enumerate for yourself why a given site should have links there is a serious problem with the site. Your reasons don’t have to convince or persuade anyone but you. Some people will agree with your opinion. Many will not. That’s just the way it is.

2. A link analytic method
   Put away your browser plug-ins. Spare me the promotional hype about your favorite link research tool or service. Those are meaningless wastes of electrons. You need a method, not someone else’s idea of how links should be assessed and organization. You should be doing your own assessing and organizing. You don’t need Yahoo! to tell you how many links you have built, where they are, whether they are visible to search engines, or whether they pass value. In fact, there are no link tools out there that will give you this information.

   If you’re working with a site that already has a backllink profile then you should try to determine where its links are coming from. Break out the tools. Go to town. Get as many URLs as you can. Then divide your data into probable natural links and probable artificial links. Is there any particular reason why the site earned those seeming natural links? Do they make sense? If you can figure that out, your link building efforts should improve.

   The point about using a link analytic method is that you need to determine what the quality of your own links should be and how to ensure they are placed in advantageous places. No decent, self-respecting link building should be worrying about what competitive sites are doing for their links. If you keep looking at backlink reports, you’re not focusing on link building.

3. A social media criteria checklist
   You should not be looking at social media link placement as a means of obtaining link anchor text and improving search results. Chances are pretty good that a linking page that receives no real visitors won’t be given much value by search engines. Sure, everyone can find examples of cheap, low-quality pages that provide pretty good links. But if you’re a link specialist you want your links to provide as much value as possible.

   So evaluate the social media resources you know about and determine which ones help create visibility and drive traffic. Search engine optimization should not be the only way a site obtains traffic. If you’re going to use social media sites for link building, then learn how to use social media the right way.

   Your checklist may change from client to client. You should understand the demographics of each social media resource you use and how they match up with the site you’re building links for. It takes about as long to place a really good, powerful link that creates visibility and drives traffic as it does to just place a link on some random page. Use that time well. Get the most bang for your client’s buck.

   Unless you’re a social media link building specialist (and, believe it or not, there are some out there) you should not be focusing solely on social media. Build the links you deem to be appropriate and move on.

4. A blog criteria checklist
   You should not be dropping links in blog comments but you may want to engage with bloggers who have a passion for the topic your client site addresses. If the client site is mediocre at best you’re not going to get much help from the really good blogger community but you may still be able to find bloggers who will link to the site.

   Of course, a good SEO technician works with the client to improve the quality of the site as much as possible, but ultimately a site that is just another cookie-cutter affiliate link farm or ecommerce-in-a-box inventory sheet of generic merchandise is going to earn very few (if any) really good blog links. So design a checklist that matches the quality of the site. If the client doesn’t like the quality of the links you’re getting from blogs, try to encourage him to improve the site.

   Don’t be confrontational with a client. You can emphasize the value that is required and the rewards that value brings. As the link builder it’s your responsibility to create visibility for that value in the right places.

5. A list of your personal resources
   If you’ve been building links for any length of time you should have your own inventory of Websites to work with. I’m not talking about a blog farm you built with the latest black hat script. I mean you should have your own Websites for which you create content, value, visibility, and links. Those sites can and should be used to help clients.

   If you have a large enough network you might be able to tailor fit some of your resources to a specific link building campaign. The more appropriate the content for your link placements, the better. And don’t make excuses about not having your own sites. You build them one site at a time. Do not EVER commit to building 50-60 Websites (unless you know how to do that without burning out). The faster you are at building a site, the less time time it takes to build it, the less likely the site will provide much value. Sure, some people will be better than others, but your sites should be credible, useful, and helpful. Build them as you go, not all at once.

6. One or more reserve link placement networks
   I’m not talking about anything in particular. I just mean you should have access to a network of sites where you can place helpful, interesting, and contributory links that offer their own value to the user experience. You don’t control this network. It’s not a list of social media sites. Your client doesn’t control this network.

   Here are a few examples of reserve link placement networks. I don’t necessarily recommend any of them and the list is far from exhaustive:

   1. Paid links (highly risky)
   2. Article directories (somewhat risky)
   3. Press release services
   4. Subscription blogging services
   5. Groups of friendly linking sites (NOT link farms, link circles, link wheels, etc.)
   6. Reciprocal link management services (somewhat risky)
   7. Mailing lists, forums, or blogs where you can post announcements about Websites and share some information without people getting all huffy

   A forum is NOT a network. A forum community where people respect your recommendations and may share a link you suggest on their own site IS a network. If you’re a stranger just dumping links on other people’s sites, you’re doing it wrong.

   Use this list as inspiration for creativity and resourcefulness. It’s not intended to guide you in link placement. I’m just using some very well-known examples that people can relate to.

Nearly everyone interested in building links should be able to follow this advice. If you’re contracting with a link building service ask them what the basic work entails. If they are secretive be skeptical. Anyone can show you search results where their links have made a difference. If they are ethical and responsible they will engage in honest discussion with you. If they don’t care about the consequences of their work, you should have a sinking feeling in your stomach as they dodge your direct questions over and over again.

If you’re an in-house SEO you may find some of the options on this list don’t match the company’s priorities. For example, an agency is more likely to have an inventory of 100-200 linking Websites (although some larger corporations may operate hundreds of sites, they usually don’t want to use those sites for link building).

The less you cringe at the idea of someone stumbling across one of your links, the more likely the link is going to be a good one. You cannot guarantee that every link will pass Pagerank or anchor text, but if you hold yourself to a high standard that should not matter in the long run.

Link building is not search engine optimization. Search engine optimization is not link building.

Link building is part of the process for creating visibility and driving traffic to Websites. That goes so far beyond SEO it should not even have to be said.

Unfortunately, too many people still don’t get it.