As online publishers grow more search savvy, the amount of effort required for effective link building is soaring upwards. Many websites have grown into high-earning online assets, with even the simplest ones earning top rankings in Google SERPs, steady inflows of traffic, and a bevy of advertising income.
At the heart of this success is high quality link building. Online marketers once thrived on unethical links through spam-filled directories and unmoderated comments widgets. But with search engines growing more aggressive in policing spam as a ranking tactic, the value of low quality links has decreased significantly.
Using Clients’ Websites as a Linking Source
Some clients are positively thrilled to endorse and market brands they like, while others prefer to market themselves with a website that’s free of endorsements and outbound linking. It might be best to provide incentive to link to you, especially when you stand to gain major link juice.
Links on Sponsored Websites
Sponsoring a website is an ethical, effective, and simple method of building high-value links. It’s also one that, unlike its paid alternatives, is looked on favorably by search engines. The classic example of sponsored link building is the W3 Program (http://www.w3.org/Consortium/sup), which offers an outbound link – albeit a no-follow link – in exchange for sponsorship.
Links in Exchange for a Donation
Donations are a grey area within search engine best practices. Some see them as a creative way of buying links, effectively gaming the search algorithms without spending time on active link building. Others see them as a method by which great non-commercial websites survive, all the while offering value to marketers and commercially driven websites.
It’s ultimately a fairly effective link building method, provided it’s approached with transparency. Spend some time contacting non-commercial webmasters and offering one donation in exchange for a targeted link – many will appreciate the offer of support and agree to a deal.
Links in Exchange for Pro Bono Work
A growing number of firms have taken on pro bono contracts in exchange for a high-value outbound link. Like most other forms of link building, it’s one that has the potential to cost a great deal of time for relatively little value. Take an in-depth look at potential link sources and ensure that they are worth your time before offering pro bono assistance.