Link building, the process of building inbound links to your website, is one of the most important SEO techniques. Google and other search engines use the inbound links to your website to determine its rank on search results.

In this article, we take a look at 12 free link building methods that can help improve your website’s rank on search engine results. However it is also important to focus on the quality of links and not just quantity.

1. Include Link in Social Profiles

There are many ways to use social media for your business. In addition to increased exposure and reach, social media also offers a great way to build back links. For best SEO results, create a good profile and make sure to include a link to your website in your public profile if you want to receive SEO benefits.

For increased exposure and back-links, use multiple social media websites, and not just Twitter & Facebook. There are literally hundreds of social media websites that you can take advantage of. There are also free social media submission tools that let you post to multiple social networks at once, saving you a lot of time and energy. ake advantage of for increased exposure and back-links to your website.

2. Use Social Bookmarking

Social bookmarking & news websites have become popular in recent years e.g. Digg, Delicious, Reddit, Stumble Upon and more.  They are great for build links and generating traffic to your website. However, try to refrain from dropping meaningless links to your company or client’s websites. Instead, focus equally on sharing quality information from other external sources whilst using it to build links to your website or blog posts.

Bookmarks tend to get buried with time so you will need to post frequently. Use correct tags or keywords for maximum benefits.

3. Start a blog

Creating a blog is one of the most powerful methods for building natural back-links to your website. If you write good posts that readers find useful, it can have a viral effect on back-links. Blog posts are often linked to or re-published on other sources along with a back-link to the original post.

You can either host your own blog or use free platform such as blogger.com or wordpress.com.

4. Comment on other blogs

Blog commenting is another great way to build links to your website. Most blogs allow you to include a link to your website along with your comment. However it is important not to spam and contribute something of value to the discussion. In return you can benefit from backlink with your comment.  For best results participate in blogs related to your niche. In addition to backlinks to your site which can improve your search engine rank, if your comment is useful users will click on it to visit your site.

5. Guest Posts on Blogs

There are many blogs that allow guests to write an article. Authors are usually allowed to include one or two links in their author biography. Guest posting on popular blogs within your niche can be valuable source for obtaining a permanent high value back-link to your website. Guest posting requires time and effort. Your article should be unique and is subject to manual review and approval. Competition on popular blogs can be tough.

6. Post on Forums

Create a list of popular forums related to you niche e.g. if you own a web design company website then find forums related to web or graphic design. In addition you can also use a few general high ranking forums e.g. forums that target businesses or start-ups in your region. Create an account and including a link to your website in your profile. More importantly include your links in your forum signature. Post on a few popular topics. Ensure your links are displayed your post in your signature.

7. Submit to Directories

Directory submission is an easy method to obtain back-links. There are many free directories although some are paid. The value may have deteriorated over time, however you can still benefit by submitting on high ranking or topical directories especially ones targeting your niche. DMOZ is another example of a directory that has remained very important from an SEO perspective and offers a high value back-link for websites from any niche.

8. Submit an Article

Articles continue to be an important source for obtaining back-links to your website. Most article websites allow you to include a keyword rich anchor links in the author box that is displayed below each of your articles. Ezine Articles. Article Base and Web Pro New are some high ranking article websites.

9. Syndicate a Press Release

Press release is another easy way to get back-link and improve the profile of you website at least in the short term. Press releases tend to get buried with time however they can offer a boost to your online profile when fresh. Not all press release website allow an active back link for free submissions but many do. In spite of this, new press releases tend to rank high on Google and can provide some direct exposure for your company or website.

PR Web and PR Leap are some popular websites where you can submit your press release.

10. Use RSS feeds

If you have a blog or publish articles, you can syndicate the articles using an RSS feed. This helps increase your exposure. You can also submit to popular RSS feed directories within your niche. In addition to back-links you will attract a wider audience.

11. Back links from Customers & Partners

Your customers or partners are a valuable source for obtaining links. You can get links from all your existing customers as well as from any new new customers. E.g. it is common for web design companies to include a back-link from the footer of all websites design for customers. These links are often high value as the link is often on top level pages and the anchor text is keyword rich.

12. Create a Resource

Creating a useful resource on your website is an excellent way to for increasing back-links to your company’s website. It can be a well written tutorial, e-book, guide, Facebook App, Video or even a Website template; the possibilities are endless.

If you create something that is useful and valuable to users will act as a link-bait for a long time to come.

Take a look at the stats below of a simple 3 page eBook I had published on this blog a couple of years ago. With very little promotion, it has ended up attracting over 1,600 back links to this blog, all from other blogs and site owners have linked to or referenced it.

You can also benefit by promoting your resource on several other resource websites  e.g. you can submit your eBook to various eBook or document sharing websites. Similarly, if you create a website template there are several free template sites where you can add your template. Make sure to include a link to your website.

This article was written by K.Singh, who is an Internet consultant with over 9 years of experience. He is currently the Director of a London based Web Design & Internet Marketing Agency.