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There are a number of places webmasters can solicit or post relevant links. It is no secret that search engines favor sites with lots of incoming links. The more quality links a website has pointing to it, the more "credible" it is considered by the major search engines. Websites deemed credible by the large search engines tend to naturally rank higher than their counterparts, for select keywords or phrases. However, it is best to amass these links gradually and over time.
Quality matters more than volume. The "free for all" link days are over and search engines favor websites that have a large variety of incoming links from related websites. Pages that are merely large collections of links to websites with unrelated themes, will not do much to improve search engine ranking.
Tips to Obtain Incoming Links:
1. Engage on Blogs
Post comments on related blogs or blog posts. If appropriate, include your web URL in your signature.
2. Forums / Newsgroups
Participate in forums and newsgroups that relate to your market. Include your website URL in the signature of your forum posts.
3. Email Signatures
When you reply to or send an email include your website name and URL in your email signature.
4. Directories
General directories are still relevant. Submit your URL's or specific website content pages to DMOZ, About, and Yahoo. They say that patience is a virtue and you will need your patience when dealing with the directories! After submitting your URLs wait a reasonable amount of time (2 months) before resubmitting.
5. Niche and Vertical Directories
Specialty websites are great sources of links, if the topic is related to your website request a link. Niche directories are often viewed as authority websites.
6. Geographical Directories
Yes the software market is global but geographical directories are still relevant. Submit your link to relevant regional directories.
7. Wiki
Wikipedia is the largest well known wiki, but other wikis exist. Find related wikis and add your website in the appropriate place as an external resource.
8. Authority Sites
Links from "authority sites" weigh more than links from generic websites. Google assesses the quality of a website using a number of factors, one of those factors is Page Rank. Authority websites tend to have a high Page Rank. Solicit links from related websites that have a high Page Rank.
9. Testimonials
Offer webmasters of complimentary applications a product testimonial. Often the webmasters will include a link to your website in exchange for the testimonial.
10. Post PR
In addition to emailing press releases post the press releases on the online press archives. There are hundreds of press release websites that will list press releases free of charge (including a link back to your website).
11. Syndicate
Include relevant information, like blog posts, articles, press releases and forum posts, in your RSS feeds. The RSS feeds will result in syndication, invariably providing links back to your website.
12. Social Bookmark
Let the social web work for you. Tag related websites and content, by bookmarking web pages in the popular social networks.
13. Yahoo Answers
Where appropriate respond to questions on Yahoo Answers.
14. RSS
When creating RSS feeds, include links back to your website in the feed item descriptions. This will mean anyone syndicating your feed will always also be linking back to you.
Tips for Link Submissions:
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1. Vary Descriptions
Vary your website descriptions in the link submissions. Also vary the website's title, as this will likely result in different anchor text (the text used for linking). Varied incoming link text is more natural and favored by search engines.
2. Follow Directory Guidelines
A fast way to banishment is to annoy the webmasters with persistent pushy emails. When requesting a listing, be polite and be patient.
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