Link building is consistently one of our most popular topics. Why? Probably because:
- Google's ranking algorithm is still all about the link – The number and quality of links pointing to your site is a huge factor in how you perform in the SERPs.
- Link building is incredibly difficult – It's time-consuming and often tedious work, so everyone is looking for shortcuts and fresh ideas.
- Link building never ends – Your competitors aren't resting, so you can't either. You need to keep building your link profile, especially considering that links inevitably get old and die.
Link builders and would-be link builders, if tips, tricks, guidance and a little commiseration are what you're after, I recommend adding the following blogs to your resource list.
Wiep.net
Netherlands-based Wiep Knol is an SEO and link building consultant. His site features in-depth link building guides as well as link roundups of his favorite link building posts from around the web. Some of his most popular post include "10 Unusual Places to Drop Your URL" and "Link Baiting: Which Hook Attracts the Right Fish?" There's also a quick-hit link building tip in the top corner of the site at all times.
Ontolo Blog
Garrett French and Ben Wills of Ontolo offer all kinds of link building tools and resources and regularly publish helpful content, frequently from unusual angles you're not seeing everywhere else – such as "Getting Links Built: 5 Motivators for Internal, Non-SEO Link Builders," "Core Advantages of an Inhouse Link Builder" and "3 Tips for Link Building with oDesk." Like Wiep, Ontolo rounds up great link building content – usually between 30 and 50 new links every week!
The Link Spiel
Debra Mastaler is one of the best link builders around. She doesn't post super-frequently to her blog, the Link Spiel, these days, but it's still a great source of archived information and ideas (like "How to Generate Media Links"), and you can find more of her link building wisdom at Search Engine Land. (While you're there, look for more great link building posts by Julie Joyce.)
Hugoguzman.com
Hugo Guzman is an SEO whose blog has a strong focus on link building. His posts are often challenging – see a recent post where he challenged the idea that reciprocal linking is dead, or "The Ugly Truth About Blog Commenting," which is that comment spam, unfortunately, works.
Vertical Measures
The Vertical Measures blog is yet another good source for link building best practices. You'll find multiple posts per week on topics like content strategy and building links with guest blogging, plus expert interviews and other SEO topics, like social media and local search.
Happy learning!
Bonus: WordStream blog [Editor]
Too modest to include it herself I thought the WordStream blog itself should be included in this list. Although not 100% focused on link building they do regularly feature some impressive and interesting link building posts you should not miss.