Clients are always asking what they can do on their own to get started with link building. We have put together a list of ideas that you may find useful.

• Submit your website to directories.
  Consider topical directories and regular web directories. Get as specific to your topic as possible and make sure there’s no crap around you on the page.
• *Ask* for links from related website.
  Remember how you can’t be afraid to ask for someone’s business? Don’t be afraid to ask for links, too. (Be authentic and specific in your communication.)
• Put your website in your email signature.
  You never know when an email conversation can lead to a blog post about your business!
• If you have a product, choose the top X number of bloggers/reporters in your niche and send them one (digital or otherwise). You can ask for it back, but don’t expect it. If it impresses them, you may get a post. If not, you probably need to get back to the drawing board for your product. A post by an a-lister can lead to other posts and trackbacks to them by others.
• If you don’t have a product, create a free .pdf ‘report’ that’s relevant to your industry and distribute that. Create a twist on long-held ideas. Shake things up a bit and back it up with real data. If it’s good, they’ll write about it because it would likely benefit everyone in the industry/niche (and we are ALL looking for good content!).
• Review products or services of others on your blog.
  Be fair and accurate. Once it’s up, let them know that you have reviewed them – they may link back to you as a testimonial on their product page. You can also send the good parts of your review in snippets to other sites that sell the product. They may want to add that to their product page (hopefully, with a link to you!).
• Create a competition within your niche.
  Make it fair and fun and others will link to it. You have to be careful to create a legit, fair contest, but it can bring great link love if you do it right. (One of the entry requirements can be that they write a post and link back to you.)
• Ask your suppliers and partners to link to you.
  Seems basic, but most don’t do it.
• Comment on relevant blogs
  Some still have do-follow links (but even if they don’t, do it anyway). Make SURE your comment is helpful, relevant, and adds to the conversation. Set up a Google alert for your fave blogs or on your topic so you are alerted when new posts are made/content is added.
• Press releases!
  Google how to do it right, and then create them whenever you have a worthy bit of news. If you do this correctly, you will focus each one on a specific page of your site related to that topic – deep links are best. The REAL value here happens when other sites/blogs pick up your way cool story and write about it. Those are the content links that rock.
• Upload pictures from your website or relevant to your niche on Flickr.
  Deep link back to yourself in the description. Make sure you add some value!
• Spend some time on Yahoo! Answers.
  Search for question you are qualified to answer and answer them well. Add a link to a relevant page on your site. (No anchor text, and nofollow, but still do it.)
• Write something uber controversial on your site or blog.
  When you go against the grain, you get noticed. Getting noticed usually sends links your way. Be careful with this because you don’t want to do it wrong – you have to back up what you say and stay away from personal attacks.
• Send some link love yourself.
  On your company blog (hopefully at yourURL.com/keyword-blog), create a post where you link out to your fave bloggers in your niche. Say why you love each of them, and then send each of them the link. I bet more than half will then send links your way.
• Make sure every blog post you make links back to your site.
  You can easily add a snippet about you to the bottom of each post and link any text in that to your site. RSS feeds are easy to take, but if someone scrapes your feed, that site they post it on will then be linking back to you with your desired anchor text.
• Create testimonial smippets for companies and bloggers in your niche.
  Offer them with no strings attached, but often if they post them, they will link back to you. (Plus, this creates good karma!) Make sure your snippets say something specific and authentic! This is so important or you will look like a dope.
• Are you an e-commerce site?
  Does your website send transactional emails of any kind? If you send automated emails to customers/members, you can always discreetly ask them to link to you. Don’t be pushy and ask nicely and some just might do it!
• Create a widget or badge that people can grab the code for those ties into current events. If it’s timely and clever, it may catch on. And since you’re so crafty, that widgety thing will have a link back to you built in. (PS. You can do this with ‘calculators’ as well. You would be surprised how affordable it can be to have something like this done for you. Make sure the calculator relates to you industry. The topics are endless here.)
• Create a list.
  Any kind of list, but make it useful. Lists that have already been done include: Top 20 Farming Videos of All Time, Top 100 Celebrity Feet, etc. Okay, so maybe these haven’t been done, but I bet there’s an audience out there that would care! Create any kind of list you can that’s interesting and relevant (Favorites, oldest, most expensive, top myths, etc.). I bet some people will love it and some people will argue – both are great and both send new links!
• Sponsor something – anything.
  You can sponsor a site, and event, a fundraiser, or more. It doesn’t have to be expensive. If you are in the parenting niche, you can easily find a smallish site and donate some money to help with hosting in exchange for a sponsorship link. (This could also be donating – you can donate to any cause, but the bigger the cause, the less likely you will get a link.)
• Guest post.
  I am sure that you are an expert at *something.* Contribute to the conversation on a blog in your niche, and then put out the offer to write for them on a monthly basis (or write up that post that’s been in your head for a month and send it along to them). If it’s good (and if they accept guest posts), they will likely use it and link back to you. Just make SURE you only send fresh, unique content. (Don’t send the same post to 5 blogs telling them it’s unique content.)
• Get links from professional organizations.
  The Chamber of Commerce, Local Chapter of Fishing Captains, Local Volunteer Organization, etc. You are probably missing some opportunities by not asking for links from groups that you are a part of.
• Write articles for distribution.
  This is fairly old school, but it still works (in some niches more than others). You can use article submission tools to get the article out there like www.ezinearticles.com. Make sure you deep link and make sure your anchor text matches the destination page.
• Craft a survey for your customers/readers.
  Once finished, package up the results in a shiny .pdf and share it with relevant news outlets and bloggers. Everyone is clamoring for fresh new content, so be the one that provides it to them. They will thank you for it.
• Create offline relationships at local events.
  Once you have those offline connections, bring them online by writing about them and linking to their site. The favor will often be returned.
• Interview a colleague, friend or enemy.
  Interviews can be boring, so ask challenging questions related to your niche. You can interview by email by sending a list of questions, or you can do it over the phone. It’s likely that the interviewee will link to you, but so will others in the industry (if you had something good to say!).
• Interview idea #2. Collect 4-5 of your favorite bloggers and craft a list of questions for each of them. Collect the answers and create one big blog post with all the answers. If you have done your job correctly, not only will the interviewees link to you, but plenty of others in your industry.
• Have your site redesigned in clean CSS.
  A great CCS design by a great designer will get links on its own from CSS galleries and others in the industry.
• Review products and services anywhere you can. Amazon, ePinions, manufacturer sites, Wal*Mart, etc. These won’t provide direct links, but it gets your name and brand out there and can send new links coming.
• Get local links.
  We all have local organizations at our disposal. Local directories/resources, libraries, local non-profits. These are great for reinforcing your location, so if you want to rank for local terms, you need local links.
• Create an industry award.
  You have to make sure this is legit and fair, but there’s no reason why you can’t award the best needlepoint resource blog (and 2nd best, 3rd best, etc.). Give them a pretty each badge to display and there’s a link. (Not to mention the traffic and interest is send.)

Have more link building ideas? Let us know!