For most sites, increasing your inbound link counts is important. But one aspect of link building that is often overlooked is not actually link building, it is making the most of the links you already have.

Have you ever stepped back and taken a look at your links? Often times when we do site audits we find opportunities to significantly improve the value of links that are already in place. Improving the quality of your existing links usually takes some time, but not usually much money. Continue Reading how to Improve your Current Link Value

Tune in to Monday the 16th of August’s episode of SEO 101 on WebmasterRadio.FM where I (Ross Dunn) and my co-host John Carcutt interview Jon Henshaw and Taylor Pratt of Raven Internet Marketing Tools (affiliate link – this article is, however, a legit preliminary review).

In short, Raven Tools can help you with the following:

Website analytics, managing link building campaigns and tracking their success, search engine optimization, social media reputation and campaign tracking, keyword research, and… see more farther on as I outlined the list of features.

The August 16th show will delve into some of the unique (and very cool) reporting options and tracking functionality that Raven has integrated over the years. From discussing how Raven IM Tools has uniquely layered link building reports and ranking reports over top of your overall site analytics (powerful combination!) to learning more about their integration of bit.ly, social mention and other popular metrics providers, this show is well worth a listen. That said, here is a little more about the show and my experience with Raven Tools since we recorded the program. ... more on Raven Internet Marketing Tools

Over at the Google Webmaster Central Blog, Kaspar Szymanski has published a post about quality links.  One of the most popular questions Google tends to receive is what are the best practices for organic link building. In this post Kaspar explains Googles viewpoint on the issue.

There are no breakthrough techniques listed in the Google post, but every little bit of insight can certainly add up.e sure to check out the full post, but here are some of the main points covered. Read More on Googles View on Quality Links

Last night StepForth hosted the ‘WebMarketing Meetup’ at Accent Inns, Victoria, BC and though the turnout was small, the tips offered by the participants were valuable and noteworthy.

One of my duties at StepForth is Link Building and after I shared my ‘nugget’ of information the discussion revolved around the value of submitting to DMOZ. I am definitely not a link building guru but here is what I garnered in trying to answer the question:

The Value of DMOZ (Open Directory Project-ODP) Continue Reading on DMOZ

One question that I hear fairly often is not, how to get links, but rather, “How can I tell if a link will be any good?”

Obtaining links from other sites has two main purposes. The first is “link juice” for the purpose of improving search engine rankings. The second is attracting traffic to your site. There are many instances where a link is totally useless for SEO but great for traffic, some that are great for SEO but useless for traffic, and some that are a combination of the two. This article focuses on how to tell if a link will benefit you in terms of SEO.

Search Engine Friendly
There are a number of factors to consider when deciding if a link has any SEO value. First and foremost, the most important factor is whether or not Google can even see the link. If Google can’t see and follow your link, then it will hold no value at all. Here are a few things you need to check out to see if Google can see what you’re putting out there. Read more…

Today is the launch of our new website. Unfortunately the majority of our blog content still resides on news.stepforth.com while we deal with transition issues so here are the top posts on Links from the old SEO blog.

‘The ins & outs of Link Building’

3 Methods to Build Links with a Blog – An Interview with Ross Dunn

‘Advantages of blogging for building valuable links and reputation online.’

Building Links with Directory Submissions

‘Some things to consider before using online directories to build links to your site’ Read more…

This week’s SEO 101 on WebmasterRadio.FM featured Search Engine Journal owner Loren Baker as our guest to discuss the ins-and-outs of Link Building. Read more…

I met up with Ralph Wilson at the Search Engine Strategies San Jose conference a couple of weeks ago and had a great time as always doing interviews. Ralph Wilson’s Web Marketing Today is one of the oldest (since 1995) most respected web marketing resources in the world and as one of Ralph’s hand-picked writers for SEO I feel very privileged to work with him.

In the following interview, Ralph and I discuss the advantages of blogging for building valuable links and reputation online.

Note: we had some trouble with the recording device so you might notice Ralph looking sternly at his camera occasionally… that was to make sure it was still recording We had to re-record parts of this interview about 4 times.

A few months ago I wrote an article about 13 ways a webmaster can go about building links to their site. One of these ways was through the use of directory submissions.

There are many reasons why you may consider a directory submission. You could be trying to build your brand, focused on links for organic rankings, or simply want to drive traffic to your site. Below we will focus on the link building and organic ranking aspect of directory submissions.

There are countless directories out there these days, some are free, some are paid, and many are garbage. If you decide to build links to your site using online directories, there are some things you will want to consider before spending your hard earned money. Read more…

In today’s race to the top of the Google SERP’s (Search Engine Result Pages), there are a number of factors that can help you achieve those coveted spots. While certain techniques may weigh better than others based on your industry and level of competition, there is no questioning the power of links.

There are several methods, some common and some yet to be discovered, you can try out to help boost your link density and search rankings. While it would be near impossible to go into great detail on all methods (that would require a book) below I have outlined some of the more common techniques a web site owner can use to increase their site’s popularity. Read more…