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Home » The Famous Blog » A Short But Very Useful Guide to Finding Good Link Opportunities in 2012

A Short But Very Useful Guide to Finding Good Link Opportunities in 2012

February 20, 2012 - Last Modified: February 20, 2012 by Pawel Grabowski

Finding Good Link Opportunities

Links are still the currency of the web. In spite of the many changes to search engines algorithms and the way the search results are now gathered, displayed and sorted, it is safe to say that links are the only thing that is still constant. Your website needs them, no matter what. Full stop.

Having said that, and contrary to what many may still claim, some linking methods are dead and gone now. It’s nothing new in the SEO world though. Many good link building methods have become obsolete since I started my career in SEO many years ago. Some of the new ones we’ve found are now long forgotten too.

Google and other search engines are becoming smarter at spotting links built only for SEO purposes. Take web2.0 profiles. They used to be so easy to build. You would put up a profile with only the basic information and bam, the link juice was flowing. Today, if you do not keep the profile alive and do not engage in the community, eventually the link will lose whatever strength it might once have.

And, then there’s the whole social aspect of the web today. That’s something I don’t even want to go into in this post.

So what’s still working? Definitely guest posts. In content links are in my humble opinion the best type of a back link you can possibly build to your site. Pair them up with good and relevant content that will actually rank (no spun stuff here people, that doesn’t work anymore) and you have a recipe for a winner.

Press releases, as they partially fall into the same category as guest posts. Expert interviews, some of the link directories, especially the ones related to your industry also offer some good opportunities.

But how do you find them then? Well, if this is something you struggle with, here is a short guide to get you started.

1. Use search queries

Search queries are probably the easiest way to find great link building opportunities. They allow you to quickly discover sites that can potentially accept your content or allow you to place links, whatever you are looking for. Here are some of the queries you could use:

  • “submit * post” keyword
  • “submit * guest post” keyword
  • “submit * blog post” keyword
  • “write for us” keyword
  • keyword intitle:“submit a guest post”

The opportunities are practically endless here.

TIP: Install either SEQuake or MozBar browser extensions to be able to quickly go through the results and pick the sites that offer the best link strength.

2. Flick through social networks

Social networking sites are a great source of great link building opportunities. You could build relationships with other bloggers and website owners there, relationships that can later result in swapping guest posts, your product or website reviews and more.

Moreover, you can build great links using the power of social media outside of your immediate circle. Posting up competitions, free reports and other free resources usually results in getting at least some links, especially if you manage to interest people enough to write about your stuff on their blogs.

3. Fire off Link Prospecting Tools

You could also use link prospecting tools to fully automate the process and do not have to worry about link queries etc. Such tools are designed to search through the web, according to whatever way you set them up and find good link building opportunities.

Link Prospector, a new tool by Gareth French of Citation Labs, probably one of the best link builders in the world, is one example of such tool. Created by someone with hands on experience, this software allows you to find thousands of good linking opportunities, from guest posts, press releases to interviews opportunities and more in a matter of minutes through a fully automated process meaning that all you need to focus on is the link creation, not research.

Building links is still one of the main activities when it comes to organic promotion on the web. Social networks might be posing a threat but personally I don’t think they will be able to eliminate link building entirely.

The fact is though that because of their influence, building back links today is a more complex activity than a couple of years ago. And, in order to be successful at it you first and foremost need to understand what works and what is an obsolete strategy in 2012.

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Filed Under: Link Building

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{ 33 Responses }

  1. Kathy says:
    I am so glad I found this place! Great Tips!!!! I have a blog in relationship to my website and I post 4-5 times a week, but I'm not getting comments???? I consider myself an expert in my nitch as I have been a horse trainer and instructor for over 25 years and find it easy to write on my blog. I think it will be very helpful to "Guest Post". I'll keep you updated as to my progress (: Cheers, Kathy (a newbie)
  2. Khudadad Alam says:
    Hi Pawel, I am your daily visitor but not comment yet. But your this post is awesome. You have solved my problem, because since 1 month I am searching for good links opportunities but not get any help. But on your blog I will get solution of my problem. Thanks for this........
  3. cris says:
    Nice tips, Thanks Link Prospector is new tool for me.
  4. JHN says:
    Some great tips. Looks like Link prospector is taking a different approach to the link building strategy, I gonna give it a try.
  5. Archie Ward says:
    I guess I was so used to using SEO tools that I never thought to go 'old school' and utilise search queries. Thanks for the reminder.
  6. Surminga says:
    Great tips, I'm just having a look at the Link Prospector tool you've shown us which I have never heard of. Seems it's what I have been looking for and also looks quite good value for money
  7. Daniel says:
    I use myblogguest.com both as a publisher and as a guest poster and I've had a good experience on both sides. It can be an efficient way to find free content (although the quality can vary greatly) and distribute content with links as well. Of course, the higher quality the content, the more demand and the higher quality of your site the more demand as well. Quality counts in guest posting!
  8. Jeevan Jacob John says:
    Hey Pawel, Nice article. Yes, link building is really important in blogging and guest blogging is one of the most powerful methods through which you can build links (and get a couple more benefits at the same time). Commenting is also a great alternative to guest blogging - Especially, if you don't have the time to guest blog, or if the blog doesn't accept any guest posts etc. Thanks for the post, Jeevan Jacob John
  9. Danny says:
    Nice tips Pawel! I'll definitely check out the link prospector tool, but of course we don't really need it as Google queries already offer infinite link opportunities.
  10. ryan irwin says:
    I myself want to try and get into guest posting but feel I need to work on my site abit first. As you say it is a great chance to create decent link juice on high traffic and pr sites.Thanks for the info on SEOquake just having a look into it now.
  11. Steve says:
    Pawel, Great tips here man. Google loves guest posts now, and you make finding them easier then ever! Great stuff!
  12. Ameen Aliyar says:
    I think, G's Panda update encourages link building through guest posts even more.
  13. Ricardus says:
    Great writeup Pawel. Good link opportunities indeed is the one of the way to spread awareness and build a relationship with other same community within the niche.
  14. Dan Keller says:
    It seems like guest blogging is all the rage these days and I agree it is a great way to get traffic and target back links. I have been a member of myblogguest.com only for a couple of days and I am really impressed with the guest post opportunities that are available over there. I have been able to find great blogs to post on and I have found a dozen articles to host on my blogs. I am not familiar with the tool you mentioned but I will take a look. I am always looking to build more links.
  15. Jamie Northrup says:
    Nice tips Pawel, I had never heard of Link Prospector before this post, will definitely give a shot. I think guest posting is the best opportunity right now, but sometimes writing so much can take time, but it pays off in the end.
  16. Allie says:
    Hi Pawel, I have an authority blog (if you can call me an authority, lol), anyhow, I blog regularly and rely heavily on SM and guest posting for traffic and SEO purposes. It's not hard once you get to know people and are social. Just lots of time. My question is: What about niche site owners? They don't necessarily get on social media that often. They are more like undercover bloggers, many are not even known. How do they find ways to back link? I have had a few approach me to GP on my site and rarely I let them, after some research and interaction with them. But many are in niche blogging to not be in contact with people that often. Do they just write for article factories? I thank you in advance for your insight. ~Allie
  17. Nick Stamoulis says:
    Guest blogging is a great strategy to build links and improve awareness. It's important to spend time establishing relationships with other bloggers in the industry. Don't just write one post for the link. Contribute regularly.
  18. Lloyd says:
    Nice article! i have never heard of Link prospector before, or any kind of tools like this actually. It really sound like the future of link-building.
  19. Prithvi says:
    Once again a great post.. Thanks for that. I just have a query... What is the difference between the links created by Guest Blogging and Blog Commenting.? Are these 2 links different in any way? please let me know, i have been searching for this answer since a long time..
    • John Cooper says:
      Hi Prithvi, Well you could easily find the answer of your question if you search Google or pay little bit attention on reading this post but if you have asked I do like to answer this to you. Guest Blogging is the major weapon to get free traffic for your blog. Its results are very fast and it will benefit you both in short time and long term. When you post a Guest Blog on very high traffic website you get instant traffic from that website and that is the short benefit of that article. But the back-link you leave on that particular Guest post will benefit your blog SEO in long terms by getting respect from search engines. In this super fast world competition is getting tougher and tougher and its nearly impossible to rank for specific keywords in search engines so the way to get free targeted traffic for your blog is Guest Blogging. Blog comments are the lifeblood of a blog. Comments are what separates a blog from a static website. As the conversation builds, so will your relationship with your readers and so will your blog's popularity. Encourage your readers to join in the discussion and leave comments and respond promptly to the comments left by your readers to make them feel valued. Just as you don't like to be ignored when you address someone in person, you don't want to ignore your readers when they address you through a blog comment. I hope I have answered your question. Regards.
  20. Rene says:
    Hey Pawel Thanks for the post. I'll definitely be checking out Link Prospector. Sounds awesome. Thanks Rene'
  21. Michael Wong says:
    Link-building is so tedious and time consuming. Never heard of Link Prospector but will decide to look into further. I've never been a fan of automated tools, thinking that Google would consider those types of links spammy, but since you've recommended it, I'm all over it. Thank you. :)
  22. Mitz Pantic says:
    Hi Pawel I prefer to guest blog as it gives you direct access to an audience. Although it usually has SEO benefits later too, the instant traffic is always nice! :)
  23. Chris says:
    Pawel, Do you have a suggestion on how to begin the relationships you detail in topic #2? I have done this myself but I was wondering if you had any best practices that you have found work better than others to get other bloggers interested in guest blog swaps, etc.
  24. Danielle McGaw says:
    Great advice Pawel. I am a big fan of creating opportunities for link building through social networking. When you work with a team of people on a same/similar goal, you can go a lot further than you would go on your own!
  25. Alex says:
    How about directories? I use DMOZ and Yahoo global directories mostly and as well some techniques you presented in here. I think in order to get the most positive result we need to use all the possible platforms.
  26. Pawel Grabowski says:
    @Linda, I think this happens to most of us :) I prefer relevant blogs. Having said that, a link is a link. @Dev, @Morgan, my pleasure!
  27. Morgan Barnhart says:
    Super fantastic tips! Building relationships with bloggers in order to guest blog or even get on their blog roll is one of the strongest link building strategies you can do. Thanks for helping us in our link building strategies! :)
  28. shelli says:
    Hi Pawel Nice article, just wanted to point out that it's GARRETT French not Gareth. I'm also a huge fan and named him as one to follow on my recent list. Thanks Shelli
  29. Jeremy says:
    I agree that many previously strong link building strategies are now becoming obsolete. With link building you have to stay up to date with what is working now. Building relationships with other bloggers is the strongest strategy in my opinion. Not only can you score guest posting opportunities, but those bloggers are much more willing to link back to your site or promote your stuff on social media. They can even help provide advice or other feedback.
    • Leon says:
      Jeremy, It's obvious that people are looking for great content because there is so much out there that they only want to deal with the great stuff. By becoming an 'expert' in your business area through guest blogs and other types of relevant content, it becomes much easier to monetize your content (if that's what you are going for) or at the very least to get people to listen to what you have to say.
  30. Dev says:
    Love the #2 Tip, building relationship with bloggers through social networks. This is one of the best and natural way to get quality backlinks. Thanks for sharing this great post, Pawel.
  31. Linda Campbell says:
    Thank you for great tips, one note - Guest Posts are a great opportunity but I find it exceptionally hard to write guest posts on blogs relevant to my own. I don't know if creating content for irrelevant blogs would help or not as I haven't tried it yet

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