So we have covered what backlinks are and the reason why you need them. Now it's time to start building some links. Back in the day, link building was a tedious and time-consuming process as the best way to get links was to solicit others in your industry and ask them to place a link on their site to yours. This of course was before blogging was popular so the web wasn't nearly as interactive as it is today. Link building is still the most challenging part of SEO but now there are more effective ways to obtain links to your site. Today, we will explore one of the top methods to get backlinks for your site. But before we get started, there are a couple of things to remember when beginning your link building campaign:

• Pay attention to the PageRank of any site you are trying to get a backlink from. Links from sites with a high PageRank will help you more than links from those with little to no PageRank. Aim to get as many links from sites with a PageRank 5 or better and avoid seeking links from any site with a PageRank of less than 3. Check the PageRank of the sites by running the RankQuest toolbar in your browser. Following this piece of advice will save you time and energy as well as enhance the overall value of your site.

• Avoid paying for backlinks. There are many sites out there trying to make a buck and are charging to give your site a link. More often than not, sites of that nature do not have good PageRank and a link from them would really be worthless to you. Not to mention that Google is catching on to people who purchase backlinks in bulk and penalizing them for it.

Now, let's build some links!

Method #1 - Submitting Your Site to Blog & RSS Feed Directories

Blog & RSS feed directories are like mini search engines. They allow a person to search through blogs and feeds for information on any given topic. Having your blog or feed listed in these directories creates a very valuable backlink for your site.

When submitting to blog directories, you are often required to create an account, describe your site and submit your site's URL. Be sure to use your keywords when they ask for a title or description for your site so you get the best backlink possible. Here are 5 directories you can submit your blog to now-for FREE:

DMOZ-PR 9

ZoomInfo-PR 7

Business Week-PR 7

Web World Index-PR 6

Illumirate-PR 5

RSS feed directories are a little bit different. Here you are not submitting your site's URL. Instead, you are submitting the URL to the feed of your blog's content. For Dev Element clients, you can get your feed URL by clicking on the RSS Subscribe button on your site. This will take you to your actual RSS feed. The URL that appears in the browser for that page is your RSS feed's URL. Simply drop that URL into the appropriate area when asked for it during submission and you are good to go! Here are 5 FREE RSS Feed Directories to check out now:

Globe of Blogs-PR 7

EatonWeb Directory-PR 6

RSS Spider-PR 4

Read A Blog-PR 4

Blogarama-PR 4

Be sure to keep track of all of your submissions. This way you will know who you are listed with and can be sure not to duplicate submissions (directories don't like dups!). Directories do have rules that you need to follow when submitting your site so be sure that you follow them to ensure that you get listed as soon as possible. If at first you don't get accepted or listed, review the reason(s) why you did not make the cut and resubmit. This is especially important with sites that have exceptional PageRank-you want that link!

Recommended Resources on Blog Directories:

20 Essential Blog Directories to Submit Your Blog To by Loren Baker of Search Engine Journal

Submitting to Web Directories to Build Your Link Profile-Video from SEOBook

Role of Directories in Link Building by Eric Enge of SEOMoz

Related Posts:

Backlinks: The Key To Search Engine Success

SEO 101: Choosing Your Keywords

The Buzz on Blogs and Why Your Real Estate Business Needs One