Every single SEO expert will tell you that the next important thing to rank high inside major search engines is to get good incoming links from other sites. But how do you go about getting good links from other sites in ways that are effective and immediate?

While lots of people are tricked into wasting money on software systems that find sites similar to yours in topic and send automatic emails to the owner of each one proposing a link exchange deal with you, my personal advice is to steer clear of any unnatural way of getting good links.

On the Web links are just like votes, and on the Internet just like in politics buying votes or exchanging favours for votes it does not represent the highest and noblest level of social behaviour. Yes, it is true that in real life lots of things are managed this way, that even world politicians get elected with the support of such foggy practices, but one thing makes things different and riskier on the Internet:

1) It is much more difficult not to leave any tracks behind your less than ethical-behaviours,

2) Reputation and credibility are the essence on the Internet, and playing with them or with the possibility of losing them altogether is never a wise strategic move.

This is why I strongly suggest to get great links by writing great content online which will force others, in one way or another, to take notice and link back to you.

Going on very popular blogs in your field and posting relevant, insightful comments is a common practice. Writing to or interviewing well known experts and opinion leaders in your field of interest is also bound to bring extra attention and links. Doing something unique, creating special lists or guides that provide huge value to your readers and which many will recommend to others are great alternative SEO tactics to get good links too.

In full sincerity, in my personal case, I have myself never spent any "direct" time trying to get extra links to this site.

I have always been too busy thinking about the issues I wanted to spontaneously write about, and aside of having very little time to do this kind of online marketing activity, I never enjoyed having to go out of my way on purpose to do comments I wouldn't have otherwise done.

My focus in fact has never been in getting good links, but rather in writing and researching issue, tools and topics that I found personally very interesting and worth studying in greater depth. The writing and sharing of such passionate writing has provoked spontaneous "link love" from thousands of web sites (2,100 just in the last 6 months ) and this is exactly the type of result you are looking for.

Of course if you just act as news aggregator for other content sources, if you just relay PR stories editing the text here and there or if you just hook onto major news stories without ever contributing unique insight, criticism or strong and well supported opinions, you are positively doomed when ti comes to getting good links to your site.

Great, original content is what makes good links rain from the sky.

Here is my personal video-recorded advice n.3 for would-be search engine optimization experts who want to start egtting good links to their blog site.

How To Get Good Links: SEO - SEM Beginner's Guide

Duration: 2:00"

Text transcript

Item #3 for your personal, self-sufficient search engine marketing and optimization of your blog or website, should consist of getting good links.

So in order to get good links, you have to say some something.

Learn more:

• How To Name Your Site: Beginner's Guide To Search Engine Optimization
• Content Strategy: Have A Strong Focus - SEO-SEM Beginner's Guide