Not all backlinks are created equally. You'll find that certain sites pack a powerful punch with search engines and some are a complete waste of time.
From my research, I've found that the following ten websites are the perfect starting point for your backlinking campaign:
1. Facebook: {PR 9 No-Follow} – One of the downsides to Facebook is they have a "no-follow" policy with their outbound links. This means your site won't get credit for any link from this social media site.
So why do I include Facebook in this list?
Well, there are a number of indicators that Google has increased their emphasis on the amount of "social buzz" a site gets. So it's important to set up a Facebook profile or Fan Page for your website. Plus you should also make sure this page gets a steady amount of comments and likes.
2. YouTube: {PR 9 Do-Follow/No-Follow} – There's a little confusion about YouTube when it comes to backlinks. Your main profile does have a single 'do-follow' backlink. But all other links (including the ones in your video content or description) are no-follow.
The good news is it's not too hard to turn your YouTube channel into a single PR 5 to PR 6 backlink. This alone can provide a nice boost for your search engine rankings.
3. Blogger: {PR 9} –Blogger is owned by Google and it has a PR of 9. Both factors mean you should always have a backlink from this site.
4. WordPress.com: {PR 9} – This is another excellent site for creating content on a popular blogging platform.
5. Tumblr: {PR 8} – This micro-blogging platform lets you post text, pictures, quotes and links. Done correctly, you can get a PR 6 or 7 backlink from this site. {Watch Ana's video for more details.}
6. Google +: {PR 8} – This is Google's answer to Facebook. The cool thing about this site is you can create at least one do-follow backlink to your website. Even better – Google uses this site as part of their algorithm. So it's important to create a Google+ page that includes anchor text with your primary keyword in the Profile/About area.
7. Live Journal: {PR 8} – This is a great blogging platform to get backlinks. Just like Weebly and WordPress, you can create content with an unlimited amount of links pointing back to your site.
8. Weebly: {PR 8} – This is a great place to create free websites. What I like about Weebly is they do a good job of limiting the amount of advertisements on each page.
9. Squidoo: {PR 7} – This is THE best place to create content that ranks well in the Google search engine. Squidoo supplies a number of tools to make visually pleasing web pages. Plus you can include multiple links to multiple pages on every single lens.
What I like about Squidoo is it has increased their credibility with Google after the so-called "Panda Update." Right after the algorithm change, Squidoo got rid of their junk/duplicate content. Now it ranks better than other sites that had "Pre-Panda Success" like EzineArticles.com.
10. Web Wire: {PR 7} – Get a solid press release backlink for the low price of $24.95. Also, every press release is sent to services like Google News, MSN News, Topix.com, and Ask.com. This is the best value I've found in a press release service.
There is a lot of variety when it comes to creating content hosted on other sites. You can build blogs, wikis, and a variety of multimedia content. The great thing is each site is an excellent source for one way backlinks. The following are the best of the best…
11. Typepad {PR 8} – Okay, this blogging site costs $8.95 per month. So it might not be the best resource for anyone who is on a budget. With that said, Typepad links can be an important part of a wide backlinking strategy.
12. Wiki Spaces: {PR 8 No-Follow } – You won't get a do-follow backlink from this site. However, Wiki Spaces provides one of the best tools for creating interlinked content.
13. Posterous Spaces: {PR 7} – Another micro blogging platform that lets you share a variety of multimedia links and text.
14. Tripod: {PR 7}
15. Webs: {PR 7}
16. Blogetery: {PR 7}
17. Jimdo: {PR 7}
18. Chime In: {PR 6} – Share and build communities around your favorite topics.
19. Quizilla: {PR 6} – Mostly for quizzes and lists, but you can submit articles with an anchor text link.
20. Blog.com: {PR 6}
21. OnSugar: {PR 6}
22. SubHub: {PR 6}
23. HubPages: {PR 6} – This site is a great place to get high quality backlinks. The problem is they've cracked down on "spammers" in the last few months. So you might want to write 3 to 5 content only pages before creating a hubpage with an outbound link.
24. Blogsome: {PR 6} – Has a very strict policy about outbound links. My advice is to create an account and then wait 30 days before linking to another web property.
25. Blog.co.uk: {PR 6}
26. Xanga: {PR 6}
27. Diary Land: {PR 6}
28. Gather: {PR 6} – Can create profile and add your website under 'affiliations' for powerful backlinks.
29. AtWiki: {PR 5} – Host and/or write your own wikis
30. Wetpaint: {PR 5} – Create wikis and blog pages on a variety of topics.
31. Zoom Groups: {PR 5}
32. Insane Journal: {PR 5}
33. Zoom Share: {PR 5}
34. Terapad: {PR 5} –Free website for 30 days. Then you have to upgrade to a premium membership.
35. SosBlogs: {PR 5}
36. Bravesites: {PR 5} – $2.45 per month starter site builder option.
37. Blogowogo: {PR 5}
38. Thoughts.com: {PR 5}
39. Aeonity: {PR 4}
40. Work.com: {PR 3} – Create 'how-to' guides for your business.
Many people think article marketing is dead. Personally I don't think it works the way it once did. However article marketing is still a great way to get quality backlinks to your site. The trick is to create unique content for each directory. Here are the best places to get started…
41, The Free Library: {PR 8}
42. Article Dashboard: {PR 7}
43. EzineArticles.com: {PR 6} –Lost some of its luster after the Panda Update. But EzineArticles.com is still one of the best article directories for the sake of building backlinks.
44. Self Growth: {PR 6} – This article directory mostly caters to the personal development niche. That means anyone in this market needs to regularly publish content here.
45. Articles Base: {PR 6}
46. UnArchived: {PR 5}
47. iSnare: {PR 5}
48. Articles Factory: {PR 4}
49. Sooper Articles: {PR 4}
50. Idea Marketers: {PR 4}
51. Amazines: {PR 4}
52. Article Alley: {PR 4}
53. Go Articles: {PR 3} – This is one of the few sites that immediately publishes an article.
Most people shy away from creating press releases because of the perceived cost and time involved. The truth is most press release sites aren't that expensive. Some only cost $20-$40. And a lot of them are completely free!
The trick to using press releases for backlinks is to target the sites that have high Google PR. Here are some of my favorites…
54. PRLog: {PR 6} – Provides free distribution to Google News and other search engines.
55. PR.com: {PR 6} –While they offer a free basic service, the premium version can cost a significant amount of money. Personally…I'd stick with the freebie level because the paid versions aren't worth the extra expense.
56. Newswire Today: {PR 6}
57. PR-Inside: {PR 6} – This is a press release distribution service that focuses on European media sources.
58. I-Newswire.com: {PR 6} – Another press release site that offers lot of value with their free distribution services.
59. Free-Press-Release: {PR 5}
60. OpenPR: {PR 6}
61. 1 888 Press Release: {PR 5} – Great press release site for getting backlinks. Plus every submission is permanently archived in their database.
62. The Open Press: {PR 4} – Free distribution for a plain text release. But you have to pay extra to have one with HTML.
63. Press King: {PR 3} – An alternative press release service. Pretty good price…but also offers a free version which provides a solid backlink.
Document sharing sites are similar to article directories – You create content around topic and include links back to your site. What's great about document sharing sites is not many marketers use them. So your content is likely to get actual readers in addition to backlinks.
64. Scribd: {PR 8} – The king of all document sharing sites. You should always have a few files with backlinks on this web property.
65. Issuu: {PR 8}
66. Yudu Free: {PR 6}
67. DocStoc: {PR 6}
68. Calameo: {PR 5}
69. eSnips: {PR 6}
Technically the backlinks from these sites aren't very powerful. But they help with the "social buzz" that we discussed before. With blog directories & content syndication sites you post the best articles on your site. Then you use their internal traffic to generate web traffic.
My advice is to follow a posting plan every time you publish an article. Here are some of the best sites for creating buzz around a brand-new piece of content:
70. Digg: {PR 8}
71. Stumble Upon: {PR 8}
72. Spicy Page: {PR 7}
73. Blogarama: {PR 6} – Blog directory.
74. ShetoldME : {PR 6}
75. Zimbio: {PR 6} – You can link your blog and get an automatic backlink to every post you publish.
76. Amplify: {PR 5} – Clip, share, and syndicate your existing content.
77. Best-reviewer: {PR 3} – Create review lists of posts/content related to a specific topic. You can create multiple backlinks to a variety of topics.
78. Blokube: {PR 2} – Blog-specific news aggregator
79. Blog Engage: {PR 2} – Blog-specific news aggregator
80. InfoPirate: {PR 1}
81. Directory Submitter: Semi-automate the process of submitting your website to over 350 web directories.
82. RoboForm: Use the free trial to speed up the process of submitting your website.
83. SocialADR: Submit your article/news story to 22 social media sites.
There's a lot of controversy about the effectiveness of bookmarking sites. Many think they're only used for spamming the search engines.
In my opinion, it's okay to use bookmarking if you're linking to quality articles. The trick here is to also link to sites that you don't own. That way your backlinking efforts seems more natural.
84. Delicious: {PR 8}
85. Slash Dot: {PR 8} – Social bookmarking for techie, "nerdy" type of topics.
86. Connotea: {PR 8}
87. Reddit {PR 8} – Get two or more votes gets you a followed link
88. Mister Wong: {PR 7}
89. Folkd: {PR 7}
90. Diigo: {PR 7}
91. Yahoo Bookmarks: {PR 7}
92. BibSonomy: {PR 7}
93. Blink: {PR 7}
94. Jumptags: {PR 6}
95. Buddy Marks: {PR 6}
96. Jump Tags: {PR 6}
97. Clip Marks: {PR 5}
98. Clip Clip: {PR 5}
99. URL.org: {PR 5}
100. Redgage: {PR 4}
101. MysiteVote: {PR 3}
102. Stumpedia: {PR 3}
103. Social Marker – Use this tool to submit a news item to 40+ social bookmarking sites
