Link building is a tried and tested method of promoting a website on the internet. It is not as simple as getting hundreds of links from any kind of site though. You need links that are relevant and themed to your website. The days of getting high rankings by getting thousands of spammy links are quickly coming to an end. The search engines are getting better at analyzing your links so keep them relevant to your visitors.

Here are a few of the different techniques used today

1) One-way link building

A one way link to your website is likely to be given higher weight. There are various ways to get these links, such as directory submissions, link baiting (where you provide outstanding and unique content that others want to link to naturally) and even paid links.

2) Reciprocal link building

A traditional and common method of  link building is reciprocal linking. This is where two websites effectively “swap” links. This is still a valid method of building links if the sites are relevant to each other and provide value to the visitor. There is a chance that the search engines, will not place as much weight on this type of link though.

3) Article submission

Writing and submitting articles to sites such as ezinearticles.com is a good way to get natural inbound links and can help identify you as an authority in your chosen niche. Obviously the better the content, the more chance there is of someone using your article on their site or newsletter. They will then credit you with your link back to your site – a win-win situation. Other sites that use your articles also provide one-way link to your site from other websites.

4) Press release submission

Press release submission in various press release directory and leading news site is a best way to get natural back links from your press release articles. You need to write press release article about your new product launches or news releases in your industry.

5) Triangular links (three way link exchange)

This is related to reciprocal linking and effectively gives you a one way link to your site by linking back to a third website. Eg. Site A links to Site B, then site B links back to Site C

6) Social bookmarking

Social bookmarking is a more recent way to get back links and more visitors to your website. This involves submitting your sites content to services such as digg.com. This can be an effective way of generating traffic to your site.

There are more methods that havent been listed here but the main point to take away is that quality is nearly always better than quantity and you should always think about adding value and keep your visitors in mind, avoiding spammy techniques.