Maybe you have heard of backlinks but don't really know what they are and why they are so important? This article will tell you what's a backlink and why they are so important AND how to get them and from where.
A Backlink is basically a link on another website directing search engines and readers to your site or blog. A backlink is technically a "Vote" for your site from another site. It's another site saying, "Hey, this site over here has some great points on this topic, why not check it out too." 
This backlink can come from you on another site or from somewhere else but it's important that the link be anchored to a keyword. By someone simply typing "go here for more information" it tells the search engines nothing about what that link is actually about nor does it associate your keywords for your site. By typing in the content on a related topic page something like "Visit this article for more on Buyer's Agents", the keyword "buyer's agent" is now associated with the page it is linked to, making it more of an authority on that subject. So you can see, the more backlinks you have the more important your site becomes ranking you higher on the search engines and to readers.
So many agents think, "well if a backlink is good, I will just sign up for a backlink program though a site and have them do it for me." You may have seen ads stating "1000 backlinks for $9.95" The problem with these is the quality of the backlink. Its a fast way to get the wrong links. Quality backlinks are not bought, they are created. One at a time, little by little, building up your reputation on the Internet.
You can't just go to someone and say, "I'll give you $100 to make my reputation perfect" On the surface it may seem doable. But when you get to the heart of the person, article, content, link, etc... it's fluff and no one is really interested. Search engines weed this out as well and determine if the backlink is credible or not. You don't want to pay for links if one of those sites listing your site got banned and you were penalized for it as well.
The best backlinks to obtain are usually from .gov sites. This is highly valuable and therefore highly difficult to get. You usually cannot pay someone for this type of backlink but if you have a connection or deep rooted reputaion with that site and it's affiliates try to obtain a high quality 
backlink from them. Ask or contact them and build up a rapport.
Reciprocal links, meaning you link to me and I will link to you, are in the mid-range of quality. They are valuable to a degree. Having a page with 100 links one right after another is not the perfect idea since there is really no content to sift through. Linking to one another in related content is the best way to do this as in this Bozeman real estate associate.
Backlinks from black hat technique directories and link farms are the worse. If you are unsure, just say no. Didn't your momma teach you that? When in doubt, walk away - or click away.
Find your backlinks, build them up slowly and create a virtual "web" of keywords linked back to your site from associates, friends, co-workers, government and recreational sites and you will see an increase in your authority on the web.
- Personal SEO does all this for you for an extremely reasonable fee. Give me a call or email me anytime for more tips, tricks or information on how you can be a force on the web in your area.
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