Everyone knows that links are a vital part of Search Engine Optimisation. But how do you maximize these links from other sites? Here are some tips from the experts:

Google Alerts: Use these to monitor search results for sites that are similar to yours. So, say you were trying to get links to your site from http://www.universitynewstoday.com go to Google Alerts and set up this alert:

Search terms: “universitynews site: edu”

Type:  “Comprehensive”

How often: “Once a day”

This will cause Google to notify you of new .edu domains that have university content, but do not have a link to University News yet. Once you spot those sites you can discuss with webmasters the possibility of linking.

Buy a link: You can legitimately buy links from charity websites. To do this, do a search with “your keyword” + “sponsor charity” or “charity”. Once you find good sites, contact webmasters and ask if you can get a link for sponsorship. For example, if you’re after “Glasgow therapist” search for “Glasgow therapist sponsor charity” or similar. Technically, you’re not buying links but doing good deeds.

Go networking: Speak to pals, acquaintances, business colleagues and see if you can do a “links trade”. In other words, “I’ll link you if you’ll link me”. It might be a bit random but it costs nothing and it might very well help to improve SEO just a little.

Every little helps in the great big SEO world.