What Are One-Way Links and How to Get Them?

One-Way links are links you create back to your own site, from different places you may submit your URL.  Forums are one good way to network with affiliates and a good way to get some one-way links. For the newbies, forums are like message boards. They are websites, or sections of websites, where people go to chat and discuss a specific subject. There are forums and message boards about just about everything these days, including several about internet marketing. Some are specifically for members of affiliate programs.

Forums are often full of great content, which the search engine spiders really love and the way this works for creating one-way links is simple. People write messages, usually called posts, which appear online. For example, they might post a question (”How do I get my ads to stand out marketing online?”) or an opinion (”I just love the new affiliate program, CashQuick”) and other people can then reply to these posts and as time goes by one single question can turn into pages of comments. A post with replies are called “threads”. 

The most obvious way you may think, to increase traffic to your website is to post often to a message board promoting your site. Absolutely NOT NOT!  Don’t do this – Ever. Moderators of the forum, as well as the other more seasoned members treat this kind of unsolicited advertising as spam and get very angry with people who post them. So don’t! All you are likely to get is humiilation and reproach, not to mention a bad name ‘in the business’. You may even get complaints to your ISP, or affiliate program manager, asking to shut down your site if you are really prolific at spamming.

Forums always like to have more new members. If there’s a subject you’re interested in or knowledgeable about, then join some popular message boards and take active part in the discussions. Be a part of their network and then their perspective will be a favorable one to your cause. Don’t exploit, just be a real person.

Most forums allow their members to have a signature, with a link to their own website, or maybe even affiliate sites. This is where this strategy kicks in and  how you get your one-way inbound links.

Message board seeding, as this technique is known as, will help you in a couple of ways, since people on the boards will come to know and trust you. Some will look at your site out of interest and next time they need a service similar to yours they may contact you.

 …And more importantly, every time you post on a forum you will be creating a link to your website. This will improve your page rank and help push you further up the search engine ladder, as having a lot of one-way inbound links are one of the most important aspects of Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

When you link to your site, make sure the anchor text (link text) you use contains your main keywords. If you own a Horse Ranch in Texas, your anchor text should be Horse Ranch Texas not XYZ Shopping.

Remember, though don’t spam. Posting 100 messages to 1 message board won’t have the same effect on your rankings as if you posted 10 messages on 10 different message boards.

Make sure you choose message boards that match the kind of business you are in. Keep it targeted! If you are an Internet Marketing Affiliate, you should post on message boards about Internet Marketing or Affiliate Programs – not on message boards about pet care or recipes.

Another, even more valuable, but more work intensive strategy for creating one-way links, is to write and publish online articles and blogs, using your anchor text and URL in your signature.

Patricia Brucoli
Internet Marketing Strategies
http://www.the3rdpartynetwork.com