Ask any webmaster for SEO tips nowadays and they'll jump right into a conversation about meta data and keyword density. While it's true keywords are a major part of search engine optimization, link building is just as (if not more,) important. By leveraging the power of free web directories and link exchanges, you can increase site traffic and site relevancy.
Search engines serve one purpose - to help users find pages with information that is relevant to the keywords used in the search. The search engines determine whether or not your page is relevant by checking a number of factors (in no particular order):
1. The meta data on your page, including the page title and keywords.
2. The content of your page, and the number of time the keywords appear in the content.
3. The presence or absence of the keywords in the URL pointing to the page.
4. The number of links from related pages on reputable sites linking back to that page.
5. The number of links pointing from your site to related pages on reputable sites.
Each search engine places a different value on the above factors, but all of them place a very high value on the number of links pointing to the page.
You'll want to pay careful attention to these free SEO tips! Link building is the single most important thing you can do to get your site ranked highly by the search engines. With enough quality links pointing back to your site, you can easily get your site ranked in the top 20 results for many common keywords.
First, you'll want to identify free web directories that will allow you to submit your URL. You can start by checking out the "Directories" category on the Links page of the Easy Ways to Earn Money Online blog (see the link at the end of this post). It includes several of the best free website directories. It's worth noting that most of the free link directories are actually link exchange networks, in the sense that they typically require a reciprocal link on your website pointing back to the directory. Why? Because they know that the more links they have pointing back to their site, the better their page ranking will be.
Once you've identified a list of free web directories and link exchanges, you'll need to go to each site and review their submission guidelines. DO NOT use a directory submission service. You have no control over how these tools will handle your submission (or if they submit anything at all). What's worse, you may be labeled a spammer if the service ignores the URL submission guidelines of the site in question, and you could get blacklisted from many of the most popular website directories.
Also, some search engines (including Google) have been rumored to penalize you for being associated with pages located in so-called "bad neighborhoods" (sites known to engage in practices meant to abuse search engine logic or promote illegal activity). It's far better to check out these these free web directories one by one, follow their guidelines to the letter, and read their privacy policies before submitting your information.
The process of link building takes time, since most reputable web directories will want to review your site before listing it. As a result, many will take anywhere from several days to several months to add your URL to their link exchanges. Though some SEO tips I've come across place a great deal of emphasis on the page rank of the link exchanges or web directories, you don't have the luxury of being too picky when you're launching a new site. You may have to wait for several months for a well established site with a page rank of 6 or above to approve your site.
In the meantime, you're website will have little or no traffic and you'll be largely invisible to the major search engines. A better strategy would be to get your site listed with as many website directories and link exchanges as possible--regardless of page rank. This way, you'll get a small boost from the sites with a low page rank while waiting for the big boost from the sites with the high page ranks.
Finally, you can substantially increase the number of outbound links on your website by creating your own link directory on your site. Create a form that allows your visitors to submit their URL (or the URL of other sites they like). Just be sure to check out the sites for signs of illegal activity before including them on your site. You can even use your web directory to post all your reciprocal links in one place.