Checking Backlinks

Backlinks are an exciting part of watching your blog grow. Each link is a statement, a vote, that moves your blog a bit higher in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). Here are some ways for finding out about your links.

Talk Digger
Duncan Riley introduced Fred Giasson’s Talk Digger in an article in the Blog Herald this summer and I’ve been using it since. It’s a quick way to check your links at Bloglines, Blog Pulse, Feedster, Technorati, Ice Rocket, BlogDigger, PubSub, MSN, and Google all at the same time. To quote Talk Digger: Talk Digger is a meta-search engine. It asks major search engines: “Who links that URL?” The results will then be processed and displayed on Talk Digger. This is a free web service developed by Frederick Giasson.

Who Links to Me
Another tool you may have seen around the web is WhoLinkstoMe. Paste the Who Links to Me linking code into your template. Click through the link to check your own or another site’s Google Page Rank, and links found by Who Links to Me, Blogrolling, Google, Yahoo, MSN, Technorati, and Icerocket.

Related Links
Nick Wilson at Performancing had this method to check what Google considers related links. Type in the Google search box: related: yourdomain.com . Then he suggests you review the links to see what kind of sites come up. You would want a strong theme to show through. Your goal would be to answer these questions with a “yes.”

• Are most of the sites on same theme or topic as your blog?
• Are there some authorities in your niche?

THIS JUST IN:

Mark Wade of Blog Marketing, Blog Promotion for Newbies offered this addition to our list.

iWEBTOOL Backlink Checker

Ara Pehlivanian of the site of the same name offers this:

You might also want to check out the Firefox extension SEO Links by WebmasterBrain.

These should give you something to do while that turkey’s in the oven.
Happy Holiday if you’re having one. If you’re not, declare one.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related articles:
Check Google Backlinks Through Yahoo
SEO–Positioning Keywords for Readers and Search Engines
Don’t Buy that New Domain Name Yet
Checklist for Linking to Quality Blogs

Share This

Longterm Traffic Building Tips For New Blogs

Filed Under Content, Guest Writer, Marketing, Survival Kit, Tips | 1 Comment

From: D. Keith Robinson

Many new bloggers, especially the professional or business kind, find it difficult, and ultimately a bit frustrating, getting people to come read their blog, especially via search engines like google.

I”ve been asked many times if I know why a site doesn”t show up in Google results after a reasonable about out time and what can be done to help move things along. Now, I’m not 100% sure of all the details, I mean, Google is in large part a mystery even to someone like me who thinks he knows quite a bit about how it all works, but I do think it takes time to build worthwhile traffic and the best way to do it is to keep at it.

A Successful Blog Takes Time

Don’t get discouraged if your site doesn’t take off right away. Most don’t and the best way to give your blog the chance to develop the way you’ve laid out in your goals is to keep writing and to spend some time, while you’ve got time, to lay the foundation for future success.

I’m all for diving right in and if there is one thing I can say is certain, it’s that success, no matter how you define it, usually brings with it a lack of time. It’s smart to do some planning and take care of some small details early on that will help you down the road.

Some Specific Tips for New Blogs

• Look at your first few months as a time to work out the kinks. Keep adding fresh content to your site and work on your writing. Google always rewards content and (IMHO) good content is the best way to optimize your site for search and drive traffic.
• Submit your site to the various Internet directories, particularly The Open Directory Project, or DMOZ. This can help. Here is a nice list of free directories and some tips.
• I’m not a fan of link exchange programs, but if you were to do that, earlier on is the best time to do it. If you take a less shady (and more appropriate) approach to building your network of links; link to sites with similar audiences and topics. Take the time to comment on other’s sites and let them know you’re out there. Hopefully they’ll link back to you and you’ll be in a good spot with a better page rank down the road.
• Work on other promotional ideas while you are still working your way into Google. Try some offline techniques and take time to do some networking. This will help lay the foundation for future successes.

Share This