Prenut

When popular link techniques are discussed you will oftentimes see people say that they are not effective any longer. You will hear such things as "everyone does it you so will not get ahead", "these links are low value", and "spend your time trying to get better links". While these all may have some truth to them, they also overlook one key detail. If you don't use popular techniques then you are getting behind.

Make use of directories, article directories, press releases, and forums to build a base of links for your site. You are not going to make millions simply by using these resources, but you will lay a foundation that will help your website. Use these in moderation. There is no sense in firing off 100 articles to ezines, or creating forum profiles on 100 sites in order to get backlinks. A couple of links back from each kind of resource is fine.

Directories
The most popular web directories are dmoz and Yahoo. If you can get listed there that is fantastic. With that being said it can be somewhat difficult for gaming webmasters to get their sites listed there. Don't fret - there are other worthwhile places to submit your websites.

• botw.org
• goguides.org
• dataspear.com

These directories all have a review fee. This fee helps to keep the quality to a reasonable level. I believe that there is value in all three of these sources. You can also submit your site to a couple of free directories. Do it in moderation - two or three is plenty. I would suggest using your domain name as your anchor text for directories.

Article Directories
The Google Panda updates have spurred a good amount of discussion on article directories. Many article directories have lost significant traffic as a result of downgrades via Panda. Webmasters have theorized that links from article directories are now worth less. While this may be true, they are still worth something. A few decent article directories are listed below.

• ezinearticles.com
• goarticles.com
• articlesbase.com

Vary your anchor text within article directories. For example for my site americanpokeronline.com I may use "us poker sites", "usa online poker", or "us friendly poker rooms".

Press Releases
Press releases can be a good way to get decent backlinks to your sites. You can usually include two or three links within a press release. Press releases can also bring you traffic, and can help to build your brand. No need to fire off a press release every week for your website. Two or three releases per year are just fine. A few press release sites are listed below.

• prnewswire.com
• pr.com
• marketwire.com
• 24-7pressrelease.com

Vary anchor texts on press releases as well. For example I could just link to my domain name pokercodesonline.com or I could use play poker as the anchor.

Forums
Do not create forum accounts for the sole purpose of getting links through forum profiles or signatures. You are creating clutter on someone else's forum without giving anything in return. If you participate in a forum then by all means add a link in your profile or in your signature. You can also post on blogs such as this one. Remember to give something in return for your link. For this post I took the time to write a well thought out article, and in return I linked back to two sites of mine. For forum profiles and signatures you are providing the webmaster with value by posting on his/her site.