In reading Rand’s post on the paid links debate and the related comments that followed, as well as the discussion about link brokers on another site, I wanted to take some time to figure out how to actually go about white-hat link building. The definition of paid links for the purposes of this article is paid links = $/mo. If the money stops the link disappears.

This is coming from someone fairly new to the SEO industry, and my aim in writing this is not only to help solidify my thoughts, but to also get your feedback for what has worked in the past (creative ideas that haven’t made it out of the testing phase are welcome). From reading several posts on the topic of link-building here at SEOmoz, and through other resources on the web, link-building (on large scale, using white-hat methods) still has a sort of secretive, mysterious force field surrounding it.

If I said to myself, “Links seem to be a pretty important factor in ranking well; what can I do to grow in that area?” – Aside from “Buy some links” I don’t know that anything I’ve read could sum it up in 6 words or less. So another goal by the end of this will be to sum up how to naturally build links, using only white-hat techniques, in 6 words or less. [Enter epic theme music]

1.)    Good Content – Make That Viral Content

What makes something viral? Michael Jackson is dead! Immediately thoughts start to race through the mind: That’s crazy! What happened? How’d he die? Can I get a refund on my tickets?

How do you create something viral like that? Aside from making up an outrageous lie or hoping to stumble across some important piece of information that no one’s found yet that just happens to be exactly what you need for you business, there has to be some reproducible aspect of creating viral content that can be harnessed.

The only common thread for all things viral that comes to mind is starting something buzz-worthy; something that makes the reader want more information. If somebody has a formula for this, please share! Having been assigned the task for developing an organic link-building campaign in the near future, this seems like a high ROI endeavor in terms of acquiring links if it works. My suspicion though is that there is a lot of trial and error involved, with the process resulting in a lot of campaigns that aren’t successful. Does anybody have any thoughts on other common threads that go into making a viral campaign successful? (Making something buzz-worthy has already been taken)

How does it work?

• People love your content and as a cause-effect type occurrence, they’re compelled to talk about it on blogs, forums, and websites e.g. Did you hear about Google’s crop circle thing…
• And in doing so, people link directly to the source as a reference for other people who want more info… Did you hear about Google’s crop circle thing…
• People in peripheral markets that you wouldn’t necessarily have access to, begin to follow the trail back to your site.
• Ensuing gossip, talk, excitement, and buzz continues for people new to the situation
• The process repeats itself until it dies out and eventually becomes old news, but hopefully at which point you have a whole bunch of link love coming your way

2.)    Ask for Links

There was a post done a while back on how to effectively use article marketing, and specifically, the section that mentions the author’s favorite method for getting links through articles touched on a more general concept for me,  which is just simply to ask.

Aside from some leg-work in compiling a list of relevant sites that you want linking back to you, after that, it’s simply a matter of making contact , telling them who you are, why you want to be associated, and asking if they’ll link. Again, operating on suspicions here and will gladly welcome corrections and feedback from people who have experience with this, it seems this method would yield far fewer links compared to a successful viral campaign, but in the grand scheme of link acquirement, I could see picking up some extremely valuable links this way.

Another variation on this as mentioned in a recap of great takeaways from the SEOmoz PRO Training Seminar  is the use of confirmation pages and/or confirmation emails as a platform to ask people to link back to you.

How does it work?

• You have not because you ask not…
• On the second variation, people who show interest in your site are likely to be more receptive in linking to you

From what I’ve been able to glean, these two pillars look to be what support a long term, white-hat link building program

From an 80/20 perspective on what’s going to be the best use of time, money, and resources for gaining the most links, viral content seems to be the better vehicle. I should mention, the definition of viral content I’m using is really a large umbrella that covers not only content generated through blog posts, forums, and news articles, but also through contests, quizzes, etc.; essentially anything that compels people to find out more, I consider to be viral.

I realize the two methods mentioned above are vague, and maybe even over-simplified, but if you have any additional thoughts, comments, ideas, or corrections on how best to begin a link building campaign from a 30,000 foot view, I’d love to hear about them.

My answer to the initial question of where to begin a white-hat link building campaign in 6 words or less (as promised): Viral Content and Asking for Links.

Your thoughts?