Build Backlinks – 12 Easy Ways

We’re not talking here about links you put on your own website, although those “internal links” are indeed important and often underutilized. Let’s focus on how to build backlinks other people use to point attention toward your website via blogs, articles, social media sites, and so on. For example, “Here is my review of the best restaurant in New York (link pointing to your business).” And while tweets, likes, and +1’s are now becoming important ranking factors alongside links, having websites link back to you is very much still a basic requirement for getting search engine fueled website traffic.

There are an infinite number of places you could conceivably build backlinks for your website, and the vastness of the task can be paralyzing. But you have to start Google optimization some where. You shouldn’t wait passively for people to finally decide to link to you. So over the last few weeks my agency has dug up this list of easy-to-build backlinks you can get for any website. These will help get the popularity ball rolling, and even if your site has been around a while, you should go back and make sure you have these link sources covered.

14 Easy Places to Build Backlinks

Why haven’t you heard of these link sources before? You have. But you’ve probably been told they are a waste of time by your Web developer, who claims these big, popular sites aren’t useful for Google optimization.
The reason is that most powerhouse social media sites like Facebook and YouTube put a small piece of code called ‘the no follow’ tag into most areas of their site. As the name implies, the ‘no follow’ tells search engines: if someone tries to build backlinks to their site from here, don’t follow it. Instead, ignore it.
This was and is done to prevent spammers. If you didn’t have the ‘no-follow’ tag, spammers would create thousands of Facebook profiles, LinkedIn profiles, and YouTube accounts just to link those sites back to their website. The ‘no-follow’ breaks the connection you are trying to make between one website and the next, defeating the purpose of a link from the perspective of Google optimization (people can of course still click the link and visit your site directly).
But it’ s a fallacy that all social media sites have no-follows. In fact, many sites provide juicy link opportunities. You just need to find them. And we did.
These are all real links, and are entirely legitimate and approved for optimization by Google.
Google Profiles
We recommend creating profiles for key employees and founders. Be sure to add custom links with anchor text (“anchor text” is the actual words that comprise the link. You want these to be search terms for which you want to be found, not your name or company name. This anchor text helps Google determine what other sites think your site is about) . Your profile link on Google Profiles will be devoid of a no – follow and you can add much additional information along with the link including videos and photos. These profiles are especially important now that Google Plus has launched.
Google Places
Create a local business listing for all of your offices. Use target keywords in the profile and description fields. This is a great source that is devoid of no – follows and has high visibility in the search results. A Powerful, easy, and effective place to build backlinks.
LinkedIn.com
Build a company profile, as well as individual profiles for key employees and founders. Select “Other” when setting your first web site link to create custom anchor text. Also take advantage of the two additional links available, but no custom anchor text is allowed.
Digg
Digg is great for traffic generation, and while not the powerhouse it once was, is still a large community. Plus, you can submit articles you want to promote, and links to those articles are followed by search engines.
Foursquare
Even if you’re not a check-in maniac, you should set up Foursquare profiles, as the link you associate with your account is followed.
Reddit
An article submission site in the Digg vein. Very active with highly engaged users. The links you submit will be devoid of the no – follow attribute .
Squidoo
Create as many Squidoo “lenses” as you like, about any topic. A lens typically consists of a blog post-esque article, with links to other recommended sources.
Stumbleupon
An article discovery site that’s exceedingly busy and popular. Drives significant eyeballs all around the Web. Submitted links are followed.
Yelp
Even if you don’t know a burger from a baba ganoush, create a profile on Yelp. The link in your profile is followed. Links in comments, however, are no-follow.
listings.local.yahoo.com
This local business portal allows you to create a profile for your business and is devoid of the no – follow attribute. Use target keywords in the profile and description fields, and anchor text if possible.
YouTube
Create a custom YouTube channel for your company . While comments and any links you include in your description will have the rel=”nofollow” attribute, YouTube gives you a link in your profile that is devoid of no – follow.
Ezine Articles
Article submission is becoming a bit dated in terms of Google optimization and building backlinks. Large content repositories like this and Hubpages (below) may have been devalued somewhat in Google’s most recent “Panda” overhaul of its algorithm. But you can use this site to recycle blog posts that you have published elsewhere, and pick up an additional link.
Hubpages
Write articles on topics of your choosing, with custom links and anchor text . Significant link potential here. Devalued a bit in Google’s new Panda update.
Dotpoch
Also in the Digg and Reddit category. You get a link in your profile , and you can submit news stories and articles. All article links are followed.

When You Build Backlinks Be Complete

When it comes to Google Places, Local Listings, LinkedIn and basically all your social pages and profiles, a complete profile is much more powerful than an incomplete one. It’s just more information that search engines can use to figure out what you and your website are about. So fill out all the details and include your main keywords in those profiles (for example, ‘we are a landscape company from Dallas specializing in large commercial and educational institution projects’).
All of this takes a bit of time and grunt work, but if you do it Google will have a richer collection of sites pointing back to yours in a consistent, powerful way.
Got a juicy link opportunity we missed? Put it in the comments.
In the meantime, check out Jay’s comprehensive look at the rise of social SEO and Google Plus.

How To Buy Nexus 5 In India From US Play Store For Under Rs. 26,000/-

Google Nexus 5 INR Price if you Order in India from US Play Store

[Price calculated at Rs. 62 exchange rate]

Details	Nexus 5 16GB (INR)	Nexus 5 32GB (INR)
Price	21638	24738
Google Shipping (3-4 days Normal Shipping)	930	930
Google Taxes	1116	1116
Shop & Ship India Shipping	620	620
India Duties (@7%)	1612	1860
Total Price	25916	29264

Note: The prices may vary slightly depending you are address in the US as taxes differ from state to state.
Please keep in mind that guide below was prepared for Nexus 4, the process is exactly the same for Nexus 5
If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, by now, you know that I am a proud owner of Google Nexus 4. It is definitely not the most expensive or the most terrific phone out there, but when I got it for the first time, it felt like I had achieved something.. and by the end of this article you will know why I had that feeling. Nexus 4 is not available in India through regular Google Play store. Of course, you can buy it on 3rd party websites like ebay, grabmore and many other sites, but you need to pay atleast 30 to 40 percent premium on the pricing. Now, I could have bought by paying the premium, but it would not have given me half the satisfaction.

Buying a Nexus 4 via Google play store in India is an arduous task, it really is, and it will probably remain so till the time Google decides to release it in India. I doubt if a normal non-techie, non-geeky person can manage through the whole process successfully (unless you have a friend who will bring it from US / UK for you ). This article will try to simplify the process for those…

Step 1 – Getting to Google Play Nexus 4 “Shop Now” page

While you can visit Google Play Nexus page by going to http://www.google.com/nexus/4/, once you click on “shop now” button, you will be first presented with a screen that says:

The devices on Google play are not available in India, so you will need a workaround. To get around this problem, you will need to first use a proxy, that essentially tells Google store that you are logged in from US or UK. Google identifies it based on your IP address, so you will need to use a proxy to achieve that. I used a desktop client called Tunnelbear, which offers 500 mb of proxy data free. There are many similar proxy clients that you can use to achieve this. If you are not comfortable with Tunnelbear, just search Google for a US proxy or VPN client, and you should get many others as well.

You will need to download the Tunnel Bear client, register with them and you are ready to go. Once you have started the tunnel bear client, go to your browser window and when you click on “Shop Now” button, you see the actual Nexus 4 screen from where you can make the purchase. Here you can choose your model (8GB or 16GB). I chose 16 GB, as the phone does not have mini SD card slot, so if available, you should opt for 16GB (its only USD 50 more).

But once the phone is in shopping cart, you are faced with another issue. You need to 2 things – A US Credit card with and US shipping address because Google does not ship outside of the US. So, before you actually go through the process, you will need to have these 2 things in place.

How to Get US Shipping Address

There are few online portals who offer you virtual US post box addresses. Shopandship.com, is one of the leading sites who offer you US, UK as well as China shipping addresses. I used the same to order my Nexus 4. I have had really good experience with shopandship for 2 orders I have placed with them. In both the cases they have been able to deliver me the product in less than 7 days! Update: There is another site called HopShopGo, an alternative to shopandship.com, you can try that one out as well.

However, please note that you will need atleast 2-3 days for your account to get activated and your shipping address being assigned to you. So, before you head to the Google Play store, please make sure that you have your US shipping address in place.
In regards to the US credit card, there is a workaround. You can use your Indian Credit card itself and for billing address, you can give any US address. That worked for me. I gave my previous US address, where I lived and it accepted it without any complaints.
Update: March 19th 2013: Many people who have tried to order are facing issues with Billing address, when I ordered the Nexus, it accepted billing address which was different than one registered with the Bank, however, looks like Google has stopped it from February 21st 2013 (One of the commenters has pointed out that “Google play now accepts only US credit cards with US address. It does a check on every credit card by verifying the address registered with the issuing bank.“. Here is a workaround for that: Please visit www.usunlocked.com, another service from Shopandship. You can get a US debit card with local US address. You can use that card for ordering.
If you don’t have a credit card and have a debit card from banks like HDFC, they offer virtual netsafe credit cards to be generated, which could be used!

Placing the Order on Google Play

Coming back to placing order on Google. Once you have selected the Nexus 4 model and entered the shopping cart, enter you credit card and US shipping address and in all probability your order should get through.

I placed my order on January 30th and they shipped the phone on the 4th. Shopandship received it in their mailbox on the 6th and on 11th, I had Nexus 4 in my hand.

India Shipping, Customs & Duties

Luckily Shopandship does everything on your behalf. Once they receive the product in their mailbox, they assess the weight, and custom duties based on the category of product. In Nexus 4’s case, duty was just 1 percent and shipping charges worked out to less than Rs. 600. Buyers need to send shopandship proof of payment and invoice, so they can speedily process your shipment custom duties.

Exact Cost of Google Nexus 4

Here is the exact break-up of cost on Google Nexus 4.

Sr. No	Details	Cost in Rupees
1	Google Nexus 4 including shipping + Taxes (USD 395)	21107
2	Shopandship India Shipping	486
3	Custom Duties	612
	Total	Rs. 22,205

Note: In Pune we are still levied the ridiculous Octroi, which came to about Rs. 1200 taking the cost of Nexus phone to Rs. 23,405. However, in most other cities in India, Octroi is not there. So, even with slight change in exchange rates and other things, the cost of your Nexus 4 phone should not exceed Rs. 22,500/-. For that price, Google Nexus 4 is definitely worth it! Also, once you have shopandship account, you can buy any goods from US. Just make sure the weight is not too much, otherwise it works out quite expensive. Google Nexus was just 1 pound and hence the shipping charges were quite low. Also, they had a scheme where I got 10 percent off on shipping and hence the low cost. Like I said, it is an arduous task buying a Nexus 4 in India… but in the end, it was all worth it! If you have any questions, do drop us a comment and I would be more than happy to clarify it!