What is the key to backlinks?

[stillshadow]

First of all, I must thank this forum for already providing me a great guide to some essentials for my poker sites. I have read most often that the key to really creating a successful poker affiliate site is to have a "content rich site with lots of backlinks".

But what is the key to backlinks? Here's what I've done so far: a Google search on related sites and who is linking to them. I look for link exchange information on their site, post their link on my site, and request for them to add mine. It's been a few days and I've only heard back from a couple sites even though I sent out 15-20 requests. Am I missing something? Is there a better way to get backlinks?

Thanks for your help as always...

-Josh

The first key is to build a good quality site with content worth linking to.

[stillshadow]

Well, of course. I feel like I've done that already, especially with my newest site. I'm going to have the news and strategy section updated every week even. I'm proud of it, so that's not the problem. So the site's good and complete and I'm happy with the content. What's next?

[Dave]

You need a lot more useful content. The header graghic on most of your pages takes up more than half the page and this makes your site look like one big advertisement, not a useful, informative website for poker players.

If I was surfing around and landed on your site I'd just click away, I've seen a thousand just like it ...... 5 or 6 pages, lot's of bonus offers and a few generic poker tips. Yawnnnn....

Offering "Free Cash For Poker" is fine but why should I choose you over all the others? Are you going to teach me how to become a winning player? Will you stay in touch with me daily and help me enjoy the game with more advice and future bonuses? What's in it for me?

The search engines don't even consider a page, a page, unless there is at least 250 words on it and you should be shooting for 750 words or more. That's a content rich site. And they have to be the right words, in the right spots, words that many people are actually searching for information about if you want search engine traffic.

I wouldn't link to your site if you payed me.

If you had a lot of great content, that was growing all the time, I'd be thinking...... hummmmm ..... this guy has no page rank right now but in a few months time he'll have build a useful poker resource worth linking to for my sites visitors to check out and it'll give my site a little page rank boost.

So I think I'll exchange links with him.

A link exchange is just that, an exchange. No established poker site with descent page rank will link to you if you have nothing to offer them. Either page rank, which you don't have, or a reasonable expectation that you'll have build good page rank in the forseeable future.

Here's what I've done so far: a Google search on related sites and who is linking to them. I look for link exchange information on their site, post their link on my site, and request for them to add mine. It's been a few days and I've only heard back from a couple sites even though I sent out 15-20 requests. Am I missing something? Is there a better way to get backlinks?

Yep that's pretty much the way you build quality backlinks. It's a lot of work but you have to do it.

Submitting your site to some high quality directories will help.

Show me that you're serious about building a truely informative "content rich poker website" and I'll link to you....... and so will everyone else.

[stillshadow]

Dave, I somewhat agree with you about the site that you looked at. That's why I built a new site that I haven't advertised yet. It's full of content. I wrote a little series of articles even. I'll let everyone know when it's all up. Thanks for the honest opinions.

[stillshadow]

In fact, just take a look at it now to give me your opinions. I'm still building the strategy page, but let me know what you think about the idea of the site. The "Beat The Fish" sequence is all up and I've been working on that for a little while.

http://www.beatthefish.com

Thanks...

-Josh

[Dave]

Ok now that's a descent amount of unique content. Good work.

In your "Poker Strategy" section don't give me Part One, Part Two, Part Three....excetera, give each page a descriptive and inticing title or I wont click on it. Would you? You have to learn to think like a stranger visiting your site for the very first time and build your site accordingly. Every little detail matters.

Every poker site offers bonus codes, poker site reviews and poker news on their homepage but your poker strategies are your unique view of the game. The secret to my success has been that right on my homepage, as soon as a visitor lands on my site, I let them know I've been playing poker for a long time and I can help them become a winning player too. That's of real value to them.

That's the secret to my success in a nut-shell.

I'm going to hate myself in the morning for giving away that info because the last thing I need is more competition.

Good luck with your site stillshadow.

P.S Ton's of good qualitiy backlinks are at least as important as your content. You have to...have to ...have to have them to get good search engine ranks these days.

[stillshadow]

Dave, Thanks for the encouragement and tips. And don't worry - I'm sure it'll be a while before a newbie to the game like me catches up to your level of expertise.

Here's another tip: don't focus exclusively on link exchanges. One-way links are possible and good to have.

Don't exchange links with junk sites, and don't list yourself in junk directories either. Remember that you are who you link to. (In the eyes of the search engines anyway.)

There's a ton of great information on Google about obtaining links to your site. Try searching under 'link building' and 'link development'.

[stillshadow]

Thanks Randy, I'll try that tonight. Good stuff.