The more of your competitors that believe that link building is dead, the better for your own company. The truth is that links are still the most important factor for Google's ranking algorithm. However, the type of link that points to your website is what's most important.

Don't be fooled by Google's mixed messages

When it comes to backlinks, Google is giving advice that confuses a lot of people. In addition, Google's Penguin updates have created the impression that Google doesn't like backlinks.

Actually, Google only dislikes artificial backlinks.

The problem is that many people do not understand the difference between link scheming (artificial backlinks) and link building. Link scheming leads to penalties. Link building can greatly improve the rankings of your website.

The difference between link building and link scheming

Any links intended to manipulate PageRank or a site's ranking in Google search results may be considered part of a link scheme and a violation of Google’s Webmaster Guidelines. Google penalises websites that have link scheming links.

The following link types are a red flag for Google and it's likely that your website will be penalised if you use these links:

Paid links that do not use the rel=nofollow attribute, including advertorials, paid blog posts and paid footer links.

Links from article sites or press releases with over-optimised anchor texts.

Backlinks that have been created by tools that create backlinks in bulk.

Links from low-quality directory or bookmark sites that only exist to create links.

Keyword-rich or hidden links embedded in widgets that are distributed across various sites.

Links from forum comments with optimised anchor texts in the post or signature.

(At WWW Design we are not aware of any of our clients using link scheming, but if you are in doubt please contact us first for advice)

How to decide where to get links

So which type of backlink is okay with Google? Just ask yourself: would that link make sense if there were no search engines? If the answer is yes, then the link is a good link that will have a positive influence on the rankings of your website on search engines.

You do not need special metrics to judge the quality of a website or particular page on a website. When you find a website/page that could link to your site, ask yourself the following questions:

• Does the linking page look good to the average web surfer?
• Does the page have interesting content?
• Is the content somewhat related to my website?
• Does it make sense if the web page links to your site?

If you can answer all questions with "yes," then you should try to get a backlink from that site. It doesn't matter if that website/page has a low PageRank.

Google tries to imitate common sense with its algorithm. If you use common sense to build your links and follow the tips above, you make sure that the backlinks to your website will count in all future updates of Google's algorithm.

The best places to start when attempting to get quality backlinks to your website, are your own suppliers or customers.

If they supply you with a product that you use or sell, they should be happy to link to your site from theirs (this is a quality backlink for your website).

If they are customers and are happy with your product or service, approach them and ask if they would be prepared to link to your website (definitely another quality backlink).

WWW Design's free online classified listings from www.matamata-info.co.nz, www.morrinsville-info.co.nz, www.thames-info.co.nz and www.tearoha-info.co.nz are a great example of how to get four quality backlinks to your website, so if you haven't taken advantage of this free offer, visit any of those websites to find out how you can do this>>>>