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then why do other SEOers do it so much? Just sayin my philosophy... You don't have to agree... and I hope that most people don't agree.  You will not defeat a competitor by mimicing his strategies.  You defeat them by doing something more effective.  Keep in mind, there are only ten positions on the first page of Google for any given keyword and EVERYONE ELSE ranks lower.

I use Majestic SEO's Site Explorer to show clients and my managers direct results. Now you won't see the origin of every inbound link but you can see how your links are getting found. You can sign up for a free account and get some basic info. While their tool doesn't provider nearly as much data and insight as Open Site Explorer does, it is good for some raw, new numbers.

299$ for initial consideration by Yahoo (doesn't mean your website will be accepted for sure).

_ my guess is that this traffic converts well_ Would not be wiser to segment the traffic from those keywords and verify if the really convert well? Just after that proven data verification I would start to think in creating some content that focuses on those keywords. A comparison page can be a valid solution.

There are countless little resource/ppc/affiliate websites out there trying to earn a few bucks. Most of them are pretty thin, but every now and then you will run into a good one. I would start by targeting each country and finding those quality forex sites to cross-promote with. If you provide data/information a widget/graph/tool might be an ideal way to earn links.

the keyword isnt as competitive as "books". it's more in a niche market. however, some sites have the keyword in the url and most of the links have the exact anchor text. we on the other hand tried not to use the keyword in the anchortext as often... we are mostly linked like "brand + forum". I guess we need more links with the "keyword forum" and maybe onpage optimize. Thanks for your replies.

Ron, Whatever EGOL is saying - just do it! He knows his stuff, and after reading his answers here, and my own questions he has answered, you can be sure that he is giving you excellent SEO advice.

The best program is one involving hard work and writing your own email outreach to other sites and offering them a reason (good content/resource) to link back to you. If you can share your site or the topic of your site, we may be able to come up with some ideas for you.

Thanks everyone!

HI Kevin, The 10 links count as 1 linking root domain. However, Google's algorithm recognizes that the sub domains on tumblr are separate accounts, which will actually increase the authority to your site.* *But not as much as 10 links from different root domains.

The best kind of competition is when it gets personal. Not necessarily about prize but more about status, ego, achievement and daring. Apart from competitions you can try viral content. Here are a few examples of viral content I created: http://www.giantstars.de/ (Flash & Video) http://analogik.com/acid_trip/ (Flash) Hope this helps.

They are both good links, just saying is there a big difference between related content and non-related content. Has nothing to do with link farms or anything. Both are good sites.

There is link-less citation value in having your business name, address and phone number on any indexed document in Google (in my opinion) Since you mentioned that you are a local company, I believe there would be value in the release from an SEO standpoint assuming the release is high quality and provides value, describing an interesting product or service you market.

Pick up the phone. Often solves the problem fast. Sending an email is easy and requires no "on the spot" thinking. Speaking to someone by phone does. Calling just a few of those potential link prospects will have you quickly examining your value proposition (in a good way) since you will likely flub your first few attempts if your offer has no value.