Backlinks, how do you get them?

[PeterAllen91]

Recently, I listed our site on a few directory's which I deemed as not spammy and had good domain authority (competitors were using these). This was about 2 weeks ago and have not seen them come up as a backlink using open site explorer?

I was wondering whether i'm missing something out here or does it take longer than 2 weeks to gain a backlink from a website?

Thanks in advance.

[SebastianCowie]

Hi Peter,

A couple of things - directories do work in moderation, however i'd steer clear of the majority of them. Local directories and a few high profile (BOTW/DMOZ) are probably the only one's i'd ever suggest you submit to.

Building backlinks can be done in a number of ways

I'd recommend you start by reading - http://www.seomoz.org/article/the-professional-guide-to-link-building-2011 I've also written a rather length post - http://www.sebastiancowie.com/seo/link-building/101-link-building-techniques-for-2011-inc-white-grey-and-black-hat/

With regards to your query about opensiteexplorer. The last index update for OSE was on the 9th of November, this tends to update monthly, so just because it's not showing in OSE, doesn't mean you haven't created a backlink to your website.

Has the site accepted your submission, and can you see the link on their page? If so, you've created a backlink!

[askshopper]

Getting links is one thing, having them followed and indexed is another, personally i use a few indexing services like : linklliciouse just to make sure they get crawled and indexed.

[VentaMarketing]

Hi Peter,

Sebastian makes a good point. Relevant and respected (no spammy) directories are good but only in moderation. However, your primiary link building strategy should not consist of directory submissions.

Regarding receiving credit for a backlink, the link must be organically recognized (crawled) by a search engine, which takes time. The better websites are crawled more fregently, so their backlinks are recognized faster. Also, here is the opensiteexplorer.org linkscape schedule, https://seomoz.zendesk.com/entries/345964-linkscape-update-schedule, which shows you the dates their data will be updated.

[PeterAllen91]

Great answer's guys, thanks for the help!

[PeterAllen91]

Would you say this is a safe way of doing things? Surely google must pick this up as being spammy?

[SebastianCowie]

If you've got to use an indexing service to get a link indexed, then odds are it's probably not a link you want to have.

There are legitimate uses for indexing services, but for the most part they're used to index tier 2/3 links that are automated / spam.

[askshopper]

No Not at all, think of it like this you post a great quality article on a site that is a good fit, inside the article is say an offer or promotion, well if Google crawled the site every week or month then your article is not getting indexed until the crawl, the promotion could be over by then or the information outdated so using such services can insure your article is picked up quickly & you get your just deserts.