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SEOBUNNY, I guess the best anwser to that questions is an 'it depends'. I agree with the other posters that guest posting relevant content is probably among the best strategys as long as they are not just glorified directories. As they also said, with penguin, if you are submitting to some directories, they can hurt you. If you're a local business I would try getting some links from local organizations such as chambers of commerce, newspaper websites, local business organizations, etc. Those should be safe links. A lot really depends on your type of business as-well. Some will have more link building opportunities than others. Also, try to write the best content possible and hopefully some of it gets picked up by legit sites. It's really a value for value thing, when you're putting value out there, you'll get some value in terms of rankings. Good Luck! If you need any help you can PM me.