Let’s consider some major practices in getting quality backlinks:

1. Commenting on Blogs, Forums, and More

An excellent way to build strong backlinks is commenting on authority blogs and high PR industry related forums. Offer a genuine and relevant comment to ensure it doesn’t get moved to trash. Just like online directories, those links are most times Nofollow backlinks, but they still bring a lot of value to your site.

When a user finds your comment interesting and relevant in the midst of many others, they are most likely to read and click through that to your website and you generate referral traffic.

Plus, certain forums and blogs would allow the use of anchor text in comments, which lets you attach links to some strategic keywords. Just be mindful of what you offer in your comments, making sure you read the entire post first and flesh out relevant points before getting back to your computer keyboard.

When you offer an irrelevant comment or reply in forums, such may be considered as spam and it most times results in a temporary or life ban. Don’t let this happen to you. Use forums and blogs judiciously while leaving comments or replies and ensure you post only to industry related forums and blogs.

2. Submitting Your Site to Online Directories

One of the good ways to build backlinks is submitting your site URL to both local and online directories, but keep in mind that not all directories are specific to local or regional businesses. Directories such as Yellow Pages, FourSquare, “Yelp!”, and the likes would assign a link back to your site as well as create a different avenue for users to easily find it in search results.

While you may only get Nofollow links from most directories instead of Follow links, they can still benefit your site immensely.