Link Building

 
What is Link Building?
A search engine optimization technique where one increases the number and quality of incoming links from external sources with the intention of increasing a Web page's link popularity, thus helping increase a Web page's position in the search engines.
Being successful on the Internet means having people find your website and for people to find it, it has to be "visible" in the major search engines and directories.
Building inbound links through reciprocal link exchanges is a simple yet very powerful website promotional tool. If done correctly, increasing your linkage will:
increase your traffic significantly
improve your visibility in the search engines by raising your link popularity
provide an added resource to your website
save you a lot of advertising money  
When asking for a link:
ALWAYS have a link already put on your own site BEFORE you ask for a link in return and give the location of the link. It's harder to say no if you can provide the URL of where their link is.
ALWAYS give them the exact link text to use, even going so far as to put it in HTML so they can just cut/paste it onto their page.
MAKE SURE they actually have a links page!
GIVE THEM as much information as needed in order to make it easy for them to link to you. If they have a big site that's divided into sections, give them the exact URL of where your site would fit in. Then, provide the HTML for the link to your site.
Check the link popularity of your competitors, and find out who are linking to them. Contact those Web sites, and ask them to link to you in return for a reciprocal link.
Search the sites of the people who have linked to you for other possible link partners.
What Should you Put on Link Pages?
Create a link page on your Web site that gives other Web sites permission to link to yours. Make it very easy for them to include you by providing cut and paste HTML code. Incorporate your keyphrases into the linking code. Create small banners or buttons for this purpose as well.
How should be your Link Letter?
Be very clear with your request for reciprocal linking. After you have thoroughly researched a potential site to ensure they are appropriate and actually do have links to other sites, consider the following:
Start with a very brief description of your site's content and how it relates to their site.
Provide the exact URL of their page you think the link would be most beneficial. Show them that you've actually visited the site and given some thought to the link.
Finally, give the HTML code for the link so the Webmaster can cut and paste it directly into his page code. That gives you some control over the link placement and lets you include your keywords into the link text.
Make sure it's the best it can be before sending it out. Remember, you're asking for a favor (a mutually beneficial favor, but a favor nonetheless), so be polite and respectful in your letter.