Links pointing in to the pages of your site are an essential element for ranking for any phrase that has competition. So how does everyone here go about building backlinks?

I will stand back for a while and allow everyone else to post, then I will chime in with any hints tips and trade secrets

That wouldn't be any fun and wouldn't encourage people to think

Nothing wrong with links from good directories. Don't believe all you read.

Forum sigs good for spidering, and a bit of juice as well. Blog comments, as long as they are on topic and not 'NOFOLLOW' then again they are ok. Link exchanges depnding on how and where they are linked, again not bad (despite what some will tell you).

Article writing, is good if done properly and followed up for maximum affect. Anchor text is the crux here. make it look natural. Don't load all your links with your main phrase, vary it.

What about links from auctions on ebay? Oh yes and 'about me' pages ?

You can have 30 day auctions on ebay, even longer in ebay shop listings. I was talking about 'Me' pages on ebay which are permanant.

Thanks Gina, do you have to have an ebay shop for a 'me' page?

OWG, thanks for those, much appreciated

Hi

I came up with the idea of my website but knew nothing about the internet when it comes to building links etc.  I generated links and interest in my site by submitting articles to relevant work from home sites.  I also added Twitter and facebook pages recently.  Although this has not generated huge hits for my site it has helped and steadily builds up users and search engine listings.  It's a long process but I enjoy it and have picked up loads of contacts and built relationships with these contacts.  I have swapped banner adverts and articles with people.  I am still learning but I seem to be generating traffic and building a good reputation for my site.