How I Get Backlinks to My Blog Posts Resulting in Sales
I promised another backlink building strategy if you read my post Proven Strategies to Increase Website Traffic and Generate Sales. If you were waiting in anticipation for it, the wait is now over… it’s here!
This strategy, if used correctly, can catapult your blog posts, web pages, homepage, etc. to the top of Google and other search engines. Once you’re sitting high and mighty at the top, the sales will follow (if you’re targeting the right keywords).
To get started, you’re going to need a blog post (home page will do just fine) that you want to get a lot of traffic to. This is especially if you’re promoting something big and want to earn commissions (affiliate marketing). For your home page, you’re probably promoting something, selling your own product or building your list. In any case, you obviously want traffic, so this will work just as well.
Assuming you’ve done all the on-page SEO stuff for your blog post or home page, you’re now ready to start building backlinks. But not just any backlinks will do here. While article marketing is still very effective (and I recommend using this method as well), there’s another link building strategy that works very well.
It’s called a Link Wheel.
You may have heard of it before…. or maybe not. It can actually be somewhat confusing to people, so I’m going to explain it the best way I can without confusing you. 
If you’ve heard of this strategy before but just don’t quite GET IT yet, then pay close attention here. Better yet, the diagram above should do all the explaining that needs to be done. But, I’ll still do my best here to explain everything.
With the Link Wheel strategy, you’re capitalizing on free blogs/web 2.0/social sites. Take a look at the sites in the diagram, and you’ll notice one thing. They’re all free to use and post content to, and there’s a social aspect to them (this doesn’t really matter for the sake of this strategy). Simply put, Google and the other two major search engines love these sites.
So to get started, you need to write some articles. Anywhere from 6 to 8 articles will be sufficient.
There are some key requirements needed with these articles, though. They need to contain your keyword in the title and two or three times throughout the article body. If you haven’t done so already (you should have), your blog post should contain the same keyword in its title and content. This is very important!
The articles you write for these sites only need to be anywhere from 250 – 350 words long. You don’t need a novel here, just enough useful information to make the content relevant to the keyword you’re targeting.
If you don’t feel like writing the articles yourself, outsource it to someone else. I can get 10 articles written for $27 that do just fine. That’s actually very cheap, by the way.
Once you have your articles, you need to sign up for these free sites. Once you sign up with a site you won’t ever have to do it again. This is a one-time process.
Here are the sites I recommend. This isn’t an all-inclusive list, however. You can sign up for as many as you want. But for the sake of your link wheel you only need 6 to 8 sites.
- Hubpages
- Wetpaint
- Blogger
- WordPress.com
- Gather
- Xomba
- Quizilla
- Squidoo
There’s a couple I didn’t mention that are in the diagram. Like I said it really doesn’t matter which sites you sign up with. It’s completely up to you.
Here’s where it gets tricky…
Each article you post on a site should contain two links… one pointing to your blog post and the other pointing to the article on the next site.
BUT… those links need to contain the keyword being targeted.
For example, if I’m targeting the keyword “golf swing” then I have that in the title of both the blog post and all articles for each site as well as in the content. Also, the backlinks will contain the same keyword “golf swing.”
Follow? Just look at the diagram again and this should make sense.
Each article will do this until you’ve completed the rotation and placed one article on each site. You now have a complete Link Wheel.
Doing this correctly will boost your blog post or home page’s rankings in the search engines dramatically. Of course, you still want to perform other link building strategies I’ve mentioned in previous posts because this is not the only way I build backlinks to my posts and home page, just to clear up any confusion you may have.
Any questions about what I’ve shared regarding Link Wheels? Still don’t quite get it? Feel free to leave a comment, and I’ll do my best to answer you. 
Tags: Article Marketing, articles, backlink, backlinks, hubpages, increase website traffic, link wheel, search engines, seo, Wordpress, Xomba
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Tagged with: Article Marketing • articles • backlink • backlinks • hubpages • increase website traffic • link wheel • search engines • seo • Wordpress • Xomba
Filed under: Affiliate Marketing • Article Marketing • blogging • Link Building • Web Traffic
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This is a great strategy and I have found some success with it. I think it will take quite a few post though and some time.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@johnathan@p90x,
As with all good things, it takes some time. The more link wheels you create and other link building strategies you implement, results will happen soon enough. Persistence and continuous implementation is key.
[Reply]
Twitter: practicewebsite
says:
Hi Alan,
Great intro to the mininet system. To make it a bit bigger, I would add sites like tumblr and posterous to your list, they are well liked by search engines.
New content posted there usually appears within 24 hours (even if the profile is brand new).
For established profiles you can see your latest post appear within 5 minutes.
.-= Tom@Your Practice Website´s last blog ..15 ideas that will get links to your accountancy practice website =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Tom@Your Practice Website,
Welcome to my blog, and thanks for the tips, Tom. You can add as many sites as you want and create as many wheels as you want. There’s really no limitation to what you can do.
Hope to see you around more often.
[Reply]
Tom
Twitter: practicewebsite
@Alan, you sure will
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Tom, Great!
[Reply]
Twitter: tlmarketing_net
says:
Hi Alan, thanks for sharing these tips.I have done similar by using free remote blogs like Blogger, Blogetery, Blog.co.uk and similar.
I write good content on these sites and then deep-link to my main blog.This strategy is a bit time consuming but nothing is easy when it comes to traffic generation and link building.
.-= Tom – marketing tips´s last blog ..8 Tips To A Better Product Sales Page =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Tom – marketing tips,
Hey Tom, thanks for stopping by. That’s pretty much the same strategy here, except for linking them all together. Either method is fine and works well.
You’re right… any link building strategy takes time and work. It’s all well worth it in the end, though.
[Reply]
Twitter: Ads1969
says:
Hi Alan, I’m not that good at article writing, so Im interested on what instructions you give to your outsource contacts. Do you use Elance?
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Adam Meyer,
That’s a good question you asked. Basically, I’m looking for articles around 250 words. I find article writers through the Warrior Forum (http://www.warriorforum.com). There’s a Warriors for Hire section with plenty of competent writers to choose from.
For the sake of this strategy, I don’t need the best articles, so I look for the cheapest price I can get for say, 10 articles at 250 words each.
When contacting a freelancer, I just make sure they use the keyword phrase I specify in the title and about two times throughout the body. That’s about it.
Some articles may need spruced up a little, but it’s not real important. We’re mainly focusing on backlinks here, not direct traffic.
[Reply]
Twitter: Ads1969
says:
This is a great blog, Im going to be using these strategies and sharing them right away.
[Reply]
Twitter: clickonportal
says:
I have actually a huge fascination in link wheels, but I don’t go and make all that in one go. I jut “naturally” link one by one along the way. LOL coz I’m lazy too.
.-= Mici @ Click On Portal´s last blog ..A Nightmare on Elm Street- Thinking of Sleeping Think Again- =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Mici @ Click On Portal,
LOL… I create the entire wheel all in one day. Whatever the last site in the wheel is, I’ll Tweet it and add it to a social bookmarking site or two. Once that site gets indexed, Google will find all the other sites in the wheel, if it hasn’t found them by then.
[Reply]
Mici from Click On Portal
Twitter: clickonportal
@Alan Mater, Yeah, I actually have accounts everywhere that I can make posts in. Just haven’t had the time to tap into making one big octopus wheel. Just thinking about the possibilities in my head is already fun, all my posts bonded and no one getting left behind.
LOL Yeah I’m kind of weird.
.-= Mici @ Click On Portal´s last blog ..Movies I gotta see 1 The A-Team- Inception- Knight and Day =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Mici @ Click On Portal,
It’s always a good idea to build backlinks to individual posts, especially posts that you want to drive traffic to.
[Reply]
Twitter: imstrategies
says:
What a useful and comprehensive post Alan. I think this is the simplest one I have ever read on link wheels. Thank you!
.-= JR @ Internet Marketing´s last blog ..Does Blog Post Frequency Affect Google Rankings =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@JR @ Internet Marketing,
Glad to help!
[Reply]
Frankly I think google would catch on to this easily.
One article page has a link to the blog post, and a link to another article page that has a link to the blog post. This causes these links to look not natural.
Might be good for traffic.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Randall@Ham Radio Tests,
It’s possible that at some point they may frown upon this. I haven’t heard anything as of yet. What I see other people doing is just linking an article to the blog post, and not linking the article to another article, etc. That way you’re not actually building a “wheel.”
That’s probably the method I’ll use from now on in case Google ever does “catch on” to this, which is possible as they seem to always change.
I appreciate your input, Randall, and hope to see you around.
[Reply]
I’ve used this tactic to some success, but found that it often frustrates when your social media sites don’t get the right amount of traffic to pass enough backlink juice to your main site
.-= Jon K´s last blog ..Body Gospel =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Jon K,
Thanks for your input, Jon.
For these web 2.0 sites, I’m not really concerned with the amount of traffic they get. They already have an authority and good PR, so just getting an article on them will be enough. I find this works well in addition to other link building strategies.
And, I no longer link each article to each other, meaning, I don’t create a “wheel” anymore.
[Reply]
Twitter: http://www.teamdiscoveryonline.com
says:
Alan, this is a very interesting post. However, I think that linking your sites in one big wheel may not be effective. Unless your individual site have decent back link profiles, their links will carry very little weight in search engines. Please let me know if I am wrong here, but I don’t think I am.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Richard@hiring a sales team,
I’ve heard different. And, the main focus here is getting backlinks on those web 2.0 sites. The actual pages and profiles themselves don’t need to carry much if any weight. You’re still going to benefit by getting links on the sites, even if it’s an internal page. Hope that makes sense.
Thanks for the concern, Richard, and I’d be happy to discuss further if you want.
[Reply]
Twitter: apna_sapna
says:
Building back links for you website or blog is very important part of your SEO. I prefer social bookmarking, articles submission, social networking, press releases.
Get more back links and it helps you in getting search engine rankings.
Luxury Villas in Bangalore´s last [type] ..How to Find the Best Commercial Property for Sale
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Luxury Villas in Bangalore,
Thanks for your input. Those are all great ways to get quality backlinks.
[Reply]
Very nice article. I’ve just created a blogger.com website and I am going to make another 5-6… Thanks very much!
Mikayel Saghyan´s last [type] ..Hotels in Yerevan, Armenia
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Mikayel Saghyan,
Very cool. Sounds like you’ll be busy.
[Reply]
Also Try Tumblr. These are do follow links and Google loves that web 2.0 property. We use it a lot in our local SEO
[Reply]
Hey Alan, are you still having success with link wheels? Any tips for the post-panda scene? Thanks
Ben@How to Get Backlinks´s last [type] ..1,000+ Easy Backlinks: FREE, Simple, & Effective
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Ben@How to Get Backlinks,
Hey Ben, from everything I’ve seen, content is still King. Just make sure you keep the wheel “open”. Meaning, you don’t link the first and last article together.
[Reply]
Hi Alan, I have a question. I always hear that phrase “this strategy, if used correctly”. So, what is the correct way and whats not? Also is their any right diagram to do it? is the diagram you presented the right way of doing it or is their other way? many thanks
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@hugh@hoover steamvac with clean surge f5914-900,
Hey Hugh, I guess it depends on the strategy. With a link wheel, you don’t want to complete the wheel. Meaning, you don’t want to link the first and last article together. With any link building strategy, you only want to get links from reputable sites. Avoid link farms. Don’t get thousands of links in a single day. Slow and steady wins the race.
If you’re building up forum profiles on high PR sites, only post 2 or 3 links max per site. You don’t want to appear as a spammer. Follow white-hat techniques only, and consult Google on best practices when it comes to linking.
[Reply]