Link Building is an integal key to the search engine optimization and website promotion process. Links can be a cost effective and valuable source for a long term marketing campaign. Many of the search engines, such as Google, rely on algorithms that use link popularity to rank their results.

One of the easiest forms of link building is the use of reciprocal links. These links are directly between 2 websites whose webmasters have agreed to exchange traffic with. Webmasters can be put in touch with other webmasters interested in exchange traffic through reciprocal link directories.

Another practice in the link building industry is the use of three way linking. Three way linking is occurs when there are no direct link exchanges between website, rather it occurs between 3 or more websites. An example is as follows: website1 ⇒ website2 ⇒ website3 ⇒ website1. In the eyes of the search engine, the value of each link is more than in a direct link exchange.

Another way to participate in link exchanges is to join a free link exchange forum, such as LinksPro.com. Here members can list their websites in specific categories and wait for other webmasters to initiate a link exchange. These forums allow webmasters to easily find other web sites in the same or a complimenting industry to exchange links with and comply with search engine guidelines. Members are required to view each link individually, thus preventing spamming of link farming.

A final form of link building are paid links. These one way links are usually bought through a brokerage service and only last for a pre-determined amount of time. Though these links might appear to be the most natural form of link since there is no required outbound link, search engines have been known to track theses brokerage companies and discredit those links.

There are many different ways to go about increasing link popularity, some better than others, but the underlying fact is that link building is an essential part of your search engine marketing campaign.