In any aspect of business, being the new kid on the block is hard when you’re in a highly competitive industry. If your competition is fully established, trying to build up your own capacity to challenge them is more than just uphill work. At times, it can seem that the going is pretty much vertical. When facing these kinds of vertical climbs, you need any foothold you can find.

The success of a new site in a very competitive niche relies on visibility. If you can’t get your site above the fold in the SERPs or at least up in the first page of rankings, then it will wither and die. Inbound links are your site’s lifeblood at this point, as not only will they help your ranking but they will further propagate your site’s name across the net. Unfortunately they are, as everyone on the WWW knows, damnably hard to acquire, particularly if you’re a new site.

The biggest step you can take towards getting inbound links for your site is to hire a consultant. Link building is a natural part of SEO, and a search engine optimisation specialist will be able to help you to form strategies to attract links, and even go out and get you some. You can talk to us at SEO Consult if you are concerned about your site’s links. Working together with your consultant, you can work to make your site more linkable, boost its profile on the net and attract the best types of links.

With or without an SEO consultant on board, there are common steps new sites usually take when trying to build a network of links directed at the site. These include paying for inclusion on directories, particularly Yahoo’s paid inclusion scheme, buying advertisements and engaging in a PPC campaign. These all require a chunk of your budget and some, like PPC, are effective but short-term solutions.

Other options for attracting links require a little more creativity. Your SEO consultant should talk to you about developing content to attract the attention of search engines and internet users. Some of this content can be posted to other sites, creating a link back to your site and boosting your authority in your industry at the same time. A ‘how to’ video is a great way to draw attention to your site when posted to places like EHow.

Joining industry associations is a way to network online, and some associations feature links to their members. This can also help you set up relationships with other sites that can lead to other linking opportunities. You may find a business that is interested in a co-promotion, or discover contacts that other businesses are using that you also can use to advantage.

Go further by forging relationships with bloggers and influential people in your industry. Approach journalists and offer an interview or issue a press release. Contact bloggers and offer a product they can use in a competition. Make it as easy as possible for people to link to you by giving them the idea and motivation in a neat little package.

The key to attaining links for a new site is to go out and get them. Be inventive, and take the initiative in building relationships. Your site can only benefit.

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