There is a trick to search engine optimization for East Bay businesses; in fact there are many tricks to SEO no matter where you live. One trick that can have a large impact on your SEO results is getting links to your website from other popular websites. This is called link building or back links. Learn more about five link building tips you can use today.

• If you haven’t already begun using social media optimization for your East Bay business, there is no time like the present. Social networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+, Café Mom, and others are a great way to create links back to your business website. Social news platforms like Digg, Reddit or Propeller are also helpful for getting links back to your business website.  When your company makes the local news, has a big announcement or does something noteworthy, be sure to announce it on social media sites with links back to your website for further information.
• Reach out to others in your same niche and establish a relationship with them. You may not want to reach out to a direct competitor, but reaching out to a supplier for your product makes sense. Who knows, they may ask you to write a guest blog post or write a timely article for their newsletter which goes out to thousands of people. Not only will you be seen as an expert in your niche, you will also be exposed to an entirely new group of people. Most guest blogging is done with the understanding that you will link back to your own business website in either the byline or the bio box.
• Take the initiative and comment on another company in your niche’s blog. They may reciprocate and respond back or link to something on your blog. Since bloggers want to know where their readers come from, and will use Technorati to gain this information, if you link to someone else first it may make a difference. When you DO comment, be sure that your comment adds value to the conversation that has already started or makes sense when related to the particular blog post.
• Write a blog post that offers readers “10 Easy Steps to . . . “ If the information in the blog post resonates with your readers, they are going to be more likely to share the information with others they know. They may tweet it, link to it in Facebook, or use other social media outlets. Each of these has the potential to lead to links which Google and other search engines rate when determining your search engine rankings.
• Take a look at websites such as Yahoo! Answers, Answers.com or Ask.com where people ask specific questions they need to have answered. If you know the answer to their question and it pertains to the services you offer or the products you sell go ahead and answer the question. Include a link to a specific webpage on your website that expands on your answer.

If you think about it, there are probably close to 100 ways you can use link building to help your website rank on Google, Yahoo, Bing or the other lesser used search engines. Don’t allow yourself to become overwhelmed. Use these five tips for link building that you can do today. You can also work with a company that is knowledgeable in search engine optimization. East Bay businesses, and those around the Bay Area, can see results with a little bit of time and effort.