Most internet specialists will tell you, “There’s no such thing as a free link”. Whether you generate links from viral videos, blog posts, or link-bait articles, a certain amount of investment is behind these creations. For small businesses, this shouldn’t be seen as a setback. Rather, it should be seen as an opportunity because finding the right approach will enable you to generate the types of links you want.

To make this blog post less hypothetical, let’s just say that your business has a budget of $2,000 for its online promotion campaign. Take note that it isn’t necessary to have $2,000 to get links as you can get started with a lower amount. The budget here is given for clarity purposes only. Now, after having a set budget, below are some questions you need to answer:

1. Were previous link building efforts successful? In other words, are there “low hanging fruits” you can still take advantage of?
2. What is a realistic goal for this initiative? Do you want to boost a specific page or enhance overall web presence?
3. How effective are the strategies being used by the competition?

In general, there are several approaches you can focus on. It would be a good idea to choose a combination of these initiatives to get the best results.

Directory Submissions

For local businesses, submitting your company website to listings is important. There are free and paid listings. Some free listings are certainly worth submitting to, but paid listings can provide better results. You are looking at around $800-$1,000 to get listed on the best directories. Take note that if your site is of low-quality, it may be rejected. Make sure that your site is fully-functional and contains appropriate content to get listed.

Public Relations

For cash-strapped small businesses, public relations is a good strategy. While it requires a minimal amount of cash, the real investment here is time. Outreach can come in the form of hiring call center agents who are paid commissions based on results, crafting press releases, and giving free ebooks to subscribers. Other methods include offering discounts to get links.

Viral Marketing

It comes by different forms including “lists” articles, blog posts, widgets, and infographics. In the end it all comes down to one thing: content. Done properly, link bait content can generate tons of relevant links. Since the content is shared across different platforms, the organic spread will enable you to dominate the search engines and social media at the same time.

The above strategies are just some of the things you should look at to build a stronger web presence. Link building is at the care of most SEO strategies. If you do this successfully, other things will follow. This is the foundation for lasting success on the internet, so make sure to do it right even when you’re just starting out.