Optimizing your website for high ranking on the SERP is a step by step process. Great content, SEO optimized pages and an amazing website layout are not enough to bring traffic. Being on the Web means being a part of the Web and not an isolated entity. Google places no importance on solitary websites. To get Google’s attention and increase traffic, you need solid linking strategies. However, it is not only Google you should consider when you collect links. All other search engines follow links to spider and index web pages. Links are like channels driving search engines and traffic to your website.

The most important aspect you need to consider at the very beginning of the process is that you’ll need quality links to rank high on the SERP. If you manage to gather more than 100 links, the quality of the links is not as important anymore. Not for Google.

Remember, collecting back links does not imply using link farms or other black hat SEO techniques. If you are part of a linking farm you might have your website seriously penalized by Google. Honest linking strategies take time and effort to develop, but it’s time worth spending. Think about it: on the web, businesses are built or destroyed depending on their positioning into the SERPs of Google, Yahoo, MSN etc. As the average user relies on Google, ranking high in Google should be your main priority. The only way you could achieve lasting results is collecting links. Google’s algorithms have changed so often, but one thing has remained constant: the importance Google places on incoming and outgoing links.

The number of links is important, but so is the quality of the sites linking to your website. If you can get links from highly ranked sites it is almost certain your site will rank highly too. You need to link to related sites, to show Google and the other search engines your main concern is providing useful resources to your visitors and valuable content for the web. Getting back links from industry related websites also has another very important advantage: their clients might have interest in what you have to offer. As a result you’ll increase your chances of increasing traffic and sales.

From the entire link collecting strategies available online, one of the most used is writing articles. Most of the websites using this technique are sites on SEO, but any type of site should use this strategy. The trick is: write unique articles and don’t “over-submit” them.

When it comes to articles, there is another very important thing you have to remember: online branding. Indeed, articles are a great means to make your name known and to persuade readers to trust your products and services. Do write regularly, let’s say twice a month, and try to keep a high quality standard of your writing.

Scott Lindsay is a web developer and entrepreneur. He is the founder of HighPowerSites and many other web projects. HighPowerSites is the easiest do-it-yourself website builder on the web. No programming or design skill required.