With the constant pressure to create backlinks I am in the process of creating a series of sites dedicated to the Backlinking process. BackLink Auction: http://www.backlinkauction.com This site is live right now and is number #1 in Google for Backlink Auction out of 636,000 competing sites. BackLink Forum: http://www.backlinkforum.com Under development and currently live with Adsense Revenue Share. Still uploading graphics and mods, but the forum is live for creating free backlinks from a great domain. Again I haven't even finished the site and its #1 in Google for Backlink Forum out of 2,430,000 competing sites for the keywords. Not bad for doing nothing to promote so far. (This is the first post in which I even mention it.) BackLink Partner: http://www.backlinkpartner.com This will be a free general directory. I am currently working on it and hope to have the shell up by next weekend. Also great keywords. Backlink/ link partner combo. I'll be interested to see how it does in Google. Probably pretty well as they are very much like the others. While this looks lilke a blatant advertisement for my sites, it should actually be telling you that these sites are great places to get a backlink. This is because, not only are you getting a simple backlink, but you are getting one with easily more web traffic than most directories get and that was without any effort (which should tell you how important domain keywords are). What do most websites want? To be #1 for specific keywords in the major search engines, right? If oyu don't get search traffic, you don't get anything from your site. Keywords and building link popularity go hand in hand. You build PR so you can get higher in the SERPs right? More traffic equals more money.
Google does not look down upon sites which are directories, forums, and the like. That is all these sites are. They are focusing on the same things every other directory and forum is. Look at the 2 sites which are completed/ being completed and they are no different than may other sites focusing on SEO and improving link popularity. The only difference is we have cornered the market on some extremely valuable keywords which will help every site and is currently helping our Backlink Auction site tremendously. As for getting backlinks for our sites? Don't worry, we are already working on that. LOL.
I think its a good idea. There is obviously a lot of debate and static about backlinks, which I think means, ultimately that they work...
Indeed. I look at it this way. What is your primary goal? If you are running a directory, you probably want to build Pagerank because it attracts more webmasters to your site for submissions. But does it attract more web traffic? Not always. I have a PR5 site which hardly breaks 100 visitors per day and I have a site at PR1 which gets 5000 uniques visitors each day. I am making money on the low PR site and a few pennies in Adsense on the PR5. I believe in keyword focused marketing. If you do not use quality anchor text with your links, ultimately your just creating a lot of backlinks and not quality backlinks which will build your ranking in the Search Engine pages (SERPS). Being number #1 in several keywords brings more trafic through Google than 10,000 backlinks in directories and forums in some instances. Because its hard to equate the millions of searches Google receives, to other sites which get 10-20,000 visits. In Google, people are searching for your keyword, on other sites, not always.
Looks like a worthwhile project. I intend to look back in on your efforts after a while to see how it's going.