Building links from other websites is a key to getting traffic. Google sees links that point to your site as an indicator that your site is important. It is also important to note the text used to point to your site. Be sure to use the same text, when possible, to point to your site.

The question I always get is who do I approach to get a link to my site. Instead of approaching other sites, simply do a search for "free directory" and you will find many different online directories similar to the yellow pages. Use these to gain inbound links to your site. Many of these directories permit free listing with no link back, which is ideal.

Focus on adding at least one of these free links per week. The more the better. If you are asked to link back, that is ok, add it to a links page. However, if you are asked to pay, skip that site and move to the next one. Paid links are not worth it, there are far too many free options out there. Once you add your listing, many of the sites will offer upgrades for additional money, this is up to you to upgrade or not. Generally speaking, take the free link and move on to the next directory.

Here are a couple directories that we own that you can post your link for free (you may already be there so be sure to check first), www.worcestercountybusinesses.com, and www.northeastbusinessdirectory.com. Finding directories is not too difficult, it just takes some time.

As some of you know, I have been published in the Worcester Business Journal a number of times and they just published another one of my articles regarding online newsrooms. Take a minute and read the article to see if there is any information that you might find valuable to your business.

Click Here to read the article online.

Working on your site is not an incredibly difficult thing to do, however getting the time to do it always is difficult. Rarely do you have extra time in your business day to do this type of work, therefore let me recommend the best way to do this. Schedule 1 hour per week.

If you schedule the time to work on your site, then you will do something each week. If you miss an appointment with yourself during one of those weeks, at least you have worked on your site for 3 hours that month. The key to growing your site and making it more effective is to work on it.

If you schedule the time, then you will be more likely to do something that is beneficial for your website. If you don’t have the time, or are thoroughly bored by such tasks, then you can consult a web development company to assist you in your maintenance. If you hold a meeting with the company to go over your goals for the quarter, you will be able to set an agenda for the work that you want to get done.

Working on your site each month is a true way to grow your site, it’s the number one key to growing your site. In addition, if you do the work yourself you can save some money and over the long run your site will become a good size with really good content and will be attracting the right customers that you are looking for.

Stay Tuned for Tip #9. We are counting down each week to cover the top 10.

Recently it came to light that American Express is recommending to their customers not to spend money on Search Engine Optimization (SEO). In reviewing their documentation and recommendations, they actually contradict themselves, which is quite embarrassing for such a reputable company. Open for American Express published some Small Business growth techniques and suggestions, and in doing so recommended that it’s a waste of time and money to focus on SEO, however they also indicated that you should invest in your website, and in doing so you should spend time and money developing good content, with ideal keywords.

Why is it that AMEX has contradicted themselves with their statements’..It’s because even they don’t understand SEO. SEO is about driving traffic to your site. Their second statement about good content with good keywords is the foundation for SEO. But there are many different ways of improving your site. New process and procedures come out every month or quarter. Things change in the web industry every six months, and if you are not doing things to your site to keep improving it then you could be left behind.

It’s important to keep your SEO efforts in focus, and under control, so that you don’t get taken by a so called “expert”. Cautiously review what it is you are paying for and what you should be receiving. Be very wary of guarantees. With the industry changing so much, and the algorithms at every search engine changing each week, there is no guarantee for results. The only guarantee you should expect is a time commitment in exchange for payment.

While AMEX is trying to assist their customer base with good information and they had every intent of not contradicting themselves, they managed to possibly confuse their customer base by issuing differing statements. While AMEX is recommending to their customers that they not use SEO Experts, we are recommending to our customers not to use a company that is not clear on what SEO is before making such ridiculous statements.

Beginning this Month I will be issuing my top 10 tips to increase traffic to your website, without paying anyone, any money, including us. Make sure that you are signed up for our newsletter to receive the tips.