Research your competition. During the process, open a spreadsheet and start making lists from the information you find. The standards include: general directories, themed directories, link partnerships to explore, and the biggie – PR or public relations. I consider PR as all the oddball links your competition gets, either an actual Press Release you find listed on a Web site, an article they’ve written that’s placed or a quote with a link back to your domain. Look at your main keywords during this research and the top competitors for each. It’s not just who is linking to them but the relationships and patterns you see developed. This information is invaluable in structuring your link popularity campaign. (Debra Paynter with Promotion Strategies)
Create a spreadsheet and detail who you've contacted, when and the results. Or if you have a contact database (ACT!, Access, FileMaker Pro, etc.), use that contact's "notes" field to keep a record of this information. (Gil Sery with Search Engine Optimization Pros)
Open a spreadsheet for general directories (themed directories or link partners – whatever you are working on). At the top of the page in copy/paste form, list in order the pertinent information that directories look for in a submission. Have all that information ready ahead of time to make the process run quick and easy. In one column list the URL of the site, in another list the category you are submitting to, the next list the page you are submitting, then a column for the date you submitted and one for the date you are accepted. This information will help you to know where you’ve been and where you are going. An additional tip I like to follow is to come up with 3-5 variations of a title with the most crucial keyword phrase included. I then rotate these variations of the title, with each submission. You say the same thing but in more than one manner. I also create at least two descriptions, a long and a short form and I am sure to maximize the use of keywords in submissions. You want these to sell in that you want click-thrus and you want them keyword rich for search. (Debra Paynter with Promotion Strategies)
Check out the affirmative replies for a link exchange, and make sure they have uploaded a link back to your site from theirs. If they haven’t, politely e-mail them and notify them of it, with your thanks. (Chris Genge with 1st on the List Promotion Inc.)
A few weeks after you’ve received the reciprocal link, check the people who have linked to you to make sure they’re still linked. (Sites change policies and go 404, no dead weight and no free riders) (Gary Woods with Beautiful Santa Barbara Real Estate)
Monitor your site on a monthly basis utilizing a linking tool to ensure that all the links are still in place. If they’re not, e-mail the site politely, mentioning same and asking them to reinstate the link. If they don’t, remove your link to them from your resource page. (Chris Genge with 1st on the List Promotion Inc.)
http://www.searchengineworkshops.com/articles/leglinkpop.html
