One of the most important tools in your link building arsenal is your address book.  Think about it - pretty much everyone has a website these days, and chances are people in your personal or business network would be happy to link to your website.The same goes for your clients, if you’re an online marketing consultant.  Help them reach out to businesses they partner with to build links; for instance, if your client is a real estate agent consider getting links from local interior decorators, home remodelers, moving services, and other related businesses.  Depending on the industry your client is in, they likely have established relationships with other companies - and you can and should make the most of these relationships by exchanging links.

One might object - “isn’t this reciprocal linking?”  In the most basic sense, yes, but there is a significant difference between linking to a related website belonging to a partner business versus a random link to a site that has nothing to do with your client.  Besides, by linking to related businesses, you are adding value for your users, which is never a bad thing.

So take out your address book next time you are launching an online marketing campaign, and make your existing business and social networks work for you!