If you have your own website, chances are pretty good that you are hoping to find places to build up links. This can be a helpful way for webmasters of all sorts of sites to gain traffic as well as work on increasing their page rank with Google. In a world where a better page rank means more traffic and traffic is ultimately money it is important to find good places to build links.

One way to do this is to build content on sites that let you make pages or write articles and include links. However, finding the right ones to write on isn't always easy.

Squidoo is a site that lots of people are becoming familiar with. However, there are still lots of people out there who haven't heard of this site. On Squidoo you can make pages (called lenses there) that are about anything. You can then make money from those lenses. It is easy because you create the page, advertise the page, and Squidoo does the rest. They collect the money and pay you. However, that isn't really what makes Squidoo unique. In fact, that isn't why a huge portion of people love Squidoo. There are a huge number of people who love Squidoo because you can link to your blog, website, and even your affiliate links and programs without any problems.

Of course, it goes beyond that, Squidoo encourages you to link to these types of sites and even make lenses about them. You can create a page about your site, business, blog, or a product you get paid to promote and increase your earnings by using Squidoo to direct traffic to these types of pages. Your links will always be links that the people can follow and you can do this as many times as you wish. Plus the pages are fun to create.

Because I get excited about the "can do's" of a program there is bound to be someone who asks, "Have you used this program?" or "Have you got rich using this program?" Well, truth be told I write for a lot of sites and blog for a lot of blogs. This means time is an issue and while I enjoy creating lenses they are a little time consuming to piece together. I have used Squidoo, I have made a few cents off of my lenses, but I haven't even made a lens for my blogs or websites yet. It is in the plans, but I just haven't gotten that far yet!

Sites that let you write for them are becoming more and more popular. One site that is still in closed beta is Qassia. They have taken the Google Adsense revenue sharing a step farther. On Qassia you enter your websites (which can indeed be blogs for all you bloggers out there). Then you write articles. They don't have to be related to your website and shouldn't be about your website. However, if you choose a topic that is somewhat related it is better. Then you will make money from Google Adsense (should someone click). In fact, you get 100% of the page impressions. Plus there will be a banner with your website title and any information you add displayed at the bottom of the article.

The more articles you write the better. But in addition to that your site is promoted on the website as well. It is really the best of both worlds and gives you a lot of great opportunities.

Here it comes again..."Have you tried it!?" Yes, actually. I have done quite a bit of work on Qassia. The more articles you have the better. With Google Adsense I really haven't made much, but I have gotten traffic to a number of my blogs from it. It should also be noted that it is still in closed beta so it doesn't have the traffic that it should after they come out of closed beta. You can only join through invitation, so with that said: I invite you to join with me on Qassia!

Xomba is a Google Adsense revenue sharing site. They are building a whole lot of great articles and you can make money from your articles there. If you are writing relavent articles that relate to your site, site topic, blog, or blog topic then you could easily include a link to the site. However, that isn't all. You can also make a Xomblurb (a short piece about a website) and give information about your site including a link. This is a great way to do a combination effort for getting traffic to your site or blog.

This is a site that makes it easy to include your links and won't have a problem with it as long as they are relevant to the topic at hand.

Yes, I have tried it! I have recently started working with Xomba more and more. I wrote a couple of pieces and then stopped, but now I am back again and enjoying it. Plus I have gotten some traffic to a few of my sites. I am so far pleased with Xomba and would recommend it as a good place to build articles, links, and traffic for your blog.

Hubpages is a site I am a little reluctant to include in this list. While Hubpages will let you link to a site and will let your gain traffic to your site or blog they don't encourage it. In fact, if you do it too often they will mark down your scores (hubscores and author hubscores). In addition to that, if you have too many links to the same domain (other then Hubpages itself) they will turn your links to no follow ones.

This doesn't mean that you can't write information about a topic that is relevant to your site and include a link. It does mean that discretion should be used. Make sure you have lots of hubs (pages) that include other links (or no links at all). Make sure you are only linking back to your sites now and again instead of all the time. Additionally, never include more then two links to the same domain in a hub.

Have I tried it? Yes. Hubpages is certainly one of my favorite sites. I don't know how good it is for building traffic, links, and pages for your site, but it is a good site and can make you money with Google Adsense, Amazon, and eBay. However, I would suggest caution when it comes to adding links to your hubs. You may want to check out this hub on Author Hubscore before you get started.

eHow is a place where you can write simple, step-by-step how to articles. It isn't set up to get traffic to your site or blog. However, if you are writing a how to that is of the same topic as your site then you can add a link in the "Additional Resources" category and get traffic and links that way. While this doesn't work for every site, it can get both good links and good traffic for some sites.

I have been using this technique for some of my blogs and have been pleased with the traffic that is coming in from my links there. While this doesn't work for some topics, a great deal of other topics can have how to articles written about them! Unfortunately while anyone can contribute to eHow, only Americans get paid with their program :(.

While these are ones that work for this type of marketing and for increasing traffic and links to your site, this isn't an exhaustive list. Here are some tips for adding links to your pages on most sites:

1. Check the TOS. It is easy to skim through or even skip over the Terms of Service when you are signing up for a site, but they are important. You should check the Terms of Service and even the Frequently Asked Questions sections before you start adding your links to a site.

2. Make sure they are relevant. When you write an article and link it back to your site, make sure it is relevant. A huge number of sites will let you do these sorts of links, as long as your site will be something of value for your readers. If you have a blog about motor bikes and then write a parenting page, it just doesn't work!

3. Don't spam. There is a fine line between adding quality to a site and spamming it. Use your links every now and again and don't make anyone feel like they are there specifically for traffic and or links. This is annoying and won't help you out!

4. Go thinner rather then thicker. If you are in doubt as to how many links to include, go thinner rather then thicker. A few well placed links will do you a lot more good then a hundred poorly placed ones.

5. Don't skimp on quality. Sure you might be able to write 10 poorly thrown together articles or pages in the time that it takes you to write one quality article or page. That doesn't mean more is better. Stick with quality and people will want to see what you are up to on your site or blog. People will also want to read what else you have written.

Be on the lookout for good places to leave your links. Remember that relevance is important. For example, if you are reading this (or skimming through it) you are interested in building links and probably traffic through those links. You are not interested in my blog on beadwork so it would be silly for me to leave a link to Beautiful Beads n Jewelry. However, a blog about SEO, marketing, or making money with a website would be an appropriate link to leave here.

When it comes to writing articles for the sole purpose of links, you have to have a lot of time. It is better to include it in the money making process as well. That way you will have a lot of quality things to say and not just be out there trying to get people to your site.

For more websites that you might be able to leave your links in, check out:

Sites That Will Pay For Articles

Building pages with links can help increase your Google page rank as well as get traffic to your site or blog (which helps increase your Google page rank). If you don't have a lot at your site, it won't do you any good. However, if your site is well built with a lot of good stuff then you will find it does help. Just remember not to overdo it with the links and you will find yourself building your own corner of the web!