There are a lot of tools available on the Internet for checking backlinks to any site. Some of them are listed below.

• The fastest tool to check the backlink is Google’s toolbar. It’s FREE to download and works with any browser.
• Greg Boser’s Tattler is another quick tool and works with the Yahoo! Site Explorer. It is also free.
• Marketleap.com is another good tool.
• Another option is the Link Checkup link checker software.

There are a lot of ways to check backlinks. The easiest way is to download the Google toolbar to check it quickly. You can also perform a search on Google with the keyword “checking backlinks” and it will show you a lot of the ways. You can choose the one that suits you best.

There are a number of ways which can help you to get other websites to link your site. Below is a list of link building tips that are likely to guarantee that you will receive free links from already established websites:

• Submit your site to Web Directories.
• Submit Press Releases to PR sites.
• Reciprocal Links with Similar Websites.
• Squidoo Lenses.
• Article Submissions.
• Social Media Profiles.
• Social Bookmarking Websites.
• Forum Signatures.
• Create a Tool, Theme or Widget.
• Blogs on Other Blog Platforms.
• Comment on Other Blogs.
• Guest posting on other blogs.
• Hold Contests.
• Collaborative Projects.
• Offer your Expertise.

Link popularity is the number and quality of the links pointing to your site. We know that no marketing tool can substitute the effectiveness of word of mouth advertising. The same is true for website links. When a “well established” site links to your site, people do not hesitate to follow the recommendation. This is how link popularity works.

In order to build long-term link popularity, you should offer good content and features on regular basis that will add real value to your visitors. When they will like your site, chances are that they will link to your website and send more visitors and so on.

Many webmasters, who own several sites, try to build up one of their specific sites by offering link exchanges from their other sites. For this, they add a link to you on their other well established site and get you to link to the main site they are trying to build up. This linking is known as three-way linking. Three way linking helps in building link popularity without the search engine being able to detect this link trading.

One-way links are the links to your site from other sites that do not receive a link back from your site. These links send an influential message to the search engines that your website is so interesting that other sites want to share it with people. This way, they increase your link popularity (i.e., the number of pages linking to your site). Search engines especially Google pays huge attention to link popularity when ranking any site. You can also get direct traffic to your site from visitors who click on the links. All links to your site works well but where possible always go for links related to your own niche.

The process where two webmasters agree to display each other’s link on their website is known as reciprocal links. Other names for reciprocal links are “link swaps”, “link exchanges” and “link partners”. Reciprocal links are very helpful for any website. They not only increase your web site traffic, from people who click on these links but also play a major role in increasing your search engine rankings.

Link Building plays a key role in Search Engine Optimization. It is the practice of getting links that point to your website placed onto other websites. It is important to build quality links or search engines will not pay attention to your site. Therefore, quality link building is one of the most important tasks you can perform in order to promote your website with the search engines. There are many methods used for link building such as reciprocal links, being listed in e-zines, newsletters, directories, search engines, etc.