We all know back links are a big factor in ranking higher in search engines. It used to be simple to get links by submitting to every directory and your rankings would climb. It is quickly becoming more difficult to move up in search rankings. Directories are still important, but it is becoming more important to be discriminating when evaluating which ones to submit to. You need to be selective and in some cases willing to pay review fees.

The first source for an authority link is DMOZ. It is a free directory, but most that submit there do not get accepted. DMOZ is very strict on evaluating websites for submissions. They look for established sites with unique content and completely unique offerings when there are millions of competing websites is difficult to accomplish. Submit here and forget about it. It will be months before your site is evaluated and they will not inform you when it is.

The next best source for authority links would be a few web directories with authority. There are a few in this category that I would recommend. Those being JoeAnt.com, AuthorityDirectory.com, Abilogic.com and dir.yahoo.com. Quality paid directories such as these are wonderful resources, because they are kept updated, well categorized and promoted. The fees incurred are for the time involved in reviewing your site for admission. They can keep the spam out because with quality directories there is no guarantee of admission. So follow the guidelines when submitting.

I have always thought that one of the best place to look for links are by searching for the sites that link to your competition. If these hub sites are willing to link to your competitor, they are more than likely willing to link to you. It is a good idea to try getting links from these resources that have shown the willingness to link to sites like yours in the past.

The next place to look for authority links may be from authority blog sites. These can be a great source of excellent links. It can also backfire on you so be careful. Authority blog sites get a great deal of traffic so if you make comments that are considered off topic or spam just to get a link, many visitors will see it. This could get you a bad reputation and hurt your credibility, especially if the blog covers a related topic. Do not spam authority blogs and keep comments on topic.

Perhaps the last quality place to look for authority links would be school or government sites. Getting a link from these sources is not an easy task and generally requires that you know a friend or relative working there. Other ways to get these links are by offering a freebie to them in return, by volunteering as a speaker or making a donation.

If you try some of the tips outlined here you are assured of getting at least one authority link to your website which will help your website rank higher in the search engine results. Some of the tips are definitely more difficult than others so reflect on this. Are you a webmaster that gives up easily or one that will work to get your website ranked higher?