If you want your blog to be a success, if you want lots of traffic, if you want it to make lots of money, or even if you just like watching your stats rise, there is only one thing that will get you there: Links.

Now before someone throws ‘Content is king!’ at me, I’ll just say that I agree entirely and that if what you write is a load of rubbish, or worse still just cut & pasted from elsewhere, then you will probably never achieve anything. But, even if you do write the finest blog posts ever, if no-one sees them, the world will never know.

Links are endorsements from the people who provide them for you, advising their readers to read you. Links affect rankings at Technorati and of course Google: The more links you have pointing at your blog, and the better quality those links are, the more authority your blog is given. This means that your blog will get returned higher up the page for search terms, so if someone searches for a topic you’ve written about, your blog is more likely to be on page 1 of the results instead of 151. The number and quality of your links will also be reflected in your Google Page Rank which is one of the main indicators advertisers use when putting a value on your blog: If you want to earn money from it, you need the highest PR you can get.

So how to get those links?

1. Write good content. Sorry, but it’s true. You don’t have to be a novelist, but be original, be incisive, be educational, be humourous, whatever’s relevant, but most of all be you.
2. Link to lots of other bloggers. By all means link to the A-list, but don’t expect a link back. Link to people you enjoy reading, and don’t be afraid to go first. If you really like someone, write a post about how good their blog is , and why people should read it. It doesn’t matter if no-one’s reading your blog yet, write it like you have an audience of thousands, because the post will get read.
3. Visit your favourite blogs, and comment as often as you can. I don’t mean add ‘you rock!’ to every post someone makes, but if their post makes you think, write them a comment. Regular commenters on my blogs nearly always get linked to by me. Why nearly? See 4.
4. Don’t be afraid to politely mention to someone that you’ve linked them. I check my links regularly, but sometimes I miss one, or think that I’ve linked them when I haven’t. Give me a gentle reminder
5. Be helpful and supportive to other bloggers. If they run a poll, vote on it. If they ask a question, answer it. In short, treat people how you want to be treated - you want people to engage with your blog, so engage with others. De-lurk and the results may surprise you!

Links are well named, because they really do bind blogs together, and help us all achieve what we want.

Most bloggers notice new incoming links, either through visiting Technorati, or as in my case, Wordpress shows me the 10 latest links pointing to my blogs. I always check them out to say thanks, or to reciprocate - why don’t you test it out and see if I notice