It’s no secret that not all links are created equal.
Some links are 800 lb King-Kongs (don’t hold me to the number:), while others… well, you get the point.
.EDU and .GOV links are considered more valuable than others simply because you can’t buy them (theoretically speaking of course).
Generally, those sites have been around for a while, carry a lot of trust, have floods of high quality inbound links, and publish valuable information trusted by search engines and readers alike.
Is it a fact that Google will love you that much more if you have a few .edu and .gov links behind your belt? No.
Do you still want to get your hands on as many of them as you can? The consensus says definitely.
With that said, here are some ideas on how to go about getting .edu and .gov links to your site.
1. Find .edu and .gov sites that will allow you to post comments, like blogs and forums.
Here’s how to search for them:
Blogs:
- site:.gov “add comment” OR “post comment” “ADD YOUR KEYWORD”
- site:.edu “add comment” OR “post comment” “ADD YOUR KEYWORD”
Forums:
- site:.gov “powered by vbulletin”
- site:.edu “powered by vbulletin”
Just copy and paste these commands into your browser and don’t forget to ADD YOUR KEYWORD!
Once you find sites that will allow comments, make sure they will let you enter not just your name and email, but your website URL as well. As you know, once your comment is posted, your name will become the anchor text that will link back to your site.
Word of caution: be extremely careful with your comments. In my experience, it’s very hard to get your comments approved even if you really try to add value to the discussion. I suppose we have spammers to thank for that.
2. Just ask.
If you are a friendly fella and are not afraid to ask, I’ve got a great .edu link building method for you.
All you need is a willing college student!
Many schools allow their students to publish blogs or just a personal page of sorts. All you need to do is find a student (friend, cousin, neighbor, supermarket clerk) and ask them if they might be willing to help you out. 9 out of 10 times they will say yes.
Write a couple of value-ridden articles on some topic, add a couple of links to them and you just got yourself some valuable link juice back to your site.
Don’t know any college students? There’s always Craig’s List and bartering.
3. Students = inexpensive help.
This .edu link building strategy came from Joe Whyte of HybridSEM. I’ve not had a chance to test it out yet, but it sounds like a very viable link building strategy.
If you have a project you’d like to outsource, post an ad in the Help Wanted section on campus websites.
The ad will include a link back to your site – nice!
One Way Link Building Marketing Takeaway:
Getting .edu links naturally and ETHICALLY can make a huge difference to your high search engine ranking optimization and with these tips you’ll definitely get a nice surge in your SERP standing.
You are right: you don’t have to comment or retweet, but would it help if I told you it would be much appreciated?

PS For more no-nonsense traffic generation and conversion tips from Ana, fill out this short spam-free form:






{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
this is great information for gettting backlink ,but can you tell me how can i find these .edu. or .gov site that allow me to comment me on that……
thanks for this great information
Bhupendra invites you to read: How to Add Meta Tags?
Sure, Bhupendra; take a look at this post: http://www.trafficgenerationcafe.com/one-way-link-building/
well these .edu forum links or profile links are pretty mcuh useless, i have never seen google index these profile links since these forums dont have a sitemap, blog comments usually get indexed though so i use them more compared to these forum profiles..
Nancy invites you to read: Is Laser Treatment for Acne effective ?
@Nancy: I have to agree. I have yet to find a really good forum on .edu. I am wondering though if a search for Linux/Linux applications might provide something useful. Not sure how many forums for Linux apps would still be around these days, but that might be a better place to look as they may have set them up correctly.
So far though, you are right. The comments apear to be much more useful.
Jason Osborne invites you to read: TightVNC Windows Installation
Hey Ana,
awesome tips. Was just surfing the web for some new techniques I can try out to build links.
Just talked to my VA about it and he said that he has heard that there are also ways to find places where you can build your own .edu blog.
Do you know anything about it?
Thanks
Hendrik
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I would check out WarriorForum.com, Hendrik.
They have all sorts of cool offers there and I saw some offers with access to accounts on .edu sites. I think it’s as close as you can get to having your own .edu blog without being a student.
Posting a want ad on college sites sounds great, but want ads are very temporary.
You are quite right, David, they are; however, they still might give your site the push that it needs.
Ana
Ana:
Ohhhhhh so glad I found your site by way of Alex Whalley’s recent blog post which referenced this specific post in it.
Love the ideas on how to ethically get the backlinks. Dugg this article for future reference.
Michelle Mangen invites you to read: Calendar Scheduling Software Services
Thanks for coming by, Michelle – glad my info proved to be useful.
Appreciate the digg and the comment!
Ana
A true outside the box post… I found this to be a some what of a invigorating excercise, a brain tease. A little creative thinking and imaginitive SEO! Awesome. I will be watching you. Thanks.
Outside the box is THE place to be to build a successful business.
Glad you found my tips motivating, Terry, and thanks for stopping by.
Ana
Ana,
I just read an article the other day at one of the prominent design blogs though I can’t remember which one… Some designer created a free theme for educational institutions–not a bad idea. I would take a site wide footer link from a .edu site
I still have access to my educational institution to create a website. Too bad they still use some odd technology from 1993 and I couldn’t quite figure it out. I made a web page in .html and had problems getting it uploaded properly.
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It’s an awesome idea, Jarret. I wish I knew anything about design, I’d be definitely doing it as well.
A friend of mine tried to publish a couple of articles for me as well, but could not do it for the same reason. Some school are just way behind on their technology. Would be a good niche for someone to jump into!
Ana
Hi Ana, I think even better than a college student is a professor. Student websites usually go away when they graduate, but a tenured professor is likely to be around much longer. It’s probably harder, but well worth the effort.
Very true, Susan; as you said though, it’s not an easy task. Bribery?
Have a great weekend!