Off-site SEO has always been a challenge for some Internet marketers. Off-site optimization is all about link building. You want to acquire links with proper anchor texts from externals sites. But because you don't own these sites, it's sometimes hard to get external sites to link back to you. So what can do you?

There are several ways you can obtain back links. One of the fastest ways you can do so, is through the use of a blog posting service. Google has been trying to discourage buying and selling of links. So try to avoid anything that says "paid links" or "sponsored links" on your blogs or website. When buying links, you should also avoid placing your links under these headers.

Issues to consider when using a blog posting service.

1. Always check out the blog network.

You need to assess the blogs before making a purchase, just to make sure that the blogs are not banned or anything like that. You also want to get a visual assessment of the blogs. See if the blogs are cluttered with too many ads. If you are trying to build credibility on the Internet, you want to avoid being seen on crappy sites.

2. Post unique articles.

Whenever possible, post unique blog articles with your primary keyword phrase in the article title. This will increase the chances of your articles being found by the search engines. You don't just want your articles to be indexed. You want them to rank as well so that others will read your article and click on your links. If you don't want the blogs to compete with your own site, then refrain from using those keywords in the titles of your articles.

3. Embed links with proper anchor links.

Write naturally and embed the links in the article body. Search engines love embedded links that look natural. Make sure you use proper anchor texts. Don't use words like "click here to visit".

4. General blogs vs targeted blogs.

You have to ponder over this issue. Do you want your links from general blogs, or from targeted blogs? Usually, you get a lot more links from general blogs because these blogs accept almost articles for all niches. The drawback is that your article may be found next to an adult article, and the traffic you receive is also not as targeted.

You will get lesser links with targeted blogs, but the links are more valuable. For example, you want a sports blog to link back to your soccer blog. Since it's easier to promote a targeted blog, your link has more value as it ages.

5. Page rank of blogs.

Personally, I find that an over-emphasis has been placed on the Page Rank of blogs. I say this because I have noticed that Page Rank has no direct impact on search rankings. It's relevancy and quality that matters most. A page rank zero web page can stay at the top of the search results for months without being knocked off. The reason? - Top quality and relevancy.

This makes it a little trickier to assess blogs. If you don't look at page rank, then what do you look at?

Ask for a few sample urls of the blogs, then plug in the urls in Google. Do a "site:url" search and see if the blog is banned. If Google returns a result, it means that the blog is fine. Then take a few articles in the blog and make a search in Google for the article titles. Where do the blog posts come up? If they come up on page 1 or 2, it means that the blog is in good standing with Google. And any article that you post on these blogs are likely to be ranked on the first 2 pages as well.

6. Promotion of blogs.

This is another issue you have to consider. Some blog posting services post to public blogs. That means somebody else owns the blogs. The question is, who is responsible for promoting these blogs? Usually, the blog owner won't promote it since he is not making any money from it. He sets it up for others to post links. The blog posting service provider will also not promote the blogs, because they don't own the blogs. If the blogs are not promoted, they won't become authority sites. In other words, the links from these blogs are worth less.Want to build back links quickly?