By Chris Marentis, from Search Engine People Blog – http://bit.ly/1lGHiWv

One of the most common questions small business owners ask is surprisingly simple; How do I start link building?

Unfortunately, building a powerful link building campaign cannot be summed up in a short step-by-step. The best place to start is by seeking an understanding of how you want to execute link building to meet your businesses unique needs, and then setting achievable long term and short term goals. We have compiled a list of 10 questions that will help you get on track for a strong, personalized search presence.

1. What Are Your Goals?

It’s almost impossible to measure the success of link building without measurable goals. Before you get started, answer the following questions:

• What type of links would work best?
• How many links are needed?
• Should links promote shares or send site traffic?
• Are there any particularly influential sources links should come from?

Align your link building goals with your online marketing goals. A comprehensive marketing strategy should have multiple components that complement each other and contribute to larger goals for your business.

2. How Will You Reach Your Goals?

After identifying what you want to do with links, lay out a road map to identify concrete ways to achieve those goals. For example, a blog might be an excellent way to attract links from influential organizations in your industry. However, it might not get links from a dozen of the most popular news sites in the United States.

3. Who Will Help You Achieve Your Goal?

Instead of casting a wide net and hoping for the best, identify your target audience. Reach out to specific individuals who share a niche interest. There is almost no brand that appeals to everyone. Focus on your brand persona, and get to know your target audience really well.

4. What Does Your Target Audience Want to View?

The core of content creation is creating quality content for a target audience. Gather as much specific data as you can before starting a link building campaign with a major search engine guide.

5. Where Is Your Target Audience?

Does your target audience prefer to interact on Google+ or Twitter? Know where your target audience can be reached, and know where your target audience prefers to be reached.

6. When Is Your Target Audience Interested In Brand Engagement?

Timing counts. The wrong timing could turn the most phenomenal marketing campaign from a hero to a zero. Think about what else is going on in the industry at specific times, and reach your target audience when they are most available and interested.

7. What Is Your Value Proposition?

Others probably wont want to link to you just because you asked nicely. Go back to analytic data, and reference a major search engine guide for tips. Re-purpose successful material instead of reinventing the wheel.

8. What Do You Need to Create?

You might need fresh content for linking. Dig in your archives, and see what’s missing. Get everything in order before your linking campaign launches.

9. Who Will Actually do the Work?

Great ideas can be great. It’s a redundant idea for a reason. You need to have a team to execute the link building campaign before it is launched.

10. How Will You Get the Word Out?

Are you going to build up hype before you launch your campaign? Will you start with selected web pages? Will you unleash the entire thing all at once on social media? Know what direction you want to take beforehand, and stick with it throughout the campaign.

Create a successful link building campaign with a solid plan. Instead of asking for cookie-cutter answers, ask tough questions that get at the core of your specific goals.