- Write a TON of articles! Posting to article directories, with links in the author area, are one excellent free way.

- Trade links with sites that complement yours. Search for Hubs or sites that you can trade with. You can search within Hub Pages, or use Google to search, or search for blogs using Google Blog Search. Email the site owner to ask about a possible trade.

- Use RSS feeds from your blog to distribute your feeds – and links – across the Web.

These are all ways to get free backlinks – but you also want to realize that “free” means no money – but they will take time to build.

There is a new site which shows how to get backlinks at a very low price. Connect Content helps you connect with other website owners to trade links. You post your desired linking keyword, and in exchange, you link to other folks’ requested anchor links. The service is just $12 a month, which is probably the most affordable out there, after free! You can check it out at ConnectContent.com.

So – here’s the video of the reviews of three sites I selected from a few dozen submitted by readers.  I noticed a few themes that ran through nearly all sites I saw: writers are too busy writing to learn about basic SEO-friendly site design, and are taking baby steps when it comes to social networking and Web 2.0.  Yet these are seriously important lessons to learn if you want to bring readers right to your virtual doorstep.

Without considering basic Web design issues, your site comes off like an old-fashioned brochure or resume website. Plus, you want your site positioned and designed to keep visitors engaged once you start using all that traffic generation to bring them there!  (That is, you want them to stay and READ, right? You are a writer right?!

So, with this review I’m providing a starting point for writers to consider when they build or tweak a site.  Warning:  this may be too basic for some writers who are already well-versed in online promotion, but judging by those who sent me sites to take a look at, many more know they need to do something, they just aren’t sure exactly what. Hopefully this will give everyone some ideas.

After your take a look at the video walk-through of my three winners’ sites right here.  then we can have a good long discussion of how writers can use (1) and (2) to build income.   

What would you do to enhance these sites?