So how do you get inbound links?

Most of the time, by asking for them!

Who you ask and how you ask them will make all the difference. You can't just send out hundreds or thousands of emails asking for a link. Apart from these emails being classed as spam, the chances of an email out of the blue being acted on by another webmaster is close to zero.

One way to get inbound links is to search out the small directories that are lurking everywhere on the internet. They classify websites and give a comment or description of the site. Many of these directory sites will list you for free (or a small fee), although the largest of them, such as Yahoo, will charge quite a lot of money. But then if your site is good enough to be listed in Yahoo, that will be recognized by the search engine spiders and you'll likely get a boost in your page rankings.

Another way to get inbound links is by writing articles and submitting them to places like Ezine Articles. You'll get a link back to your website once your article is accepted and as other sites start using the articles you've submitted, you'll get links back from them. You don't need to have got a top grade in English at school. You just need to be able to talk clearly about your subject - much as if you were explaining it to a friend over a coffee.

You can also get links back to your site when you post in forums. Make your posts good quality and people will be happy to click the link in your signature if it's relevant to the forums topic.