Every one talks about backlinks for effective SEO.  A reader is bound to be a bit confused.  Let me first explain what a backlink is.  A back link is when another website links back to yours.  The links assure search engines that your website is not an automated piece of nonsense but genuinely does some work on the internet and they start taking interest in it.

The very first step is to ensure that your link has an Anchor Text.  The key words that you are popularising need to be a part of your back link.  This is important and the foundation of your SEO campaign.

Building backlinks is time consuming and tedious.  Some of the methods are
·    Comment on other blogs.  This is free but time consuming.  The best part is that when you comment on blogs that are relevant to your website and they comment back, the links are valuable and build your standing.  When you comment on other blogs, do not use your name in the name box, you must use your Anchor Text.  When the comment is displayed, the name field is the one that is displayed, and this way you get publicity for your anchor text.
·    You could enter into a link exchange with other webmasters.  Many webmasters agree.
·    There are link services, some free and some paid.  Free services trade links for you with hundreds of websites and you are supposed to put their code into your website so that other website links can be displayed.

My personal favourite method is using a small Google tool called Google Alerts.  Basically this tool alerts you by mail if anything relevant to your search comes up on the net.  If you enter your Anchor Text or keyword along with your email address you get a mail every time your key word comes, and it gives you a link to that information.

Now you can visit those links and check out what is new in your field.  You could comment on those websites, on the news articles or other content pages.  The list and the possibilities are endless.  All these contents can be then linked back to your blog.  

Consider the publicity your business will receive, not to mention how much this can improve your presence on the internet.  Any time any new information comes up, well, like clockwork, the link appears in your mail and you have a new source to interact with.  Needless to mention you get another place to link back to.
In a short while, you will know everything there is to know on your niche, the breaking news, new developments and new players in your field.  It is like having a real time news feed about what is happening globally in your niche.

So if you are looking for a tool to help you with your SEO and build you backlinks, you can use Google Alerts.  It is fast, effective and completely free.  Google keeps updating its index and you get to know what is happening.  And of course, you build more back links.