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I would also recommend a third option ie. www.companysite.com/blog (this way  backlinks will be strengthening your domain's authority) Use it to communicate with your customers, publish  good content to attract external links.

Hi Melissa

This is all good. I suggest you also do some work before publishing your post. Spread the word around using all available channels and reach out to influencers in your niche. Get in touch with influential bloggers, they might be able to give you some pointers that will increase your chances of getting links. They have to like your post in a first place if they ever going to link to it.  There was an excellent Whiteboard Friday on How to increase the odds of your content going viral. Please check it out, I found it very helpful.

You should also consider adding Google+ and twitter to your social strategy.

This is known as  canonical issue. Search engines see these as three different pages.  You can fix this using 301 redirect.

More info here

Hi Dinesh

I don't think anyone can provide you with a bundle of 1000+ quality backlinks just like that. Link building is a long process. I suggest you check out The Professional guide to link building. You should also be mindful of anyone offering you such a bundle in exchange for money. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't.

I suggest you find a competent SEO agency. Make sure you check them out first, look them up, check testimonials and their previous work.

It it very unlikely that one link would get your site penalised. Imagine how easy it would be to get your competition penalised by simply linking to them from a spammy site.

Hi Diane

Link building is a long process, you are in a very good place to learn how to start your link building. Check out The professional guide to link building.   You can use OSE to check your existing backlinks.Be aware that It takes some time before your links will show up. Keep in mind that some of your competitors started their link building years ago. You just need to be persistent and focus on building quality links, as not all links are equal.

What do you mean by "make sure that your article is live on Squidoo before the link is seen by the search engines" ?

As for the Hub Pages, I think you have to achieve a score of 70+ or something like that before you're allowed followed links.

This should answer your question:

http://www.seomoz.org/learn-seo/domain-authority

You can increase you domain authority by getting quality backlinks.

Internal links and inbound links are two different things. It is important to have a sound internal link structure it can improve navigation and user experience. It also gives search engines a better idea of your site. It is also good to link out to external, especially authoritative pages.However in order to rank well for your keywords you will need inbound links ie. other sites linking to pages or your website. The better and more authoritative inbound links you get the better will your pages rank.

Thanks Digirank, I will give it a try and try to get my squidoo lens featured.

II think you would have to sign up for PRO Plus  http://www.seomoz.org/plans

Hi Atul

That would depend on what type of redirection you're after, 301, 302 and the type of server you are using Apache or ISS. There is a nice post here explaining redirections in detail. It should answer your question.

Hi Nikos

It takes time for your links to show on OSE and even then not all of them will.

You don't have to limit yourself and only build links form sites that are already linking to your competitors. Use competitive link research to find opportunities but  build other quality links as well.

Hi Bob

I think it is always important to have your on-page optimisation spot on. I'm pretty sure your competition will also do their homework. Just remember that optimisation doesn't end on-page there are of-site factors as well.

I don't think you're being penalized, you wouldn't just drop one page down. I suggest you take a good look at all the recent changes you've made on and off site. This could be the case of some of your links being lost or devalued.

Higher DA does not guarantee better ranking, it does help your pages to rank better but you still have to optimise them for your keywords.

I agree, and for that reason I would go for .com I don't know any successful brands using .biz

That would be google.com and google.co.uk and if you find yourself redirected to your local google site you will need to change your settings. You will find instructions on Google support page here.