Links are basically online votes for your website. As you get more votes, your website is viewed more favorably by search engines and you enjoy higher rankings.
Each of those links can have more or less importance. If you get linked to from a very popular site more of that strength is passed on to your site. Just like campaigning for office in the real world. Getting that backing from a auto union is much more valuable than getting your next door neighbors vote.
So how do you get these links? There are many different ways and several different search engine specialists that will give you their particular take on it. I say make it simple. Get the links you want by asking for them.
Sending out a couple hundred thousand emails asking for a link would not only be considered spam. It would also be ignored by the webmasters that received the email.
A more effective way of getting links to your website is through directories. Quality directories categorize and review websites for a small fee. Then after a successful review the directory will list your website with a link. This is perhaps the easiest and quickest way to get links to your website. These are...