LINKING 101: UNDERSTANDING
THE INS AND OUTS OF LINK BUILDING
With all of the changes that have been going on within
the search engines, especially since Google's Florida update,
it's clear that now more than ever a linking strategy is needed
in order to achieve high search engine positioning and good page
rank. More and more search engine algorithms, aside from Google,
are factoring in Link Popularity when determining relevancy and
when you think about it, it makes sense. Good sites link to other
good sites!
Basic definition of Link Popularity
We can think of linking as the means by which we move
around the Web. We search for specific keyword phrases and then
click on a "link". There we may find even more links
that peak our interest and again, we click on a "link."
While your overall website is extremely important
and should be highly optimized, have quality content and be easy
to navigate, there are two other components that you need in order
to achieve high search engine placement and good PR: relevant
inbound and outbound links.
Inbound links are links that are
coming to your website from other relevant sites. This helps determines
how popular your site is, thus we can define Link popularity
as the total number of inbound links.
Now the object is not to try and get as many links
as possible for the mere sake of having links! Steer clear of
link farms! They will not help to improve your link popularity
in any way. In fact, they can do more harm than good! Instead,
you should remember the gold rule of link building: good sites
link to other good sites.
Outbound links are external links
that you provide from your website. As links are the foundation
of the Web it only makes sense that your site provide users with
links to other informative, relevant information.
A common fear of posting outbound links is that users
may leave your site and not return. There is always that chance.
However, if you provide your audience with valuable information,
including quality outbound links, it's more likely that they will
bookmark your site and keep coming back to it as it will be viewed
as a valuable resource.
Five steps to improve your website's Link Popularity
It honestly takes much less time and effort to find
quality sites to link to from your own website. The big challenge
is finding ways to build up the number of inbound links to improve
your website's link popularity. But don't despair! It can be done!
| |
1. |
Get a firm
understanding of your site's current in-bound links.
In order to improve your site's link popularity you need
to know its current status. You can do this by going to
a site such as LinkPopularity.com
or by manually checking the search engines yourself.
To manually check Google, go to Google and type in link:www.your-domain-name.com,
click on the Google Search button. The pages that follow
will be list of all the pages that are in Google's index
that currently link to your website. You can do the same
type of search on the other major search engines to get
a clear understanding of your site's current link popularity. |
| |
2. |
Look at your competition!
Check the number of in-bound links to your competitors'
sites. This is a great way to get ideas for sites that you
may want to approach and ask for an in-bound link. |
| |
3. |
Start with the directories!
The major directories are a great place to start
in effort to improve link popularity. Not only are directories
viewed by millions of people, but crawler-based search engines
are more likely to find your site if it's listed in a directory.
Take great care in tailoring your submissions - each criteria
is different and shouldn't be done in haste.
Take time to look for niche directories too. For example,
if you're a tax accountant, look for directories that list
CPA's by city or state. You might be surprised to find that
many niche directories don't charge for inclusion, which
is an added bonus especially if your budget is tight. |
| |
4. |
Don't miss the obvious.
Get relevant reciprocal links!
If you're a wholesaler,
for example, be sure to ask for links from all of your distributors.
Reciprocal links such as these are considered relevant and
will provide a win-win situation for all! But remember,
reciprocal links should only be given in cases where there
is a clear relevance and not for the mere sake of getting
links. |
| |
5. |
Analyze your targets,
approach them respectfully and track the results.
After conducting the link popularity analysis and research
in steps 1 & 2, you should now have a decent list of
those sites you wish to approach and ask for an inbound
link.
By all means don't send out a generic email! Target each
site individually. Identify why the target site would want
to link to yours and how it will benefit them. If there's
a particular page that would be most appropriate to link
to, be sure to include that. You may also want to include
the linking code. Conclude your note with a request to follow
up and contact your target. Sometimes a friendly phone call
can help to dispel any concerns and will help get the result
you're looking for.
Keep good records! Track the sites you contacted and the
responses you received and monitor the results! Is there
a noticeable rise in traffic? Are there any new sites that
have linked to you on their own behalf? (This goes back
to the relevant content we discussed earlier!) Continue
to monitor the progress and modify your linking strategy
as needed to achieve the results you're looking for |
If your website is full of quality content and is well optimized,
the lack of a linking strategy is enough to keep you from achieving
the search engine visibility you're looking for! The search engines
aren't impressed with a site that no one is linking to. Take the
time to research and promote your site in effort to get quality,
relevant links and your efforts, if done right, will pay off in
the end.
Additional Resources:
Learn more about Distinctia's
Link Popularity Building Services
Linking
Matters Report by Linking Matters.com
Link
Popularity is About More Than Just Search Engines
Back to Articles |
262-758-2117
home
site map
contact us
Website Analysis Reports