Build Incoming Links
“Pleasing” the Search Engines and your human visitors is why it’s important for
you to develop an effective linking strategy. Links are one kind of off-page
criteria that measure human reaction to your content.
The more sites that link to your site, and the more important the linking sites are,
and the closer the linking sites are to the theme of your site (even to the topic of
individual pages), the more “popularity points” Search Engines award to your
site (and page).
Search Engines consider the number of in-pointing links to a site as a way to…
1) Establish credibility. An in-pointing link from a quality, related site tells the
Search Engine that another Webmaster thinks highly enough of a site to link to it.
See how the link becomes representative of human feedback? The link
constitutes a vote of confidence.
And the more highly a Search Engine regards the site that provides the link, the
more powerful that “vote” is! For example…
Suppose you have a Web site all about porcupines. The Web authority on
porcupines decides to link to your site. In essence, this tells the SEs…
“This is a credible porcupine resource. As such, it deserves to be
listed in your database.”
This recommendation carries weight because the Web authority on porcupines
already has established credibility with the SEs. Obviously, there’s no better
judge of the quality of a porcupine site than a porcupine expert. Links from
lesser authorities or from sites with related themes or topics (i.e., zoo, or animal
sites) are helpful they don’t carry the same weight.
And what about off-theme links? Do not attempt to solicit links from sites
unrelated to your topic or theme. Why would a Web site about Viagara or
online casino games link to your site about porcupines? Usually it’s because
they want to artificially increase link popularity, and manipulate the SEs.
The SEs don’t like to be manipulated, as it jeopardizes the integrity of their
search results. So you can expect them to ignore, and at worst, penalize you for
off-theme links.
2) Formulate ranking algorithms. More and more, Search Engines are
factoring link popularity and link credibility (i.e., where your in-pointing links
originate from) into their ranking algorithms. That’s why it’s so important not to
fall into the trap of continuously tweaking your on-page criteria.
Chances are, the key to an elusive top 10 ranking lies off-page, not on-page as
we saw earlier with our anguilla-beaches example.
Without a few credible links, you may find it difficult to get listed in some of the
major SEs (especially Google). And of course, your site won’t make it into the
databases of SEs that do not permit site submission. Their spiders must find
your site on their own.
The good news is that for most businesses, a very small number of credible links
will do the job. 99% of most Web sites do not have many in-pointing links. (If the
SEs were to weigh in-pointing links too heavily, they’d make 99% of the Net
disappear!)
Of course, if your topic is much more general in scope (i.e., “e-commerce,”
“computers,” “sports cars,” and that sort of thing), obtaining links becomes more
and more important.
“When do I start building my link popularity?”
That’s a good one! Don’t worry about link popularity until you have built at least
20-30 content pages. Why?
Webmasters will link only to sites of value. Quality content is the currency of the
Web so you will need a sufficient amount of it before you go link hunting. To get
a Webmaster’s “vote” of confidence, your site must provide some benefit to
his/her audience.
Directories too, are only interested in adding Web sites of substance and value.
A more mature site will also help you impress a human editor and secure a
major directory listing.
Once you have your 20-30 high value pages, build a simple inbound link
program, sprinkled with a few high-quality value exchanges (be patient) and even
a couple of super-high-quality outbound-only links.
Here’s how to get your link program rolling along…
#1) Get IN-coming links from the major directories, and second tier
directories. (See the Directories chapter for full details.)
#2) Get IN-coming links from theme-specific sections of the major free
directories.
#3) Participate in SiteSell’s Value Exchange. It is the simplest, fastest, most
efficient, and (most importantly) most real way to identify high-value sites that
want to link to your site.
It's also a true ethical use of the Net, exactly the way Search Engines want you to
do it -- relevant sites linking to relevant sites only. And did I mention that it’s
also free?…
http://value-exchange·sitesell·com/
#4) OUTbound-link with high-quality theme-related, non-competing sites as
you happen to discover them in the course of normal business or surfing --
exchange links with them, if possible.
Linkage counts both ways, IN-pointing and OUT-pointing. If your outgoing
“linkees” go to an income-generating source for you, even better!
Links OUT count with the human editors of directories and your visitors, too. If
directory editors see that you provide bona fide links to other quality sites, your
site is more credible, a more valuable resource for their directory. Visitors
appreciate being presented with quality, credible links to related material that
further enhances their surfing experience.
On the other hand, nothing is more damaging to you, your credibility and your
ability to build your business than linking to an inferior Web site. By providing a
link, you are in essence placing your seal of approval on the linked Web site.
Should that site be of low quality, visitors will question your judgment.
The SE’s will not take a positive view of such practices either. Should you linkout
to a low quality site that practices deceptive linking strategies, the SEs may
penalize you. After all, you are in essence condoning such activity.
What’s the take-home message here?
While you can’t control which sites link to your Web site (and therefore cannot
be held responsible for it) you must choose your out-pointing links wisely.
IN-pointing and OUT-pointing links are both important. In general, of course, you
want to have far more in-pointing. And don’t make all out-pointing links purely
monetary links. You want to show your visitors that you have their best
interests at heart, not just yours!
By far, the easiest, long-term strategy for building link popularity is a passive one.
Simply build a site of such high quality that people want to link to it in order to
increase the value of their own visitors’ experiences.
What could be easier? Your link popularity builds itself!