Smart Search
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How does a search engine know that the search results are relevant to the search term entered?
The answer to this question lies at the heart of search engine competition, and is the main reason for Google remaining the leading search engine. A search engine uses a number of different factors to provide search results to your browser within split seconds after the query has been entered. One of the factors taken into account is the number of links.
Links work in a similar way to word of mouth promotion. For instance, if you like your local website design company, you may recommend them to you friends and acquaintances. Linking to a website, is ‘virtually’ the same thing.
Exchanging Links
Whilst finding links may seem like a relatively uncomplicated process, it is important to remember that the people working at Google, Yahoo and Live are savvy, and they have caught on….
This means that if your site is linked to a ‘link farm’, a site dedicated to creating outbound links, without any substantial content, your ranking will suffer as well. Similarly, if you are linked with a poor website, that is not updated regularly, is out of date, does not meet international web standards and has a poor ranking of its own (amongst other problems), your site will suffer too.
So how to build up link popularity without sacrificing the integrity of your site?
The most important issue to consider in finding linking partners, is to make sure that their site is a high quality site. This can be done in a number of ways. The most easy way to do this is to simply, look at the site’s Google ranking, which can be gained via the Google toolbar. However, a site may still be of high quality even if it does not have a Google ranking. For instance, if the site has recently started up, but is regularly maintained and updated with fresh content and functionality, it is a definite asset in link building. This sort of site, will gain popularity quickly, and as its ranking grows, your site’s ranking will grow accordingly. In judging whether a site is worthy of a link exchange, it is also important to look how many people link to that site and how relevant the content of the site is to your website. Make sure that if your selling apples, that the sites linking to you are about fruit, and not the arguments for and against evolution.
Directories
A sure way to build up incoming links is by submitting your site to quality directories. DMOZ, is the first obvious choice. It is frequently browsed by Google and other search engines, and receives much user traffic. However, getting into DMOZ can be a pain, as it is still controlled and maintained by people. So getting listed can take up to several months. In the mean time, try to find directories for your business type, such as landscaping directories, or wine directories, and directories within your locality, such as Melbourne or Sydney directories. Often, these are free, and are a sound investment.
Paid Link Exchanges
Often, many sites and directories will offer you an express listing or a special, sponsored listing for a fee. These are sometimes worth considering if you think that the website is of a high standard. Browse through the pages, and look at the site’s page rank, and if you find that this site is fit, then paying for the link could be a positive step. As a guideline, the most you should be paying for link exchanges is up to $35 for a years listing on a website or directory, and the median price should not exceed $8.00, unless it is something like the Yahoo directory which charges $300 USD to be listed. These are often not worth the money, you can find other cheaper, quality links which will probably do your site more good than the Yahoo listing.
Getting links is a gradual process. Do not be intimidated by sites which have links in the hundreds or even thousands. It took them time to accumulate those links too! Set yourself a benchmark for the year and try reach that goal in link exchanges, and remember quality outweighs quantity.
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