LINK POPULARITY

By Anna Dalea, ERT Website Solutions

How many websites are linking to yours? Did you know that this is an extremely important factor in search engine optimization?  The more websites link to yours the more "popular" you become!  That's right... this means that you'll climb the ranks much faster if you're popular.

How can you tell who is linking to your website?  Easy!!!  Use a link popularity checker to determine which websites are linking to yours.


Hardly have anyone linking to your site?  Need to get some quality links?  Here's some suggestions:

These are the steps you must follow for a successful link exchange campaign.  You never want a one-sided campaign... to be fair and to get quality links to your site, you must usually give a little as well. 

1. Create a Links page on your site, where you can place links to all the sites that link to you. Make sure to provide clear instructions on how to link to you, including the exact HTML code you want your link partners to use.
   
   
2. Download the Google toolbar: The Page Rank feature will help you determine if the site you want a link from has a good page rank on Google. To download the Google toolbar, go to http://toolbar.google.com and follow the instructions.
   
   
3. Go to the major search engines and search for your target keywords (the words you think people will use to find sites like yours). Click on each of the results and see if the site:

a. Is complementary (non-competitive) with your site

b. Has a good Page Rank

c. Has a links page.

If it does, put it on your list of selected sites.

4. Write to the webmasters of the selected sites and ask them for a link exchange, following these guidelines:
   
   
   1. Place a link to them on your own site before contacting them.
      
      
   2. Start your letter by explaining the nature of your site, how does it relate to theirs, and how both would benefit from the exchange.
      
      
   3. Give them the URL of your links page, so they can see their link and make sure that their link information is OK. The fact that they see their link on your site will make them more inclined to reciprocate.
      
      
   4. Give them the exact HTML code that they should use to link to you. By all means, include your main keywords in the link text since that will give you a boost with the search engines. For example, if you own a pet supplies store called Petmart, and assuming that your main keywords are "pet supply store", it is better to make the link text: Petmart - The Pet Supply Super Store, instead of just Petmart.

Another way to find suitable link partners is by finding out who is linking to your competitors. You can use a free tool like the one in http://www.bcentral.com/products/link_finder.asp. Just type the URL of your competitor and you will get a list of sites that link to them. Write to the webmasters of those sites and ask for a link.

Do you have sites that you are already thinking of getting a link from their website?  Before you do it, use this link appeal tool to "calculate the desirability rating of having a link on the url you specify. This calculation includes factors such as PageRank, number of outbound links and the overall percentage of links to html. It is intended as a guideline for evaluating whether you should ask for a link on a certain page or not."

WARNING!  Do not use the scams that say that they will give you hundreds of links to your site for a fee etc...you need QUALITY links...not quantity.  What is a quality link?  A quality link is a website who is in your field of expertise. For example, if you're a web design company you would want to get links from web design online magazines (eZines, etc), web design blogs and forums, hosting companies, Search engine optimization companies, domain providers, etc.  Anywhere that there will be "surfers" who are already in the market for similar sites.