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Editor's Note
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Today's issue is by Ms. Robin Nobles. She attended the Search Engine
Strategies 2001 Conference in San Francisco in August and gives us
a report on link popularity.
I hope that you enjoy this issue,
Garrett French
The PromoteNewz Team
Brandon's Corner
What do you get when you cross a bear with a deer?
Beer
The PromoteNewz Team
Do's and Don'ts for Building Your Site's Link Popularity
By Robin R. Nobles
One thing that rang loud and clear from the Search Engine Strategies
2001 Conference (seminars.internet.com)
in San Francisco in August was the importance of building a good,
solid link popularity for your Web site.
However, there are no free rides when it comes to building link
popularity. It takes hard work and dedication, but it certainly
is worth the effort. After all, how many ill optimized sites have
you seen that are in the top 10 rankings, when the only thing
going for the site is a strong link popularity?
So, let's look at some do's and don'ts to consider when trying
to build your link popularity.
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Do's
* Concentrate on related and important links only. Sheer numbers
are no longer important. What's important is that the more popular
sites on the Web link to your site, as well as making sure that
the links pointing to your site are relevant to your topic area.
* Make sure that your site is listed in all of the major directories:
Yahoo!, the Open Directory Project, and LookSmart. Also, see if
your site is relevant to a particular About.com area, and submit
it to the guide.
* Visit Search Engine Guide
(searchengineguide.com)
and search for vertical engines or directories in your focus area.
Search Engine Guide features a listing of over 3,700 engines and
directories, so it's an excellent resource for finding focused
engines or directories to submit to.
* Visit Link Popularity Check
(linkpopularitycheck.com)
and search for your competitors. Start visiting the sites that
are linked to your competitors, and write to see if they'll consider
linking to your site.
* Create a list of links before you ever contact sites for linking
purposes. If the company sees that you've already added their
URL to your list of links, they'll be more apt to add your link
on their site in return. Again, concentrate on related links only.
* Consider what other fields are related to your particular industry
and concentrate on getting links from those areas. You won't want
to add competing sites to your links' page, but you probably won't
mind adding links to sites that aren't direct competitors. For
example, if you have a site that sells needlework kits, you won't
want to list other sites that sell needlework kits. However, you
probably won't mind linking to sites offering related products,
such as sewing baskets, books on needlework, or online sewing
classes.
* When you visit related sites, look to see if they offer guestbooks
or forums. If they do, post a message, and include your URL in
your signature.
* Consider setting up separate theme-oriented domains and link
all of your domains together.
* Offer a discount of your goods or services for anyone who agrees
to post a small graphic on their site that links back to your
site.
* Create a testimonial page, and write a brief testimonial about
any Web site that you'd like to get linked to your site. Inform
the site of the testimonial, and encourage them to link to the page.
* Or, write testimonials of particular products, and sign the testimonial
with your name and URL. Send the testimonials out to the individual
companies, and tell them how much you've enjoyed using their products.
Many companies will place testimonials in particular areas of their
site, and they're delighted to get rave reviews about their products.
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* Offer awards on your site, and give out little graphics
that link back to your site.
* Set up an affiliate program, which is an excellent way to boost
link popularity.
* Visit the Reciprocal Linkage Topics area of Webmaster World
forums (webmasterworld.com)
and look for new ideas for building link popularity.
* Become a content provider in your focus area, and get your articles
posted across the Net in related areas.
* Are there any professional organizations related to your industry?
If so, do they have pages of links?
* Develop a plan for boosting link popularity, and then stick
to it. Pledge to get so many new links a week, and hire a high
school student at minimum wage to work for you, if needed.
* If you need help in developing a linkage program for your site,
consider hiring a company like LinkageXpress to do it for you.
* Though I haven't personally used it, I've heard good things
about Zeus ( cyber-robotics.com
), a software program that is a reciprocal link generator.
* Remember to link to other important, related sites in your industry
from your own site. After all, link popularity is both incoming
and outgoing, and related, important sites are what you're after.
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Don'ts
* Don't participate in link exchange programs or link farms. Google
will ban sites that participate in link exchange programs, and
many of the other major engines have also expressed their dislike
of artificially created link popularity.
* Don't use hidden links on your page. Again, many of the major
engines frown on the use of hidden links.
* Don't make the mistake of thinking that link popularity isn't
important or necessary. A high link popularity is sometimes all
it takes to achieve top rankings. It's crucial, in many cases,
to the success of an online business.
* If you create separate theme focused sites for the purpose of
boosting link popularity, don't use redirects on those sites pointing
back to your main site. Rather, create a mini site at the new URL
with several pages of good, solid content, and then visibly link
back to the main site.
* Don't bother with free-for-all pages. Generally the only thing
these pages will guarantee is an increase in email spam if you
participate.
In Conclusion
Devote some time and energy to the building of a solid link popularity
for your site. Not only will it help your site in the rankings,
but it will more than likely increase your traffic as well.
About the Author:
Robin Nobles is Director of Training for the Academy of Web Specialists.
Robin has taught well over a thousand students in her online and
onsite search engine positioning courses during the past several
years. Her latest books, Web Site Analysis and Reporting and Streetwise
Maximize Web Site Traffic, can be ordered through Amazon. Visit
the Academy's site (academywebspecialists.com)
to learn more about their search engine ranking courses and software
solution.
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