Website owners: do you know how many links are out there on the
Internet, pointing back to your site? If you’re interested in
getting free search engine placement for your site, you ought to
know. An easy way to find out is to download the Alexa toolbar
from http://www.alexa.com. One of its many useful features is
that it shows you how many links are pointing to the site. High
quality links are one of the most crucial aspects of good search
engine optimization. When you think about it, this makes sense.
After all, this is the Internet, the World Wide Web, we’re
talking about. And in a web, everything is... right, everything
is LINKED.
Links have always been a priority in search engine optimization.
Search engines have long used link popularity as an indicator of
a site’s “importance,” and this in turn affects the site’s
performance in the search engines. Until recently, many
different schemes existed that allowed a website owner to garner
dozens, or even hundreds of links, simply by using specialized
tools, reciprocal programs, and the like. Then came the Google
“update” of November, 2003.
In that now legendary update, Google penalized tens of thousands
of websites by dropping their placement in the index or
eliminating them entirely. While Google isn’t talking about what
happened, it is very likely that “undeserved” links, or links
that do not have anything to do with quality content, played a
role in this episode. Most website owners now seem to agree that
while links are as important as ever, they have to be added the
old-fashioned way – they have to be earned.
What does this mean? Simply put, it means that a link between
two pages on the Internet should have some valid reason for its
existence besides the desire of the website owners to hit page 1
on Google. So if Joe’s Auto Shop and Cindy’s Interior Design
trade links, in order to boost their rankings, the link only
exists for that reason, and it may well lead to lower search
engine rankings for both Joe and Cindy. On the other hand, if
Bud’s Cabinetry Shop, on its page describing different types of
woods, is linked to the National Association of Wood Products,
this is very likely to be viewed as a “quality” link by the
search engine, and may help rankings.
How does one build these kind of quality links? There are at
least four well-known methods, and creative website owners can
come up with more. First, you can ask for them. At conventions,
conferences, meetings, anyplace where the business of your
website may be discussed, ask for quality links. If someone has
a site you respect, and it relates to your product, simply ask
them to link to your site. It’s good old networking at its
finest. Second, you can write articles that promote your
website, or your product or service, include a link back to your
home page, and offer it for publication on the Internet. There
are numerous forums for doing just this – try Googling some
search terms to come up with them. Third, get on the Internet
and find directories that relate to your product or service, and
ask for a link to be placed. This is an easy step that most
website owners can take themselves. Finally, and perhaps the
best way – build a great site! Put up great content, and other
sites will link to you. Because, in the end, that is what the
Internet is all about – disseminating information. Add valuable
content, in terms of information, to your site, keep adding it
over time, and gradually, people will link to you. If you build
it, they will come.
About the author:
Neil Street is co-founder of Small Business Online, based in
Wilton, CT., a website design, management, and promotion company
dedicated to the Internet needs of the small business. His
website is at http://www.smallbusinessonline.net Send email to
neil@smallbusinessonline.net He can also be reached at
(203)761-7992
