24-7 AMs | An Internet marketing resource for you!

The other day I posted a blog entry about content and links, but I ran out of time, so I just focused on content. Today, I am going to talk a little about links.

The basic concept is that if you have your website properly optimized and it has relevant content, links from credible web pages back to your website and to internal pages within your website will improve the credibility of your site in the eyes of the search engine and boost your rankings.

This concept flows from Google's page rank and indexing algorithms. Mere mortals like us really don't know the specifics of either of these algorithms, but we do know the basics and 99 times out of 100, that is enough to get you lots of business.

Search engines like Google are trying to give results that their consumers (people doing the searches) will want to see. How do they figure that out. First is the content. It is easy (relatively) for Google to spider through every page of your website and index what is there. The question is, how does Google know to rank your website higher or lower than one of your compeitors (who's website is about the same thing)? Well, we believe that the Google algorithm counts the links that point back to your website. All other things being equal, if your site has a higher link count than your competitor, your site is more likely to rank higher than your competitor. But it is not just the number of links back to your site. Some links are worth more than others. The more credible a website is (think New York Times, Harvard University, etc.) the higher the value of a link from that site. Similarly, if the web page that links to you is related to the topic of the link, the more valuable the link.

So how do you get more links and how do you get links from credible websites?

1. Directories. Get links from as many directories as you can. Many are free and others charge a one-time or annual fee to consider your website for inclusion in their directory. For the most part, I am not referring to directories that exhibit at the conventions. Those are extremely expensive directories and Google and other search engines recognize that it is purely a pay-to-play option. To be sure, they have some linking value, but if you want to spend the big bucks for those directories, make sure you are getting traffic and leads. Don't just do it for the link value.
The directories that I am talking about here are general directories. They list thousands of different categories of businesses and break them down by region of the World and country. The highest profile directories are www.DMOZ.org (free) and directory.Yahoo.com. The latter charges $299 per year for a listing. But there are hundreds more. And, while some people will tell you that listings on many of these second and third tier directories have no value, I beg to differ. Each link from a directory has some value - even if a little bit - and it may be the edge that puts you over the top.
2. Article Syndication (what we call ePR). Write articles about areas of your expertise and submit them to article directories. Each of your articles should have one or more links back to relevant pages of your website. Many websites want to post articles from you because it enhances their content - a good thing for them (see my earlier post). These links are coming from related pages (since you wrote them about areas of your expertise) and since the pages they come from are relevant to the pages they link to, Google and the other search engines tend to value them more than links from unrelated pages.
3. "Dot EDU" links. Earlier I mentioned that Google values links from sites that it considers credible. Consequently, links from universities and government institutions are highly valued since they are viewed as less likely to be artificial (paid for). It is not easy to get links from ".edu" sites, but if you spend the time necessary to find them, you may well hit the jackpot - and what a jackpot it is. One or two good links (the best is from a relevant page) can push your website right to the top of the listings. Always, always make sure that you get listings from your schools in the schools' alumni directories. Also, if you are on any charitable organizations, make sure they list you on their websites. Of course, a listing has only limited value if it does not link back to your website - so ask for the link. If you get just a few good links, it may be the difference between you being #1 and your competitor.
4. Purchase links. You have to be careful here, but there are many website owners who will sell links to you from within their websites. You want to make sure that the links you purchase are not obviously paid for (make sure they don't say Sponsored or Advertising near your link). And be careful to avoid links from pages where there are hundreds of other links. You want your link to be one of a few going out from a credible page and, ideally, the other links are to highly credible websites - increasing your credibility by being in the same company. Also, you want your link to be from within the text of the page and, ideally, to an internal page of your site. Don't make them all link to the home page.

Alright, I am running out of steam again.... A couple more notes before signing off:
1. Avoid reciprocal links. They don't do much for either party.
2. Avoid link farms. Links from pages with hundreds of other links are considered "bad neighborhoods" by many experienced SEO specialists. If you are in a lot of "bad neighborhoods" the search engines will start to wonder....
3. Content. Content. Content. If you don't simultaneously focus on making your website the best information resource available in your market for your area of expertise, all the links in the world will not get you there - or at least they won't keep you there. Search engines like Google are looking for natural link development. A natural link is one that points to a site because the information on that site (or more specifically, that page) is a good information resource for its readers. If you don't develop your website's content, all the link building will appear artificial since few website owners would be likely to link to you without some compensation.

Something to think about - link bait, also known as link magnets. More on that someday soon.

Remember, ask for the link. If you don't ask, you probably won't get one.

Until next time.

Labels: artificial links, link building, natural link building