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Link Building

Search engines rely heavily on links from other web pages to rank pages. This is understandable, since if search engines were to rely only on web page copy, it would be too easy to manipulate results. Inbound links from quality sites are more difficult to get and take time. Precisely for this reason, they carry significant weight.

Google's Pagerank™ search algorithm heavily favors inbound links. Other search engines, although they have their own algorithms, also place significant importance to inbound links.

Perhaps focusing on Google's Pagerank™ system will best help explain how links can help your page's rankings in search engines: When page A links to page B, part of page A's PageRank™ (Google's measure of web page importance) trickles down to page B, increasing page B's PageRank™. The more links to your page from important pages related to your subject you can get, the more important your page will become.

Goggle PageRank™ (PR from now on) is a grade (on a scale from one to ten) that Google gives a page after performing a series of elaborate calculations (Google's PageRank™ algorithm) that take into account the page's content, and the number and quality of pages linking to it.

In a nutshell, the more inbound links a web page has, coming from pages that:

(a) have a high PR and
(b) feature similar or complementary content,

the higher its PR will be. It is very important that the content of the linking page be closely related to your page's copy for best results. A link from a high PR 'soccer' page to a 'mortgage broker' page is unlikely to result in any significant PR benefit for the mortgage broker page. On the other hand, a link from a real estate agent's page to a mortgage broker's page will be considered an important link from the PR perspective.

The closer a web page gets to a PR of 10, the higher its importance. A PageRank of 4 or 5 is considered good. Very few pages attain a PR of 10 (among those few are Yahoo! and Google itself, although PR is not constant and can change over time).  Although nobody knows for a fact, it is widely believed that PageRank is determined using a logarithmic grading scale instead of a linear one.  What this means in layman's terms is that it is much more difficult to move from a PR 6 to a PR 7, than it is to move from a PR 1 to a PR 2.  To read Google's explanation of PageRank™ go to http://www.google.com/technology/index.html .

To be able to see the PageRank™ of a web page, you have to download the Google toolbar, a free plug-in that works with your web browser. The Google toolbar provides you with a PageRank™ indicator (green bar) that automatically shows you the PageRank™ of the page you are viewing (a yellow textbox that spells out the page's PR will pop up automatically when you place your cursor over the green PR bar):

To download the Google Toolbar go to http://www.google.com/toolbar.html .

To learn all about the Google Toolbar go to: http://toolbar.google.com/help.html 

Pagerank alone, however, is not enough to determine rankings.  Google is targeting pages that have acquired their PR by heavy link exchange and link renting, favoring pages that show a more natural inbound link pattern (with mostly one-way, non-reciprocal links developed over time).

There are several good ways to build links:

Getting listed in quality directories

Since good directories use qualified human editors who choose listed sites very carefully using strict criteria, and place them in tightly focused categories, they are given significant weight in search engine algorithms.  In other words, if a link to your page is found by search engines in a quality directory, your page will receive a boost. Therefore, listing your pages in quality directories is very important.

The two biggest directories are Yahoo! ($299/year listing fee) and DMOZ (free, but listing your site can take months). In between, there are many smaller, high quality directories that charge reasonable listing fees. They should be an important part of your link building program.

• Get listed in Yahoo!:
  Submissions to Yahoo! ( http://www.yahoo.com ) are no longer free for commercial sites. Your commercial site can be reviewed in about a week for a fee of $299, although inclusion in the directory is not guaranteed.  However, if you do get accepted, the $299 fee will be due every year if you want your site to continue to be listed).  A link from Yahoo's directory is still one of the best links you can get, and it is worth the money you spend in it. To learn how to submit your site to the Yahoo! directory, go to this page: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/suggest/  
  
  
• Get listed in DMOZ:
  DMOZ, also known as The Open Directory Project (http://www.dmoz.org ) is the world's largest directory.  It is maintained by voluntary editors who review your site prior to inclusion. Being listed in this directory is important because it is used by Google and America Online to build their directories. Getting listed is free, but it may take a few weeks or even months to get listed, which can be a bit frustrating. However, you must take the time to submit your site and follow the submission guidelines, which are pretty strict. To learn how to submit your site to the Open Directory Project, go to this page: http://dmoz.org/add.html 
  
  
• Other Good Directories:
  • Zeal: http://www.zeal.com 
  • GoGuides: http://www.goguides.org 
  • Wow Directory: http://www.wowdirectory.com  
  • Joe Ant: http://www.joeant.com 
  • BlueFind: http://www.bluefind.com 
  • About.com: http://www.about.com 

Exchanging Links

Exchanging links is another way to get inbound links, provided that you be very selective with whom you do it.  Exchange links with an unreputable site and you may be setting yourself up for severe search engine penalties.  As a rule of thumb, exchange links only with sites that you think will be beneficial to  your visitors.

These are some steps you can follow for a successful link exchange campaign:

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. My suggestion is to turn that "Links" page into a high-quality, specialized topical directory. The reason is that "Links" pages are not very well regarded by search engines, especially if they are just a random, unorganized collection of links, with no description and little relation to each other. Good directories, on the other hand are especially important to search engines. When you link to your links page, use the word 'Directory' in the anchor text.
   
   
2. Download the Google toolbar: The Google toolbar displays the PageRank™ of every page you visit (if a page is related to the topic of your site and has a high Page Rank, it is probably a good candidate to exchange links).
   
   
3. Go to the major search engines and search for your target keywords. Click on each of the results and see if the site:

   a. Is complementary (non-competitive) with your site
   b. Has a good PageRank
   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:
   a. Place a link to them on your own site before contacting them.
   b. Start your letter by explaining the nature of your site, how does it relate to theirs, and how both would benefit from the exchange.
   c. 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.
   d. 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. 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.
   
   
5. Keep track of what you're doing: maintain a spreadsheet where you can write down the name of each target site, their webmaster's email address, their URL, the URL of their links page, the date you first contacted them, and the date when they finally placed the link to your site. If you don't see your link after a couple of weeks, send them a reminder. If you don't get a response in another week, remove the link you originally placed on your site and move on.

Another way to find suitable link partners is by finding out who is linking to your competitors. Go to Google or any other large search engine and type: link:http://www.yourcompetitor.com in the search box, to get a list of sites that link to them. Write to the webmasters of those sites and ask for a link.

Submitting articles:

Writing articles as the best way to get your site indexed by the search engines. It is also one of the best ways to promote your website and get hundreds of quality links to your page. It will also help you develop credibility and establish yourself as an expert. There are a few things to take into account to maximize the effectiveness of your articles, for the search engines and your readers alike:

• Your article should be short and to the point. It must act as a free sample that entices your reader to go to your website for more.
• Articles that list tips to solve problems are especially attractive and will get published more. · Write in easy to understand "layman's" terms.
• Whenever possible, write from personal experience. People love to hear other people's experiences (how did they do it?). This approach also tends to hold their attention longer.
• Be extra-careful to avoid spelling and grammatical errors. They will make you lose credibility and may be a reason for not publishing it.
• Don't make your article sound like a sales pitch; offer honest, value-adding advice.
• Don't include links to your affiliate programs in the body of your article. It will make your advice seem biased and most ezine editors will not consider it for publication.
• Finally, don't forget the most important part: include a link to your website in your your resource box.

Renting links

Many high Pagerank™ websites rent text links to other pages. These links are really a form of adversising, although their main objective is not necessarily to generate traffic but to pass along Pagerank™. Links from pages with Pagerank™ of 7 and higher can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars a month. Links from pages with Pagerank™ of 5 and 6 are less expensive. Google is catching up to the practice of selling and renting links and is taking measures to discourage it. I do not recommend renting links from unknown services with the intention of pumping up your Pagerank™. Purchasing or renting links from well known publications where a link to your site can provide value to the publication's readers (on-topic advertising) is OK.

Posting in forums and weblogs

Since forums and weblogs offer plenty of fresh content, search engine spiders tend to crawl them often. If you are a prolific contributor to these types of site and use a signature file with a link to your page, having many entries may give you a relevance boost with the search engines.  This technique, however, has been abused so much that as of January 2005 Google and other search engines have decided to support a 'no-follow' filter, an attribute that can be set up by blog and forum owners so that comment links will not be followed by search engines.

Getting unsolicited links

The unsolicited link (also called natural link) is the most valuable link, and the most difficult to get. It occurs when you have content that is so remarkable that people feel compelled to link to you. You will most likely get unsolicited links when you post original ideas, voice strong opinions, serve a specific niche very well, or offer something of value for free (for example a useful online tool). An example of a site that has achieved high Pagerank™ mostly on unsolicited links is Jakob Nielsen's site ( http://www.useit.com ). The 'guru' of web usability has an extremely plain and unattractive site from the graphic standpoint, however, his great content and original ideas have compelled so many people to link to it that it is one of the world's most visited sites.

Link Anchor Text and Search Engine Behavior

As important as getting a large number of quality inbound links is to have the right wording on those links (the link anchor text). Search engines are paying a great deal of attention to the anchor text of the links pointing to your site.

To give you an example of how important link anchor text is, let's suppose that you run a web design site, and that you want it to rank very high with the search engines for the search term "web design". If you had 100 links pointing to your homepage, and the anchor text of all of them said "click here", they wouldn't tell the search engines a whole lot about your site. The search engines will have to rely on your page copy or the copy of the page linking to you to try to find out if your page is relevant to web design.

However, if instead of "click here", the anchor text on those links said "web design", the search engines will assume that your site is an authority on web design, and will most likely give your site a higher ranking for that keyphrase.

Another proof that search engines pay a lot of attention to the link anchor text is the fact that most companies rank very high when the search term is their company name (since a company's name is normally the most popular anchor text used to link to it).

You must take every opportunity to influence the anchor text used to link to your pages. Your anchor text should always include your preferred keywords. While you won't be able to influence the anchor text used by people who spontaneously link to you, there are other instances in which you do have control, for example, when you list your site in directories or exchange links.

That concludes our online tutorial.  You can now read our articles section for more search engine optimization tips.  You can also subscribe to our ezine for the latest search engine news.

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