Link Building That Makes Sense

Author: Daria Goetsch
Website: Search Innovation Marketing
URL: http://www.searchinnovation.com
Title: Link Building That Makes Sense: Who To Link To
Word Count: 821
Contact: reprint@s...
Description:
When you are building links to increase your link popularity, who do you
link to? The question of where to link to increase ranking can be
confusing. Logical thinking is needed to achieve link popularity in a
natural way.

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Link Building That Makes Sense: Who To Link To

When you are building links to increase your link
popularity, who do you link to? The question of where to
link to increase ranking can be confusing. Logical thinking
is needed to achieve link popularity in a natural way.

Google PageRank
First and foremost, PageRank is part of the algorithm of
Google's ranking in the search engine results. Other search
engines use link popularity in their algorithm to evaluate
your website as well. But PageRank is only one of the 100
plus criteria Google uses to evaluate your web pages. Use
the idea of PageRank as a "tool" to help make decisions,
there's no need to live and die by the results. Link
popularity itself is merely one way to improve your ranking.

Should You Link To Them?
Think about it. You see a quality website, you see good
content. The site is a "Mom and Pop" website with little
ranking. So what if the Google Toolbar says PageRank 2/10?
That 2/10 may one day be 8/10. More importantly, you are
linking to it because it is good to link to for your
visitors - end of story.

Reciprocal Linking Fears
There is a general fear of reciprocal linking to websites
who inadvertently link to a "bad neighborhood" with
penalties or PageRank zero, passing on problems to you. Use
your common sense. Is this a website you would want to visit
or your visitors would want to visit? If the answer is no or
you can't tell what the subject of the site is, make a note
of it and keep looking. A website full of links with little
content doesn't "make sense" because what benefit is it to
you or your visitors? Of course you are going to link to
your partners in business or maybe the small website that is
doing a bang up job of selling widgets and providing widget
information.

Linking Just To Link
If you are going to link, what purpose does it serve? The
idea of acquiring link popularity by linking back and forth
to other sites to boost your popularity artificially is a
popular method. But is it of value to your website? Ask
yourself:

* Would you link to this site if link popularity in the
search engines didn't matter?
* Would your visitor care about this link or find it
helpful?
* Does the website have good content?
* Is this an opportunity for you to publicize your website
by being listed there?
* Will this link cause you to spend a great deal of time
worrying about it?
* Is the link "just a link" or do you want a link from any
site whose visitors care about what you have to say

Places To Seek Out Links That Make Sense
It makes sense to list your website in the search engines
and directories. In fact, one-way linking, such as listing
your site in directories, is a good way to improve your link
popularity naturally. Well, you say to yourself, of course
I've done that. Besides the major directories, what else is
out there? You'd be surprised at the amount of good
secondary and specialty directories that drive traffic. Some
even specialize in a topic - maybe your topic. If you have a
product to sell, look at who your competitor is linking to.
Search for directories and business sites on your topic.
Look for websites that talk about the widgets you sell and
see if they accept submissions to their directory listings
in the category for widgets. Do they accept original
articles, product reviews, press releases or white papers
about widgets? If so, submit your topical articles and watch
your link popularity rise naturally. Always include your
author bio, website link, reprint and copyright information
for your company. With your good content on other websites
as well as archived on your own website, there you have it,
links pointing back to your website.

Think Like A Search Visitor
You've heard about good navigation, website usability and
other ways to keep your site visitors interested in your
site. Who are the search engines catering to? Webmasters?
Search Engine Marketers? Google is a prime example - they
want to create the best experience for their search engine
users. It all ties in together - good content, good
navigation, good usability, validated code, and relevant
search engine results - because it makes sense. If Google as
the leader in search engines is concerned about the visitor,
don't you think the other search engines following suit?

Hard Work Instead Of Worrying
Focus your time on good content which uses your important
keyword phrases. Optimize your web pages using those
keywords. Develop your website so once your visitors arrive,
they will want to stay. The world wide web uses linking to
connect us all. By using hard work to create a quality
website and common sense when linking you can stop worrying
and start succeeding.

# # #

Daria Goetsch is the founder and Search Engine Marketing
Consultant for Search Innovation Marketing
(http://www.searchinnovation.com), a Search Engine Promotion
company serving small businesses. She has specialized in
search engine optimization since 1998, including three years
as the Search Engine Specialist for O'Reilly & Associates, a
technical book publishing company.

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