Link In, Link Out
by Dan BurbankThere's no golden formula that ensures a good ranking on the Internet's top search engines. If you think you've got it, don't bother writing it down. In the time it'll take you to take the cap off your pen, it will have changed.
The methods search engines use to crawl (using software to browse the web, collect information and add it to the engine) and index the Internet get more sophisticated every month. Pieces of code once considered supremely important to a site's success, like meta tags, are now just one more item on the good code hygiene checklist.
One item now on that checklist is the quality and quantity of a web site's links. This factor has grown in importance now that search engines like Google have begun to use links as a measuring stick for a web site's quality and overall relevance.
The reasoning goes something like this:
1. Good web sites link to other web sites.
2. The more links directed to a web site, the higher the quality of that web site because people wouldn't link out to a crummy site.
3. A link to your site from a high quality site is worth more than a link from a low quality site.
Ultimately, web site owners need to be in the practice of getting links to their site from as many other sites as possible. On top of that, the links should come from relevant, high quality sources. That part of the equation is fairly obvious and many webmasters embrace that idea. However, many webmasters miss the first point entirely: Good web sites link to other sites.
What's at work here is not just the quid pro quo between you and other webmasters. After all, "let's exchange links" is usually received better than "will you post a link to me?" But it's also about that crawl. Search engines want to find more sites to add to their index, therefore they weigh links out as well as links in.
Outbound Links are Easy
The easiest strategy is to add a "links" page to your web site filled with outbound links to your friends and partners. Prominently post a message saying you're always seeking new sites to exchange links with and include your email address.
A generic "links" page isn't appropriate for every web site, but there are other ways to add links. You might write link-rich copy for your site in the form of articles in which you link to any person, organization or entity you mention that has a site. You might add an industry directory to your site, linking out to other companies in your field. You could create an industry news section or blog where you link to the latest news articles that affect your business. Or you could try featuring complimentary products from other web sites and linking in to their storefront.
Inbound Links are Hard
Webmasters can be fickle about adding outbound links to their sites. At worst they're unresponsive and at best they're slow about updating their pages. Regardless of the hassle, a grassroots linking campaign is very important to pursue, especially within your industry or niche.
If you're tired of sending emails out to other webmasters there are other ways to get your links onto other sites. Message boards can be a great way to add links, provided you find a community that allows a hotlinked URL in your signature file and you don't post anything too outrageous. There are also many small directories that are always happy to add links.
Comments (0) 07.05.2007. 23:42
