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- Link Popularity and Search Engine Placement
by Amanda Muchnick
So, What's This Link Popularity Thing? And How Does it Effect Search Engine Placement?
Link popularity is a ranking criteria used by some search engines in an effort to provide popular,
relevant search engine results. The basic idea behind link popularity is that high quality web sites
tend to have more links pointing to them then low quality sites do. "Popular" sites (those with a
higher link popularity) are given a boost in search engine rankings. Link popularity is just one
ranking criteria used along with other relevancy factors. Google was the first search engine to use
link popularity and they have been highly praised by searchers for providing relevant results. Many
search engines have followed Google's lead, including Excite, Lycos, AltaVista & others.
Link popularity is not just determined by the number of links alone. Other factors are analyzed
including the quality of links and the context of links. Quality means that a link from Yahoo would
weigh heavier than a link from Cindy Lou's Home Page. Context means that a link to your Weather
Information page from the National Weather Service would weigh heavier than a link from Smitty's
Favorite Bloody Mary Recipes site. Those search engines are pretty clever, aren't they?
Improve Link Popularity to Boost Search Engine Rankings
Now that you know the importance of link popularity, you should all be working to increase the links
pointing toward your web site. How can you do this? Should you go crazy getting as many links as
you can possibly find, adding your site to every FFA (Free For All) links page? Should you go out
and create a whole bunch of domains yourself and link them to each other? Nope, don't waste your
time, neither of those activities are going to help you. Don't forget that you are seeking quantity
as well as quality & context.
Since you're going after quality links, look for sites that already have top search engine placement
or that are linked to prominent sites. We also know that context of the link is considered, so target
links that are related to your industry. If your keywords appear in or around the link, then all the
better! Of course, you don't want to approach your direct competitors, so try to locate web sites that
are somehow related to your own site. If you sell shoes, you might want to link up with a company
that sells socks.
How do you go about asking for a link? Either submit your site online through a "submit your site"
page or email the webmaster to request a link. In your email, explain why you think your site
should be added to the site in question. Express why you think your site would be a great resource
for others and also include a suggested listing. This will save the webmaster some time if they
don't have to write up a description on their own. You can also be sure to include your top keywords
in the description, which is helpful for the context issue. It's always best to offer a reciprocal link
back to the site in question, if possible.
Don't stop there though. Make it easy for other sites to link to you. Put up a page on your site that
has simple instructions for linking. Including the html code of the link to copy and paste is a great
idea. You might want to consider adding content that encourages linking. Write an article that
serves as a helpful resource or post useful information that others are seeking. Even purely
commercial sites can do some creative thinking to come up with some useful content that goes
along with their products or services.
Oh yeah, there's another great benefit to establishing links besides the link popularity element.
The links that point your site will also drive traffic on their own. Make sure to analyze your web logs
to see which sites are referring the most traffic to you. (that's a whole separate article!) And then
make a point to foster those relationships by communicating your gratitude and offering a
reciprocal link if appropriate. Establishing links should be an ongoing exercise. Always keep your
eyes open for linking opportunities, you may be surprised how often you come across suitable
linking candidates.
