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- Top 10 Strategies for Boosting Link Popularity
by Paul Bruemmer
Ever since Google started analyzing backward links with PageRank (PR), link popularity has
become an important criterion in most search engine algorithms. There are a number of strategies
you can use for improving your link popularity, and some will work better than others, depending
on the nature of your site.
How Many Links Do You Need?
The number of reciprocal links needed to get high rankings depends on the number of links shown
for your higher-ranking competitors by PR. If your competitors display only 20 links to their sites,
you can ensure a higher PR score by creating 25 links to yours. But if your competitors have
hundreds of links, then you have to beat that number for top rankings.
Google software engineer Matt Cutts says, "Google will find a site as soon as it finds one or two
links to the main Web page. We usually recommend getting at least one link from the Open
Directory Project."
Look for Quality and Relevance
Be aware that it's not just the number of links that's important, it's the quality of the sites linking
to you (popular, respected sites) and the relevance of their content to your audience that counts.
Strategies for Improving Link Popularity
1. Start With Directory Listings: Ensure that your site is listed in ODP (free) and also include
Yahoo! Express ($299 yearly). Directory listings boost link popularity because human editors
screen for relevancy. Seek listings in industry-specific directories. Search Engine Guide has a Search
Engines Directory providing a searchable database of over 3,000 specialty search engines where
you can find search engines dedicated to almost any topic.
2. Request Reciprocal Links: When looking for possible link candidates, start by searching
your strategic keywords at major search portals. You'll see a lot of competitors, but look for non-
competing, complementary sites. Screen these sites, selecting those likely to be receptive to your
link request. Give them a compelling reason to link to your site. Show them where a link might be
advantageous. A good strategy is to link to them first, which might help get a link back. Target
respected and popular sites of relevance to your target audience.
Another way to find reciprocal links is to identify a well-established site with good content that
targets the same audience you want to reach. Then perform a link analysis from that site, noting
the incoming links and soliciting the best non-competing sites.
3. Promote Linkability Within Your Site: Provide quality resources and appropriate outgoing
links, including links to search engines, news hubs, weather reports, industry resources, industry
professional groups, etc. Outgoing links are important for two reasons: they provide incentive for
other quality sites to link to yours, and they can improve your PR score if internal linkage is done
properly.
4. Publish Articles: Employees with industry expertise can write business articles for your target
audience, submitting the articles to appropriate online publications. Include your Web site URL in
the bio and make it a condition for publication that the article appear with bio and company link.
This can generate many links and can also help promote future business.
5. Create Testimonials: Start a testimonial page of products and services you recommend. If
you admire a marketing or publishing site, contact the publisher explaining why you value the
content. Be earnest and concise. You may get a request for permission to display your comments
on their Web site. Grant permission provided they agree to link to your site. It can help to post the
testimonial on your site, referring them to it.
6. Supplement Your Campaign With Reciprocal Link Software: Programs like Arelis and Zeus
can help locate additional reciprocal links. These robots will search the Web, looking for reciprocal
linking partners, ranking potential sites by relevance. You can review the sites, decide which
companies to solicit, request a link through a built-in email client with custom templates for
requesting a link exchange, track the status of your requests, and check the viability of existing
links.
Caution: Avoid link-building programs that query or visit search engines for finding potential link
partners because this overloads the search engine servers, and your site can be penalized.
7. Post to Discussion Forums: This is an easy way to get a link from industry discussion forum
sites if you have the time and expertise to participate. Include your URL in your sig file.
8. Link Multiple Sites: If you have a number of sites with unique content, be sure to link them
to your main site. Content must be related. Don't duplicate content or you'll get penalized for
spamming.
9. Awards and Contests: You can create an awards program for related sites, placing winner
logo links on an awards page they can link back to. Or you can run a links contest, awarding prizes
for linking to your site. Promotions must remain ongoing to maintain the links, and prizes should
be of value but not too costly (e.g., a free ad from your unsold inventory).
10. Affiliate Programs: This can be a good source of links, depending on your site goals,
budget and time availability. However, the affiliate program must be administered from your site
to improve link popularity because outsourcing requires linking to a third-party site. Affiliate
software should generate static HTML pages for affiliates links to enable indexing.
Strategies to Avoid
Some strategies hyped in the past should be avoided because they're now worthless or can get you
penalized in search engines.
1. Link Farms: A link farm is a network of sites linking to other sites for the sole purpose of
increasing link popularity. Search engines consider this spamming and will delist sties associated
with link farms.
2. Reciprocal Link Exchange Services: Networks consisting of hundreds of webmasters with
sites on numerous topics are linked to one another. The service requires linking to all sites in
network, making content unrelated. Search engines consider this spamming.
3. FFA Listings: Free for All listings appear and disappear rather quickly. Few people search
through the listings except for spammers collecting email addresses. These sites are not indexed
by search engines.
Running a link campaign can take a little time, but is well worth the effort as these links establish
relevancy, a top priority for search engines and consumers alike.
