Links: Tips for Ranking and Traffic Success

Link popularity building gets a bad rap because it's time-consuming. Yes, it takes considerable effort, but there are payoffs--including improved visibility among the major search engines and increased Web site traffic.

Industry experts agree that the significant crawler-based search engines - with Google leading the pack - track links in ranking algorithms.

As a result, businesses that take Link Building seriously simply have a competitive edge. If you don't have the time to do it yourself or can't afford to hire someone, you may have an ongoing problem. A well-designed Web site, excellent content and superb search engine optimization techniques may help. Time will tell.

15 Link Building Tips and Considerations

Rather than have you find the golden apples in a pile of mediocre tips, we'll offer three of the best approaches right up front.

• Buy Links
• Write Articles
• Send News Releases

We're not going to get into how many of these you should buy, write or send. That's up to you. Take note of your time and assess your leads and new customers. Fathom SEO can handle the tasks for you and help you manage an overall link popularity program.

Call us at 1-866-RANK YOU (726-5968) or learn more about our services here:
http://www.fathomseo.com/resources/online-pr/link-popularity.asp

Here's a closer look at the three we just mentioned, followed by many other tips and approaches.

1. Buy Links.
Yes, fork out the cash for decent specialty directories. Some will be free, but others will have reasonable fees.

2. Write Articles.
Hunt down online newsletters and e-zines willing to publish your thoughtful articles. They don't need to be long - 250 words may do the trick in some cases. Include a link to your Web site in your bio. All of your ideas don't need to be original. Just offer your take or add a fresh insight here or there. For example, if you're writing about hotel management, you may cover some old ground. But bolster the piece with some recent real-life experiences. A starting point is E-Zine Articles (http://www.ezinearticles.com).

Don't know where to start looking? Just go to Google, for example, and enter search terms related to your industry. Add words like "newsletters," "news," "e-zines," etc.

3. Write News Releases.
The value of the news will dictate the extent of your success. Journalists may ignore your news release. If they do write about your business, you're bound to get more leads. Even if they don't, the mere presence of your news release may attract the interest of individual buyers. If that doesn't work, the news release still includes a link to your Web site, which may affect your rankings in the long run.

Tip: If you can, actually write two releases about the same subject. For example, we typically issue a news release saying we're going to release a guide or a study. Then we prepare a second news release the day the report is available.

News release distribution services reach different journalists, so your money may be well spent if you like the service you select. We've seen great results with PRWeb (http://www.prweb.com).

4. Understand Quantity and Quality.
Yes, it's about link popularity building, but some links matter more than others. If your aunt links to your Web site from her home-based cake decorating tips Web site, that's OK. Think of that as a single vote in terms of the manner in which a search engine assesses your link popularity. Now, if a specialty directory related to your industry links to you, that might be worth 100 votes. Do you see the distinction?

Tip: Don't get too many links too fast. Google suggests that it can view the speed and duration of link building as spamming.

5. See What Competitors Do.
Look at your competitors and see who is linking to them. Chances are, you'll find all sorts of places that should be linking to your Web site as well.

6. Be Polite.
If you're going to ask another Web site to link to yours, ask in a nice manner. Don't be pushy. Take the time to understand their Web site and how they may prefer to receive and honor requests.

7. Customize Requests.
If you're going to go to the trouble of seeking a link, make sure you reference the page where you'd like your link to appear and offer a reason why they should care about your request. Explain why the content on your Web site would be a good match for their content.

8. Be Patient.
Not everyone will honor your request within 24 hours. Simply log your request. You could waste time checking to see if they accepted the request. You're better off simply waiting. If you don't hear back in a few months, see if the link was added to their Web site. If not, ask again or move onto another Web site.

9. Create a Reciprocal Links Page.
Smaller companies seem more willing than large ones to do this. It's unfortunate. Many places are willing to link to your Web site - if you link back to them. It's not difficult to name and organize a links page. The mere presence of a links page opens up many more possibilities for you.

10. Don't Neglect the Obvious.
Although DMOZ has lost its luster, you should take the time to register with this volunteer directory. Try to find a category that claims to have an editor. You'll also want to pay the registration fees for Yahoo! and Business.com.

11. Write Testimonials.
Yes, tell companies what you think of their products and services (if you're happy). They may link back to you.

12. Write Product Reviews.
Look for opportunities to review products and services and include a link to your Web site.

13. Add Valuable Content To Your Web Site.
Include white papers, downloadable PDFs, software, e-books, or assorted demos. As you promote your Web site, others will help spread the word that you've got some nifty features. Other marketers may be willing to link to your Web site if they like what they see--even if you don't ask.

14. Make It Easy.
Include a simple page that gives visitors easy ways to link to you. Include a few options with the source code, including a simple link, a long description, a link and a logo, etc.

15. Avoid Free For All Websites and Link Farms.
Without a keen eye, you may end up getting a link from one of these places. Worse, you may even link back to them. They're often filled with long lists of Web sites with little or no organizational sense. Avoid linking to them.

Traditionally, search engines have been less apt to penalize Web sites for their in-bound links (sometimes that's out of your control). But if you link to a collection search engines frown upon, you may suffer from ranking penalties for playing with the bad guys. Plus, your spam filters better be up to the job because the e-mail address you use will get pummeled by ads you don't want to receive.

Companies have several options for link popularity building, including:

• Handing off the task to an employee without experience.
• Making good use of an experienced employee or hiring one who knows what they're doing.
• Hiring a consultant to manage the tasks.
• Crafting a combination strategy that makes the most of internal resources and outsourcing.

Whether you go in-house with a trained or untrained staff or outsource the effort, give the strategy at least 6 months to begin to develop. It will take at least that long to establish relationships and for the search engines to recognize and reward the effort you're making. The entire process is tedious and requires patience.