Thursday, January 28, 2010

Off-Page SEO (Link popularity)

Thursday, January 28, 2010
Link popularity is the number of relevant quality inbound links pointing to your website.
Most major search engines use link popularity as part of their algorithm which  helps  to  determine
the  relevance  of  your  website. If  you  don't  have inbound links, you won't rank well for competitive keywords.

Ways to build link popularity

Link exchange

There are some very important aspects you should consider when exchanging links.
The right way to exchange links is by finding quality, relevant sites with which
to exchange links. These are the links that search engines care about.
Convincing webmasters to exchange links with you isn’t easy, this is a time consuming process.

This is how it works: You search for sites that are in the same general topic area as yours
(but not sites that compete directly). After you find a list of suitable link exchange partners, you place a link to their site on your site. Then you email the webmasters of the other sites and ask for a link exchange.
Do not send generic copies of the same email to each webmaster however. Write a personalized email to the webmaster explaining what you liked about the site (be specific) and why you think a link exchange would benefit both parties.

Be sure to address the webmaster by name if at all possible. Also, be sure to give him your link exchange information. This should include the title of your site, a short description, and the URL that you want his site
to link to (this doesn't have to be the home page). And be sure to include the URL of the page that already
has his reciprocal link on it.

Be prepared for rejection for various reasons, this is normal so don't be discouraged you will also receive email accepting your proposal. Verify that your reciprocal link is in fact on their sites and then send a "thank you" email.

Building inbound links through reciprocal link exchanges is very powerful website promotional tool.
If done correctly, increasing your linkage will:

a)    increase your traffic significantly
b)    improve your visibility in the search engines by raising your link popularity
c)    provide an added resource to your website
d)    save you a lot of advertising money

Allow other people to publish your e-zine on their web site.
Include your web site's ad and link in each issue you publish. This may also help you increase the number of people that subscribe to your e-zine.

Create a directory of web sites on a specific topic.
Give people the option of adding the directory to their web site by linking to it. Put your business ad at the top of the directory's home page

Offer a free e-book to your web site visitors.
The ebook should be related to your target audience. Allow them to give the e- book to their own web site visitors by linking directly to your web site.

Exchange content with other web sites.
You could trade articles, top ten lists, etc. Both parties could include a resource box at the end of the content.

Join or create a web ring.
A web ring is a group of web sites on a similar subject agreeing to link together. To find a web ring to join type keywords "web rings" into your search engine of choice.

Directory Submission
Directories are different from standard search engines in that a search engine will query a database of indexed websites before it produces results and a directory is a database of websites that have been arranged by subject.

Search engines put weight on the links coming from directories which is why is so important that you know
how to submit you site. Remember, that your site must be optimized before submitting and not in different
construction phases; otherwise it will be rejected from submission. For a correct submission select the most
appropriate category related to the subject matter of the site and then submit, suggesting a title, description
and any other information the directory may require. Also make sure you read their submission guidelines.

Here is a list of quality directories: Yahoo (yearly fee), DMOZ (free), Jayde B2B Directory (free),
 GoGuides Directory (free), JoeAnt Directory (free), Business.com (yearly fee), BlueFind Directory (yearly fee), Zeal (free).

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