Link popularity is crucial to your cyber-success. Hyperlinks ("links") take visitors to the pages within your website or away from your page to other sites. Your website creation software, such as FrontPage and DreamWeaver, can automatically create these. If you have a webmaster or designer, they know how to create them also, but the technicalities on how to create them is not what we are focusing on today.
We are focusing on link popularity, what to do with website links once they are created.
**So, what is link popularity and why is it so important?
**What are "good" links, and how do you get them?
**Stay here, Grasshopper, for the answers you seek.
What is link popularity and why is it important?
Basically, every link is a vote. When you set up a link on your website to someone else's website (an outbound link) you are voting for that site.
Your link, your vote means that you consider a website relevant. You are giving it "authority". And, just like in high school, the more people who think a website is great, the more popularity it has. And the more dates it gets. :-)
So, reversing this popularity issue, when people link to your website (backward or inbound link), they are voting for you. You become more popular. Your site gains authority. You're likely to get more dates.
A point that I feel is sorely overlooked: Link popularity is not just about improving your search engine placement. The more links you have on websites that attract high quality visitors, the more likely those visitors will visit your site. The more visitors to your website, the more potential revenue for you, no matter what your search engine placement. Good enough reason right there, right?
What are "good" links and how do you get them?
There are a lot of suggestions, urban myths, truths, and lies out in cyber-space about links and how they affect your search engine ranking. I will try to give you a consensus summary of all that I've researched and read.
Side note: You will find differing views everywhere on the web. As in any Internet Marketing, testing is king. So, when in doubt, try it and see how it works, then make adjustments and test some more. It's not really a science and all the best gurus make adjustments as needed.
Some things that most successful Internet gurus do agree on are as follows:
**Links need to be related and complimentary to the theme
of your site.
**Links need to go to and come from authority sites.
**Link verbiage should contain your keywords.
**Links are best placed on your webpage with supporting keyword phrasing around them for added impact.
The best types of link, from best to less are as follows:
1. Inbound only (backward) link without reciprocity
2. Reciprocal (you link to them and they link to you) link
3. Outbound only link with affiliate revenue id (so you
can potentially get money from sending the visitor out
of your site)
4. Outbound link only without affiliate revenue id
Some words of caution are needed here. Colloquial knowledge seems to support certain sources of links and discourage others. It can get pretty confusing and it changes as quickly as you learn it. Don't get discouraged. Keep reading and you'll be ok. When it doubt, don't do it.
Link farms, directories, web rings, exchange services, link purchasing, FFA pages, and more can be treacherous territory.
Frankly, there are too many pitfalls to warn you about all of them in a short article like this one, but my advice to obtain good quality linking would be this:
Write articles that include your website in your signature box and get them posted on other people's sites. Try guest writing for someone else's e-zine and visa versa.
Post on discussion groups, forums, and blogs. You are normally allowed to add a link to your website address as part of your signature. Just be sure to follow the rules of the forum and actually add value when you visit or you'll get shunned as a publicity hound.
Submit testimonials that include your website address. Most people will post these on their site. Be sure to actually be sincere. If you hype up a product that you don't believe in, it will reflect on you badly eventually.
Exchange links with high quality, content rich sites only. Visit the websites first and check them out. Make sure they are complimentary and related in theme to your website. Content is king, so make sure they have plenty of it. Remember, they will be a reflection on you and your site.
Get signed up for affiliate programs. Affiliate programs allow you to earn commissions for products that visitors from your website purchase. Your link out contains a unique affiliate id# that identifies you as the source of the visitor and tracks their purchases Then, you get a check in the mail when that visitor buys. Pretty sweet, right?
Create your own affiliate program. If you sell your own products, set up an affiliate program so that the world can be your commissioned sales force. Those affiliates will all have inbound only links to your site and they will be out there selling your product. How does it get better than that?
I hope this sheds a little bit of light on link popularity. If you have further questions, just ask. That's pretty much the secret to any of this. Just ask. You may be surprised at how far you get when it comes to getting high quality links for your website.
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