Link Popularity - build a solid foundation

The basics. Link popularity is the measure of inbound links to your web site. Link analysis evaluates which sites are linking to you and the link text itself.

But are links the ONLY solution to better ranking? I am sure by now you have heard - Content is King! And not just any content - information directly related to your sites' theme.

So, you should focus on Marketing Strategies, rather than just a linking campaign.

1. Prepare your site first

Before you start your marketing campaign, take the time to mold your site. Your site should look professional, have good content and be easy to navigate.

If you are not a designer, hire one. If you cannot afford one, then there are many sites wher eyou can purchase great looking designs for very little money. But be aware. These "templates" may be load heavy. Meaning, the first page alone is larger than the max 100K!

Search Engines will normally only spider the first 100k of your site. And, by rule of thumb, your pages should be less than 40k. It is possible to have a fast loading site, without sacrificing design quality. Take time to learn a litle about Basic HTML. Here's my favorite.

A. Validate your HTML code . If a potential linker goes to your site and finds broken pages, they are not going to want to link to you. Plus, many directories exclude sites with broken links and page errors. It is to your benefit.to do your homework before you start promoting your site, as your marketing campaign will be more effective.

Just remember, building links should be for the benefit of your visitors. Offer them additional informational sources. They'll start to rely on your ability to provide the "golden nuggets" on the internet.

2. Budget time

Don't expect to grow overnight. Budget time every week to work on your site. If you provide one page of information a week, in one year you will' have added 52 pages to your site.

Choose at least one day a week to work on your site. If you don't make it a priority, it won't get done. I like Saturday morning.

And don't get frustrated. You are building a Business - and this take time! Link building and marketing is an incremental activity. Over time the benefits will be great.

3. Establish realistic goals

Don't expect to see instant results. Marketing is difficult, frustrating and time intensive. Plus, in lnk popularity, convincing another web site to link to you can be exasperating. If you get one good quality link a month you're doing better than the majority of sites out there.

Patience, creativity and perserverence are key. Track your progress and strategies. And when asking for links - don't use automated systems - actually go to the site, look around and ask.

Never use automated lining request systems, like Zeus. Impersonal broadcast emails asking for links are spam. Sure, it's easier, but it will only result in making another company mad at you. Spam link requests do not work and waste everyone's time. Don't do it!
Never send first, second and third requests. This is a red flag that your request is automated.
Keep Track of your link Requests. Some site managers, like myself, only evaluate link requests every 1-2 months.
Never threaten to remove a link if they don't reciprocate. If you like their site, then link to it. This shows you care about your visitors and providing good informational links.
Take the time to personally visit a site. Mention why you like their site, and be honest. Don't give generic comments - be specific - you like the Child Care safety issues, etc. This shows you are human and were "really" on the site.
If they have an ADD URL form - Use it! It's there for a reason. I personally do not even look at link requests that come from any other source other than my form mail. It shows that they didn't take the time to visit my site and follow my guidelines.
If you like what you see, then add their link to your resource page - REGARDLESS if they link back to you.

Many successful businesses have little or no links, but great content! If you take the time to build a solid foundation, your "house will stand firm".

4. Ranking is all about quality

Be selective about the sites from which you request links. Search engines use sophisticated rules when judging the importance of a link, and the popularity of the site linking to you is a key criteria. One link from CNet is worth far more than a link from a personal web site.
Don't even consider using a link farm ! Link farms are sites that exist solely to link to other web sites. Search Engines are aware of Link farms blatant attempts to inflate link popularity, and take a dim view of them. Some Search Engines, Google in particular, has been known to ban sites found using a link farm.
Identify non-competitive sites in the same field as yours. Related [Themed] Links carry more weight. That does not mean you should refuse a link from non-related sites, just be aware it won't help as much in link quality terms. Links from sites within your industry are strong endorsements for your site.
When contacting the prospective linker include the exact HTML code you want in your the link and politely suggest which page you would like the link from. This reduces the burden in setting up the link and ensures the right words are used in your link. Everybody on the Internet is pressed for time. Make it "drop-in simple" and your success rate will go up.

5. Get directory listings

Jumpstart your marketing campaign by requesting directory links first. This is especially important if you have a new site.

To start, request a listing in as many quality directories you are able to find. Remember, Directories are websites, just like yours. They simply have a lot more traffic. You want to choose your directory the same way you would choose any other link request - by quality and credibility.

Be aware that most of these directories require you to pay for a listing. It's worth the expense. And don't get frustrated is your don't get listed right away. Open Directoy is notorious about being slow.

Take time to develope your Title and Description before submitting your request. It's hard to change it once you have been placed. A good title and description will make all the difference in CTR [click through rate].

6. Bartering for links

Bartering for a links only irritates me. I have an established site, and that is like the ant bartering for a ride from a bull moose with a corn kernal.

Offer to not just link to them, but link content. "Content is King." Ask for permission to add some of their content to yours including their byline with a direct link to their site.

If I like a site and find their service would be helpful to my visitors, I write a full article about them. I include their logo and link. I let the site know that I will be writing this article and where they can locate it.

Larger, established sites have more important concerns than linking to others. You could "buy" a link from a higher ranked site, but the Search Engines are becoming wise to this as well. You would be better off to work at establishing your own site, rather than putting money into other sites pockets.

Regardless, if the link is of great value to you, be prepared to give something back.

7. Link building alternatives

Don't hire link popularity builders or Link Brokers. If time constraints keep you from link building, you might be tempted to consider outsourcing your link popularity work.

Granted, link building is undoubtedly the most time consuming part of search engine optimization, but it is NOT the most important. If you have a store that everyone links to, but fail to provide quality information, then your rankings will reflect this.

Marketing is not as fearful a task as you may think. Simple states - What is your Goal for the net 6 months, year, 2 years? How can I achieve that?

Traffic should not be your ultimate goal. Qualified and themed traffic should. I would rather have 100 quality visitors to my site with a 2% sales ratio, than 100,000 visitors and none.

However, outsourcing to a reputable link building firm ensures good links and could be a more efficient model for you if you are already time limited. Any reputable firm will provide references upon request. If not, then don't use them!

Caution: if you do chose to hire a company specializing in link building: make sure any firm you hire follows good link building practices . Ask them to describe the process they use to request links Make sure they follow a personalized approach, and don't simply spam sites with requests for links.

Ask for a list of References : current clients they provide services for
Ask for statistics on success rate: have them prove their link popularity strategies work
Find out how they gather links - software or manually
Ask for a sample reciprocal link email request, to see what the potential reciprocator will receive

If they refuse to discuss any of their link building methods you can assume they use impersonal, widespread email drops or link farms - that's spam. They may call it a fancy name, but if the process involves sending out large numbers of form emails, it's still spam and will only set your campaign backwards and injure your company's professional reputation. You are better to develop your links in house.

I personally let my clients approve, reject or find their own links. As their webmaster, I add the link, AND I monitor it.

Big, Big question. You are trying to "build" a successful business. One that will last years, and hopefully, decades. Marketing is the key to your success.

There are many areas of advertising that not only include linking as part of the strategy, but are far more effective. A good Marketing agent should understand this.

You cannot stop any site from directly linking to yours. While this does not hurt your site, I cannot imagine you want unreputable sites carrying your site link on theirs. Monitoring your links is mandatory, and can be more time consuing than the original request.

To remove your link from an offending site: make a polite request for it's removal
State the exact address of the location of your link and the information.
Keep your email requests in a separate folder so you can easily check the progress of your request.

Just do it!

Building a solid website takes time. Google wasn't build overnight. I fyou take the time to create a solid foundation, with good content, then your site will improve in the search engines rankings.