Link popularity has been a major concept in search engine marketing since Google's PageRank made headlines back in 2000. Since then, Google has become a search giant - undoubtedly, the most important search engine for online marketing. Link popularity has grown in importance at the same time. After all, Google uses the quantity and quality of links each site has as one of its main ranking factors. To rank well on Google, sites need numerous high-quality links.

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Building Backlinks to Increase Rankings
Increasing Link Popularity
Link popularity has been a major concept in search engine marketing since Google's
PageRank made headlines back in 2000. Since then, Google has become a search giant
- undoubtedly, the most important search engine for online marketing.
Link popularity has grown in importance at the same time. After all, Google uses the
quantity and quality of links each site has as one of its main ranking factors.
To rank well on Google, sites need numerous high-quality links.
But what does "high-quality" mean?
1. Links from sites with a high PageRank
Links from sites with a low PageRank add quantity, but little quality. They may
potentially increase your site's rankings but it's the sites with a higher PageRank that
you should be seeking links from.
2. Relevant link description text
How other sites describe your web site is important. If you sell widgets, ask other sites
that link to you to describe you by mentioning your company name and the word
"widgets." Search engines' spiders figure that any words used in link text are
particularly relevant. So if lots of sites linking to you use keywords in their link text,
search engines will boost your ranking for those keywords.
3. Links from relevant web sites
If all the sites linking to you are about accounting, then search engine spiders will
assume that your site is somehow related to this theme. To maximize the quality of
incoming links to your web site, seek links only from other sites in your industry.
4. Good internal linking structure
If you'd like good rankings for pages other that your main one, create a good linking
structure a spider can follow. Some search engine experts believe that Google counts
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internal links as backlinks. This means that creating a good internal linking scheme can
potentially increase your rankings.
5. One-way links
For many years, webmasters have tried to increase their sites' link popularity by
swapping links or participating in link exchange programs. Google's PageRank gives
preference to one-way links because they are more likely to be genuine, rather than a
result of a link popularity campaign.
6. Avoiding "bad" links
Ever since link popularity became an important ranking factor, webmasters and search
engine marketers have looked for ways to increase it for their sites. Search engines
understand that a site can artificially build up its link popularity, so they try to discount
links that were created purely for this purpose. "Free-For-All" web sites, link farms and
link exchange programs are no longer useful since Google and other web spiders can
easily lessen the effect of links acquired through these techniques. We recommend
against using software that finds similar web sites for link exchange or buying text links
from content networks. You may increase the quantity of incoming links to your site,
but you are more likely to hurt your rankings in the long run if your inbound links look
"fake."How can you then increase the number and the quality of inbound links to your
web site? Link Popularity Campaign.
What is "Real Link Popularity"?
Old techniques don't work any more
Since link popularity became one of the most important ranking factors, webmasters
have tried to increase the number of inbound links to their sites. There are numerous
techniques that were used to boost a site's link popularity, such as:
1. "Free-For-All" sites
These spam web sites published links to other sites in return for an email address of the
site owner.
2. Automated link exchange software
Many software options exist for webmasters who want to find similar web sites and
send them an automatic email.
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3. Link exchange campaigns
Individual webmasters or webmaster groups would send each other email asking for
reciprocal links Search engines naturally had a problem with the above techniques
because they were used to artificially boost a site's link popularity. Instead of people
referencing other web sites simply because they thought they were useful, webmasters
began to publish lists of "relevant links" just to get reciprocal ones and boost their
rankings. Google and other search engines developed strategies to reduce the effects
of artificial link popularity. For example, Google gives preference to one-way links
because they're more likely to be genuine. Google also prefers links from sites that have
already proven themselves - the ones with a high PageRank - because they are less
likely to be part of a link exchange program.
Link farms and link exchanges can hurt rankings
Not only do the old techniques of increasing link popularity not work anymore, they can
actually hurt your site's rankings in a few ways.
1. Google penalizes links to spam sites
If your site links to link farms or other spam sites, your own PageRank is likely to fall as
a result. We suggest linking to other relevant, quality web sites instead.
2. Outgoing links diminish the page's link popularity
If your web site has a page that's full of links, this page is unlikely to score high with
Google. That's because Google's PageRank takes off points for many outgoing links and
increases them for incoming ones.
3. Linking to spam sites can result in being placed in Google's
supplemental index
No one wants their site buried in Google's supplemental index - its backup database.
Linking to spam sites and link exchange programs, however, is one of the things that
can get your site out of Google's main results. So if link exchange software isn't
recommended and getting attention with automated emails is almost impossible, how
can you conduct an effective link popularity campaign?
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Rethinking Link Popularity Campaigns
Now that you've sworn off link exchange programs that can do more harm than good,
the question still remains: How can you increase your site's link popularity without
doing any damage? It's time to rethink link popularity campaigns. The main thing to
remember is that your campaign will be successful if you follow one golden search
engine rule: Get genuine links and abandon all programs that increase link
popularity artificially.
Link Popularity Campaign = PR Campaign
The most effective way to increase link popularity is to get high-quality links from
relevant web sites. But old techniques no longer work, which means that it's time to
treat link popularity differently. Instead of thinking of it as a supplemental search
engine marketing tool, treat your link popularity campaign as a PR campaign. This
means committing time and resources to building links the right way.
Tips for a Successful Link PR Campaign
Suppose you didn't need to increase rankings for your site. Suppose you just wanted to
create a good resource section for your users and develop relationships with others in
your industry. What would you do? You would likely gather your marketing personnel,
create a list of places you should contact and have your top people send emails or
make phone calls. That's exactly how you should treat a link PR campaign - as a chance
to extend your reach inside your industry and get to know others.
Focus on quality, not quantity
Forget about sites that promise you hundreds of links. Instead, we suggest focusing on
getting 10-30 quality links from relevant and trustworthy sites. You can check the
PageRank of any site by downloading the Google Toolbar or visiting
CheckPageRank.com. Try to contact sites with a PageRank of 4 or more for best
results.
Get listed on Yahoo and ODP
Both Yahoo and Open Directory Project (www.dmoz.com) can be useful in driving traffic
to your site. They also both have high PageRank scores, which mean that being listed
could increase your link popularity.
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Work backwards
Here's a good strategy to try: Start out by creating a list of resources for your site
visitors. No matter what service you offer or product you sell, there are always sites
that you can point your users to for more useful information. Once you're done with
your resource center, ask yourself if you could get a link from any of the sites you
included. Of course, it's impossible to get links from some sites, but others may be good
candidates for a link relationship. An added benefit is that you can call these companies
with the promise of a reciprocal link since you'd link to them anyway.
Trade associations and professional groups
Professional associations tend to have high PageRank scores. They're a great way to
meet others in your industry and promote your business.
Create a strong internal linking structure
When asking others for a link, choose one or a few pages from your site where you'd
like the links to point. This will ensure that you concentrate the PageRank on these
pages. The PageRank your site has will also extend to other pages. To facilitate this
process, make sure that all of your important pages are linked within 1 to 2 clicks from
the main page. Avoid deep linking structures that require more than 4-5 clicks to get to
a page. Google might also count internal links as backlinks, so make sure that the
important pages on your site - especially your main page - has numerous incoming links
from other pages. Running a link PR campaign takes a lot of work and commitment,
but it pays off with better rankings and valuable business relationships.
Increasing Link Popularity with Directories and Text Link Purchasing
Anyone who wants to succeed in getting better search engine rankings knows just how
important it is to build inbound links. But with old techniques like link exchange
programs not working anymore, web site owners are increasingly looking for other
ways to improve their link popularity. Purchasing relevant directory listings and text
links are two of the easiest, and quickest, ways to get more links. Of course, purchasing
too many text links from unreliable sources can get your site penalized in Google. But
smart link buying - done with your users in mind - can increase your traffic and improve
your rankings at the same time.
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The Golden Rule of Link Purchasing
The golden rule of search engine marketing is to optimize your site for your users, not
the search engine spiders. This recommendation is reiterated by every major search
engine in their webmaster guidelines. If your visitors like your site, then search engines
will follow. Link development and purchasing follows the same logic: Do it for your
users! Webmasters have historically run into problems on Google when they signed up
for programs that artificially raised the number of their inbound links. Search engines,
especially Google, have become much better at detecting these "fake" links and
demoting sites that participate in these schemes.
So How Can You Improve Your Link Popularity?
First, consider creating a link PR campaign that aims at distributing truly useful content
and connecting your site to others in your industry/community. Creating a link PR
program, however, is a labor-intensive and slow process. You can kick-start your
campaign by purchasing relevant, high-quality listings from directories and text link
sites. The key is to proceed smartly and slowly.
Text Link Purchasing
Since link popularity is so important to search engine rankings, some sites now sell
links. Text link sites usually have a number of "publisher" sites - web sites in different
categories that are willing to put links on their pages for a fee. A good text link broker
will offer you the choice of purchasing links on relevant sites in your industry. Beware,
however, that buying hundreds of irrelevant text links from junk sites isn't going to do
any good for your site. In fact, programs that promise "100 links a month for $24.95"
are likely to publish your web site anywhere, without consideration to quality or
relevance. Participating in these programs can hurt your rankings, especially with
Google, which does an excellent job of demoting sites with fake links.
Text link purchasing is best done with users, not search engines in mind. Look to buy
text links on sites where you would consider advertising even if you didn't need more
links. If you come across a text link selling site that doesn't list what sites your link will
appear on, we recommend looking elsewhere. Your first priority is to ensure that the
traffic coming from the link will be interested in your site.
Here are some popular text link sellers:
• TextLinkBrokers.com
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TextLinkBrokers.com sells links on sites based on categories and descriptions. Often,
you have the choice of buying a link on the main page or a sub page of a web site.
PageRank for each site is listed.
• TextLinkAds.com
One of the largest link sellers, TextLinkAds.com has an impressive variety of sites in its
network. You will need to create a free member account to browse the available sites.
• LinkAdage.com
LinkAdage.com offers a different model for buying links than TextLinkBrokers.com and
TextLinkAds.com. Their members can buy links from auctions or in targeted exchange
programs.
• LinkExperts.com
This is another site that allows you to buy advertising in the form of text links. Whether
you're buying more links from text link sellers or through directories, we recommend
making sure that the sites you choose match your own site well and have the potential
to bring in interested users.
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