Increasing Link Popularity

You're probably wondering what the blazes is popular abouta link! Well, in a word - plenty! Link popularity refers tothe ranking assigned to your website by the search engines,and it determines the ranking your page gets when keywordsare entered into a search engine. So, you're probablywondering, how do I make my link popular?

Search engines are discretionary, giving status and rankingto sites that have links to their pages from related,quality sites. It's a simple formula, but a very importantone. Google created the system, and now virtually all themost popular search engines employ it to rank your webpages in their indexes.

The more commonly used your keyword is, the harder it willbe to achieve link popularity, but without achieving thisstep, it is almost certain your site will never rank highlyon any search engine. But don't be discouraged; there aretried and true ways of achieving link popularity using themost competitive keywords.

There are a few things you should be aware of. The first isthat just linking up with a large number of other websiteswill not achieve link popularity. In fact, it may havequite the opposite effect. This is particularly true whenpertaining to websites that are nothing more than "linkfarms" - pages containing line after line of indiscriminatelinks. Search engines may aggressively discriminate againstyour website if you are associated with a link farm, sosteer clear of them!

The next thing to bear in mind is the quality of the siteyou are linking to. Never link to a page you havereservations about your visitors seeing. The last thing youwant your website to appear as is indiscriminate and cheap.Linking to sites of poor quality will only lessen your linkpopularity, if not completely destroy it.

So let's get to what you need to do to achieve supreme linkpopularity and improve your rankings to stellar status onall the popular search engines.

The first step, and the fastest way to get your foot in thedoor, is to get a listing in a popular directory, such asOpen Directory Project and Yahoo. If your site isbusiness-related, you will want to be listed on Yahoo, anddespite the fact that it will cost you around $300 a year,it will be money well spent. If your site isnon-commercial, the listing will be free, but it will taketime and follow-up to actually get it listed. OpenDirectory is gives you a free listing whether you arebusiness-related or non-commercial, but be prepared to makea lot of follow-up inquiries before you see your sitelisted.

You are aiming to get listed in the highest level ofappropriate category, and this just takes some commonsense. For example, if your company ships Alpaca wool froman Alpaca farm located in the middle of Nowhere, TinyState, do NOT submit your listing to "Retailers fromNowhere, Tiny State." BIG MISTAKE! All you have to do islook a little deeper - and submit your listing to the "FineAlpaca Wool" category. You will not only associate yourselfwith culture and quality, but you will be listed in anational category.

The next step after you have attained directory listings isto locate other quality sites that will increase your linkpopularity. Try to find sites that are in some way relatedto yours, so not only will your link popularity increase,but your customer base may also be expanded. You want toavoid your competitors and look for sites that are usefulto your site's visitors. Let's look at the Alpaca Wool siteexample. Linking up to a site that sells knitting supplieswould be helpful to your visitors, and the chances of theknitting supply site wanting to link up to your site arealso greater. By linking to a related site that will berelevant to your website's traffic, you are increasing bothof your site's business prospects - and both of your sites'link popularity.

Not all sites want to link to other sites, so you will haveto do some research when you are looking for possiblelinking partners. Google is an excellent starting place foryour search. Make sure you enter keywords that you thinkquality customers will also enter to find your own site.Remember, your criteria are quality, highly ranked,non-competing websites that have a links or resources page.Go to these sites and objectively assess them. Look at thequality of the product, the graphics, and the ease of use.Then check out the other sites they are linked to, anddetermine if your own site would fit in with the crowd.

When you decide you have found a good prospect, you mustset out to woo them. The first thing to do is to add a linkon your own links page to their site. This is an essentialfirst step; it shows good faith, and ups your chancessignificantly of their reciprocity. After you have addedtheir link, you must contact the webmaster of their site.Since this is almost always done by email, you want to makesure it is immediately clear that your message is not junkmail. This requires that you tell them right off the batthat you have added a link to their page on your site. Ahook like this almost always insures the reader will readon.

Next, be sure to be flattering and let them know how muchyou appreciate their website. Make sure you emphasize thatyou have actually visited their site, and that their siteis not just a random pick. Give them the address of yourlinks page, and ask them to check out the link forthemselves. It's a good idea to mention that they will notonly benefit from the increased traffic your website willdirect their way, but you will also increase their linkpopularity. Briefly, explain why link popularity is soessential, but do this in a sentence or two so you don'tsound like a professor! Finally, tell them you wouldgreatly appreciate if they would reciprocally add a link ontheir own links page to your website.

Go through this process with as many appropriate sites asyou can find, bearing in mind the criteria of quality andnon-competitiveness. After you have emailed all relevantsites, be sure to check these website frequently to see ifthey have added a link to your page. Give it about a month,and if no link appears, try another charming email. Thengive it another month, and if your site is still absentfrom their links page, it's time to remove their link fromyour own links page. The only time you want to pursue alink further than this is if you believe a site is crucialto your link popularity and your business needs. Justremember to keep all your communications complimentary andcordial.

Then set up a schedule to check your ranking in searchengines frequently to see if your link popularity hasimproved. This is not achievable in the blink of an eye. Itwill take some time and a good deal of work. There is noway around the labor-intensive quality of improving yourlink popularity, which is why search engines regard it withsuch importance.

By the way - make sure you have a beautiful, streamlinedsite or you will never persuade anyone to link up to you.Be prepared to keep plugging away at this process, as longas it takes, until you achieve link popularity stardom!