Organic SEO for Small Businesses – Part IV

Intended Audience: Small Business Owners/webmasters and anyone new to the world of web design and search engine optimization (SEO) particularly those working with small businesses, organizations and sole traders.Note: Part III of this series of articles was published on July 22nd, 2009 and can be viewed at http://www.istech.ie/blog/?p=125The third article in this series focused on reciprocal linking and we will continue the link theme in this article and take a look at trusted links What is a trusted link? The term seems to have originated in relation to websites that Google and other search engines consider to be trustworthy such as governmental and educational (particularly universities) websites. The following points need to be considered in relation to trusted links:•    These types of links, while valuable, are difficult to acquire•    Website URLs ending in .gov are only used in the USA•    Website URLs ending in .edu are restricted to accredited postsecondary institutions and are primarily used in USA•    Under no circumstances should you attempt to acquire these types of links, or any other type of link, by surreptitious means. Given how valuable a trusted link might be to the ranking of your website on Google etc. it is worth investing a little time establishing the feasibility of acquiring this type of link. Many governments around the world provide local support services for small businesses, sole trader etc. and usually a resource website is part of this service. Some of these agencies may be prepared to provide a link to your website; particularly if your business is in start-up phase. It doesn’t hurt to ask!Another avenue for acquiring trusted links is to establish if you’re local or nearest university or postsecondary institution is seeking any type of sponsorship. Part of any sponsorship could include the provision of a link to your website. While many small businesses may not have the finance to engage in sponsorship activities it should be noted that sponsorship can take many forms such as the provision of services, etc. and may not mean having to part with much needed funds.It is very important to ascertain if any of your competitors have acquired trusted links as it could be the case that the same trusted links are available to your website. This can de done by going to Yahoo Search and entering the following text: linkdomain:example.com site:.govThe above command will display a list of all websites with the domain extension of .gov that link to a website called www.example.com. This command can be used to uncover any trusted links acquired by your competitors. At this point you can contact the “trusted” organizations and establish how you can get a link to your website.The next article in this series will expand on the topic of relevant backlinks, free and paid web directories, social media, local directory services etc.