link building

Link Building Tips

M. Shifley Leave a comment

When it comes to Search Engine Optimization (SEO), maintaining “link popularity” can drastically change how search engines find and list your website for the mass of potential visitors who are searching for an exciting site like yours. Simply put, your link popularity is the number and quality of incoming links that point directly to your site. This is a major factor that search engines evaluate when deciding whether your website is worthwhile and relevant to Web visitors.

The quality of your content is extremely essential – it’s not just about the number of SEO keywords or artificial links to increase your online traffic numbers. The search engines require links from authoritative sites, or relevant sites that share the same focus as your blog. Link-building can be complicated. Here are eight simple link-building tips to help your blog legitimately increase link popularity.

1. Join a directory. Congratulations, you’ve already accomplished step one by joining OnTopList.com. By belonging to a directory, you’ve gained a global network, many of whom either write in your niche or are more likely to help you through cross-promotional opportunities.

2. Piggy-back off of high-ranked sites. If you do a search on your SEO keywords, you’ll get a glimpse of the top-ranked sites in your category. Contact the sites that do not directly compete with you, and build a link-exchange relationship where you can piggy-back off of their high rankings.

3. Contact the owners of related sites. Try to be selective when deciding who you want to exchange links with. Send a friendly solicitation e-mail to open communication, and be sure to give them a reason why the relationship would be mutually beneficial.

4. Trade articles or unique postings with interested parties. Is it a subject or news topic that related sites may find interesting? Often, you’ll find that news or commentary sites have sections to “share news or ideas” or “suggest a link.” This is the perfect chance to exchange fascinating stories or news that you have published with related websites.

5. Use social bookmarking sites to your advantage. Do you already have a DIGG or Delicious social bookmarking account? These sites allow you to bookmark and use tag keywords for your favorite Web links. Bookmark related sites in addition to your site’s entries, and the other users in your network may start consulting your links regularly, which could eventually lead them back to your website.

6. Rely on your own network of friends, family, and colleagues. Don’t leave out your existing network of friends, who know and like you already – and are the most likely to read, comment, and promote your site.

7. Write for online article sites. Lastly, there are numerous sites where anyone can be a published author – Helium.com, About.com, AssociatedContent.com, eHow.com, eZineArticles.com. It’s free to join, plus you’ll be able to write related advice and information to your site, and every one of your article includes your profile – which is where you can link users back to your pages. If you write an article related to a past entry, this is the opportunity to promote and link users to the topic at the conclusion of your article.

8. Write reviews and comments on other sites. If it’s applicable to your chosen niche, you can also write other types of online content in other sites. For instance, if you maintain a technology site, you may want to regularly write product reviews on Amazon.com, ePinions.com, and related sites. This will grow your presence as an expert in your niche, and provide another way to link new visitors back to your site.

If you have additional questions about how I can help your generate more links for your website and how important it is to helping your company receive more exposure online, please contact me and I will be more than happy to help. I can be reached at 208.598.0084 or matt.shifley@yahoo.com.

Dos and Dont’s about Link Building

M. Shifley 1 Comment

Bing recently published a document about link building. Although it focuses on how Bing deals with inbound links, it can also help you to get better links for Google, Yahoo, and other search engines. The most important points of Bing’s document can be found in this article.

The importance of link building

The Bing engineers know that link building is important and they describe link building as follows:

“Link building is a very important form of self-promotion on the Web. You contact webmasters of other, related websites and let them know your site exists. If the value that you have worked so hard to instill in your site is evident to them, they will assist their own customers by linking back to your site. That, my friend, is the essence of link building.”

In other words, reciprocal linking is fine. They also remind webmasters that link building is an ongoing process:

“Think of link building as your chance to build your reputation on the Web. As your website is likely one of your business’ most valuable assets, consider link building to be a primary business-building exercise. Just don’t make the mistake of believing it will result in instant gratification. Successful link building efforts require a long-term commitment, not an overnight or turnkey solution. You need to continually invest in link building efforts with creativity and time. Good things come to those who wait (and work smartly!).”

Things that you can do to get good links to your website

Here are the things that Bing recommends:

  • You should develop your website as a brand and brand it consistently. People like to link to high quality websites.
  • You should find relevant bloggers, industry websites and product reviewers and make them aware of your website.
  • You can publish concise and informative press releases online.
  • You can publish expert articles in article directories.
  • You can participate in relevant conversations on blogs and forums and add a link to your website when applicable.
  • You can use social networks to connect to industry influencers. Your profiles should contain links to your website.
  • You can use email newsletters to notify people about new content on your website.
  • You can launch a blog or a forum on your website.
  • You can participate in relevant industry associations and their online forums.
  • You should strive to become a trusted expert voice for your industry while promoting your website.

Warning: the following things will get your website in trouble

Just like Google and other major search engines, Bing doesn’t like to be cheated. If they detect unnatural linking patterns, your website might be penalized. The following things can trigger search engine filters:

  • Your website get a lot of additional inbound links a very short time.
  • Many links that point to your website are from unrelated websites or blog comments.
  • Your web pages contain hidden links.
  • You get links from links farms or automated link exchange systems.
  • Paid links point to your website.
  • Known spammers link to your website.
  • Your website links to known spammers.

Here’s what Bing does when they find suspicious data that is related to your website:

“When probable manipulation is detected, a spam rank factor is applied to a site, depending upon the type and severity of the infraction. If the spam rating is high, a site can be penalized with a lowered rank. If the violations are egregious, a site can be temporarily or even permanently purged from the index.”

Getting inbound links requires some work. The Bing engineers are very clear about this fact: “Make no mistake: getting legitimate and highly valuable, inbound links is not a couch-potato task.”

If you have additional questions about getting more links for your website  and how important these links are to helping your company get more exposure online please contact me and I will be more than happy to help. I can be reached at 208.598.0084 or matt.shifley@yahoo.com.