How Do Links From Other Sites Improve My Search Engine Ranking?

Search engines use link popularity because of the following thought: if many other web sites think that your site is worthy of being linked to, then your site must offer good content.  Increasing the number of links to your web site can improve your search engine rankings. And not only will you rank better in search engines, but links from other web sites can mean more traffic to your site..

Not all links are created equal however.  Links from fraudulent sites could hurt your search engine ranking, whereas a link from an website of an authoritative site could be great for you.  For instance, if the World Health Organization linked to your health insurance site, you would be golden!

In the end, the goal is to get as many links to your site as possible, concentrating on links from high quality sites.

Finding Quality Sites

Here are a couple of great ways to find the highest quality links for your site:

• The easiest way to locate high quality sites is to perform a Google or Yahoo! query on a phrase that describes your product or service.  The topmost sites are the ones you would want to target for getting links.

• If you want to automate the process described above, you should check out the Internet Success Spider.  This tool finds the most desirable sites to get links from.  It also handles getting those sites to link to yours.  This tool is an amazing time saver!

OK - Now I've Found The Sites, How Can I Get Them to Link To Me?

The most common and accepted way of getting a link is this:

• First of all, create a link from your website to theirs.

• Track down the webmaster's email address, and send them an email requesting that they link back to your site.  Most webmasters know the benefits of exchanging links.  Be sure to tell the webmaster where the link to their site can be found.

• In your email, mention where you would like to see your link on their site, and provide the webmaster the specific HTML to put on the site.  Better to make it as easy as possible.

This is a very successful strategy that I have used in the past.  But with the competition for links and the importance of link popularity, I have to recommend using the Internet Success Spider software. You will literally save days of work with this tool!

Are There Any Other Methods I Can Use to Get Links to My Site?

• You can contact the website owners directly on the telephone.  There is nothing like the personal touch.  Note - this can be time-consuming, but worth your while.

• Send letters via postal mail or faxes to the website owners.  Be sure to individualize the letter to the specific company..

Finally, if your site is amateurish or of little value, no one will link to your site. The sites they link to are a reflection of their own credibility. My advice is to build your site either using Custom Development Services or use Site Build It. This will ensure a good impression and a professional look.