Website Linking -
Building Your Reputation
Website Linking, for the purposes of this article, relates to off-line linking to and from your Website with other Websites on the Web. Without quality links, inbound or outbound, your Website becomes an island. An ”Island Website” is, in all practical sense, invisible. Therefore proactive steps must be taken to bring your Website ”into the light.” Content Is King! ”The best way to get other sites to create relevant links to yours is to create unique, relevant content that can quickly gain popularity in the Internet community. The more useful content you have, the greater the chances someone else will find that content valuable to their readers and link to it.”
(Google) Having an abundance of good original content is the first and best step towards Website linking. If your readers find the information on your Web page useful they may link to it from their Website, they may quote you in comments, or tweet about your article on Tweeter, and so on. Why Does Google Emphasize Content? First and foremost, Google and the other search engines are businesses. And to stay in business they must provide high quality products/services to their customers. Their customers being the Advertisers. Therefore it is to Google's advantage that highly ranking Web pages have an abundance of original content that others find useful. Google can then match their AdWord/AdSense advertisements to a highly targeted audience. It is to our advantage to give Google what they want. Our site will rank high, giving us more visibility (i.e. Free Traffic!). And if we're using AdWord or AdSense to monetize our Websites, it certainly wouldn't hurt to have an abundance of good relevant content. Website Linking and Website Popularity Website Linking is not an issue to be taken lightly. All linking decisions, both inbound and outbound, must be weighed against the following criteria: - Will this Link provide added value for my Readership?
- Is the content at the other Website/page relevant to the subject matter of my Web page?
- Is the other Website a Reputable Website?
Webmasters that follow the above criteria will not only increase the quality of their own Website, but will also help to improve overall quality of the Web. On the other hand, Webmasters who do not provide an abundance of original content, who give little thought to with whom they link with, may find themselves pushed further and further into the ”Internet Ghetto.” Website Linking is Organic Linking Organic Linking has characteristics that are easy for the search engines to spot. Website Linking - Inbound Links
In organic linking an inbound link is much more than a vote of confidence in the reputation of your Website. An inbound link says that your Web page adds value for the readership of the linking Website. It also says that the content of your site supports and supplements the subject matter of the linking Website. Website Linking - Outbound Links
There are Webmasters who are reluctant to provide outbound links because they are concerned about ”bleeding PR.” On 10/14/09 Susan Moskwa (Google employee) explained why the PageRank distribution feature has been quietly removed. (Google Webmaster Central) ”We've been telling people for a long time that they shouldn't focus on PageRank so much; many site owners seem to think it's the most important metric for them to track, which is simply not true. We removed it because we felt it was silly to tell people not to think about it, but then to show them the data, implying that they should look at it. :-)” Instead of focusing on PageRank, focus on your readership. ”Will this link provide added value for my readership?” The needs of your readership comes first, all other concerns follow. By not providing that outbound link you could be missing out on an opportunity. You could have asked for an inbound link in return. Website Linking Program When you first build your Website it is, for all practical purposes, invisible. So a responsible Website linking program is called for. DANGER!! Google has warned that any link building scheme with the sole intention of passing PageRank is expressly forbidden. But they do acknowledge that link exchanging is a natural process of the Internet. ”However, some webmasters engage in link exchange schemes and build partner pages exclusively for the sake of cross-linking, disregarding the quality of the links, the sources, and the long-term impact it will have on their sites. This is in violation of Google's webmaster guidelines and can negatively impact your site's ranking in search results.”
(Google) A few things that you should consider while conducting a link exchange is.. - First and foremost is: “Does this link add value for my readership?”
- Am I exchanging a link with a site that is relevant to mine?
- Am I exchanging a link with a site that is reputable?
Google also mentions that excessive link exchanges will get you into trouble. So the question is What is excessive and how many good quality links are needed to get the ball rolling?
Well, this depends on how competitive your niche is. A niche that has few competitors won't need as many links, whereas a highly competitive niche will need more. A niche that is lightly competitive will probably only need 1 to 3 good quality links per page to get the ball rolling. Whereas a highly competitive niche may need as many as 6 or 7. There are far too many good link building strategies to be covered in this article, but I would like to make one point before I wrap things up... Link Exchanges Verses Link Farms Link Exchanges is an excellent place to find Websites that are relevant to yours. You have every opportunity to thoroughly investigate potential Websites for relevancy and reputability. You are then able to contact the Webmasters on a one to one basis. This allows you to build a relationship with your link partner. I personally recommend SiteSell's Value Exchange. With SiteSell's philosophy of over delivering they emphasize quality and relevancy rather than the quantity of links. The service is free and well worth your time to take a look at it. Link Farms on the other hand, care little about relevancy, nor about quality. Their main focus is quantity. It's usually promoted as a quick and easy way to gain PageRank. Unfortunately they simply don't work as promised. If you happen to come across one, my advice is to steer clear of them. In Conclusion;
Website Linking is a process of creating additional value for your readership. Creating value should be the main thrust of your Website irregardless of which niche you're working in. Remember to create an abundance of useful content and implement a link building campaign that focuses on relevancy and quality. For Further Reading - Reciprocal Linking
Reciprocal linking should be included in every link building campaign, but it should be only a part of your strategy. Writing useful content and providing value to your readers will always be the bedrock on which to build the popularity of your site. Link Wheel
Building a Link Wheel, when done correctly, will help your new site move from being invisible to being found. By creating a “natural” inbound linking program, you will be able to move your site from obscurity to prominence. Leave Website Linking and go to Home Page
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