Link Popularity FAQ
Building links doesn't always have to be so stressful. Many
sites tell you that they'll increase your links by 1000
overnight if you spend $39.99! I'm here to tell you, it's not
the quantity, it's the quality.
Although quality does help, it's hard to judge what is quality
and what isn't. The first comes first, reciprocal links aren't
all that great, so don't spend hours upon hours of sending
hopeless spam mails to sites who, if you had good content, would
link to you for free.
The best way to gain links quickly is article submission. One
article, if well written and of high quality, can generate 10-15
links. Think of the possibilities! Write one article a day for a
week and you may end up with 100 links. And that is, 100
non-reciprocal links.
Why are non-reciprocal links so important? Well, I will
tell you. Search engines, such as Google and Yahoo!, are now
counting reciprocal links for less. There is even speculation of
the recent update that Yahoo! is penalizing sites which have
links pages.
Even if this were not the case, non-reciprocal links are more
important for one reason, visitors. Visitors don't like to see
sites with worthless links to websites they don't want. Why have
a link to a travel website if you are in entertainment (besides
the obvious, but you get the point)? Even if you do have a
reciprocal link to a site which is your competitor you may lose
visitors by giving them a higher link popularity.
Should I not link to anyone then? No. In fact, you should
link to as many authoritative sites as possible
(authoritative sites are sites which are ranked 1 or 2
throughout your genre).
Links are very important on every site. Don't just give
them away, choose carefully. Link to authoritative sites with
great content you know your visitors will appreciate. Just ask
yourself, "If the links are not for the visitors use, what use
are they then?"
So, I've done the whole article submission thing, what other
ways can I gain link popularity? Directories and great
content. Content is king and is becoming more-so with the
evolution of Search Engines. When a site owner finds an article
useful he or she generally places a link to it, even if it is
just a blog, it's still a link. But whatever you do, don't do
the silly thing and spam blogs, that will only get you banned.
Directories are also a major part. If you can write a great
description and have an editor in your field at DMOZ.org, submit
it and forget it. Either you will get in or you won't. If there
isn't an editor, try becoming one. It will only take a few hours
of your time, just don't get too hopeful.
If you can't get in DMOZ, don't worry, there are tons of other
useful directories out there. Tons of FREE directories. Don't
spend $10-$20 on a directory submission unless you know they are
worth it and can generate quality traffic. Google and others are
starting to crack down on directories who require a fee in order
to get listed.