Web Site Design Specialists

Building Link Popularity is a great way to help your site gain competitive PageRank (PR). Links from other sites also send direct visitors to your site. A little care in developing links will go a long way in getting your site ranked high in Search Engines.

In this article:

PageRank of the linking page.
Total number of links on the linking page.
Industry relevance.
Page relevance.
Anchor-Text.
Dynamic link pages.
JavaScript link pages.
Redirected links.
Framed sites.
PageRank of the linking page
PageRank of the linking page, one of the most important factors, determines how much valuable importance is passed on to your page. The higher the PageRank of the page linking to you, the higher the value you get.

Each link to your Web site is considered a vote. If your neighbour states in public that you are very trustworthy, or that you are his best friend (Google PageRank 2), this is of course a less important vote than when the President of your country says the same (Google PageRank 9).
Number of links on the linking page
The value your web page gets from a linking page is equal to the total PageRank value of that page divided by the total number of outgoing links on that page. Getting a link from a PR4 page that has only 20 outgoing links is much better than getting a link from a PR4 page that has 60 outgoing links.

With the same philosophy, it is better to get a link from a PR2 link page that has only 10 outgoing links than getting a link from a PR4 page that has over 100 outgoing links. It is therefore as important to evaluate the total number of outgoing links on a links page, as it is, to evaluate the PR of the linking page. This is where many people often falter, as they usually insist on getting a link from a high PR page, but if that page has 100 outgoing links, your page would only get 1/100th of that value.

Industry relevance
Search engines give higher importance to links pointing to your site from your own industry segment as opposed to those from unrelated industries. A link on a site about motor sports will do very little good for a restaurant site, however a link in a food services directory will likely have high relevance.

Searching industry relevance pages:
Search for similar pages once you have found a really good page. Look for “similar pages”, “related pages” or “more like this” next to entries in any search engine’s results list. Alternatively use the Page Specific Search on the Google Advanced Search screen.
Page relevance
Most sites offering links have several categories listed on their sites. Try to get a link from a category that closely matches your own industry. For instance, if you have a site related to hotels, then, on your partner site, a tickets site for example, try to identify a resource directory pertaining to hotels, resorts, reservations, vacation packages, travel, tourism, food and beverages, etc.

An algorithm called “Applied Semantics” determines the industry relevance of a page within a site. The Applied Semantics algorithm studies various keywords on a Web page and tries to determine the industry or business segment of each page. Applied Semantics estimates the industry segments that are relevant to a particular page.
Anchor-Text
Anchor Text is the visible hyperlinked text on a Web page. Since anchor text is very important, make sure that your most important keywords appear in the anchor text from the link pointing to your site. It tells search engines what the page is about. Used wisely, it boosts your rankings in search engines, especially in Google.

If you use “click here” as the words people are going to click on, you’re telling people the page is about the subject “click here”. If you use “Part 2″ as the anchor text, your telling the search engines the page is discussing “part 2″.
You wouldn’t want to rank highly for “click here” or “Part 2″.

However, if your site is all about purple widgets, you don’t want only “purple widgets” to be used as the phrase in every link to your site. Over-optimizing like that would create an unnatural pattern.

You can use anchor text in:

External links from other sites.
Internal links on your pages.
Navigation maps.
Links on your main page. A very important spot.
Remember that real live humans will read your links as well as search engines, so the words in your anchor text need to make sense!

Dynamic link pages
You should also watch out for any link pages that are generated dynamically. Chances are that such pages would not get indexed soon enough, which means that a link from such a page would not benefit you. Some dynamic link pages are intentionally generated in such a way so as to prevent them from getting indexed. Some unscrupulous webmasters do this to trick you to prevent any PageRank leaking from their site to yours.
Links from such pages therefore do not give you any benefit.
Javascript link pages
It is also important to identify pages that are generated through Flash or a JavaScript, as Search Engines cannot read Flash pages nor can they read the links embedded within Flash. These are some of the tricks unethical webmasters use. While such a site may claim to have placed a link to your Web page, in effect they are not giving you any benefit.
Redirected links
A link that is first redirected to another page within your partner site before pointing to your site is a redirected link. You should watch out for such links, as search engines do not give weight to redirected links. It is very unlikely that your site would draw any benefit from a redirected link.
Framed sites
Avoid getting links from framed sites as Search Engines cannot read texts within frames.
A link placed on a framed site would not give your site any benefit, as Search Engines would not be able to recognize such a link.

by Brian Clark

We’ve seen that the real secret to SEO Copywriting 2.0 is creating compelling content that naturally attracts links, rather than begging for links to our keyword-stuffed web page. In other words, SEO copywriting is now all about response-oriented copy concepts and words that ultimately result in a favorable action from the reader.

Since the popularity of our content depends on the reaction to it off-page, it makes sense that we might also need to step outside the confines of the page itself to get the word out. Luckily, the same copywriting skills you use to conceive and create your content apply to promoting it as well.

The way to create compelling content is to focus on “what’s” in it for the reader. Likewise, no one is going to link to you unless doing so gives them a benefit as well.

The key is the same as to understand who you’re talking to and then figure out what will catch their attention and convince them to take action. Here are 5 ways to go about it.

1. Social Media Sites

The quickest way for an exceptional piece of content to get a lot of attention that results in secondary links is to make the home page of Digg or Delicious Popular. There are scores of similar sites that can drive quality traffic as well, such as Reddit, TechMeme, and Magnolia. For more offbeat content, Fark will shake your server. Plus there are dozens of aggregator sites such as PopURLS that also drive traffic based on your inclusion at the primary site.

If you’ve done a great job with your headline, it should magnetically draw people in. However, you need to understand the audience of each social media site. What works as a headline for Digg often won’t work for Reddit. Tweak accordingly, but try to retain your keywords in the title if at all possible, because most of the resulting links will simply regurgitate that title.

Another key element for success on Digg is the summary description, because many people will vote for content based soley on the headline and the brief copy that describes it. Sometimes this may simply be your existing opening paragraph, but you might craft a specialized description that best appeals to the culture of the site.

Submitting your own content to social media sites is looked down upon (at least with your real name), so it makes sense to have a friend submit for you. When specifically targeting a social news site, you want to control the headline and summary copy, because the exact same content submitted with poor headline and description copy may go absolutely nowhere.

2. Linking Out

Linking out to attract links? Yep.

Engaging in dialogue with the relevant blogs in your niche is a great way to get noticed, and it can lead to links back. Bloggers definitely watch who is linking to them thanks to Technorati, and you can take the initiative by linking out first before looking for one in return.

Simply linking out for the sake of linking won’t accomplish much, especially with bloggers who gets lots of links. The key is to be strategic about how you link and what your say.

It’s just like any other conversation. Join in and add your two cents, but make sure you’ve got something substantive to say that will reflect well on you. Use a great headline to make sure you are noticed, and then deliver the goods. And since your cornerstone content is the foundation of what the conversation is likely about, finding a way to mention it in the context of the dialogue will naturally bring it to the attention of influencers in your field.

3. Networking Emails

The days of flat out link begging are fading, but you can still reach out to other bloggers as a way to raise your own profile. Again, can you figure out what’s in it for them?

More than one-off link requests, networking via email and instant messaging is about establishing and growing relationships with others in the social media space. These are the linkeratis prominent bloggers in your niche, top Digg users, web journalists, and prominent web forum contributors.

Write your introductory emails from a copywriting perspective. Catch attention, gain interest, and create a desire to help you in the future by offering something that benefits them first.

4. Guest Appearances

Another benefit of networking within your niche is that it creates opportunities to make a guest writing appearance. You can contribute content that not only allows you to raise your profile, but allows for links back to your own site. Once again, creating killer original content will open doors for you, especially when it’s created for the benefit of someone else. And you can use that killer cornerstone content you’ve already produced as an example of the quality you can deliver.

Depending on your relationship with the site owner, you may be able to link to your cornerstone content from within the body of the content itself, but only if the citation is extremely relevant to the content and beneficial to the reader. Otherwise, your link will need to appear in your byline.

Most people tend to link to their site or blog URL in the byline of contributed content. Turn it around by focusing the byline on the reader instead of yourself, and feature your cornerstone content instead of your home page.

For example, if I were to guest blog somewhere about strategies for attracting links, which byline is more attractive to the reader when finishing my article?

NO: Brian Clark writes about online copywriting at Copyblogger.

YES: Check out Brian Clark’s free SEO Copywriting 2.0 tutorial, which is all about the new style of online writing that helps your web site rank well in search engines.

5. Article Directories

At one point in time, submitting about 20 articles to a directory like Ezine Articles with the right anchor text would get you a really good ranking for some search terms, at least in Yahoo and MSN. However, because the engines discount duplicate content, having dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of sites republish your article (and linked byline) no longer does the trick by itself.

However, a site like Ezine Articles is still excellent for creating exposure to your cornerstone content. Having a link to your multi-part tutorial displayed on hundreds of web pages drives direct traffic, and can lead to your content being referenced in other posts and articles that do pass on link authority.

The strategy is much the same as with guest posting on a blog. Write original content that does not appear on your site, and submit to one or more reputable directories. Repeat until you get results.

Conclusion

The words you put on a web page have no life of their own until they get read. And those same words will not gain prominence in search engines until the words are linked to by relevant, authoritative sources.

Search engines can still be gamed, just like offline real-world systems can be exploited. However, the goals of the search engines are similar to society at large, and they are getting very good at finding rule breakers and dispensing punishment. Creating compelling content and beneficial relationships are strategies that won’t get you banned or penalized, and add value to your overall goal of converting site visits into revenue.

By Sage Lewis, Search Engine Watch

There’s no doubt link building is a win-win. The only way to acquire relevant and meaningful links is to provide some value to the Internet community.

The value may come in the form of information and entertainment. Visitors may find value in unique positioning that makes a Web site stand out from the crowd.

The longer I ponder the world of link building, the more I love it. It’s the ultimate social approval process. To attract attention, you must resonate with an online community.

The question is not, “How do I get links?” The right question is, “How do I become interesting and valuable to an online community?” or, “How do I differentiate myself in a sea of sameness?”

One Idea In Action

Social and ecological sustainability, or long-lasting, low-impact business ecosystems, will be a major factor for successful growth in the next 50 years. People are realizing resources aren’t endless, and they have options — where they work and who they buy from, for example.

While clearly a challenge, it’s also a great opportunity for the global business community to align business values with online communities. The opportunity to stand out and resonate with key demographics may be the best-kept secret of link building.

Which companies have found the secret of sustainability and link building? Here are a few great examples.

AISO.net: A Natural Internet Success

Check out AISO.net: Affordable Internet Services Online Inc. Their tag line is: “Web Hosting As Nature Intended.” They’re touting an environmentally-friendly way to host Web sites.

Server farms are notorious for sucking down extreme amounts of energy. Here’s what the company has to say about protecting the environment:

“AISO.net is a reliable and responsible green Web hosting company. We have made a strong commitment to help fight pollution and preserving our natural resources. Solar panels run our data center and office, not energy credits. Solar tubes bring in natural light from the outside providing light during the day. AMD Opteron powered servers use 60 percent less energy and generate 50 percent less heat.”

AISO.net has taken an otherwise extremely saturated industry and instantly changed the conversation. Hosting has always been about speed, reliability, and cost. These folks have stood out in a highly creative way that adds value to the entire Web community.

Plus, they have a Google PageRank of 6/10 and 4,821 links according to Yahoo. Many of the links and clients come from companies that want to be associated with a socially responsible company. Plus, AISO.net attracts the interest of journalists from great sites such as PC World and Wired.

Crown Jewels: Brilliant Earth

Jewelry is another intensely competitive arena. Brilliant Earth has come up with a way to stand out from the crowd. Their motto is: “Conflict Free Canadian Diamond Jewelry.” They promote “Fine Jewelry from Ethical Sources.”

They have a Google PageRank of 5/10 and 721 links according to Yahoo. Not bad for a domain purchased in April 2005.

If you were troubled by the bloodshed of the mainstream diamond trade, wouldn’t you rather do business with Brilliant Earth?

Clorox and Burt’s Bees

Nobody’s saying bleach is the bee’s knees. Yet, Clorox just bought Burt’s Bees for $925 million in cash. “[Clorox] says it’s looking to green its image and plans to acquire companies aligned with consumer ‘megatrends’ in health and wellness, sustainability, convenience and a more multicultural marketplace.”

From the Clorox values page: “Helping Ensure The Greater Good for All – To us, achieving The Greater Good means creating a world where people have the information and tools they need to make the highest ethical choices and do the best for themselves, their family and the environment.”

A nice-sized company like Burt’s Bees ought to have a considerable number of links. The company does: 7,879 according to Yahoo.

What’s unique? Many of the links come from like-minded people and companies such as Victoria E.; Deep Ellum Arts Festival; Transform The Earth Foundation; and Sustainable is Good.

This is why I love link building. If you want to succeed, you simply must love and care for something. When you do, others who love and care for the same thing will happily share recognition with you by giving you a link.

By Sage Lewis, Search Engine Watch

Each month, we give away a $25 Amazon gift certificate to the SageRocker (as we are affectionately called) who gets the most traffic to their blog post in a single day. April’s winner was Brian Augsburger.

This interests me a great deal because Brian isn’t in our production team. While he knows a lot about Web marketing, many others know it in more depth than he does. His understanding of it is more big picture. Brian is our business development guy.

In April, he blew everyone else out of the water. On April 10 he got 419 views for his article: “Increase Web Traffic: Part 1 of 4.” No one was even close… me included.

The reason he did so well is because he has a passion… he has a true love. Brian loves design.

Brian is a fanatic when it comes to all things design. He loves Web design, car design, home design. If it has the word “design” in it, I’m pretty sure Brian is all about it.

So, naturally, Brian is an avid reader and participant on design blogs. He particularly likes Creattica.

So, after Brian wrote his article, he sent an e-mail to an editor at Creattica asking if they might like to link to his article. He explained that it was original, unique content. He also pointed out that, because he’s an avid Creattica participant, he believed their Web design audience would find the information particularly interesting.

He also knew that they would probably like the SageRock blog because it’s designed quite well.

Brian was right. He got the link here. That one link from a major blog made all the difference.

On top of this, Brian also had an underlying strategy. He wanted the article to do well for the phrase: “increase Web traffic.” If you notice, all four parts of his four-part series are titled with the phrase “Increase Web Traffic.” And the Creattica page that links to his article is titled “Increase Web Traffic.”

As of the writing of this column, Brian’s article was result 31 in Google for the phrase “increase Web traffic.” There are 249,000 other pages in Google that have that exact phrase somewhere on the page. That’s a pretty impressive showing for such a competitive phrase.

Brian’s link building strategy was flawless.

The optimization of the page for the phrase “increase Web traffic” came from his knowledge of SEO principles. But the way he went about getting his link was genius because he truly understood his target and cared about them.

So, I happen to be a fanatic of digital photography. What if I wrote an article about how to market your photography business through SEO? Don’t you think I would have a relatively easy time asking to get a link to the article on a photography blog? Wouldn’t I have an easier time if I had already participated in the blog by commenting and so forth?

Think about what you love and then see how you might be able to create some content that would be of interest to the people in that community.

Love is the secret ingredient to link building.