Link Building Campaigns

By Mark Sceats

Links from other web sites are a major way people find new web sites. A survey by Forrester Research found that in the UK the second most popular way of finding new web sites was by following links (59% of those surveyed). Not surprisingly, the most popular method was using search engines (81%).

For this reason it is in the interest of web site owners to get as many links as possible from other web sites.

Apart from the traffic links can deliver there is another very compelling reason for link building. Rankings in search engines are strongly influenced by the number of links pointing to a site.

Search engines such as Google are increasingly giving greater weight in their search results to sites that are “popular” – that is sites with numerous links to them from other sites. Simplistically stated; the more links there are to a site, the higher it ranks.

Google pioneered the concept of link popularity. PageRank is Google’s method of measuring a page's "importance" and influenced strongly by number and quality of inbound links.

Essentially when all other ranking factors are taken into account, Google uses PageRank to adjust results so sites which are more "important" move up in the results page of a user's search. Accordingly, Google looks at which pages link to each other to determine this importance. If Page A links to Page B, then Page A is saying that Page B is an important page.

However it is not a simply a case of sheer numbers – the quality and context of links is also taken into account. Inbound links from ‘significant’ web sites and particularly those that contain similar content to yours carry far more weight than links from lightweight unrelated sites.

For this reason artificially attempting to boost link popularity through using link farms, FFA sites and other Search Engine spamming techniques can get a site banned from a search engine’s index. Do not fall into the trap of subscribing to one of these link generation services – it will only hurt your cause.

Links are in effect like word-of-mouth recommendations. When given by a credible or authoritative source they can carry real weight - for both search engines and people. To use an analogy. Say you suffer from hypertension & a friend recommends you start taking Aspirin daily because it reduces blood pressure. Chances are you'll give this recommendation far less weight than if it came from your doctor. The same with search engines - a link from a medical site to a site about hypertension will carry far more weight than one from a non-medical website.

So how do you go about getting these links?

The answer is by spending a lot of time and effort on it. Yes, there are various software solutions now available of the market that claim to automate the time consuming process of link building. Whilst the concept is very appealing the reality is that link building is still a very time consuming task. Most people grossly under-estimate the time & effort involved.

Four key ways to develop links are:

• Create Link-Worthy Content
  If you spend time creating valuable & unique content on your website you will naturally attract links from other sites. This is the best long-term approach, but is the hardest & most time consuming.
   
• Actively Solicit Links
  Find which sites are linking to the top ranking sites for your target keywords and see if they'll also link to you. One bit of software we've found to be a huge time saver when doing link analysis work is SEOElite. It's a slick bit of software, not very expensive and the developer, Brad Callen is continually enhancing it with free updates. It's a part of our arsenal of essential SEO tools and one we recommend to clients. You can download a free trial here: SEOElite
   
• Buy Links
  Buying text links from websites is another option & one that involves the least work. The phrase 'Buying' links is not strictly accurate - really you rent links, typically on a monthly basis. Links can either be solicited directly with a website or obtained through a link broker. Using a link broker is by far the easiest and fastest approach. Some credible link brokers are: Text Link Ads, LinkageXpress, & Text Link Brokerage.
  
  Costs vary and are usually dictated by the PageRank of the sites offering links (the higher the PageRank, the higher the cost). Costs typically start at around $40 a month and it's possible to purchase a PR7 link for around $150. If you do decide to purchase links my advice is not to purchase links on a site-wide basis, which is where your text link is added to multiple pages of a single site. Instead spread your purchase of links across many different websites. Having 1 link on 100 different sites is more beneficial than 100 links on just 1 site. Make a point of using different anchor link text to avoid being hit by Google's 'over optimization penalty'. When deciding where to buy links don't just focus on cost - remember relevancy!
  
  I strongly recommend you read The Definitive Guide to Link Buying by Patrick Gavin from Text Link Ads - it's free and easily the best guide I've seen. Also this article by Aaron Wall is worth reading: Determining the Value of Links from Link Renting
   
• Directory Listings
  List your website with credible directories like Yahoo & the Open Directory. The Open Directory is used by Google for its directory results & so being listed here is important. The problem is that whilst being listed is free, it takes forever to get in (6 + months), so don't hold your breath waiting. Being listed in the Yahoo directory can also boost your rankings in search engines. The problem with Yahoo is that commercial sites have to pay a high annual fee of USD$299, so for many sites a Yahoo listing is questionable. Discussed in detail here: Yahoo! Directory - Are The Submission Fees Worth Paying? A bunch of alternative directories that offer free or low cost submissions have sprung up. Many are absolute rubbish & being listed won't drive traffic to your site or boost rankings. However some of the more credible ones to consider are Gimpsy, GoGuides, JoAnt, NZSearch, and RubberStamped to name a few.

In addition to actively approaching relevant websites for links you can also add a "link to us" page on your site. This makes it easy for visitors who think your site is of value to link to it. Remember, linking is time consuming for all parties involved -  so the easier you make it for people the more likely they'll do it. Here's an example of a "link to us page" (& if you find this site useful please use it!)

Building links to your web site is a must do activity you shouldn’t overlook because of the benefits it brings from both the direct traffic and enhanced search engine rankings. Design and implementation of link building strategies is a service provided by most good search engine marketers. Viz Marketing provides link building services to clients.

Next topic: Outbound Links - Why your site needs them...