Link Popularity

Link popularity is a major factor when it comes to ranking well in search engines and drawing traffic to your site. Learn how to increase the number of links to your site, how to get quality sites to link to yours, and the overall effect link popularity has on your rankings.

1. What Is Link Popularity?

Link popularity is the number of incoming links that you have to your site from other sites. These links can be from directories, articles, or web sites. The more links you have pointing to your site, the better.

The number and quality of links that you have pointing to your site are a factor that many search engines consider when determining the rank or your site and individual pages of your site. Also, the more incoming links you have, the greater the traffic to your site.

2. Getting Links To Your Site

The most important factor in getting others to link to your site is having a site worthy of a link. In other words, have a site or page that a directory editor or site owner thinks would be of benefit to their audience.

The best way to do this is by having great content. Great content will draw people to your site. Great content will make people want to stay at your site. Great content will cause people to tell others about your site by linking to it.

It doesn't matter if your site is an information source or is selling something, you can provide great content with articles, reviews, etc.

After you've created a site worthy of a link, start by submitting to the directories. Hit the major directories, regional directories, and thematic directories.

Next, look for quality sites that would be complimentary to your audience and exchange links with them. For example, if you sell patio furniture, look for sites that sell gardening supplies and contact them about exchanging links.

The best way to contact a potential link partner is by visiting a site and looking for ways the site owner could naturally include a link to your site in their content. Then look for ways to naturally incorporate a link to that site from yours. After you've done this, email the potential link partner with your idea. Don't use a form letter. Just send a short, personal note explaining what you have in mind.

When looking for potential link partners, always think in terms of how your site would be beneficial to the visitors of your partner site and theirs to yours. If you are selling patio furniture, trying to exchange links with a site selling medical supplies is not a good use of your time.

Another way to get links to your site is by writing articles about the topic of your site and allowing other sites to carry the articles for free provided they include a link to your site at the end.

3. Checking Your Link Popularity

Marketleap provides a very handy tool called Link Popularity Check. It is a great way to periodically check the number of incoming links to your site.

4. What Not To Do.

Don't use automated programs that send out form letters asking for links. If you use this type of program, only use it for locating sites that may be worth contacting. Then, visit the site and send a short, personal message in the manner described above.

Don't expect everyone to want to exchange links.

Don't expect a reply. If you don't get a response, you may want to try again in a couple of months.

Don't be impatient. Just because you don't receive a reply, it doesn't mean you won't get the link eventually. Many site owners will file link requests and come back to review them when time allows.

Don't set up a big page of links to just any site, and don't exchange links with sites that do the same.

A link building campaign includes 4 actions:

1) Reciprocal links:

Exchange reciprocal links with websites relevant to your industry.

2) One-way-links through Directory Submission:

There are virtually 1000s of directories accepting free new listings everyday. In most cases, website marketers boycott such “secondary directories” thinking that no traffic would result from being listed on them.... We agree! This is not what will bring traffic! However, inclusion in directories creates a strong one-way-link factor. In other terms, submitting your website to 100s of “at-first-sight-insignificant” directories will greatly enhance your link popularity factor. Of course, submissions should be addressed to directories featuring a decent PR.
Please note: Only manual submissions work for directory submission - Beware of those companies offering to submit your website to thousands of directories for a few dollars only since they always perform the work with softwares which are not SEO friendly – submitting to a directory requires individual registration in all cases and it is a labor intense process which can only be fulfilled manually.

3) One-way-links through Blogs & Forums:

Participate in blogs and forum discussions. Post comments & questions and always have your URL listed in your signature. It is always advisable to address blogs and forums within your line of industry as a priority, but not necessarily... In fact, as an example, you could be a manufacturer visiting a marketing forum, and you could post a simple statement such as “Thank you for the tip!” in response to someone giving good information. The name of the game is to interact with online communities through blogs and forums to have a valid excuse to list your URL as many times as possible, thus increasing your link popularity through one-way-links.
Link enhancement through Blogs & Forums is also a labor intense process which cannot be implemented through software. In order to post a comment, each blog/forum requires registration. There is an art to “navigate” through blogs & forums, but it is well worth the time invested since Google values greatly this type of one-way-link!

4) One-way-links through Article Submission & Press Release:

Article submission & online press release have become industry standards in the world of SEO - Thousands of eZine publishers are looking for new articles and press release material on an ongoing basis. In most cases, you should not expect to receive traffic from such articles after they get published... In fact, chances are that your articles & press releases will never be found nor read, but their purpose is once again to increase your link popularity through one-way-links.