| Link Popularity
In today scenario when we talk about Search Engine Optimization, we also talk about one of the most important aspect of SEO, which is Link Building. But there are different types, aspects and limitations of Link Building, which would be discussed now under 1.Types of Link Building: I would be explaining this factor in a more understandable manner with giving some examples with Site1, Site2 and Site3. a)One Way Linking: One Way Linking is a type of Link Building where a site links to another site without getting a link back Example: Site1 links to Site2 One of the best ways of generating One Way Links is Directory Submissions You can submit your site in different free directories like Dmoz, Yahoo Directory (Paid Also) and many others Limitations of One-Way Linking One of the most desired limitations of One-Way linking is time Consuming process and the confirmation of getting listed in Directories is not fixed b)Two Way Linking: Mostly known as Reciprocal Linking, this is one of the most effective and fast method of creating quality incoming links towards your site. Two Way Linking is process of exchanging links between 2 sites of similar theme. (As per latest Google Semantic Indexing) Example: Site1 Links to Site2 and in return Site2 Links back to Site1 The best method to create Reciprocal Links is to contact theme based sites, which you can think can be involved in your Linking Parameters and ask them for a Link Exchange with your site There are no limitations in this type of Linking as this is one of the most effective and fastest methods of creating incoming traffic to your site. c)Three Way Linking: This can also be termed as a better way of obtaining One-Way Links to your site, as in this process there is One-Way and Reciprocal Linking Involved Example: Site1 Links to Site2, But in place Site2 Links Site1 on Site3 Aspects to be Looked Before While creating Links 1.The partner’s site Page Rank of the page where he has placed your link 2.Whether the page where your link has been placed is indexed in Search Engines or not 3.One most important factor is the theme of the site. Eg: If you have a site related to Web Design you can exchange links with site related to shoes or gifts, you should link with sites related to Web only For More information on Link Building Services Contact Sunny Kathuria at skathuria@gmail.com or sunny_indian@touchtelindia.net Link Building Freelancer Search Engine Marketing Services
Link Popularity
Link Popularity
For years, "link popularity" and "Google PageRank" have been the
talk of the town in the search engine optimization community.
However, the definition of link popularity and how it differs
from PageRank (PR), as well as how much effect these actually
have on search engine rankings, is often misunderstood. What is
Link Popularity?
The theory goes something like this: The search engine Powers
That Be have decided that if other sites are linking to your
site, it must be a winner; therefore, it deserves a boost in
rankings (when all else is equal). If you think about it, this
makes a lot of sense. People link to good sites, not bad ones.
It's important to note that Google PageRank is not the same
thing as link popularity. PR is actually a subset of link
popularity. Whereas PR focuses strictly on the quantity and
popularity of links, link popularity adds a "quality factor"
into the equation. Unfortunately, many people mistakenly use the
terms "link popularity" and "PageRank " interchangeably, which
has served to confuse the issue further. All major search
engines place some emphasis on link popularity in their ranking
algorithms. There appear to be 2 main types of links that work
best to increase your link popularity: links from other sites
that focus on the same keyword phrases your site focuses on, and
links from relevant categories in major directories and
industry-specific portals. "Free-for-all" (FFA) sites do not
constitute quality links, so don't waste your $24.95 submitting
your site to 500 of them. Links from sites that focus on topics
that have nothing to do with your site probably won't help you
win any link popularity contests, either (although they may
temporarily boost your PR). How Does Link Popularity Work?
Here's an example of how I believe link popularity works: Let's
say that Bob's Pizza Palace Website has a link to Joe's Men's
Clothing store site. If the link uses the keywords "men's
clothing store" in the anchor text (the clickable part), it may
help Joe's link popularity a little bit for those keywords.
However, Joe would benefit a lot more if the same link came from
a site that was more related to Joe's site than a pizza palace.
For instance, a more related link might be from a woman's
clothing store, a men's shoe store or any other type of store
that relates to clothing in some way. An even higher-quality
link for Joe might be from "Sam's Clothing Store Directory,"
which lists a whole bunch of clothing stores that can be found
on the Internet. That is exactly the kind of link that the
search engines would want to credit toward link popularity.
Again, the key is in having that common thread between the
sites. Where Do Reciprocal Links Come In?
The other popular misconception floating around is in regards to
reciprocal linking. Since so many people think that exchanging
links with sites is the easiest way to get them (it may or may
not be), new people learning about link popularity are under the
mistaken belief that they must have links that are reciprocated
on their site (e.g., "you-link-to-me-and-I'll-link-to-you"-type
links). Still others are saying that reciprocal links are dead
and you won't gain any benefit from them. Both camps are wrong.
You certainly don't need to get reciprocal links, but you can if
you want to. Remember, it's links pointing TO your site that are
the helpful ones. Links pointing FROM your site to other sites
are wonderful to have because they help your visitors find
related stuff, but if your site doesn't lend itself to linking
to other sites, then by all means, don't do it. You need to do
what's right for your company and your site visitors, first and
foremost. Should I Care About Link Popularity?
In general, there's no need for the average site to obsess over
link popularity. Yes, you'll want to keep it in mind, and yes
you should make sure that your site is what I like to call
"link-worthy." However, from my experience (and contrary to
popular belief), link popularity constitutes only a portion of
most search engines' ranking algorithms. Arguably, Google places
more emphasis than most other engines on incoming links at this
point in time. How much these actually boost a site's ranking is
debatable and truly depends on the site. It also depends on the
words that are placed in the anchor text. I have found that just
a few highly relevant links with strong anchor text can go a
long way towards link popularity for many sites. For sites that
want to take it to the next level and are trying to rank highly
with extremely competitive keywords, it may be necessary to
actively seek out links from other relevant Websites. This
doesn't mean you should go out and create a whole bunch of
domains yourself and link them all together because it sounds
easier than getting others to link to you. (Yes, that trick has
been tried before!) It simply means you should look for sites
that are related to your site in some way, and see if they might
be interested in promoting your site to their users. Whatever
you do, do not send automatically generated link requests to any
site. Most Webmasters consider them a nuisance at best and sp@m
at worst. Certainly, a personal email may be welcome, and it
also doesn't hurt to pick up the phone and begin a dialogue with
a potential link partner. Remember, very often these links from
relevant sites will bring more traffic to your site than a high
search engine ranking will bring. How To Get Linked Without Even
Trying
My favorite way to get links (but the most time-consuming) is to
simply have the best site on the Internet in your specific
niche. Interestingly enough, if your site is well written,
provides tons of useful information and is constantly updated,
you often won't have to seek out links at all. Other sites will
link to yours of their own volition. This has worked for me on
my HighRankings.com site for many years. Without actively
requesting any links (other than a few major directories),
hundreds of highly relevant sites have added HighRankings.com to
their list of recommended sites related to SEO. Some people link
to my home page, others to the main newsletter page, and still
others to my forum. Some will link directly to an article or
newsletter they've enjoyed, and some will ask if they can
republish some on their site, while also including a link. This
is the ideal, and not every site is going to have the time or
inclination to get to this stage. However, I firmly believe that
any kind of site in any type of business can use this method if
they are willing to work at it. I know of no other method that
can even bring links from direct competitors! Personally, I'd
rather spend my time creating a link-worthy site than sending
out repetitive reciprocal link exchange requests...but maybe
that's just me! Your homework for this week is to think about
how you can make your site so good that others will be only too
willing to link to it -- without your even having to ask for it.
If you can figure it out and actually spend the time
implementing the strategy, eventually you won't have to worry
about link popularity, reciprocal links or PageRank ever again!
About the author:
About the author: Prakash K Bengani - SEO Specialist and
Internet Marketing Consultant. Any reproduction of this article
needs to have an html link pointing to http://www.articles-hub.com
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