How To Increase Link Popularity

[Nelson Tan]

Search engines are the gateway to the Internet; they are the first
tool that potential customers use to find the products and services
they need. This is why link popularity is so imperative. If the
customers do not find your website, you have no possibilities of
making any sales.

You're probably wondering what the blazes is popular about a link!
Well, in a word—plenty! Link popularity refers to the ranking assigned
to your website by the search engines, and it determines the ranking
your page gets when keywords are entered into a search engine. So,
you're probably wondering, how do I make my link popular?

Search engines are discretionary, giving status and ranking to sites
that have links to their pages from related, quality sites. It's a
simple formula, but a very important one. Google created the system,
and now virtually all the most popular search engines employ it to
rank your web pages in their indexes.

The more commonly used your keyword is, the harder it will be to
achieve link popularity, but without achieving this step, it is almost
certain your site will never rank highly on any search engine. But
don't be discouraged; there are tried and true ways of achieving link
popularity using the most competitive keywords.

There are a few things you should be aware of. The first is that just
linking up with a large number of other websites will not achieve link
popularity. In fact, it may have quite the opposite effect. This is
particularly true when pertaining to websites that are nothing more
than "link farms"—pages containing line after line of indiscriminate
links. Search engines may aggressively discriminate against your
website if you are associated with a link farm, so steer clear of
them!

The next thing to bear in mind is the quality of the site you are
linking to. Never link to a page you have reservations about your
visitors seeing. The last thing you want your website to appear as is
indiscriminate and cheap. Linking to sites of poor quality will only
lessen your link popularity, if not completely destroy it.

So let's get to what you need to do to achieve supreme link popularity
and improve your rankings to stellar status on all the popular search
engines.

The first step, and the fastest way to get your foot in the door, is
to get a listing in a popular directory, such as Open Directory
Project and Yahoo. If your site is business-related, you will want to
be listed on Yahoo, and despite the fact that it will cost you around
$300 a year, it will be money well spent. If your site is non-
commercial, the listing will be free, but it will take time and follow-
up to actually get it listed. Open Directory is gives you a free
listing whether you are business-related or non-commercial, but be
prepared to make a lot of follow-up inquiries before you see your site
listed.

You are aiming to get listed in the highest level of appropriate
category, and this just takes some common sense. For example, if your
company ships Alpaca wool from an Alpaca farm located in the middle of
Nowhere, Tiny State, do NOT submit your listing to "Retailers from
Nowhere, Tiny State". BIG MISTAKE! All you have to do is look a little
deeper and submit your listing to the "Fine Alpaca Wool" category. You
will not only associate yourself with culture and quality, but you
will be listed in a national category.

The next step after you have attained directory listings is to locate
other quality sites that will increase your link popularity. Try to
find sites that are in some way related to yours, so not only will
your link popularity increase, but your customer base may also be
expanded. You want to avoid your competitors and look for sites that
are useful to your site's visitors. Let's look at the Alpaca Wool site
example. Linking up to a site that sells knitting supplies would be
helpful to your visitors, and the chances of the knitting supply site
wanting to link up to your site are also greater. By linking to a
related site that will be relevant to your website's traffic, you are
increasing both your site's business prospects and link popularity.

Not all sites want to link to other sites, so you will have to do some
research when you are looking for possible linking partners. Google is
an excellent starting place for your search. Make sure you enter
keywords that you think quality customers will also enter to find your
own site. Remember, your criteria are quality, highly ranked, non-
competing websites that have a links or resources page. Go to these
sites and objectively assess them. Look at the quality of the product,
the graphics, and the ease of use. Then check out the other sites they
are linked to, and determine if your own site would fit in with the
crowd.

When you decide you have found a good prospect, you must set out to
woo them. The first thing to do is to add a link on your own links
page to their site. This is an essential first step; it shows good
faith, and ups your chances significantly of their reciprocity. After
you have added their link, you must contact the webmaster of their
site. Since this is almost always done by e-mail, you want to make
sure it is immediately clear that your message is not junk mail. This
requires that you tell them right off the bat that you have added a
link to their page on your site. A hook like this almost always
insures the reader will read on.

Next, be sure to be flattering and let them know how much you
appreciate their website. Make sure you emphasize that you have
actually visited their site, and that their site is not just a random
pick. Give them the address of your links page, and ask them to check
out the link for themselves. It's a good idea to mention that they
will not only benefit from the increased traffic your website will
direct their way, but you will also increase their link popularity.
Briefly, explain why link popularity is so essential, but do this in a
sentence or two so you don't sound like a professor! Finally, tell
them you would greatly appreciate if they would reciprocally add a
link on their own links page to your website.

Go through this process with as many appropriate sites as you can
find, bearing in mind the criteria of quality and non-competitiveness.
After you have e-mailed all relevant sites, be sure to check these
websites frequently to see if they have added a link to your page.
Give it about a month, and if no link appears, try another charming e-
mail. Then give it another month, and if your site is still absent
from their links page, it's time to remove their link from your own
links page. The only time you want to pursue a link further than this
is if you believe a site is crucial to your link popularity and your
business needs. Just remember to keep all your communications
complimentary and cordial.

Then set up a schedule to check your ranking in search engines
frequently to see if your link popularity has improved. This is not
achievable in the blink of an eye. It will take some time and a good
deal of work. There is no way around the labor-intensive quality of
improving your link popularity, which is why search engines regard it
with such importance.

By the way, make sure you have a beautiful, streamlined site or you
will never persuade anyone to link up to you. Be prepared to keep
plugging away at this process, as long as it takes, until you achieve
link popularity stardom!


Nelson Tan is the webmaster behind Internet Mastery Center. Download
$347 worth of FREE Internet Marketing gifts at http://www.internetmasterycenter.com