Links – why they matter
Building strong, quality inbound links to your website is now a key element in search engine optimisation success. So to improve your company’s search engine rankings and visibility, think links.
The more links to a page or site, the more valuable it’s seen to be by Google. Every link is seen as a vote for your site, so the more links, the more votes ¬– and the more important Google thinks your site is with better ranking on the search results page for your business.
However, it’s not just numbers that count. Links need to be good quality and relevant to your business.
Google’s PageRank system gives individual pages a score between 0 and 10 (highest) judging its relevance to a particular keyword or phrase. Linking from a high PageRank page can give lower PageRank pages a higher rating. You can find out the page rank score by downloading Google’s Toolbar and clicking the page rank icon.
The text in any link is also vitally important. It should describe what your business is about rather than just say “click here”.
For example the power of links was shown when so-called “Google bombers” created links to George Bush’s website using the text “miserable failure”. They created around 30 links using this phrase in the inbound link text. So when you searched for the phrase “miserable failure” on Google, Dubya’s White House website came up tops.
4 ways to increase your inbound links
1. Sign up for listings with reputable directories that are relevant to your business or products.
If you sell broadband, for example, search for “broadband services directories” or directories about one of your keywords. Bear in mind that the power of the link gets diluted if lots of people are using the same link. So opt for sites with fewer links to reap the most benefit.
2. Create a blog and/or start responding to other blogs.
Set up your own blog or look around for other blogs relevant to your business and get posting. You will need to embed some link code in your text, linking back to your website. For example, G5 want to be found for creative websites, so we would add the following code in our links <a href=″http://www.granite5.com″> creative websites</a>. Make sure blogs have “do follow” tags on them, as this will record your presence and count as a link to your website.
Try the Do Follow Directory for starters and remember to follow the right etiquette: make your comment insightful, use your name and don’t spam.
3. Write and submit articles about your business, industry, product or service.
Lots of sites allow you to submit articles for free and link to your website. To find them, do a Google search “submit articles” and get writing ¬- but remember to add in the link code mentioned above to get the benefit!
4. Copy your competitors!
I Spy has never been easier. Find out what your rivals’ link strategy is and do the same. There are lots of sites out there that will tell you what their inbound links are. Some also divulge page rank and the link text too.
Type in “link:www ……..” on the Google home page. Or try www.backlinkwatch.com Here, you type in your competitor’s website … and all will be revealed!
• For further advice, contact Jill Davies at Granite 5, Unit 5, Valley Court Offices, Lower Road, Croydon, Royston. Tel: 01223 208008. www.granite5.com.
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