There are no hidden secrets on how to rank high with the
major search engines. All that is needed is a basic
understanding of how search engines work and a bit of know
how. Perhaps the biggest contributing factor to a
successful web site is incoming links or Back Links.
Without links, your website will more than likely go
unnoticed. So how should you accumulate these links? Below
are a few basic methods to accumulate quality back links.
Before you get started
You MUST understand how search engines work. Over 90% of
your business will likely come directly from search engine
results. Therefore, it is absolutely essential to optimize
your site for search engines. You could have the greatest
deals in the entire world, but if no one knows about them
then your efforts are wasted. Do a search on google for
Search Engine Optimization (SEO). You will find tons of
great information on how to create a website that is both
user friendly and search engine friendly. There are also
countless numbers of companies and freelancers out there
who offer SEO services. Just be cautious of their offers
and do your research first. Remember, NO ONE can guarantee
top placement in major search engines, no matter what they
say.
Where should back links come from?
1. Articles are a fantastic source of links and additional
traffic to your site. There are countless sites online
that want your articles. It's a win win situation for
everyone. When you write articles and submit them online,
you are able to leave a link to your own site and
sometimes even anchor text. I know what you're saying, "I
can't write about anything." I use to feel the same way.
But the truth of the matter is, anyone can write. You just
have to find a topic that interests you. You can write
about anything from dogs, to computers, to personal
training, to web hosting, heck you can even write about
writing. The bottom line is, articles are a valuable
source of "relevant" back links to your site.
2. Submit to directories. There are literally hundreds
of "free" and "paid" directories online. With 3 hours of
painless work, you can have your site submitted to
hundreds of great directories. There are many quality
lists of directories that are regularly updated. One of my
favorites is
http://www.best-web-directories.com/ which is
always updated and maintained.
3. Develop link exchanges with relevant sites. The major
search engines such as google see incoming links from
relevant sites, and give them more rank compared a link
from an unrelated site. For example, if you have a website
about pet care products, your link strategy should target
pet related sites. Again with a bit of hard work and
determination, you can develop a great deal of "relevant"
back links.
4. Forums are a great source for additional traffic and
links. Many forums allow their users to display signatures
in their posts. These signatures can consist of both text
and links. When you post a new message on that forum, your
websites link will be displayed for everyone to see. This
not only helps build valuable back links, but will bring
additional traffic to your website.
5. Join a link co-op. Co-ops such as the one found at
http://www.digitalpoint.com/ are an amazing source of
valuable back links and free advertisement. What is a co
op network? A Co op network is a network of site
owners/webmasters that offer ad space to the network. In
return, the ads they define are displayed across the
entire network. The best part of ad networks such as the
one found at digital point, is, they are free. Having your
site in a co-op can literally mean thousands of back links
for your site.
6. Buying ezine ads is a paid method of advertising, but
it works, because it is the most targeted of these
approaches. Write a concise ad for your business, and link
to either a lead-capture page or directly to your
autoresponder. Then, begin contacting ezines to place your
ad. (Do a search for "ezine directories," and you will
find enough lists to keep you busy.) When you contact an
ezine, look for rates for both classified ads and solo
ads. The advantage to a solo ad is that your ad goes out
by itself in a separate email, but they can be more
expensive. Because these ads are targeted (you should NOT
advertise in an unrelated ezine), you will definitely see
traffic, but you will need to track your results to see
which ezines bring you the most and best traffic.
7. Ad Swaps can be an exellent source of advertising.
Start by writing some killer copy (to coin a
phrase...there are many free articles and ebooks writen on
the subject). Simply use your favorite search engine and
type in...how to write ad copy. I googled this as I am
wriying this and it showed 12,400,000 results. WOW! Once
you have your ad written, search out Ezines that are in
the same catagory as your business or service. Again use
your favorite web search. Build yourself a list of ezines
and then email them asking if they except ad swaps.
Include your ad in your corrospondance with the ezines so
they can see what you are offering. Another place to check
for ezines is to type in Ezine directories in your seach
engine. Look up ezines in your catagory of business or
service. Most listings will tell you if they except ad
swaps and the peramiters of the ad such as how many lines
and how many characters per line. Don't forget to ad your
website url in your ad.
If you want to have a successful site, whether-it-be a
hobby or for business, you have to understand how search
engines work. Part of that understanding, is knowing about
link development. Maybe in the early 90's the idea of "if
you build it they will come" might have been true. But in
the year 2005 the internet is a far more competitive and
complex place. To be successful today, you have to work at
it. Without a quality source of back links the search
engines will all but ignore your site.
