The first place that a potential customer
goes to find a product or service on the internet is a search
engine. The higher you are listed in a search engine the better
the possibility of your site being found. If the potential
customers do not find you in their search, chances are that
they will not visit your site and as a result you will not
have an opportunity at making a sale with that prospect.
What has this all got to do with link popularity? Well,
link popularity refers to the ranking assigned to your website
by the search engines. It determines the ranking or positioning
your page gets when keywords are entered into a search engine
by a potential customer when looking for a product or service.
The higher the position the more likely a prospect will find
and click onto your site.
There are a few things you should be aware of and guard
against in your quest for link popularity. These can be summed
up in two words: Quantity and Quality.
You will not achieve link popularity just by linking up
with a large number of other websites. In fact, it may work
against you. There are web sites that are known as “link
farms” containing line after line of indiscriminate
links. Search engines will discriminate against your website
if you are associated with a link farm, so steer clear of
them!
The quality of the site you are linking to is also super
important. So be sure to check out the site you are linking
to before you commit to linking. If you have any reservation
about your visitors seeing that you are linking to a site
that is indiscriminate and cheap, forget about it. Linking
to sites of poor quality will only lessen your link popularity,
if not completely destroy it.
Here are some things you need to do to achieve link
popularity and improve your rankings on the popular search
engines.
The fastest way to get your foot in the door is to get a
listing on some popular directories. You can do this manually
or with the aid of software. There are several excellent
software products on the market and when you consider the
cost versus the time, you can decide which course is best
for you.
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 visitors. For instance, if you are selling life
insurance, someone selling health insurance would be a good
link choice. By linking to a related site that will be relevant
to your website traffic, you are increasing both of your
site business prospects - and both of your sites link popularity.
Remember, your criteria are quality, highly ranked, non-competing
websites that have a link 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 this crowd. Again you can
do this manually, or with a software program.
There is a lot of hard work over an extended period of time
involved to get a high ranking with search engines. Other
than some software programs to assist you there are no shortcuts
to achieve link popularity. So be prepared for a long journey
to the top. This is one of those areas where patience, commitment,
and persistence pay off. Good Luck!
P.S.: You want to be sure to have an attractive and interesting
site or you will never persuade anyone to link up to you.
Copyright © Donald N. Lombardi
| Donald N. Lombardi is a business consultant,
as well as an Expert Author on Home Based Business.
Prior to starting his consulting pratice in 1984, Don
spent over 20 years as a senior executive in Corporate
America.
http://www.HomeBasedBusinessWizard.com |
