SEO Passion » linkbuilding

Linkbuilding Q&A

admin — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 11:40:44 +0000

When you first decide it is time to optimize your website, it can be quite daunting. Linkbuilding is a much debated area of search engine optimization as there are a number of ways to secure external links, and not all of them are approved by the search engines themselves.

This Q&A attempts to answer some of the most commonly asked questions regarding linkbuilding in SEO.

What is a natural link structure?
How do I get inbound links?
What’s a reciprocal link?
Why bother with outbound links?
What is deep-linking?

What is a natural link structure?

admin — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 09:30:01 +0000

A ‘natural’ link structure refers to the mix, and type, of links apparent in your site. The search engines will be suspicious of any sudden addition of large quantities of inbound or outbound links for example. This tends to indicate spamming techniques such as link stuffing as part of a link farm or such like. Instead, the search engines are looking for organic sites that have developed naturally over time and characteristically contain an honest mix of inbound, outbound and reciprocal links. Generally, this process takes a long time and can be fast-tracked in certain ways, but it should always mimic a structure that appears to be a natural result of long-term site development. You should also stay as close as possible to your ‘theme’, keeping links tightly focused on your genre or subject as possible in order to be considered more relevant by the search engines.

How do I get inbound links?

admin — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 09:28:05 +0000

One-way, inbound links are backlinks from external sites to your site, and suggest to the search engines that your content is valuable, useful and interesting. Lots of this type of link ensures the likes of Google, for example, give you a greater PageRank and increase your position in the SERPs, not to mention the increased traffic generated by those linking to you.There are a number of ways you can generate backlinks.

Unique content: Having highly interesting or entertaining and original content will encourage natural referrals in the form of links. Similarly, useful tools and widgets will do the same thing. And when it comes to content, the more the merrier and update regularly to ensure more visits from the search bots.

Permanent articles: Offering to write an article about another site/product etc and publishing it on your blog or site can be an effective way to generate inbound links. You can also offer to write content for another site in exchange for a link. This is good for reputation building within your own area of expertise and can help establish you as an authority on a subject, which will ultimately draw out more links as your profile grows.

Permanent directory links: These are weaker links as search engines have realised that they are very easy to get and, therefore, they place a low value on them. However, inbound directory links serve to create a bit of ‘noise’ for your site and also help make your link structure look natural. There are still some sector-specific directories that can lend some strength to your site so it’s worth taking a look at the various options.

Blog directories: Similar to the above, you can submit your blog to a blog directory for free. This will give your blog more exposure and linking back to your site will help increase your PageRank.

What is a reciprocal link?

admin — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 09:24:53 +0000

Getting a reciprocal link is basically a link exchange or trade between you and another website. It is quite simply a case of contacting another webmaster and asking to swap links. The likes of Google, award this type of link with less authority than an inbound link as it is easier to do and gives less of a reflection on the quality of the site. However, reciprocal links can be successful when kept highly relevant to the topic of your site, ensuring you are seen to have a coherent theme which helps secure higher SERPs rankings based on relevance.

While PageRank is less important than it used to be, link exchanges often work by trading links to similarly ranked sites. That’s not to say that if you are new on the scene and have not yet got a PageRank, webmasters won’t exercise integrity and take a call on your site’s potential when deciding whether to link with you or not.

Why bother with outbound links?

admin — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 09:17:32 +0000

Linking to another site with no return or exchange is popularly misconstrued as a pointless exercise. However, not only are outbound links important in making your link structure appear natural, they are valuable for the search engines in terms of helping establish the theme of your site. Links to authority sites within your theme help the likes of Google determine what your site is about and label it as relevant to a search query regarding your topic.

What is deep-linking?

admin — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 09:10:56 +0000

A deep-link is a link from an external site to one of the pages deeper within your website i.e. not the homepage. The more links you have to different pages in your site, the more likely the search engines are to view your content as relevant and valuable. If all the links point to your homepage this may suggest a shallow site or that some level of automated linking has taken place which the search engines don’t like. It is also a good idea to deep-link internally i.e. from your homepage to a more buried page using your main keywords to reinforce importance and theme.